Reformed and Ritual? Why Recovering Ritual Matters

How can a ritual vision of reality enrich and advance the confessional Reformed tradition? Does, or can, ritual have anything to do with being Reformed in the first place? Thoughtful critiques of evangelical Christianity have long complained of the Gnosticism infecting everything from church teaching to worship, including, especially, its often anemic grasp of the why and the what of the Sacraments. When this is true in Reformed churches, we add irony to tragedy since the Reformed theological tradition has its origins in a specifically Eucharistic commitment.

But after more than a generation of being taught that being Reformed means believing certain things in the head rather than also doing certain things with the body in worship and in life, we now face a real challenge in responding coherently to a world and culture that wishes to deny that bodily matters matter. How might biblical ritual ontology and theology help us clearly and consistently proclaim the gospel of the incarnate Savior and his love for his confessing, singing, eating Body? There may be no moment in our lifetimes in which the need is so great for clear, courageous, relentlessly biblical, and thoughtful teaching on the meaningfulness of material things. The Scripture's ritual vision of reality, faithfully embraced by the Reformed Churches in her confessions and in her liturgical life, can resource the Church in her witness to Lord Jesus Christ in the world as it now is. 

To discuss this and more, Dr. Mark A. Garcia, President and Fellow in Scripture and Theology at Greystone Theological Institute, is joined by the Rev. Jesse Crutchley, pastor at Severn Run Evangelical Presbyterian Church (PCA) and member of Greystone’s Presidential Ministerial Council.

For more on ritual ontology and theology, Dr. Garcia’s course on Theological Anthropology is available this Fall for credit, a full course module on Reformed Ritual Reality is forthcoming, and multiple lectures related to this topic are available now for all Greystone Members. Become a member today for unlimited access to the growing Greystone Connect library.