If you haven’t read the introduction to this series please read it here first.
One of the most common sacred pathways in Christianity today is the traditionalist temperament. Traditionalists worship, love, and draw near to God through ritual and symbol.
Although some may view the elaborate rituals and symbols God gave the Israelites as outdated and superstitious, God sanctified them and took them very seriously.
Our faith father Abraham expressed his faith by building altars to God as Jehovah moved him from one place to another, just as his descendants commemorated days, celebrated feasts, observed fasts and prayed at set times. Even Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray at the set time when they met the man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3).
The three main elements of the traditionalist pathway are:
- Ritual (or liturgical pattern): “The power of rites is quite simply the power of reinforced behaviour,” Gary Thomas says.
- Symbol (or significant image): Thomas notes that “Symbols can help us overcome one of the great difficulties of the Christian life — a poor memory.”
- Sacrifice: “Sacrifice is at the heart of a holy life,” Thomas declares.
Even today, a Christian whose primary disposition is traditional can benefit by bringing form and structure to his or her faith. For instance, Gary Thomas shared the story of a Christian who, although raised Presbyterian, found her faith incredibly enriched when she started attending a liturgical service. She was nourished by the hymn singing, the chanting and recitation of Psalms, the Bible readings and the collective prayers at these services.
While this sister didn’t see a need to switch from her church (in fact she says the experience made her a better Presbyterian) there are many traditionalists who will benefit from joining churches that cater to their spiritual disposition, in order to serve more fully and grow in the faith. For others, incorporating some of these elements of worship in personal devotions and smaller gatherings is sufficient to feed a rich and growing relationship with God.
Some tips to help you grow spiritually as a traditionalist:
- Reading scripture aloud: You can do this during your personal devotion when you’re alone, or gather friends who share your spiritual temperament and read God’s Word aloud together. Hearing it spoken can be life-changing.
- Using the Psalms: When we make a practice of speaking to one another (and to ourselves) in Psalms as Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 exhort, we will experience the edification for which they were given to us. Praying and declaring the Psalms will also strengthen your faith.
- Following the Christian calendar: If you’re a traditionalist you probably already celebrate landmark events in Christianity like the birth of Christ, His death and resurrection, and His ascension. You can use Bible readings specifically designed for these seasons to deepen your walk. One of the best Decembers I ever had was one I prepared for in November with Advent devotionals and hymns like ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’.
- Structured and scheduled prayer: You may also find it helpful to establish a rule or habit of prayer that helps you pray every day. You can also choose prayers or prayer passages to pray repeatedly, like the Pauline prayers in the epistles, the prayer of Jabez or even the Lord’s Prayer. Repetitive prayer helps you understand what you’re praying more fully; it is not an effort to be heard for your much speaking. You can also fix daily prayer times to minister to the Lord alone, with a partner or with a group.
- Sing hymns: Hymn singing is an ancient landmark in Christianity. Jesus and His disciples sang hymns (Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26) and the epistles urge us to sing and encourage one another with hymns as well (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16).
- Use symbols: Symbols do not save us; they are reminders of our salvation and its effects. Just as God instructed Moses to have the Israelites sew blue-corded tassels on their garments to help them remember His commands, we can also place symbols and stickers where we can see them, to remind us of our faith in Christ.
- Make sacrifices: God doesn’t need your food, so why do you fast? God doesn’t need your meat or ice cream, so why give it up for Lent? God owns the silver, the gold and the cattle on a thousand hills, so why give Him offerings? We cannot really give God anything, but by denying ourselves and sacrificing things we cherish, we remind ourselves that we are God’s servants and not the other way around, and so model and preserve a key component of Christianity.
Some temptations to watch out for as a traditionalist:
- Serving God without knowing God: Going through the motions of rituals, symbols and sacrifice without knowing God is a real potential danger. 1st Samuel 3:1 says that Samuel ministered before Jehovah under Eli, but verse 7 says that “Samuel did not yet know the LORD.” Rites, rituals and symbols can serve faith, but they can never substitute for it.
- Neglecting social obligations: All the kneeling, bowing and singing in the world cannot replace the social obligations of the Christian faith: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, speak up for the oppressed, preach the Good News!
- Judging others: Our religious observances are not for judging others but for our edification (Romans 14, Colossians 2:16-17).
- Repeating mechanically: This is one of the strongest temptations of this pathway. If something has lost its life for you in your personal devotion, Gary Thomas suggests adopting something else.
- Deifying rites: Many years ago I read an Oswald Chambers book where he pointed out that one can get so caught up in scheduled prayer that soon they are praying to their prayer time. Never let an act of worship be elevated or cherished above the One you worship.
Salvation in Christ is by grace through faith, and not in religious rituals and symbols. Religious observances can be lifeless, empty rituals, or nourishing, life-altering encounters, depending on our approach to them. Jesus must remain at the centre of all acts of worship and devotion.
Next Sunday we’ll be reviewing Activists: Loving God Through Confrontation.