Constructing Hebrew worship
In this series I have suggested that the building blocks of worship were established in the first few chapters of Genesis. To review, those building… Read More »Constructing Hebrew worship
Articles
Browse articles on various topics below.
Mere Recognition
Kaplan argues that popular art is formless. It does not possess form in the truest sense. Form in good art, is precisely what invites true… Read More »Mere Recognition
Distorting the building blocks of worship
Last week I suggested that the basic building blocks of worship worship established in the creation/fall events: (1) God reveals himself and initiates a relationship with… Read More »Distorting the building blocks of worship
Crystallized Prejudices
The popular arts are often criticized by aesthetes for their form, or perhaps formlessness. Kaplan responds to this by directing us once again to how… Read More »Crystallized Prejudices
The building blocks of worship
Synthesizing an essential definition of worship is a perennial problem. Many have tried, several have given us very helpful definitions, yet few are fully satisfactory.… Read More »The building blocks of worship
What The Popular Arts Are Not
Kaplan begins by defining what he means by the popular arts. In his definition, popular arts does not refer to: 1) Pop art, the dadaistic… Read More »What The Popular Arts Are Not
Cheap Thrills – Pop Art and Transcendence
In the land of TolerateAll, the outlaw is the realist critic. Civil order is maintained by quelling all disagreements over beauty with a few simple,… Read More »Cheap Thrills – Pop Art and Transcendence
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
In the last installment in this series of book recommendations, I recommended good children’s literature. I now want to recommend some literature that was certainly… Read More »The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus
by C. S. Lewis And beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed… Read More »Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus
A Catechism on Judgment in Worship
How are we to worship God? We should worship in all of life, but we have been told most explicitly to worship God corporately through… Read More »A Catechism on Judgment in Worship
How to convince a pastor that worship and music are important
In the past couple weeks I have tried to suggest two reasons (among many others) problems in worship exists today. The first is that pastors… Read More »How to convince a pastor that worship and music are important
The Sacrifices of God
I subscribe to the “poem-a-day” e-mail service from Rattle, a well-regarded and above-average publication. I thought yesterday’s poem, a prose poem, might be of interest… Read More »The Sacrifices of God
Why else are we in this mess?
I suggested last week, springing from Kevin Bauder’s excellent article, that one of the reasons worship is in such trouble today is that pastors who… Read More »Why else are we in this mess?
Culture doesn’t just change
I received an email a few days ago asking what I thought about a few particular contemporary Christian songs. The individual mentioned that he thought… Read More »Culture doesn’t just change
Why are we in this mess?
One of the most frequent questions I get as I travel the country or through email is why I think worship has so many problems… Read More »Why are we in this mess?
The road from interpretation to application
Last week at the Annual Evangelical Theological Society meeting, the theme of the meeting was “Creation Care.” This is not a subject that I find… Read More »The road from interpretation to application
The problem with defining worship in any way by physical response
I’ve been teaching recently about the differences between Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney. In most ways, these men, their philosophies, theologies, and practices are polar… Read More »The problem with defining worship in any way by physical response
Inward affirmation that our worship is acceptable to God?
There is an interesting conversation taking place in response to my post last week about “authenticity” in worship. The question revolves around affirmation from God… Read More »Inward affirmation that our worship is acceptable to God?
Raise Thee, My Soul
Raise thee, my soul, fly up, and run Through every heav’nly street, And say, there’s naught below the sun That’s worthy of thy feet. Thus… Read More »Raise Thee, My Soul
Authenticity
There is a cry today for authenticity in worship. This comes in several different forms, but most commonly it relates to worship and music style… Read More »Authenticity