From Protestant Skepticism to Liturgical Embrace
by Davison Drumm, Juicy Ecumenism:
Must church traditions and corporate liturgy always impose, at least viewed by Protestant groups, ecclesiastical structures of the Roman Catholic Church? Early in my life, I would have answered yes.
Yet, although many Protestant denominations in the United States do not emphasize corporate liturgy or the essential creeds of the Christian Church, most affirm the principles of the historic creeds.
Raised in a congregationally governed church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, I was skeptical of hierarchical church authority for much of my life and embraced the attitude that we need “no creed but Christ.” I believed only one text to be infallible, and it was not any of those crafted by ecumenical councils. Never mind that the canon of scripture itself was promulgated and reaffirmed by ecumenical councils.
Growing up, I bounced between Southern Baptist communities, a Lutheran church, non-denominational churches, and have settled in an Anglican church as a fellow in The Falls Church Anglican. While perhaps embracing Protestant disdain for church authority structures early in life, I have found the Anglican Church to offer a certain peace and security through well-established liturgical texts.
Study of Christianity in Southern Baptist and non-denominational settings initially led me to perceive liturgies as forced. Rather than intentionally crafted statements of faith, they felt like man-made dogma hindering personal exploration of the biblical texts; they seemed like traps rather than tools.
Aware that I did not understand why every particular word was carefully chosen, I felt I could not publicly assent to the foundational creeds. Mentions of the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” were the icing on top; church traditions must have a Roman Catholic agenda, I thought.
Yet, appeals to tradition do not diminish personal relationships with God and the Word; they provide a theologically sound starting point.
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