In his Lectures on Calvinism , Kuyper describes “the severely spiritual cultus which Calvinism tried to restore in the services of the church.” He cites a “far-from-Christian philosopher” who knows that “cultus becomes more religious just in proportion as it has the courage to despise all external show, and the energy to evolve itself from symbolism, in order to clothe itself in a beauty of a much higher order – the inward, spiritual beauty of the worshiping soul.” While “sensual church services tend to soothe and flatter man religiously,” it is only the “purely spiritual service of Calvinism [that] aims at the pure worship of God, and at adoration of Him in spirit and truth.”
As I say, Yikes! Where to begin? Evolve from symbolism? Does that mean evolving out of the need for sacraments? Or, for that matter, evolving past the “sensuality” of using our ears to hear the audible signs of spoken language? And what are we to make of the biblical patterns of worship, where external beauty is directly endorsed (“garments of glory and beauty,” and the craftsmanship of the sanctuary)? I imagine Kuyper would response with some discussion of the distinction between Old and New, but that would only make matters worse.
In the end, one can only repeat, Yikes!
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