Cultic Motif in the Spirituality of the Book of Hebrews

This book begins with the assumption that cultus in Hebrews is a mode of discourse whereby the author intends to communicate something important about his conceptualization of Christian existence. He is seen to be quite at home with the attitudes and assumptions about ritual common in pre-industrial societies, and the work concludes that the Hebrews was in fact written as a pastoral response to a need for cultic religious expression. Given the supreme importance of cultic religious expression in antiquity, for Christians to find themselves without an external cultus presented a grave crisis of faith. They study examines why cultus boasts such a central role in pre-industrial religion, and then offers some suggestions toward incorporating the cultically-centered spirituality of Hebrews into modern Christian devotion.