BOOK REVIEW: GOD AGAINST RELIGION

God Against Religion: Rethinking Christian Theology Through Worship
by Matthew Myer Boulton, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. 

Boulton specifically described his book as an effort to show that religion is a portrait and critique of worship. From the teachings of Karl Barth, John Calvin and Martin Luther, the author asserts that in the Reformed tradition, in all its liturgical practices, God is against religion, and that he is against the ways in which man has approached him in worship. His apathy towards man’s worship is then manifest by him entering, transforming and ending it (p. xviii). Boulton addresses the problem of worship in today’s churches as a product of not being able to see Christian Theology through the lens of biblical worship. This book is concerned in the critical approach to Christian worship and religion and tying up both as necessary in the reformulation of present worship observance of the church. It also pinpoints the mistake of the Western Christian thought making worship as an appendix to theology, making it as sort of an afterthought, and a sideshow of theology. This, still being a norm in the Christendom, the author makes worship in his book as the heart of the Christian theology.

Boulton takes Jesus to the center stage of the discussion, saying that the incarnation of Christ is the ultimate way of God to end the heartless and pagan-like worship practices of the teachers of the Law. However, throughout the history of the church, worship practices have caused divisions and factions among those who were touted as the greats of the evangelical faith. The ceremonialism in the church both then and now, Boulton points out can only be solved if it is taken at the core of the whole issue. He then proposes that the kind of worship we give to God at present will cease to exist and it is God who will put an end to it one day. The Sovereign God is discontent and against man’s view of worship, and in this, he will end the liturgy of it all in the end of time.

This book is a good reading for those who are confused with the real meaning and purpose of worship. It gives a fresh insight as to how God views worship, as explained throughout its practice in the Scriptures. It is helpful in making the believers rethink of the ways that the church has taught them to worship, and to reevaluate how we perceive worship to be. Boulton’s desire to promote worship as foremost in the Christian faith is necessary in understanding how we should think and do theology.

It promotes a healthy view on worship, not as an addendum to Christian theology but as central to our understanding of it. The book was successful in bringing the readers back to the missteps of the great theologians throughout history who disregarded worship in its pure essence, teaching the saints of today to unlearn the mistakes and move toward an understanding of worship as the center in our understanding of theology.

The book is a courageous call for the present theologians to reconsider that in their writings, in their appreciation and discussion of theology, it all should be done in the lens and in the attitude of worship. It promotes a healthy rethinking of theology in contrast to the present argumentative and showing off of one’s seemingly great understanding of the Christian dogmas and tradition.

Boulton’s chapter on Barth’s critique of “worship as fall” is critical to understand the perception of millions of skeptics and unbelievers about religion and theology. The author points back that the reformers’ attempt at reforming religion led to the grave skepticism of many to believe in what is supposed to be absolutes of the Christian theology. The dismay of the unbelievers in not being able to significantly find the core of Christian practice, that is worship, in the church itself has brought shame to the name of God whom the saints worship. When worship should have been the uniting factor of the saints, it became the divisive cause for it which troubled not just Barth but millions of people who tend to look and think highly of Christianity.

For Boulton, this will lead in the destruction of liturgy in the end and God will bring his people into the truth of how he would want his people to view him in worship. God will make his people understand what and how it is to worship him in spirit and in truth. Yet, this did not stop Boulton from reforming worship practices in his book. Yet, his main contention is not in really reformulating the ways of worship, as it is practiced denominationally. Here, he points out that this is manifested in the change of perspective on how Christians ought to view worship itself and its vitality in comprehending and appreciating Christian theology and practice.

God Against Religion is a must read for every Christian theologian and those who are budding to be one. It encourages them to refocus on the reality of worship as they decipher the truths of God in words and in practice. It is a worthy reading for theologians and pastors alike that would help them to behold God in their preaching and teaching ministry. 

Boulton asserts the fact that worship can only be ideal when we are already being perfected in the presence of the Lord. This will take place in Christ’s parousia and when the saints will be ushered into the perfect as they worship God in his perfection. This idea is fundamental so as not to be legalistic in our approach to God and in understanding that worship can be expressed in communal and contextual ways, as long as the heart and the knowledge of truth are right.

The role of redemption in its finality is crucial in our perfect understanding of what real worship is. It is a given fact that we could not perfectly worship God in this world, yet, we strive to worship him in our minimal perception of worship, hoping that somehow, in our reverential attitude and practice of it, we give God the glory and worship he deserves. This we do, as we wait for him to usher us into realizing what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.