Worship

Worship begins as an experience of awe and reverence in the presence of something holy to us. We can also develop worship as a practice, seeking to deepen and extend this experience.

Worship and the Numinous

The experience of worship is one of the most fundamental spiritual experiences which lies at the heart of religion. This experience of awe and reverence is often called a numinous experience. The word numinous from the German writer, Rudolf Otto, who coined it to describe our most fundamental spiritual feelings. At the core of the numinous experience is the sense of being in the presence of something out of the ordinary or “wholly other” to us, something mysterious. We may experience this in a temple or church where the filtered light, vaulted ceilings and beautiful but other worldly artefacts give us the sense of being in another world. Or we may experience numinosity when looking at the stars at night as their immensity and distance reminds us that the universe is beyond our imaging. Otto pointed out that these experiences produce a sense of awe in us when their vastness in size like a seascape, intensity like a storm or beauty like a symphony remind us of our own limited creatureliness.

Otto’s descriptions highlight the evolutionary role of worship. It places us literally in a “wonderful” relationship to the rest of the universe and the process of evolution. It is significant that the universal mind evolves a sense of awe in the face of its own unfolding. Just as consciousness is the universe evolving a capacity to ponder its meaning so too numinosity is the universe evolving a capacity to wonder at the majesty of it all. Sight has evolved many separate times in living things, as the universe evolves the capacity to see the beauty of existence.

Here we run up against the question of intent. To what extent can we say evolution intended to evolve a species who can appreciate its sacredness. Perhaps intent is not the best word to use here.

Worship literally means “worth-ship” – it is to give something its worth.