PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

Western culture. In essence, what Marva Dawn is asking, is that we westernize the world before
we Christianize the world. Obviously, liturgical worship is a cathedral experience, where the
deep tones of European music point us to God. The liturgical worship follows an order of
worship that includes such things as the Apostle's Creed, Doxology, responsive reading, etc.
This worship tradition comes out of our western tradition of rationality and lineal thinking. So
let us ask two questions, "First, is the western culture superior to Hispanic, Asian and African
culture?" This is a culture that is more visceral than lineal in thought patterns. Second, "Must a
person become westernized before becoming Christianized?"
Obviously, the answer is that no one must be westernized before they become
Christianized. As we examine the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15), Paul and Silas argued against
Gentiles becoming Jews (by circumcision into the Jewish commonwealth), before they became
Christian.
A third question for Marva Dawn is, "Should a church be prevented from adapting its
worship to the surrounding culture?" The answer to this question goes back to a basic
assumption in Christianity. The principles of Christianity are above culture, i.e. it transcends all
culture. When a person becomes a Christian, their first task is to make Christ real in their life
and culture. They must apply the principles of Christianity to their lives and lift themselves to a
new and higher level of living. At the same time they must apply Christianity to their culture,
within their world of family, work, education and relaxation. They must apply Christ to their life
and to their culture. This second step is to "inculturate" Christianity into the life and culture of
the people that accept Christ as Savior. The process begins with individuals, but becomes a
corporate process as many saved individuals within the local church; which is a body that must
"inculturate" Christianity into the society where the church exists. Therefore, the worship of the
individual will express his/her culture, so that they express the worthship to God that is due Him
with their own words, thought patterns, and cultural limitations. While this is "an inculturation"
it is not the same thing as the process of "contextualization." I am against the contemporary view
that says that we must change the gospel or water-down the gospel, which is "contextualization,"
i.e. changing the essence of Christianity into the cultural expectations of society. I believe the
reverse is biblical, to change the individual into the expectations of Christianity. Robert R.
Redman, Jr., Assistant Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary
accuses Marva Dawn of attacking culture, by making it "a demonization of popular culture that
makes culturally relevant worship difficult if not impossible." 1
Marva Dawn would answer the charges against her by saying that worship in western
civilization, specifically worship in the European traditions has profoundly shaped culture, rather
than culture shaping it. She would claim when we follow the liturgical European tradition; we
are following Christian that transcends culture. She maintains from a historically developed
tradition, that the worship patterns of the historical Protestant Church influenced the culture into
becoming Christian and worship that comes out of it is trans-cultural and trans-temporal.
Therefore, when we give into contemporary worship forms, we are surrendering to culture that is
not influenced by Christianity, so our worship is not Christian.. She would have us vigorously
defend our liturgical worship forms, vigorously implement our liturgical worship forms, and so
change the culture of America back to what it was.