The Psychology Of Worship Test

In the first century, the center of songs of worship tended to be "Christus Victor" (God exalted Him).

In the 1800s, the center of singing about Jesus seems to have shifted to "Blessing" (your life will be all blessing if you....).

Today, perhaps the center of worship is once again "Christus Victor".

We often today sing love songs of adoration to an often-unspecified deity. And the concept of Jesus-as-my-boyfriend seems to have become very common.

Mankind seems to have always been tempted to mix sexuality and worship, even when it was clear that God did not approve.

When viewed through the lens of cognitive psychology, worship appears much less spirirtual and more chemical.

Oxytocin (the Big O) is a hormone released in our brains especially when we are exposed to love songs and other songs that focus on the sense of community and relationships.

Music in worship cannot convey joy at a level that matches that of the words alone.

Songs of Comfort, in whatever musical genre, help to release Prolactin, which is found in tears of sadness.

I know Jesus loves because a song tells me that the Bible tells me so.

Our brains actually remember words plus music more easily than they remember words alone.

Several scientific studies have found neural regions that might be called "God centers."

Humans seems to be addicted to romantic songs, because with them feel-good hormones are released that mimic the effect of marijuana or cocaine.

Humans have three components to the musical brain that enable us to create and enjoy songs of adoration: self-awareness (we are able to think about our own thoughts), representation (we are able to think about things that aren't there now) and rearrangement (we are able to combine and recombine objects in different ways, including abstract concepts).

God needs our praise. Without it He would be lonely and die.

Perhaps we need to praise our God. That's how we are wired, and when we worship, we receive pleasure.

In the same way that a comedian or a storyteller must understand good timing, so as worship leaders we can do a good thing too soon and have it fail because of poor timing.