Worship as a Liminal Event. A Contribution to the Protestant Theology of Worship in the Secular Society
Abstract
The secularization did not just bring about the decrease of the influence of Christianity in European culture and social life. It also called the forms of classical Christian worship into question.
The study deals with the question of forming the Christian liturgy in a way that could be comprehensible for today's people; as an event pointing not only to the immanent values but also to the different but still gracious God. The author proceeds in three steps.
The first part contains some comments on the concept of secularization and religious pluralism. The second part sketches three ways in which Christian churches approach the late modern culture.
Specifically, it deals with the approach of the mainstream Protestantism which often results in the loss of the dimension of transcendence and mystery in worship. The third part inquires into the liturgical theology of the Australian theologian Graham Hughes.
It presents his concept as a platform enabling to combine the respect to the general human experience of the limits with the specific Christian testimony about God transcending our limits.