Quote:
Originally Posted by JoelYrick  VirginiaHuguenot, are you saying that the Westminster divines considered the question of use of the Creed in worship and rejected it, or that you personally did? Also, it seems that you think that vows and oaths are be elemental in worship (because they are allowed)? Could you give some examples of what would be vows or oaths that ought to be taken during worship? |
The Westminster Assembly considered the usage of the Creed in worship, specifically the Scottish/Continental practice of a parent or god-parent reciting the Apostles Creed at baptism, and rejected it. Following the exclusion of the Creed in worship by the church order of Thomas Cartwright, the objections to its recitation in worship by William Perkins who described it as vain "babbling" and "will worship", and the objections to its usage in worship by the English Puritans (Horton Davies,
The Worship of the English Puritans, p. 135), notably the Independents, the Westminster Directory of Public Worship omits it altogether, notwithstanding that the Assembly agreed to append it to the publication of its Catechisms, which shows that they viewed it as very worthwhile in its proper place (outside of worship). G.W. Sprott says (
The Worship of the Church of Scotland During the Covenanting Period 1638-1661, p. 22) that the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in its act approving the Directory of Public Worship dated February 3, 1645, used language that would allow for the continued usage of such Scottish practices as the recitation of the Creed at baptism and the role of 'god-parents.' And the bishops at the Restoration in 1662 went out of their way to reinstitute the recitation of the Creed in worship. However, Thomas Leishman notes that the use of the Creed in Scottish worship "disappeared for centuries both from the Lord's Day Service and the Baptismal Office for Scotland" (
The Westminster Directory, p. 112). The Assembly made every effort to provide for only practices in worship that had Biblical justification, rather than the support of tradition, no matter how noble. On this basis, the office of reader and the role of god-parents, which had Scottish precedent, was excluded, from the Westminster Standards. Likewise, the custom of reciting the creed in worship, though it had precedent, was excluded from the Westminster Standards, though clearly the Assembly thought well enough of the creed to append it to its Catechisms, for that was the proper place for it, rather than in worship.
Oaths and vows are identified as lawful, though occasional, elements of worship by the Westminster Confession of Faith. Some examples that I can think of that are appropriate for worship, though occasional, are church membership, baptismal and ordination vows. There are oaths and vows that are religious in nature, which may take place outside of stated worship, such as marriage vows and personal or corporate covenants, or an oath to tell the truth in a judicial proceeding. These are also religious acts of worship, which may or may not be part of stated worship, but are governed by the third commandment, as well as the second.