Scott Aniol is the founder and Executive Director of Religious Affections Ministries. He is director of doctoral worship studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in ministry, worship, hymnology, aesthetics, culture, and philosophy. He is the author of Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship, Sound Worship: A Guide to Making Musical Choices in a Noisy World, and By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, and speaks around the country in churches and conferences. He is an elder in his church in Fort Worth, TX where he resides with his wife and four children. Views posted here are his own and not necessarily those of his employer.
Discussion of culture is an essential ingredient in any intelligent philosophy of Christian music. Especially in today’s globalized, multicultural environment, understanding what culture is and… Read More »Theological Issues at Stake in Discussions of Culture and Contextualization
Navigating the difficult relationship between corporate worship and the culture around is is a challenge, but it is one made easier when we recognize the… Read More »Corporate worship and the formation of a new culture
As I have explained many times before, Christian worship should be defined in terms of the believer’s relationship to God through Christ, and thus worship… Read More »The unique significance of corporate worship
There are many factors that have contributed to problems in worship today, but I believe one of the most significant is the fact that very… Read More »Until fairly recently, every educated person would have known this
This is a fascinating article in many ways. It traces the scientific debate concerning what, exactly, emotions are and whether they are universal or not.… Read More »Are emotions universal?
Carl Trueman recently addressed the phenomenon within Millennial evangelicalism that is increasingly regarding ancient liturgical practices (especially Ash Wednesday and Lent) as cool. He’s right:… Read More »Liturgy is cool
Evangelicals today are enamored with culture. Visit any Christian blog or pick up a catalog of recent Christian books, and you will likely find discussions… Read More »Culture is human behavior
Yesterday I posted some reflections on the idea of “cultural affirmation” in response to another blog post, and a few friends helpfully indicated that I… Read More »More on affirming culture
I was recently directed to a blog post that rejoiced in the fact that certain segments of conservative evangelicalism were becoming more “culturally affirming.” The… Read More »What does it mean to be “culturally affirming”?
A few weeks ago, a group of friends who affirm the Conservative Christian Declaration met in Phoenix, Arizona for a small conference. It was a… Read More »A Recent Conference of Conservative Christians
Over at Pyromaniacs, Dan Phillips offered a series of points for discussion regarding worship music. He and a few others encouraged me to head over… Read More »My reply to Dan Phillips’ approach to the worship music debate
Passing away, saith the World, passing away: Changes, beauty, and youth, sapped day by day: Thy life never continueth in one stay. Is the eye… Read More »Passing away
Savior of the nations, come; Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home! Marvel now, O heaven and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth. Not… Read More »Savior of the Nations, Come
Last month I had the privilege of spending a week in Brazil, where I spoke at a conference of pastors and church leaders. It was… Read More »Luther in Reverse: Cultivating a Brazilian Hymnody
This post concludes my series on the New Testament implications of the idea that culture is behavior. Here are all the implications: New Testament authors explain… Read More »Be holy in all your culture
Since culture is the same idea as behavior, we have been discussing important New Testament implications from this idea. Here are the previous implications: New Testament… Read More »Borrowing culture
We have been discussing New Testament implications of the idea that culture is essentially the behavior of a people group. Here are the previous implications: New… Read More »The evangelistic power of holy culture
Culture is the same as behavior, and I am explaining in this series implications from the New Testament based on that idea. Here are the… Read More »New Creatures–New Culture
We are in the midst of a series on New Testament implications of the idea that culture is essentially behavior. Here are the previous two… Read More »Christian culture
I am writing a series on implications of the idea that culture is essentially the behavior of a people. Last time I asserted that New Testament… Read More »Culture and ethnicity