Philosophy and Liturgy - Update 5
Update from the Philosophy and Liturgy conference:
Sarah Coakley’s paper, “Beyond ‘Belief’,” followed this outline:
Introduction: How Can Liturgy be ‘True’?
I. Perceiving God: ‘Doxastic Practices’ and Liturgy
II. Feminist Epistemology and Knowledge by Relationship
III. The Spiritual Senses and Liturgical Cognition of Christ
In part II, Coakley drew on the fascinating insight that human knowledge is in part relational and affective; we may get knowledge about concrete objects by visual perception, but we know deeper truths not just by perception but through relationships. This, she said, is surely true of our relationship with God in worship. In part III, Coakley drew on patristic treatment of the “spiritual senses” and how they help us perceive, know, and become better image-bearers of, God. And so, she said, we can rightly consider what we experience in worship via our senses not as a complement to what we believe, but integrally formative of our beliefs.
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