Adiaphora in Worship

I remember well the student’s written response during a summer course on the church and sacraments. One of the course goals was to help students understand biblical and theological guidelines for worship. The response was both encouraging and dismaying. After acknowledging that the exercise was beneficial, he wrote, “I never thought much about biblical requirements for worship, but you Presbyterians think about them a lot!” I smiled, thinking: “If you only knew!”

Presbyterians think about worship a great deal because the Protestant Reformation was not only a recovery of sound doctrine, but also a key moment in the renewal of worship. By the late Middle Ages, the simple worship of the early church — synagogue gathering followed by Lord’s Supper — had become encrusted with much that obscured the gospel. Lutheran and Anglican reformers sought a conservative reformation of worship, embracing the idea that “what is not forbidden is allowed.” This view provided much space for adiaphora, or “things indifferent,” and resulted in modest reforms in worship. To this day, worship in these traditions is generally the most elaborate among Protestant denominations.

The reform associated with John Calvin was much more thorough. As my colleague Hughes Oliphant Old puts it, Calvin was concerned that worship be reformed “according to the Scriptures.” Over time, this principle would evolve, eventually becoming known as the “regulative principle of worship” (RPW). The RPW was the hallmark of puritan and Presbyterian worship, although some trace its roots back to Zurich and the Anabaptists. In its most rigid form, the RPW stipulates “that what is commanded is required; what is not commanded is forbidden.” This view allows little space for “things indifferent.” Read more

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The Regulative Principle of Worship