The History of Visual Worship

“Then something happened, and the visual layer of worship was stripped out of the Church.” (excerpt from the “Story” page.)

Understanding the history of visual worship is a vital piece in forming one’s philosophy. Honestly, this is an area of discussion that intimidates me, but when i dive in, i find it fascinating! The other day, i stumbled upon an interesting article on the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Ironic since it was Calvin who played a major role taking the arts out of the Church. It’s long (for an online article) but it’s worth the read.

here’s an intriguing section from the article:

“Opening yourself to new experiences of art in worship starts with questioning two assumptions.

First, many Christians value the verbal over the visual. We understand how the Holy Spirit uses the Bible, inspired preaching, and music to connect us with God. But linking art with worship stirs worries about idolatry, distraction, and poor stewardship.

Second, many of us think of art as something to look at in museums and galleries—something different than craft, which is beautiful and useful.

God’s people have not always looked on art as an inferior (or impossible) way for the Holy Spirit to mediate God’s love to us. Nor have God’s people always seen art as disconnected from real life, which includes true worship.”

I think it’s really important to know where we’ve come from and to study the decisions of the visual worshipers of old… to know WHY they made certain decisions and to see how, generations later, it has made an impact on how we worship. And if we don’t know our history, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

i’m not very far on the journey of discovering our past. i hope you’ll join me. b/c i have a lot to learn.

If you’re wanting to explore further, i recommend reading these books. If you know of any other resources, please share them in the comment section.