Browse articles on various topics below.
Benjamin Keach, a Baptist pastor in the late 17th century, is often credited as the first Englishman to provide a well-developed defense of the recovery1… Read More »Hymn advocates aren't always good hymn writers
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… Read More »The Enlightenment and Christian Hymnody
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… Read More »Reformation Hymns
Editor’s note: This article is posted partially in response to discussion of Scott Aniol’s post on medieval hymnody. I have suggested elsewhere that the civilization… Read More »How Christian Were the Middle Ages?
I’ve had some good questions about the Medieval Church resulting from my recent article on medieval hymnody. I’d like to make a few short observations… Read More »The Pre-Tridentine Roman Church
When Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 with the Edict of Milan, and Christianity soon became the religion of the entire empire, the cultural conditions… Read More »Medieval Hymns
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… Read More »Early Church Hymns
The Beginning The first mention of music in the Bible is in Genesis 4. Verses 17—22 list Cain’s descendants, and specifically those who began the… Read More »Hymnody in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
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… Read More »The Cultivation of Form
In Titus 1:5, Paul explains that the reason he sent Titus to Crete was to “straighten out” the churches. The churches themselves had already been… Read More »The Importance of Music Ministry in Missions
I don’t have time to do a full-fledged review of this new book by T. David Gordon (author of Why Johnny Can’t Preach), but I… Read More »Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns
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… Read More »Musical Form in Christian Hymnody
I mentioned in my report on our Brazil trip that I had the opportunity to sit down with a man who grew up in a… Read More »A Brazilian tribesman talks about culture, worship, and the gospel
The next level of form is poetic meter and rhyme scheme. A poetic meter is basically how many syllables are in each line of the… Read More »Poetic Meter in Christian Hymnody
Word/Phrase Choice There are several different ways that content can be shaped within a hymn. The first is simply with what words are chosen to… Read More »Word and Phrase Choice in Christian Hymnody
For many people a hymn is nothing more than some truth made pretty. But such an understanding would be like viewing a person as a… Read More »The Anatomy of a Hymn
Last time we observed the fact that we sing because the Bible commands us to sing. But let’s get a little bit deeper than simply… Read More »The Purpose and Power of Christian Hymnody
When Christians discuss worship, they often focus on one primary element of worship above others—music. The church’s songs are without question the most controversial aspect… Read More »The Biblical Mandate to Sing
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… Read More »A Theological Basis of Conservatism, Part 7
The Bible encourages Christians to look for and respect godly examples. Hebrews 11 includes a list of faithful saints whom believers should imitate (Hebrews 6:12).… Read More »Godly men are sometimes wrong