Thursday, August 18, 2005
“Renaissance” Worship
The Renaissance was a time of new beginnings, of moving past the norms and looking to new ideas (to be stiflingly literal it was a time of “rebirth,” from the Italian Rinascenza). Developments in science and art were made side-by-side. Unfortunately, in the present age, particularly in the realm of worship, science and art have all but disappeared. Art has been making strides in worship as of late, slowly regain some footing that was lost during the Reformation and the rampage of the iconoclast (kudos to our Catholic and Orthodox friends who maintained their art until the rest of us realized it was okay). But science is still lost, separated from worship due to the Enlightenment. Is it now appropriate to start including a bit more science in our worship?
I don’t know, but I do know it is possible to reconcile science and theology. Good examples of scientists who also theologized and vice-versa are found in the polymaths/polyhistors (Renaissance Men, for a fun list of people see the Wikipedia) of the past and present. One of the most well known polymaths was Leonardo da Vinci, a master of many crafts in the realms of science and art. But we are more interested in theology at the present, so we turn to fellow Renaissance men, Heinrich Cornelius Aggripa and Desiderus Erasmus. Both of these men practiced both theology and a science. Later in history, Issac Newton and Blaise Pascal studied both physics (my science of choice :) ), for which they are both a bit more famous than their thoughts on theology. All of these men were able to combine their lives of science and their love of God into some form of worship.
But Renaissance has more meaning than the inclusion of art and science in worship. Along with “rebirth”, Renaissance contains a meaning of revitalization. The Renaissance brought a new passion for the arts, science, and the entire culture of the European region. CICW desires to produce Vital Worship through its efforts in education and grant giving. Perhaps it is time we use some old language to describe the new effort. We wish to join you in Renaissance worship. I like the sound of that…
Interdisciplinary Application • Language • Worshipping Communities • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink