Poll: 80% of Adventists still uncertain of when to clap

[Overaged]

I never clap in Church unless I have my ascension robe on.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Hmmmmm, semantics? I do believe they both make the same sound and require the same action....two hands apart and then brought sharply together....just a moment while I try that................Yep, sounds the same!!!!!

Yes, they do sound the same, but there is a difference. I don't have a problem at all with mere clapping in church. It is applause for speakers or performers that I believe is inappropriate.

[Dr. Shane]

The old stick-in-the-muds are afraid clapping will lead to whistling. Whistling will lead to hooting and hollering. Hooting and hollering will lead to waving hands high in the air. That may actually cause people to leave church energized and full of the Spirit.

[doug yowell]

The old stick-in-the-muds are afraid clapping will lead to whistling. Whistling will lead to hooting and hollering. Hooting and hollering will lead to waving hands high in the air. That may actually cause people to leave church energized and full of the Spirit.

Exactly. Pentecostalism. Full of the "Spirit".Too bad serious Biblical exposition and quiet reflective thought can't result in the same energy transfer.

[Overaged]

The old stick-in-the-muds are afraid clapping will lead to whistling. Whistling will lead to hooting and hollering. Hooting and hollering will lead to waving hands high in the air. That may actually cause people to leave church energized and full of the Spirit.

[phkrause]

Some clap a bit in our Church; but they do it modestly. There is even one lady who raises up the arm and waves to something or someone. I personally am not into this kind of worship but I cannot for the life of me find reasons to fault those who do. Their level is not the same as mine, and some of those "clappers" may be closer to Jesus than I am.

Excellent points Overaged

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I wonder if the people clapped after Jesus spoke at the temple.

[Guest]

Good question. I would tend to doubt that they did.

[SivartM]

Probably not since I doubt that clapping had the same cultural meaning it does for us.

[phkrause]

I wonder if the people clapped after Jesus spoke at the temple.

I would say no rudywoofs. They don't clap in synagogues today. "Amen" is all you will hear. Except for all the yapping that goes on that the Rabbi has to turn around and tell the people to be quiet. :)

[Tom Wetmore]

Cooperative clapping...

[Bravus]

Love your final para.

Edit: Comment was for CoA, Tom sneaked his post in while I was thumb-typing mine on my iPhone.

[GreatLakesGramma]

So the question comes down as to why so much time is spent on personal differences, cultural mores, etc, between SDA's. If it's not music, its clothing, its appearance, its clapping, its this and its that, so forth and so on! One might wonder, if they happened by, what all the hue and cry was all about! Hopefully, they wouldn't come away with the feeling that spiritual well being was dependent upon which side of the issue a person was on.

I personally do not spend much time at all on such issues. I have my convictions, and I live by them, to the best of my ability. Once those convictions are formed and fully settled in my own mind, I put them into practise and don't think about them again, unless something comes up that requires it. And unless I am asked, I do not volunteer the details of my own convictions. I prefer to let God Himself convict others how they should live their lives, on His own timetable for them.

With regards to applause in church, I don't do it. If someone else there wants to do it, that isn't my business. I feel no need to conform to other people's expectations, or for anyone else to conform to mine. If I am made to feel unwelcome somewhere because of non-conformity, I won't make an issue about it, I'll just quietly disappear.

When a thread like this is started, I consider that, perhaps mistakenly in some cases, to be an honest inquiry into what the various members of this forum believe, for the sake of awareness, understanding, and possibly of reflection on the part of the person who started it. That is the reason I participate in these discussions, besides for the fact that I am genuinely interested in what my fellow believers believe and why. Sometimes I even change my own position as a result. But if it turns nasty, which I am glad this one hasn't, I skip that one from that point on.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Love your final para.

Edit: Comment was for CoA, Tom sneaked his post in while I was thumb-typing mine on my iPhone.

I've learned that the best way to make sure nobody mistakes my comment to be a reply to someone who posted while I am typing my reply is to include at least a short quote from the post I'm addressing.

[phkrause]

I've learned that the best way to make sure nobody mistakes my comment to be a reply to someone who posted while I am typing my reply is to include at least a short quote from the post I'm addressing.

Very good point GLG

[Bravus]

Over-quoting gets annoying to some, though. Doesn't bother me, but I had been trying to avoid annoying those people by minimising quotes. Now I find some people are annoyed (maybe too strong a word) by not *enough* quoting!

[GreatLakesGramma]

Not annoyed, just a suggestion to help avoid misunderstandings. If you've done it and it hasn't worked, I guess you need to do something else. What you did here worked.