[grey_whiskers]

Plus many other things about the Church really bother some Plus many other things about the Church really bother some Protties — rituals, art, music — for to them they really smack of idolatry. Well, you can see it that way if you want to. But for me, I'd simply say that these are devices for "sanctifying the body"; for through appeals to the physical senses, they make the presence of God available to the human mind and spirit. A beautiful fresco, or stain-glass window, or musical composition seeks to engage the human person body and soul. Even the pungent olfactory appeal of incense symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit. I.e., the incense itself directs our minds to contemplation of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

I always thought these were cultural holdovers from when many more people than today were illiterate, and the Church sought to pass on revealed truths through a variety of methods other than writing.

Besides, nothing makes a lesson sink in like participating in it.

Cheers!

[betty boop]

I always thought these were cultural holdovers from when many more people than today were illiterate, and the Church sought to pass on revealed truths through a variety of methods other than writing.

Well when most people were illiterate, some other means of transmission of God's Truth HAD to be found. God-to-human communication can take many forms. The point is to convey and preserve His Truth, literally down the ages. Which since these rituals did just that, I don't see why they need to be disparaged by more modernist thinkers.

Thank you ever so much, dear grey_whiskers, for your excellent insights! Including the insight "nothing makes a lesson sink in like participating in it." So very, very true. But this involves the body as well as the soul....