No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Justice as a Condition of Authentic Liturgy
Abstract
“I myself … say that prayers and thanksgiving made by worthy persons are the only sacrifices that are perfect and well-pleasing to God” (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, 117.2).
“Because of all your wonderful dispensation towards us, with open mouths and uncovered faces we give you thanks and glorify you without ceasing in your Church, which has been redeemed by the precious blood of your Christ, offering up praise, honor, thanksgiving and adoration to your living and life-giving name, now and at all times forever and ever” (The Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari).
... Hij maakt hier korte metten mee. 21 Leidt zijn benadering niet tot een soort 'werkheiligheid'? Nee. ...
Expounding Wolterstorff's thoughts on the relationship between (Sunday) liturgy and (everyday) justice.
... In a second article. 'Justice as a condition of authentic liturgy', Wolterstorff focuses more explicitly on this relationship between liturgy and justice (Wolterstorff 1991; for responses to his essay, see also Cunningham 1991;Fishburn 199 I;and Olson 1991). So often, he says, people find it difficult to see that liturgy, justice, and evangelism are all of crucial importance for being the church. ...
In a first section the author argues that 'seeing' is offundamental importance for ethics. In
a second section he concludes that Christian worship is therefore important for Christian
ethics, since Christian worship is one of the social locations where Christian believers
learn to see, 'to look in the right direction '. In a third section, he provides a brief answer
to the question why this is the case, making comments on the nature of Christian worship,
in particular the experience of time and history during worship. In a fourth section, he
draws on recent studies on the public role of Christian liturgy to argue that Christians
learn to see 'the world' in a specific way during Christian worship. In a concluding
section he reminds readers that Christian worship often fails this calling. He continuously
refers to South African examples.
Psalms of lament characteristically include affirmations of trust and sometimes a vow to praise God in the future. This article questions the motivation behind such vows by looking carefully at whether future praise is conditional on God's positive response and what other rhetorical devices are linked to the promise God makes. Attention is given to the nature of praise and lament psalms (considering the power dynamic) and foundational principles of Persuasion Theory. Five biblical psalms of lament are considered, with particular attention to their use of a vow and other persuasive tactics to encourage God to intervene. Although a vow of future praise (and other persuasive tactics) may be used, the psalmist's most critical means of persuasion (as apparent in Ps 88) is the character of the psalmist's covenant-partner.
In this article I want to make four interrelated arguments. Firstly, I argue for the theologically important relation between justice and beauty; secondly, that the Spirit of God is the Spirit both of “justice” and of “beauty”; thirdly, that a theology of the Spirit further defines “justice” and “beauty” and allows for a deepened understanding of both; and fourthly, that a theology of the Spirit allows us to understand the ambiguities with regards to these differentiated themes – and therefore highlights not only the importance of the interrelation between “beauty” and “justice” – but, I argue, is this interrelation. I will do this by focusing on the issue of how the Spirit relates, in the first place, to justice, in the second place, to creation, thirdly, to creativity and in the fourth place, to imagination.
The article deals with potential ethical implications of contemporary Christological studies. In a first section the argument is made that doctrine and ethics belong together. In the central section, this claim is illustrated with reference to recent approaches to Christology. Under the theme ‘Christology and Ethics’ six popular approaches are discussed with a view to their respective ethical implications. In each instance, representative examples are provided. The six approaches are those that underline living in communion with Christ, that emphasize remembering Jesus, that call for discipleship, that employ the threefold office, that are based on the worship of Christ and that emphasize Christ’s promised future. In a brief, final section three conclusions are developed regarding Christology and public theology, or Jesus and politics.
Reconciliation in a divided society, like the South African one, is in dire need of a new moral discourse and praxis. This article argues that this moral discourse must also be conducted on an often forgotten level, namely in the worshipping praxis of the Church. The article describes the renewed interest of ethicists and liturgists in the relationship between liturgy and ethics and especially the role of rituals.� The article then focuses on the renewal of basic Cristian rituals like preaching and sacraments, prayer and praise to serve this much needed moral discourse.
This article highlights the value of Christian worship in the lives of Christians. It argues that worship should sensitise Christians towards justice and the practice thereof and it highlights my personal observations of the religious actions of some churches, contrasting their lack of concern for justice with God's positive concern for justice. The article defines Christian worship and explores-and establishes as indissoluble-the relationship between Christian worship and justice. The article also explores the meaning of the concept of "justice" and concludes that the link between worship of God and acts of justice is similarly indissoluble. Expanding on this link, and exploring the relationship between Christian worship and justice, the article further establishes that the practice of justice is a constituent part of authentic Christian worship. The implications of justice-focused Christian worship are found to be quite meaningful: helping church members to accept and respect the humanity of all people, especially the weak, the vulnerable and the voiceless; changing situations of dire need; bringing about serious and genuine transformation in the lives of both the rich and the poor; and affirming the value of active Christian presence, community and vocation. In conclusion, I recommend that the faith community actively identify with the poor, with those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, with foreigners and with other marginalised people, and that they do so in prophetic, priestly and kingly presence.
The mounting injustice, oppression, violence, and suffering today contrast with the idyllic notion of the reign of God consisting of justice, peace, and harmony. This blatant discrepancy endows a consequential legacy of disbelief. When liturgy and religious education are irrelevant to life and do not speak to the reality of injustice, this amounts to a dichotomy between the sacred and the secular, and the sincerity and effectiveness of the liturgy and education are in question. On the other hand, when liturgy and education are used to manipulate in a one‐dimensional attempt to achieve some political action or personal agenda, or for “do‐gooderism,” their purpose is obscured. This paper attempts to uncover a liturgy and education for justice that moves toward conciliation between life and faith.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.