Wherefore the nose?
It protrudes from the center of the face as its most prominent feature. The nose's claim to fame? The first direct mention of any body part in Scripture: And the YHWH Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul. The very breath of life enters into the adam through the nose.
The nose has 10 million odor receptors arrayed in an area the size of a thumb print. There are over 350 receptor types (some classify 1000), each one expressing a different receptor gene taking up to 3 percent of the human genome. With most smells the mind binds together hundreds of distinct smell receptors into a coherent sensation.
Studies suggest that 90% of what we perceive as taste is really smell. Usually the brain deciphers smells by making the context in which we experience an odor an arbiter. One interesting study conducted in 2001 with fifty-seven wine experts served the same wine from two different bottles – one with the label of a fancy expensive wine and the other as common table wine. When dispensed form the fancy bottle the wine was described as “agreeable, woody, complex, balanced, rounded” while the table wine was “weak, short, light, flat, and faulty”. Very often the pleasantness or unpleasantness of smells are connected to the intial condition or circumstance in which the smell is received. Neurological studies regarding the formation of memories purport that some of the most strong and vivid memories we possess are connected to particular odors (or aromas if you wish). Ever wonder why realtors pop a loaf of bread into the oven for the open house, or light scented candles? Smell is a powerful part of our memories influencing moods and even affecting our work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously. When something is learned in the presence of a certain aroma, it is more readily, more vividly, and more emotionally recalled when that particular aroma is encountered in the future.
The nose's role in worship has been long neglected or forgotten in the western protestant evangelical church. In fact sensuality in worship of any kind but aural seems to be grossly neglected. Apart from music and sermon, sight, smell, taste and kinesthetic aspects of the worship experience are virtually neglected. How wise the Creator in creating special smells in incense and oils for the worship environment of the Old Covenant Church. And why does the Church historic retain the use of incense creating beautiful smells in worship? Beside the obvious rich meanings of smoke and incense in Scripture and the many things it conveys as a visual sermon, perhaps our forebears intuitively understood the great value of smell in the pedagogical life of the Church. The nose would connect powerful words and images with special beautiful smells etching the the rich meanings and experiences of worship more vividly in the hearts and minds of worshipers. | 
