“One reason why we Christians argue so much about which hymn to sing, which liturgy to follow, which way to worship is that the commandments teach us to believe that bad liturgy eventually leads to bad ethics. You begin by singing some sappy, sentimental hymn, then you pray some pointless prayer, and the next thing you know you have murdered your best friend.” — Stanley Hauerwas, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life, p.89

Sam laughs manically in the background ‘ yes yes yes….’

HT: Alastair
(This is, by the way, the topic of one of my Learning Church sessions. It’s gratifying to find a Hauerwas quotation that makes the point so well.)