Is the essence of worship seeking an emotional response, or. saying what is right about God, life, the universe, etc. recognizing reality. Singing psalms goes back to the time of David (and David himself), but the content of the words is the worship. Voices and instruments are really tools or means. Recognizing that the uncreated creator of all things, the essence of existence, the perfectly holy and uncompromising love incarnate is a Father, is worship.
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How spiritual understanding relates to
human reasoning, since God’s ways are above our ways;
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How to discern God’s voice from our
own mind and from the evil one’s voice.
Theology starts with foundational truths about God’s nature and character, and what Jesus did for us on the cross. All the rest of nature, humankind, knowledge & reason, evidence & experience, values & virtue flow from this foundation like an artesian well. This foundation is not theology about God’s nature and character, but the reality of His essence, His essential existence. Theology is the instrument, the channel, by which we can see and understand Him, and thereby understand these other derivative things like nature, humankind, knowledge and reason, evidence and experience, values, and virtue. Doing theology is a form of worship.
An example from the realm of physics. How do laws and behaviors of physics flow from God’s nature and character? There are at least three broad categories of behavior in physics. Simple laws like universal gravitation, electromagnetic field theory, and nuclear strong and weak forces; complex behaviors that are understood by complexity theory in various realms as the result of the interactions of a very large number of things, deterministically; and chaotic behavior such as the random motion of molecules in a gas, that are understood and modeled in aggregate such as ideal gas law, the second law of thermodynamics, and so on.
From our perspective, we cannot derive these from God’s nature, but we can learn from them about Him. The basic, large-scale universality of existence is simple and straightforward, and God is at His core straightforward: He is holy and He loves. But there is also implicit complexity in Him, that is structured but not simple, as different parts of existence interact according to seemingly simple law at a lower level: DNA that defines our biological life; the human brain that is able to reason, control our body, and is conscious. And finally, there are limits to this structured complexity at the nanoscopic level, in which 6.023 x1023 atoms bounce off of or interact with each other, the best of which we can do is describe by statistical averages. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle describes how things at the atomic level are unknowable below a certain level. Thus, God allows not everything to be deterministic. Otherwise, we would be robots and the universe would not achieve His ultimate goal (described below).
I am certain there are similar insights to be gleaned from other fields of study. We can learn about God from all of them, because He is the fountainhead of all existence. The core of our faith is not ultimately justified by these studies, because we are limited and fallen creatures and make mistakes in our process of reasoning, analysis, experimentation, both in the sciences and in theology. God has given us freedom to learn about Him and His creation.
A peaceful, just, and prosperous society is based on shared values of civil order, respect for laws, justice, work, and the dignity of others, all in appropriate relationship. The so-called seven deadly sins, for example, degrade society but foremost they make us less like God. Whether a degraded society becomes anarchy in the constant turmoil of gang warfare, or a dictatorship in which every action is controlled by an unforgiving ruler and judge, neither is the rich social fabric the founding fathers had a glimpse of because of their understanding of God. God is at peace with Himself because all aspects of His nature and character are in appropriate balance and relationship. We would likewise have inner peace if we were able to put all aspects of our nature thusly.
God created the universe with a vision that He tries to communicate to us. Humans have imagined fictional universes such as those of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Narnia, Dr. Who, and Star Trek. But God’s universe is real. The diverse kinds of things that can happen reflect the depth and complexity of His essence. There is space for love in many forms, and also space for self, and space for either of these to go astray. There is space for relationships and society, group activity, leadership and loyalty, betrayal and exploitation. There is space for good and bad ideas, logic, philosophy, truth and lies.
Where does holiness fit in all this? Holiness is for a positive purpose, to set apart for a divine commission with glory and blessing. We learn about God from direct contact with Him, but also by seeing cause and effect and the results of obeying or disobeying Him. Holiness in God is partly understood as being so devoted to what is good, right, and just that He does not want any resources to go towards its opposites, and dedicates the best of the best to be used for good, righteous, and just ends. In Leviticus He told Moses that the Israelites should do the same.
Why are certain animals identified as clean or unclean in Leviticus? Only animals that chew the cud and have cloven hoofs are clean. (Leviticus 11:3-7) What does this mean? Perhaps there is symbolism if we interpret chewing the cud as a type of meditating on or studying God’s word. Cows chew their cud because it aids in digestion, and digesting God’s word requires time, focus, and thought. What is the significance of cloven hooves? Perhaps these are a crude representation of the stigmata. We are cleansed by the blood of Christ, which is symbolized clearly by the Passover Lamb’s blood being sprinkled on the doorway. (Exodus 12:7,22-23) But Jesus’ body is also symbolically represented in the Holy Communion celebration by the bread, as Jesus said, just before He was crucified. (Luke 22:19) So eating clean animals symbolizes a combination of both digesting the Word of God by meditating on it, and partaking vicariously in the crucifixion of Christ, identifying with His pierced hands and feet.
In a sense the laws of physics exhibit this devotion of resources to an end. In gravitation, electromagnetic forces, strong and weak nuclear forces, there are mechanisms that are straightforward and efficient. But, when Jesus was on the earth, He did not shun things we might think superfluous, like parties and celebrations, but He turned them to the glory of God, the revelation of His nature and character.
God so wants the things He has created to be employed for the good for which He created them that He grieves when they are used for lesser purposes. There was a hint of that in Judas complaint about Jesus’ anointing - he said the money would have been better used to give to the poor (although he really just wanted to pilfer from the moneybox). (Matthew 26:9, Mark 14:5, John 12:5) But Judas did not recognize Jesus as who He really was, or that the Presence of the essence of God is of more value than good works. The real tragedy was that Judas did not want to use His life for the Lord’s good purposes. He lacked understanding of God.
Using God’s creation for other than God’s intended purpose is like taking part of God Himself and turning it against His essential core. Perhaps this is why some of the punishments in the Pentateuch for disobedience seem to us severe. God showed Himself, as close as He could without killing those near Him, and they wanted to pervert His nature, His essence, into something else. God did not create this universe for it to be a place of self-centeredness and selfishness, but rather a place of agape, self-sacrificial love, self-giving for the sake of another. Is He selfish for wanting this for His creation, when it would not exist apart from His exercising these traits? Most likely, since the holy Trinity the exchange of love, devotion, and self-giving is so wonderful, He wanted (wants) to share and create more of it. But it only exists when it is freely chosen, in the presence of real alternatives.
We come back to worship in recognizing that God created all of this – the universe and humankind – to create more opportunities to display this essential characteristic - agape in action. Ultimately, worship occurs when we recognize God’s nature and character in thought, word, and deed, in our lives, in human relationship, and in all of creation.
