Liturgie as fontein van die lewe: ’n Oorsigartikel oor die kosmiese kartering van Gordon W Lathrop se boek, Holy ground: A liturgical cosmology

Abstract

Liturgy as the fountain of life: A review article on the cosmic mapping of Gordon W Lathrop’s book, Holy ground: A liturgical cosmology

An interpretative review is given of the recently published book by Lathrop, which completed his trilogy on liturgy. Lathrop succeeded in bringing two previously disparate themes, that is faith and cosmos, together in a cosmological liturgy. This review interprets Lathrop’s exposition within a postliberal theological framework and seeks to add value to liturgy and our understanding of reality. A believer grows up under a “sacred canopy” of faith and values. Liturgy now plays the role of providing congregants with co-ordinates to map their position on this earth and under the sky. A Christian liturgy depends on the Biblical understanding of creation, which in turn, is both derived from ancient myths and the inverse thereof. This gives us not only place and time in this cosmos, but a global responsibility towards nature as well. The Christian sacraments therefore lead to an ecological engagement.