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

Manhood Ceremony for a Boy Becoming a Man

Manhood Ceremony for a Boy Becoming a Man

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From the time our eldest child, Caleb, was just an infant (and possibly even before), I knew that I wanted to do something significant to mark the point when our children would come of age. I reject the whole notion of a “teenager,” a modern construct invented by pop culture, and instead wanted to reinforce… Continue Reading

Called by God to Worship

Called by God to Worship

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The first Patriarch of Israel, Abraham, was not originally a worshiper of the true God; he dwelt the land of Ur, worshiping many false gods (Josh 24:2). God initiated his contact with Abraham (Gen 12:1), confirming a central that principle that all true worship begins with the God who reveals himself to his people. Each… Continue Reading

The First Worship War

The First Worship War

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The very first conflict following the Fall was a conflict over worship. Genesis 4:3–8 relates how Abel’s offering to the Lord’s was accepted, while Cain’s was not. These offerings were important because they were God’s means for at least temporarily and partially restoring communion with his people. Yet for some reason that is not explicit… Continue Reading

Foundations of Worship

Foundations of Worship

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“In the beginning, God.” With those opening words of the book of Genesis, we find the very foundation for all biblical religion. God’s self-existence, creative power, and divine providence over all things provides the basis for a Christian worldview and theology, which should flow into how Christians worship (cultus) and, indeed, the entirety of how… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Two Worship Philosophies

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Two Worship Philosophies

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In the wake of eighteenth-century Enlightenment and nineteenth-century revivalism, evangelical Christianity evidenced two distinct philosophies of worship. The first was the conservative philosophy that generally characterized each of the post-Reformation groups despite their idiosyncratic differences. This conservative philosophy desired to preserve the theology and practices of biblical worship, mediated through the tradition of the church… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: The Oxford Movement

Roots of Evangelical Worship: The Oxford Movement

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Over the past month I have been exploring the various historical roots that created what we might call “evangelical worship” today, including German Pietism, American Revival, the Wesleys, American Democracy and Camp Meetings, and Charles Finney. Today, I’d like to look at one reaction to some of these developments, that I would suggest also had… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Charles G. Finney

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Charles G. Finney

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Many factors, cultural and theological, converged to form what we might call today “Evangelical Worship,” including Enlightenment philosophy, German Pietism, John and Charles Wesley, American revival and democracy, and rural camp meetings. None, however, had as significant impact as one individual—nineteenth-century Revivalist Charles G. Finney (1792–1875). Influenced by theologian Nathaniel Taylor’s “New Haven Theology,” Finney… Continue Reading

Special Holiday Rates for Hymns to the Living God

Special Holiday Rates for Hymns to the Living God

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In honor of the Advent/Christian season, we are offering some special prices for Hymns to the Living God: Individual Copies – $13.99 each plus shipping (regularly $17.99) 6 Copies – $78 with free shipping! Other bulk discounts (10+, 50+, 100+) available on the single copy page. Copies are also available on Amazon.com for $19.99 each with free shipping for Prime Members.… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: American Democracy and Camp Meetings

Roots of Evangelical Worship: American Democracy and Camp Meetings

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For the past several weeks, I have been tracing what influences formed what today we might call “Evangelical worship,” including German Pietism, American Revival, and the Wesleys. Developments in nineteenth-century America also had considerable influence. The nineteenth century in America was a critical time in its cultural, political, and religious development. The nation was still… Continue Reading

Episode 8 of By the Waters of Babylon Podcast: Diversity and Unity in the Body of Christ

Episode 8 of By the Waters of Babylon Podcast: Diversity and Unity in the Body of Christ

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There is a lot of discussion about diversity and identity today, both in the wider culture and among Christians. Unfortunately, such discussions often are not informed by Scripture, even among Christians. Secularist theories and ideologies plague discourse about these subject in ways many Christians don’t even recognize. Any discussion of diversity and identity, however, must… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: The Wesleys and Methodism

Roots of Evangelical Worship: The Wesleys and Methodism

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What today we might call “evangelical worship” stems from many different influences, some of which I have been highlighting here over the past couple of weeks, including German Pietism and American Revival. A third contributing movement involved the Wesley brothers and Methodism, which arose as a response to increasing lack of devotion in the Church… Continue Reading

A new book from Calvin Johansson

A new book from Calvin Johansson

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I’ve always appreciated Calvin Johansson’s books on church music, Music and Ministry: A Biblical Counterpoint and Discipling Music Ministry: Twenty-First Century Directions. I especially find helpful his emphasis upon accomplishing our God-given mission of making disciples through the music we choose to use in corporate worship. Johansson’s insights into the goal of Christian maturity necessitating the… Continue Reading

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Early American Revival

Roots of Evangelical Worship: Early American Revival

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Along with German Pietism, revival in early America contributed to what would become distinctive Evangelical worship. American democracy itself had both positive and negative effects for Christianity and its worship. On the positive side, the new world provided freedom for the new colonists to worship according to their convictions rather than state mandate, which is why… Continue Reading