Saturday, April 26, 2014

Part III: A Walk Through Early Church History




     I love history. It’s never quite as one would expect it to be. Never seems to be black and white and easy to figure out. Like people, history is messy, imperfect, highlighting the good, the evil, and the shades of gray. So much to learn! I find it so fascinating and messy beautiful.

     I’ve read a few resources the past couple weeks and the picture it paints of the early church is encouraging and beautiful as well as delightfully human and far from perfect. The early church looked a lot like us in all the ways that matter. They wanted unity.  They valued sound doctrine and codifying it to keep it pure. They seemed to genuinely enjoy being together and involving themselves in benevolence and good deeds…encouraging one another to holy lives befitting believers in Christ.

     I tried to find as much as I could about music in the early church and what scholars call ‘liturgy’--the order or form of worship--basically what they did and how. 

     It was disappointing if you want to find a lot of information about instruments or how they sung. There is nothing about instruments for the first few centuries, no focus for good or bad on whether or not to use them. Their priorities were different.

    Around the sixth century is comes up that the church didn't use instruments but they didn't appeal to scripture. They were concerned with association. Some said it was 'Jewish’ while others said it was 'pagan.' Some were concerned with immorality associated with instrumental music. They wanted to make sure Christian worship was different from pagan worship. Greek gods and goddesses were often pictured with flutes. Didn't want that! Some said it reminded them of ‘calls to war.' Christians were supposed to be peaceful. 
What stood out to me was what the early church did emphasize. They spent a lot of time talking about some things worth looking at. I’m not criticizing or endorsing what they did. I’m just interested in the history.

    Before 100 A.D. they met two times on Sunday. In the morning gathering (before sunrise) they did extensive reading of scripture from the OT and whatever NT letters were available. Then they had exhortation by a leading elder, followed by prayers and singing. The evening service had the ‘agape’—a love feast followed by the communion. They met before daybreak and took vows to live holy and ethical lives. By the end of the first century the ‘agape’ was dropped and communion moved to morning gathering.

Their Priorities:

1.     Unity. They wrote a lot about submitting to the bishop. By “bishop” they meant an elder over many churches in an area. Ecclesiastical structure was important to them very early on. Every congregation evidently had a lead elder, fellow elders, then deacons. It was a basis for unity and order. Clement of Rome even discussed apostolic succession as well as the importance of submitting to elders and bishop.

2.      Benevolence. Good deeds reflected Christ. They talked about helping brethren and ‘strangers’. Service was highly valued. Women played an important role in this area. 

3.     The Lord’s Supper and Baptism. The Didache (among the earliest writings) describes a kind of hierarchy of preferences of baptism. First choice, baptism by immersion in ‘living water.’ If no stream of running water was found they could use another source of water. If no large source of water could be found, they could pour water following a minimum one- two day fasting period. They did three “pours.” One each for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Only those baptized received communion. 

4.     The requirement for baptism. At first it was just faith in Christ. But by the second century they began requiring a probationary period before baptism. The ‘catechumen’ was not allowed in the same general worship area. Baptisms were usually performed at Easter or Pentecost. Baptism for the sick and infants became an issue that was not uniformly agreed upon during this time.

5.     Fasting.  

6.     Sound doctrine. The church dealt with legalism and Christology. Gnosticism and Docetism challenge the doctrine of the nature of Christ. Other issues of the day included the nature of salvation and resurrection.  Creeds became an important weapon to combat  false teaching. Councils took the essential points of doctrine, codified them, and the church memorized them so that they would know false teaching when they heard it. Creeds were like a mnemonic device. They helped believers remember essential doctrine. Here is the Apostle’s Creed (pre-340 A.D. version):

“I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ His only (begotten) Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; (the life everlasting).”

Music History within the Church:

1.     In the fourth century Ambrose introduced antiphonal singing of psalms and congregational singing of hymns. 

2.     Gregorian chants came into style in the sixth and seventh century. Solemn, monotone chanting. No harmony like we know it today.

3.     Festive and happy singing was considered vulgar, associated with minstrel entertainment.

4.     By the tenth century the Western Church began using organs.

5.     During the Reformation instruments fell out of favor, this time for their association with Jewish worship, or worse, Catholic worship. Not all the Reformers agreed about this. 

6.     Classical music of the Baroque period was composed for the church. 

    Ideas about music and instruments have changed a lot throughout history and will continue to do so. There was no 'ancient order' or pattern of authorized worship forms/styles that focus on the external acts. The early church did not get it all right and neither do we. 

     Thank God for his immeasurable grace that saves us: frail, fallible, and fallen as we are. It is by grace we have been saved and stay saved, not in restoring a non-existent ancient order or ever-changing pattern of authorized external, ritualistic worship. We worship in 'spirit' and in 'truth'. This is the kind of worship our Lord desires and has always desired. May the Lord bless our feeble efforts as we do the best we can to give him the sacrifice of our lips, our actions, our lives that He alone deserves. May He lead us every step of the way for his own purpose and glory.

Next time: "When a Judgment Call Becomes Identity".

Resources:
·        Christianity Through the Centuries (3rd edition), Earle E. Cairns
·        christianitytoday.com
·        liturgica.com
·        calledtocommunion.com
·        The Didache

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Music in Worship Series Part II: A Biblical Survey of Instrumental Music

The goal of this post is to discuss what the Bible says about this topic. This issue is not the complicated, confusing, divisive subject it has transformed into. It's more simple than we think. An overview of scriptures about instruments leads to a conclusion that promotes unity in the body of Christ and removes an unnecessary obstacle to the proclamation of the gospel.

Quick Survey of Instruments from Genesis to Revelation:

1. Instruments are tools of praise before the Law is given. Miriam takes a timbrel and the children of Israel worship, praise, and celebrate their salvation. They offer the Lord praise that is instrumental, emotional, and joyful. 

2. Instruments are a tool used in religious festivals and worship. See Lev. 23:23, Numbers 10, for example.

3. As an example from the book of Psalms, Psalm 150 refers to all kinds of instruments as tools of praise. The word "psalm" means "pluck," as in the strings of a harp. David wrote many of the psalms and it is clear he used his musical gifts for the glory of the Lord.

4. In the the New Testament, there are two short passages in Ephesians and Colossians. They focus on the daily, moment-by-moment sanctification process as we live as the body of Christ in this life.

    "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts." Colossians 3:16

   "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:18-20

5. Revelation 8 describes the throne room of Heaven. The angels use trumpets and other instruments. 

     So what are we to do with this? For the sake of argument I am going to shift gears and work from the premise that it is wrong to use instruments in worship, either corporate or individual.

If I believed instruments were wrong to use in worship, I would have to conclude:

1.  Before the Law, instruments were fine.

2.  Under the Law, instruments were fine. 

3.  In Heaven, instruments will be fine. 

4.  Under grace, instruments are wrong.

If instruments were wrong, God would have made this point clearly. God always makes clear what is sinful. Since instruments are not mentioned here specifically, the whole issue is best thought of as a judgment call.

Instruments are neither good or bad. They are tools. Like all tools they can be used for good or bad. But by themselves they are neutral.  Praise comes from the heart. From Genesis to Revelation, it's not about the tools. It's about the heart.

To say more is to go beyond scripture. As a brother once said, "Where the Bible speaks, we speak, where it is silent, we tend to have a lot more to say."

Next time I plan to write about this judgment call in history. There was a period of time Christians laid their instruments down. 

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Music in Worship Series: Part I: "Insignia of Baal?"

      Instruments in Christian Worship. What a relationship I have had with this topic my whole life. I remember sermons on the topic as a kid. One angle I loved about the sermons is it literally was the *only* time that the Reformers were cast in a good light in our church. LOL The quotes from John Calvin, Charles and John Wesley and especially the one from Martin Luther calling the organ  '...an insignia of Baal...' really rallied the troops to abhor instrumental music in worship. I loved the fact that for once these guys got a good rap in our sermons. "You go Martin Luther!!" I could say for once in the church house. :-)

It was actually this argumentation...the historical argument that kept me for YEARS, unable to worship with any instrumental accompaniment...and I'll discuss this more at length in a different post. It is actually a fascinating angle of Christian history...but more about that another day.

I think what bothered me the most over the years was how the judgement call to not have instruments, which is fine and even commendable, became Law in our particular fellowship and one we had no idea how to apply in our lives with any real consistency. So for the rest of  Part I, I'll just outline the major inconsistencies which set the stage over the years for me to dig deeper into this issue that has affected the body of Christ for centuries, even millennia, in some way or other:

1. Acappella-only in the Sunday/Wed. services or anytime the church is together in any setting?  Where does this leave funerals? weddings? camps? Chapel time in Christian schools?

I observed some congregations agreeing to use it in weddings *only if recorded and played over the system* with no actual instruments being brought into the building. Some allowed for the actual instruments saying that a wedding is not worship so it's okay. Funerals generally seemed to follow the same pattern...some congregations saying only recorded instrumental music is allowed but if live singing, must be without instruments. Others holding that we should honor the dead's musical preference and it's not worship so allow it. Camps/youth retreats? Who knows. All over the park on this one. During camp devos, generally no instruments...take it by the camp-fire under the stars w/a guitar and suddenly instrumental music is okay. But wait. Some say, if the camp song is not spiritual...yanno....just secular...use the guitar...if it's spiritual or mentions God at all...you must put the instrument down and praise God w/voice alone. What if God is just mentioned in 1 line of a generally secular song? What to do? Can I please just roast my marshmellows and praise God at the same time, please?? :-) lol

 2.   Then there's the angle of praise/worship in one's personal life. We had no idea what to do w/this. The general idea was to be consistent it was wrong *anywhere* if  the songs were hymns or praise type songs. Yet, I personally knew many brethren who listened to the Chuckwagon Gang in their homes...and other Old Time Gospel groups like Jim Reeves and the Statler brothers who swore the same songs done in Church could in fact, send their souls to hell. Man, was I confused! At least some brethren were more consistent...they refused to listen to *any* songs that were spiritual in nature at any level unless 100% without instrumental accompaniment. But these same folks would sing God Bless America w/instrumental accompaniment at events and I never saw them refuse to sing it even though the song is talking about God. Wowzas! Does it really have to be this hard to figure out? lol ;-)

   So I was left thinking that listening to secular music in my home celebrating superficial things of life was better than listening to the same musical genre type song singing about the eternal truths of life and pointing our minds Heavenward to our Sovereign Lord and King. I just couldn't buy this. Ever. Even as a youngster. And it bothered me folks could accept it so easily and unquestioningly. What bothered me more were my fellow young adults who listened to the "drinkin', carousin', fornicatin'" secular songs... singing along w/gusto but would suddenly refuse to sing if I turned on a Twila Paris song. I'm surprised I have hair left because I really did want to pull all of mine out over the years. Over. and Over again. I really should be bald. Good thing God gave me so much hair, I knew there had to be a reason. lol  :-)

3. Then there was the Acappella groups that caused us even more confusion. They did not use instruments. Were members of our movement. BUT they would use anatomical accompiment. They would clap, snap, bee-bop, stomp, whistle, even making their voices sound like DRUMS!!! What were we to do with THAT??? Voices that sound like instruments?? God help us, this is too much! They sounded like instruments but there were no instruments other than the voice and the body. Is the body an instrument? Can I tap my toes? Can I keep time w/my hand tapping the pew in front of me as long as it's not tapping an actual drum or piece of wood? Can I whistle or hum? Yet I can't blow into a flute and let *it* whistle? So as you can see, more confusion. We were divided on Acappella groups as well. Many refused to have anything to do with their recordings or their concerts. Other churches opened their doors to the concerts and sold their tapes/CD's in the foyer with gusto. lol *sigh*...now my head is spinning like a carnival carousel. lol

Then there's the Mom singing All Creatures Great and Small to her newborn babe...but wait. The baby's mobile over the crib is playing along. Does she turn off the mobile or not? :-)

My hope is whether you are in agreement w/my ultimate conclusions on the matter or not, that you'll find it refreshing to openly discuss this topic at all, whatever your conclusions. Most of us stuffed these thoughts into a locked vault out of fear of violent responses and emotional outbursts. So many would think the same thoughts but never ever discuss them. Preachers could lose jobs, Elders lose their positions by openly discussing these things. Men or whole families black listed.  I'm serious. Scary. There is humor to this topic, but also a darker under-belly. I hope whoever is reading this, you'll at least find my honestly and openness and willingness to discuss a 'sacred cow' topic somewhat refreshing.

Next time: Part II: The Bible and the 'Insignia of Baal' Stay tuned. This boat is about to start a-rockin' some more....in a good way...:-)