We are to put not only intellect but emotion into our worship. Oswald Sanders writes, “Our emotions must be engaged. We must not be so wary of emotionalism that we disdain emotions, for our emotions are absolutely critical to true worship. Of their heartless worship Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” And their condition was most dire in the realm of worship. Jesus told them they were experts at cleaning the outside of the cup, but they paid no heed to the filthiness of the inside. The Pharisees were very good at turning everything having to do with religion into an intellectual formula. Remember his conversation with the Samaritan woman by the side of the well? She was asking about authentic worship, and Jesus said that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” God is not interested in our minds being set on him if our hearts are not engaged. Jesus wants both the mind and the heart to be engaged in worship. In an effort to flee emotionalism, many churches have discredited emotions altogether and focused mainly on the intellect. However, I am concerned that our segment of fundamentalism has gone too far in the other direction. I would wholeheartedly agree with the notion that we need to flee skin-deep emotionalism. Next they might start clapping and swaying to the music. When church members start raising their hands while they sing, this argument insists, we start careening down the slippery slope of emotionalism. Almost inevitably, when discussing this reasoning, the words “touchy feely” make an appearance. Likewise, the fact that many Charismatics and Pentecostals lift their hands while praying and singing cannot be sufficient ground for us to summarily reject the practice.Ī second line of reasoning against lifting hands in worship is that it is mainly an emotional experience. We do not say that infant baptism is wrong because Presbyterians practice it we believe it is wrong because it does not line up with Scripture. Going to a priest for confession is not wrong because the Catholic Church teaches it it is wrong because Hebrews teaches us that we have no need of a priest. The same goes for healing and prophetic utterances. The gift of tongues may come to mind, but our reasons for not speaking in tongues go much deeper than simply, “That’s what the Charismatics do.” We avoid the practice of speaking in tongues because of our interpretation of Scripture, not out of a disdain for the Charismatic movement. There are virtually no other practices we avoid as Baptists simply for the sake of reacting against the Charismatic movement. This argument does not appear to be grounded in anything more than reactionary rhetoric, and does not stand up to sound inspection. It does not normally happen (except in utter lostness and hopelessness) unless it is in response to a charismatic leader with whom the worshipers have developed a too-close connection.” When I ask people who are opposed to the idea to state the reasons behind their opposition, the first response is overwhelmingly something along the lines of, “Well, that’s what the Charismatics do!” One writer who subscribes to this line of reasoning states, “Lifting hands over the head … is a taught religious practice. I am also willing to consider any views that this paper does not address, should someone care to bring them to my attention. So I admit that this portion of my paper is based on my own experience in discussing this topic with a number of people within fundamental Baptist circles. I have spent a few weeks scouring books on worship, Internet publications, and periodicals in search of quotable statements against hand raising. The Positions Against Lifting Hands In Worshipīefore I attempt to address the views of those opposed to the practice of lifting hands in worship, I must admit that I have virtually no sources for what I present as the primary reasons not to lift one’s hands.
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