John J. Collins
The Praises of Israel: Worship in the Old Testament The Judaic experience teaches us that cult is essentially symbolic in character, expressing the genuine fullness of life, pointing to life's transcendent giver. It must always be held in vital contact with everyday experience.
When the Old Testament is viewed against the background of other religions of the ancient world, the feature which most readily stands out is its "horizontal" character: there is relatively little interest in what happens in heaven. Instead, the center of religion is located in matters of ethics and human justice, and the basic religious credos relate the historical experiences of the people of Israel. Modern scholars and theologians have repeatedly stressed the thisworldly character of Israel's religion. Harvey Cox was in line with a major current of biblical theology when he claimed that the Old Testament had begun the process of secularization and desacralization which culminated in the Secular City (The Secular City, New York: Macmillan, 1965, ch. 1). This perspective was re-inforced by the prominence in the prophetic books of outright attacks on the "vertical" religion of the sacrificial cult: "I hate, I despise your feasts and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings I will not accept them and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like 99