Last month, the Pilgrim Congregational Church in North Weymouth made national news when it launched its weekly "Woof 'n' Worship" services on Sunday evenings. I first read about it not in the local newspaper, but in World Magazine, of which I am a subscriber. According to World,, the Rev. Rachel Bickford said the idea comes from an invocation in Psalm 148: "Let all wild animals, creeping things, and flying birds give God praise." That is a paraphrased summary of the psalm, which is actually much more specific in its call for all creation to praise the Creator (a point that I'll return to in just a moment). In light of this psalm, Bickford thought it would be a "wonderful ting to let all things praise God together and have families bring their dogs to church." She also noted that those parishioners who do bring dogs to the "Woof 'n' Worship" service will be responsible for cleaning up any mess created by the pets.
Mess created by the pets? What about the mess created by the minister? Talk about a convoluted interpretation of the Scriptures! Yes, it is true that all creation is called to praise God, but certainly not in the same manner! Even a cursory reading of Scripture itself shows this to be the case. Take, for instance, the text cited by Bickford - Psalm 148. Verse 3 says, "Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars." How do the luminaries render praise to their Creator? By their "shining," by radiating or reflecting light. Elsewhere the psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Ps. 19:1). All one has to do is gaze at the stars, and he knows that their Maker is powerful, good, creative, and majestic beyond imagination. The same could be said in reference to "fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word" (Ps. 148:8). Nature reveals to all observers - people of every tribe and language and nation and ethnic group - the awesome wonder and power of God our Creator. Puritan commentator Matthew Henry summarizes well this truth in the context of this psalm, saying,
Much of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator appears in the several capacities and instincts of the creatures, in the provision made for them and the use made of them. Surely we cannot but acknowledge God with wonder and thankfulness.
Thus Romans 1:19-20 states, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power an divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."
"They," of course, refers to mankind, who, unlike the animal kingdom and lower forms of creation, has been created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and has the powers of reason. So to bring people with their pets to a worship service so that they can all praise God together is a gross misapplication of what the psalmist is saying. In fact, it comes perilously close to "exchang[ing] the truth of God for a lie and worship[ing] and serv[ing] the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom. 1:25). Take, for instance, the remark that one parishioner made about her pet joining her for worship: "I love it. My life revolves around making my dogs happy."
Replace "dogs" with "God," and you'd have yourself a Christian worldview.