Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Incense needed...lots of incense!

via Brad, Internet Monk explains that "If I become Lutheran, Anglican or Catholic, it will be because I watched this too many times." Specifically, IMonk presents us with "The worst worship ever."



The comments are really the best part of the blog entry. I love Father Ernesto's suggestion:

"Well, in situations like this, I suggest a healthy dollop of incense, to be used at the time when the socks are being taken off to be flung around."

Wonders for Oyarsa offers an amazing contrasting video:


6 comments:

Ann said...

um, yeah. Exactly "where" did they get the idea this constitutes worship of a holy God? What made that 10 minutes distinct from a rock concert? bare feet? (scratch that - thinking Woodstock) the words the band leader was repeating and repeating and repeating? (scratch that - Matt 6:1-7 comes to mind) Ok, I'm at a loss. um, yeah.

Kent said...

Um, I actually enjoyed the music... and found most of the comments narrow minded and legalistic.

On the other hand the lyrics betrayed a lack of imagination, originality, and spiritual depth while the leadership style was manipulative and self serving.

I did appreciate the one comment about David saying: "...I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in high honor." 2 Samuel 6:21b - 22

Kent said...

I loved the "Wonders for Oyarsa" video, but please don't imply that this is the only proper cultural expression of worship of a "Holy God" That would ignore the amazing cultural diversity that God embraces when he seeks a people for himself from "every tribe and tongue and nation".

Kent said...

Forgive me... I'm at it again. (I really do love you guys!)

My parents are fond of criticizing worship choruses for their repetitive lyrics. Heard any Gregorian chant lately? How about hymns with repetitive phrases in the choruses, and carols with repeating aleluiahs, and look at the psalms - lots of redundancy there too.

I think we can criticize this guy for being shallow and lacking in artfulness, even for evidencing a lack of a deep understanding of the God he claims to worship, but we should avoid calling it blasphemy as many of the commenters do.

OK, I'm done... I hope!

Beth B said...

Kent, thanks for your comments! Please don't apologize, because I know your heart.

The trick in worship is to humiliate yourself, and not God; and to hold God in high honor, not yourself.

Seems to me like Michal was less concerned about holding God in high honor than in preserving her husband's royal dignity (and her own, by extension). How ironic that Michal was never given children--kids have a way of quickly stripping us of our dignity and our self-centeredness. Perhaps Michal was just too full of herself to be able to handle parenting.

Yes, there's all sorts of worship for all sorts of people. It's just difficult for folks like Imonk and me to see how flinging our socks around is either an act of self-abasement or a way to exalt God.

I hesitate to mention this, but frankly, for me, the scene brought back memories of wild times as teenagers, when my brothers would chase me and each other around with their smelly socks and jockstraps. Let me tell you, those were NOT times of celebration! ; )

So in my personal opinion this scene qualifies as a candidate for worst worship ever. Can you see now why I found Father Ernesto's comments so amusing? ; )

(Oh, by the way, Father Ernesto is a Cuban who became an Eastern Orthodox priest. The Orthodox DO love their incense!)

Guess I'm just a 1 Cor. 14:40 girl: "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

Kent said...

I guess all I'm saying is it's conceivable this guy might have been able to pull this off in a spiritually meaningful way, but he seemed to spaced out and lacking in communication skills to care. It wasn't the context I had a problem with, it was the execution.

btw - I don't think David's dance would be seen as particularly orderly!