Many Protestants just pick the elements that they think will appeal to the biggest crowd or to suit their own tastes. Contrast a Catholic-like Anglican or even Lutheran service with an Evangelical rock concert/extended Bible lesson. And anything in between. None of them have any authority to say to another what is right or wrong. So anything goes.

Like many churches, a local Methodist church has “traditional” worship early on Sunday & “contemporary” “worship” later. The new pastor attempted to eliminate the recitation of the Creed ( ! ! ! ) & the traditional crowd went into a near-riot! And rightly so. Even they recognize the importance of this element of Christian worship.

Carried to the limit, an attitude of anything-goes in the liturgy leads to the obvious conclusion I mentioned above – why go to church at all?

I get really anoyed when Catholics start thinking like this.

Because the tenor of the times is all about individualistic relativism (relativisitc individualism?), trying to explain to anyone – Catholic or Protestant – that attending the Sunday liturgy is the greatest & most necessary good has become a challenge, to say the least. “Well, you may feel that way, but I don’t.” “I don’t feel like I get anything out of it.”

It should not be too hard to understand that it is encumbant upon the People of God to worship God. It should also be fairly clear that failing to do this is a grave sin.

He is Dominus Deus Sabbaoth (Lord God of hosts) after all.