John Allen T. Bankson on Hymnody Debate: Keep the Facts Historically Accurate

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:26:36 -0400

When I first weighed in on the discussion of church music on PCANews, I intended to post only one editorial. I have no doubt that popular sentiment among Evangelicals is squarely in the pop-idiom camp, so I was not surprised at the recent spate of letters all touting the merits of employing pop music in the church’s worship. I had decided not to post a follow-up letter because I figured the average reader had long since tired of this interchange. However, a recent comment from a reader prompts me to send in this plea for truthfulness in all our discussions.
A Mr. McClelland states in his letter: “Wonder what Martin Luther was thinking as he sat in his favorite ‘Gasthaus’ and heard a familiar beer song that became the tune to his ‘Ein Feste Burg’?” I don’t know what source McClelland consulted for this bit of information, but as I stated previously, it simply is not true. The “Luther used drinking songs as a source of tunes” legend has been a favorite of advocates of pop music in churches for the past 25 years or more, but there is not a shred of evidence to back it up. This story has become as prevalent as the infamous Madalyn Murray O’Hair petition and is just as illegitimate.

John Allen T. Bankson on Hymnody: A Question of Propriety

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:19:43 -0400

In our circles, much has been written about “Indelible Grace” in recent years. A while back on the old PCA News web site, Kevin Twit (the founder of Indelible Grace Music) had quite a few things to say about church music. At the prompting of many, I felt compelled to respond to some of the points raised in Twit’s article and some raised in one of the subsequent responses to it.
I have no doubt that Twit is sincere in his desire to improve the state of congregational singing. That is a lofty and important task. I also applaud his commitment to hymns, whose theological depth the church desperately needs in these superficial, pluralistic times. However, I disagree with many of his assertions.

Rediscovering Worship - Group: Articles

John Allen T. Bankson on Hymnody Debate: Keep the Facts Historically Accurate

John Allen T. Bankson on Hymnody: A Question of Propriety