"Reason" in Catholic and Protestant Worship

[Sugnaflow]

I have heard Reformed Protestants criticize the Catholic Church putting too much trust in man’s capacity to know Truth through reason.

One would think, then, that Reformed Worship services would be focused on the transcendant and the mysterious. Yet, in my experience these services are very left-brained (i.e. rational, analytical, very little ornamentation, etc). That isn’t to criticize – just an observation.

The Mass, on the other hand, has great emphasis on the mysterious.

How would one explain this apparent disconnect?

 

[Publisher]

I have heard Reformed Protestants criticize the Catholic Church putting too much trust in man’s capacity to know Truth through reason.

One would think, then, that Reformed Worship services would be focused on the transcendant and the mysterious. Yet, in my experience these services are very left-brained (i.e. rational, analytical, very little ornamentation, etc). That isn’t to criticize – just an observation.

The Mass, on the other hand, has great emphasis on the mysterious.

How would one explain this apparent disconnect?

You obviously haven’t been to a Meeting for Worship.

 

[Contarini]

I have heard Reformed Protestants criticize the Catholic Church putting too much trust in man’s capacity to know Truth through reason.

One would think, then, that Reformed Worship services would be focused on the transcendant and the mysterious. Yet, in my experience these services are very left-brained (i.e. rational, analytical, very little ornamentation, etc). That isn’t to criticize – just an observation.

The Mass, on the other hand, has great emphasis on the mysterious.

How would one explain this apparent disconnect?

There are a number of explanations for the nature of Reformed worship (I argue in my dissertation that Martin Bucer thought you needed didactic worship in order to stimulate the right affectus–feelings or affections–within the worshipers, which would result in right action). But the point most relevant to your question is that the Reformed tend to believe that we have this revelation handed down from an incomprehensible God (Calvin in particular emphasized God’s incomprehensibility–not, as some misinterpret him, that God is arbitrary), but we are responsible to understand and systematize that teaching. In other words, the Reformed don’t want to use reason to go behind what God has revealed, but they use reason to interpret and apply what God has revealed.

Also, much of what the Reformed call “reason” is not just logic, but also human intuition. The basic problem with the Calvinist view of predestination is that it makes it hard for us to say that God is good and loving in any way that conforms to our normal intuitions about what is good. At least some Reformed would say that this doesn’t matter, because our intuitions are all messed up by sin anyway. This isn’t just about “reason,” but more broadly about the extent to which sin has messed up our capacity to recognize the good.

I think you are on to something with this critique–it’s a problem I’ve had with conservative Reformed theology for a long while. They seem very uncomfortable with our connecting our intuitions about love or goodness with our beliefs about God, because those intuitions are messed up. But conservative Reformed preachers have no problem appealing to people’s assumptions about power or wisdom. For instance, I’ve heard a Reformed Baptist preacher suggest to his congregation that if the doctrine of Limited Atonement were false, Jesus would be a very imprudent person, since we judge a businessman by how good he is at making sure that his investments pay off.

Morally and spiritually, I think this is the fatal weak point in conservative Reformed theology.

I have come to believe that the Eastern Christian tradition does a much better job of talking about God’s unknowability. But if I had to choose between Thomism and Calvinism, I’d pick Thomism in a heartbeat.

Edwin

 

[Sugnaflow]

Thanks for your response. You are operating one a whole different level from me.

I suspect, also, that there is an aversion in some circles to the perception that one is adding something to Scripture, whether that be through song, or ritual, or ornamentation.

 

[Soldier_X]

I grew up Presbyterian, so I’ll throw my hat in the ring. :tiphat: One thing about Reformed worship: preaching/teaching is its “means of grace” in many ways. Pulpits are placed in the center, sometimes the preachers wear academic gowns, and they are quite focused on heavy-duty teaching. Of course, we all need good teaching. But not at the expense of everything else.

You’re right that they do critique the ability to know God through reason. At the same time, they believe that one knows God best by what is revealed in Scripture (without looking at things “added to it,” as you said). So, they don’t reason their way to God, but God illumines the mind of the believer and speaks to that mind through the preached word. All other worship concerns are secondary to the centrality of preaching.

I don’t know if this helps at all, but I gave it a shot.