Abstract
This is a weighty and wordy discussion of Christian Worship. Daniel I. Block, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, USA, has produced a study of worship rooted in biblical theology. He calls on his readers to eschew mere pragmatic approaches to the subject (which lie at the heart of much contemporary understanding, especially those areas of study which betray consumerism and ‘entertainment’ in worship) and to reclaim a thorough-going evaluation of all that the Scriptures reveal.
Especially helpful is Block’s close attention to both Testaments. The insights of his investigations, especially in the First Testament, demonstrate the results of outstanding scholarly research, and this part of the book provides a fertile source of information for all students of the Bible.
There are areas of Block’s work that are especially welcome, notably in the chapters exploring Music and Drama. It is most useful to have within the covers of one book such comprehensive coverage of these essential, and so easily misunderstood aspects of Worship.
Linked to this penetrating Biblical approach, Block has analysed in many of the chapters the effects of Biblical insights, which have given rise to profound debates and far-reaching divisions within the Church. However, perspectives from the Eastern Church are sadly lacking. It is surprising that the reader has to search in vain for such scholars as Geoffrey Wainwright with his ‘Doxology’, and others who have opened up this rewarding ecumenical area in recent years.
Each chapter, ranging from ‘The Object of Worship’, through ‘Family Life and Work as Worship’, ‘The Ordinances of Worship’, ‘Prayer, Music & Drama’, to ‘Leaders in Worship’, concludes with a section dedicated to ‘Worship Today’. It is here that Brock demonstrates a lack of hermeneutic awareness. Too often, biblical references to worship are lifted straight from the textual world into the contemporary (Western) world without any hermeneutical considerations. Some of the provocative thoughts of David Ford and Daniel Hardy in Living in Praise, and the recent work of Jeremy Begbie in Theology and the Arts, for example, would help to redress this serious omission.
Apart from this matter of interpretation, this is an important, thoughtful and scholarly addition to field of Biblical Theological studies and its impact on Christian Worship.