Saturday, February 11, 2006

Still True?

It ought to be more carefully considered, that all men promiscuously do homage to God, but very few truly reverence him. On all hands there is abundance of ostentatious ceremonies, but sincerity of heart is rare.

That's a quote from Calvin's Institutes (Book 1, Chap 2). Is it still true that all men do homage to God?

My answer: our age is one of radical informality, so there is no longer "an abundance of ostentatious ceremonies"--although the church-growth movement still attacks formality as if it is the problem. What has changed is that even the "sincere in heart" see little need for ceremony, so that neither God-rejecters nor God-lovers truly reverence him.

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