¶ … Hindu Worship Service on Mahashivratri
India, one of the world's oldest civilizations, is known for its long and rich tradition of religion dating back to the 1028 hymns of the Rig Veda (the world's oldest religious text), probably composed between B.C. 1500 and 900. In fact, modern Hinduism can trace its roots back to the Rig Vedas though Hinduism itself changed and evolved, from the earliest icons of worship of Mother Goddesses and 'elements' of nature, to the modern day Hindu belief that life is controlled by a triad of Gods: "Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer."
Orthodox Hindus offer prayers and perform 'puja' (worship service) religiously and regularly, both in the temple and at home. Sometime ago, I had the opportunity to observe a typical Hindu worship service at a friend's home. My friend belongs to a Tamil Brahmin family, which observes all the traditional religious practices, though they have settled in America. Being exposed for the first time to the idea of elaborate worship service conducted at home, I later asked the priest conducting the 'puja' to explain the significance of such a ceremony in the residence, as against attending one at a place of worship.
He explained that the Hindu belief is that "Worshipping should be a personal experience." He also added that devout Hindus regularly performed different types of worship service at home in the belief that it appeased the Gods and resulted in "God's Blessings on the house and its members." This was over and above attending worship service at temples.
Whereas the basic rite of the Vedic religion was sacrifice (yajna), that of Hinduism is worship (puja). In general a god is...
Again, his initial attempt in forming this belief was to limit the role that man would play in determining the salvation of believers. It was important for him that the Sacrament only be received in faith of God and not through the grace of man, as it were. This is a chief distinction between Lutherans and Methodists; the latter regard the Holy Communion as symbolic of God's grace. Therefore,
" Owen maintains that it is not important that people engage in the particular actions Jesus engaged in, like washing another's feet, but instead that people strive to express their moral duty of brotherly love, in condescension and mutual helpfulness. The fourteenth question posed by Owen is, "May not the church find out, and appoint to be observed, such religious rites as being adjoined unto the celebration of God's instituted worship,
Rick Cole of Capital Christian believes that the door cannot stay closed forever, and feels that by offering different services based on music preference is an opportunity for the entire congregation to unite (Garza). Contemporary worship music began with the Jesus movement of the early 1970's and the rise of charismatic churches, and although it paralleled the growth in contemporary Christian rock and pop music, it remained separate until a
Worship is universal. It allows people of various races and ethnicities, backgrounds to come together and pray. However every church and every religion have their key differences. Even in the Christian religion, there are variations existent all throughout Christianity. Some differences are small, while others are fundamental. While attending an African-American Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Church, I was able to see fundamental differences in practice. For instance, the Church
Corporate Worship vs. Private Worship Today, some Christians may be confused about their personal style of worshiping or will question the need for formal worship in an age where everyone's time is valuable and busy schedules are packed. To gain some fresh insights into these issues, this paper sought to answer the question, "Is worshipping together with other believers in formal worship services necessary to a healthy spiritual life?" In this
Commission to Worship by Wheeler and Whaley As a North American Mission Board national missionary and associate director of the Center for Church Planting at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, David Wheeler is eminently qualified to speak on matters of spiritual study, and his jointly authored book The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism demonstrates an extreme aptitude for biblical interpretation and modern empirical inquiry. His co-author Vernon
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now