Scott Aniol

Scott Aniol is the founder and Executive Director of Religious Affections Ministries. He is Chair of the Worship Ministry Department 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.

Author Archives: Scott Aniol

Theological Issues at Stake in Discussions of Culture and Contextualization

March 25th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 how it relates to worship and music is critical. The Standard Evangelical View J. Nathan Corbitt, in his The Sound of the Harvest: Music’s Mission in Church and Culture,1 presents an… Continue Reading

Corporate worship and the formation of a new culture

March 18th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 importance of corporate worship for actually forming our behavior. You see, worship is not simply the natural expression of a Christian; corporate worship—the public acting out of the spiritual realities of… Continue Reading

The unique significance of corporate worship

March 11th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 understood this way applies to the entirety of a Christian’s life. This may give the impression, however, that there is nothing distinct or sacred about corporate worship. Indeed, this is exactly… Continue Reading

Until fairly recently, every educated person would have known this

March 4th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 few people today have any knowledge of how poetry and music work. The fact is that until fairly recently every educated person–especially pastors–would have had a basic understanding of poetry… Continue Reading

Are emotions universal?

February 25th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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. This issue has a good deal of relevance for discussions of the arts, for art, especially music, communicates at least on one level through mimicking human emotional expression. Here are… Continue Reading

Liturgy is cool

February 18th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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: it has apparently now become “hip” to add to (otherwise band driven contemporary) worship elements from ancient liturgical practices. Trueman and others over the past several years have dealt well… Continue Reading

Culture is human behavior

February 13th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 of the cultural mandate, redeeming culture, forming culture, and creating culture. This matter is of particular concern to conservative Christians. We often find ourselves in the role of cultural critic,… Continue Reading

More on affirming culture

February 11th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 may have read more into the author’s words than he intended. This is entirely possible, and it is because I was “reading between the lines” that I didn’t specifically link… Continue Reading

What does it mean to be “culturally affirming”?

February 10th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 specific incident the author cited involved an institution changing its philosophy of music from a more conservative to a more progressive one. So this got me thinking: what did this… Continue Reading

A Recent Conference of Conservative Christians

February 4th, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 wonderful time of stimulating discussion, warm fellowship, and meaningful worship. We plan to do something like this again in the future, so stay tuned for information. In the meantime, you… Continue Reading

My reply to Dan Phillips’ approach to the worship music debate

February 3rd, 2015 | 0 Comments

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 to engage the conversation, so I did. I thought I’d post my response here as well for the sake of our readers: Dan, the points you make are very common,… Continue Reading

Passing away

December 31st, 2014 | 0 Comments

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 waxen dim, is the dark hair changing to grey That hath won neither laurel nor bay? I shall clothe myself in Spring and bud in May: Thou, root-stricken, shalt not… Continue Reading

Savior of the Nations, Come

December 24th, 2014 | 0 Comments

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 by human flesh and blood; By the Spirit of our God Was the Word of God made flesh, Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh. Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child Of the… Continue Reading

Luther in Reverse: Cultivating a Brazilian Hymnody

December 3rd, 2014 | 0 Comments

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 my third time in Brazil, and I’ve grown to enjoy every chance I get to minister in that country. It was also the second time I was invited by my… Continue Reading

Be holy in all your culture

November 19th, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those of common ancestral heritage who share… Continue Reading

Borrowing culture

November 12th, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those of common ancestral heritage… Continue Reading

The evangelistic power of holy culture

November 5th, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 Testament authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those of common ancestral… Continue Reading

New Creatures–New Culture

October 29th, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 previous implications: New Testament authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those… Continue Reading

Christian culture

October 22nd, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 implications: New Testament authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those of… Continue Reading

Culture and ethnicity

October 15th, 2014 | 0 Comments

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series A New Testament Understanding of Culture You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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 authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. The second implication is that New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as… Continue Reading