After learning about the many elements the Near Eastern Christians incorporate into their worship, I can honestly say I don’t think my church, or myself, use any of them. I grew up in a non-denominational church but switched to a baptist church a few years ago. Belonging to a baptist church now, we don’t have artwork, icons, or relics hanging in our sanctuary to aid in worship. We don’t use incense or any scents to aid in worship either. One thing my church does do differently is we spend the same amount of time in worship as we do for the sermon. I would be open to some sensory experiences and images/relics, as long as they weren’t pictures of God/Jesus. Through my own personal study, I have learned that symbolic artwork can have a purpose in worship but it needs to be applied correctly. The second commandment teaches us not to have anything as a representational image of God.
