One may hear the question whether one was touched by a Church service, or changed by it, motivated by it, and so on -- or as a South African consultant put it this week: "What actual difference has it made in your life afterwards?" Such questions may not have mattered at all in previous generations. Preaching, public prayer, religious conversation, religious education, and sacraments were all freely considered to be "means of grace". OBSERVATION: I have references in a thesis I wrote, if anyone is particularly interested. Today, "means of grace" generally has a narrower meaning.
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