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The Enlightenment and Christian Hymnody

On September 8, 2010 By Scott Aniol

This entry is part 11 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church

This far in our journey we have witnessed an almost unbroken stream of Judeo-Christian tradition. From King David to Lutheran composer Johann Crüger (1598-1662) we find a slow and steady cultivation of poetic and musical forms. There were certainly bumps in the road and many changes along the way, yet for around 1800 years the quality [...]

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Reformation Hymns

On September 1, 2010 By Scott Aniol

This entry is part 6 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church

When Martin Luther (1483—1546) sparked a Reformation of the Church by nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the Church door at Wittenberg in 1517, he challenged the Roman Church’s doctrine and practice, but never its musical forms. The musical forms of the Reformation continued to follow in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The most significant change Luther made for [...]

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Early Church Hymns

On August 18, 2010 By Scott Aniol

This entry is part 9 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church

The hymnody of the early church was naturally an extension of Hebrew hymnody.1 Therefore, we can expect the hymnody of the early church to have the same general characteristics of Hebrew hymns: Early church hymns were word-centered, modest, and [...]

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The Cultivation of Form

On August 4, 2010 By Scott Aniol

This entry is part 7 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church

On the wall in my study I have three portraits. All three are portraits of theologians who were also heavily involved with music. They are Martin Luther, J.S. Bach, and Isaac Watts. All three men fought their battles in defense of high standards for worship music. All three had their share of controversy.

And all [...]

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Musical Form in Christian Hymnody

On July 27, 2010 By Scott Aniol

This entry is part 5 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church

Musical form shapes content in very similar ways to poetic form, yet it is a bit more abstract and thus considerably more difficult to readily recognize. But because music communicates by mimicking natural human expression, anyone can discern the basic meaning of music by simply listening closely and asking a few penetrating questions.

Music contains [...]

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A Theological Basis of Conservatism, Part 7

On June 9, 2010 By Michael Riley

This entry is part of 7 in the series A Theology of Conservatism

If God does indeed imbue creation with his own value judgments, we are obligated to order our loves in analogy to his.

If what I’m arguing is true, we are blameworthy, not only when we believe mistakenly (and thereby do not conform to God’s knowledge of himself or of his creation), but also when we [...]

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