Question/thought for other ex-evangelicals/evangelicals/anyone interested in religion. Evangelicals and perhaps some other denominations of Christianity take the rejection of magic and divinity on earth much further than Luther did originally when he denied the transubstantiation. Evangelicals reject that there is a supernatural significance to any religious ritual that is performed here on earth, such as communion, baptism, confirmation, or dedication. They believe that the only thing necessary to receive God and join the church is faith in god, and that all other religious rituals left over from the Catholic church are only valuable as being symbolic to the community and to the particular worshiper. Baptism serves to act as a declaration of oneself as a follower of Jesus who has been forgiven, but nothing more- it has no supernatural effects, only personal ones. Communion is a symbolic affirmation that one has accepted the sacrifice of God and a community activity, but there is no magic assumed in an Evangelical church. Confirmation is merely the act of learning Church lore and a celebration of coming of age of children. In addition, Evangelicals dont cross themselves to ward off evil and they dont do anything involving holy water or other magical relics. I went to several evangelical churches growing up and in all of them this was consistent. If this is an inaccurate representation, let me know. I find this really interesting because of the fact that they go through with these rituals anyway, even though there is no real superstition attached to the rituals themselves, as a means of shared experience within the community and as a preservation of their Christian heritage (which was rather mystical and superstitious until recently). They are able to find a sense of meaning and belonging in rituals that is disconnected from the fear that *not* doing the rituals will cause problems (as it is with those that believe baptism is required to enter heaven, for example). I wonder- does this provide support for an argument in favor of maintaining religious rituals in a symbolic fashion? They can provide a sense of community and identity in a purely symbolic form, even when they dont have supernatural significance to the people practicing them. Basically, I want an excuse to consecrate my first backyard to the landvaettir because flinging beer all over the place sounds fun.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 22:12:05 +0000