Tradition!

A common thread appears multiple times in the responses to Best's proposal: the fear of tradition. In at least two of the responses, that fear is much more prevalent than in others. For example, Horness warns against the "subtle goal of using hymns... to maintain tradition, not to deepen worship. (81)" Williams writes about the same fear in much stronger language: "As the church walks through its traditional liturgies, it seems distant, archaic, dated, and and unappealing to the contemporary, secular world. (84)"
Williams does not leave room for traditional at all, while Horness merely cautions us about potential abuse of tradition. Other authors, like Zahl, seem to be completely comfortable with tradition. The 6 views presented in this book have fallen all over the spectrum. Several questions flow naturally from these observations: What is the role of tradition in the church? How concerned should we be about the form (versus the content) of our worship?