Living the Liturgy : Baylor University Press : 9781481319782 : 1481319787 : 01 Sep 2024 : Baptists have at times been tempted to dismiss liturgy as formulaic. Simply going through the motions or saying set phrases, they have rightly argued, does not necessarily lead to faithfulness. A disconnect between liturgical assemblies and lives of faithfulness, however, does not mean that all liturgy is merely rote. It means, rather, that false idolatrous liturgies have captured our imaginations. In fact, the very idea that liturgy pertains to a sphere separate from the rest of life is itself already a distorted liturgical conviction that is even now disfiguring the body of Christ. Living the Liturgy argues that there is no sphere of life-political, economic, or otherwise-that is not already liturgical. So understood, liturgies inevitably form our understandings of nature, freedom, time, and much else. The key question is, "Which liturgy is in fact shaping our lives?" Elizabeth Newman argues tha