Are all the rituals really needed in order to have a relationship with God?

Question

Well Granny I was speaking in the broadest general terms and not about Catholics in particular, seems your sensitivities are working over time and you imagined slights are getting ahead of you.

Answer 1

I do not believe so. Jesus once warned his followers that they have their heads so far into their bibles that they can't see Him standing before them. They miss the forest for worrying about the trees. I think we all have to connect to our own faith at our own level.

Answer 2

Your anti-Catholic bias is showing, dear, and it's unbecoming.

Of course rituals are not needed or required, for a relationship with God or for anything else. To observe someone's birthday with that little song we sing is a ritual, too; most people don't abstain from singing it on that basis. There's ritual involved in weddings and funerals; want to pare that down to the basics, as well, and carefully keep it "spontaneous" in order to avoid any possible ritualism?

A ritual is nothing more or less than the observance of a set form. Worship in liturgical denominations (which do include more than just Catholics) is heavier on ritual than others. But evangelicals, for example, are not without ritual of their own and do have a "set form" of worship. The absence of incense and bells and the like does not imply some sort of enlightened freedom from ritual practice, though it may not be called that.

The rituals we observe neither invalidate our worship nor inhibit our relationship with God. Neither does observing rituals alone guarantee our salvation; the Bible tells us as much. Some in liturgical denominations do just "go through the motions", as non-liturgicals also have a few folks in the pews who don the veneer of Christianity for appearances. To judge an individual's relationship with God on the basis of whether or not they practice any rituals is rather presumptuous -- on either side.

[Edit] Quite possible that I'm a tad sensitive on this today.

Answer 3

I actually have never adhered to any rituals in my relationship with God. I have at times prayed before each meal, but it usually doesn't last long.
I pray when I feel the urge to, when I am down or up or when I just want to talk to God.
I like to addend church for fellowship, but am not currently in one. I do not see this as making me less of a Christian. To me my relationship with God comes before any "religion" or rituals.

Answer 4

NO. As I see it rituals are created as a way to remember. My belief is that the ritual itself does not "perform" something special, but helps to create an experience or a memory. Rituals like communion are meant to serve as a reminder. Rituals like baptism are meant to serve as an experience. Baptism symbolizes death, burial and resurrection. Death to old self, burial of old self, Resurrection of new self in Christ.

Those are just some examples of what my point that rituals are meant to be symbolic and only mean something as a result of the relationship...

Answer 5

WE need ritual....not God. However, it was God who mandated the use of tangible items for rightful worship of him: Showbread, candles, incense, altar, laver, lampstand. Anyone ever count how many times God used the word "gold" in giving his directives on how to make these items? Better than 34 times! Using rituals unites us as a people, helps us to worship with all of our senses ("smells and bells", as we Catholics say), and heightens our awareness (mindfulness) of what we do and Who it is that we worship. In Catholicism, using a lectionary book for our worship unties all of us Roman Catholics around the world. For example, today's Gospel reading at Mass was from Luke and the feeding of the 5,000. In ALL Roman Catholic Churces around the world, the readings are the same....that's unity! That way no priest is doing his own thing. Of course, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians, Orthodox Christians also use a lectionary in their worship.

Answer 6

No.When we follow and do all the rituals, we soon begin to have a relationship with the rituals instead of God. I prefer to take a walk with God and talk with Him.

Answer 7

No. You can talk to God (pray) without ritual. Rituals were created by man to bring them closer to God, but somehow many of them ended up distancing followers from Him because they were so hard to follow or contained further rituals and observances of their own. It's not supposed to be that hard.
Just talk to God like you'd talk to your best friend. Incidentally, He is your best friend.

Answer 8

Needed? No, I don't think so. What liturgy does is gives a small group of people a common language in order for them to have a 'shared relationship' with God.

Answer 9

Every one who said No is right...God says in Isaiah 29:13...
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men.

no amount of rituals and "sacrifice" will get us any closer to God...Jesus reconciled us to God through himself and being in relationship with him is the only thing that will get us anywhere, but then do we not then need to listen to what Christ says....The Lords Supper is to be done in remembrance of him and Baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are things that we should still do, but we should understand they are empty as well if not done from our heart, if we do them thinking that we are "earning brownie points" we have it all wrong.

Answer 10

Rituals no, but communication through prayer and study of the bible is essential.