"He is the congenial companion of our drinking"

Clement of Alexandria: A Christian Gnostic?

“The special field which Clement cultivated led him to insist on the difference between the faith of the ordinary Christian and the science of the perfect, and his teaching on this point is most characteristic of him. The perfect Christian has an insight into ‘the great mysteries’ of man, of nature, of virtue — which the ordinary Christian accepts without clear insight. Clement has seemed to some to exaggerate the moral worth of religious knowledge; it must however be remembered that he praises not mere sterile knowledge, but knowledge which turns to love. It is Christian perfection that he extols. The perfect Christian — the true Gnostic whom Clement loves to describe — leads a life of unalterable calm. And here Clement’s teaching is undoubtedly colored by Stoicism. He is really describing not so much the Christian with his sensitive feelings and desires under due control, but the ideal Stoic who has deadened his feelings altogether. The perfect Christian leads a life of utter devotion the love in his heart prompts him to live always in closest union with God by prayer, to labour for the conversion of souls, to love his enemies, and even to endure martyrdom itself.” The Catholic Encyclopedia

their drinking ["the wild celebrations of the holdiday seasons] vs. our drinking ["the feasts of reason" "the sociability arising from our drinking" "this Eucharistic feast of ours is completely innocent."

"To utter in turn songs to Christ as to a god"

Pliny the Younger, Tenth Book of Letters [111-c. 113]

"But they assured me that the sum of their fault or error was that they usually met before light on an appointed day to utter in turn [antiphonal singing ?] songs of Christ as to a god."

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/christianproblem.htm

Hymnology Syllabus

MU 426 – Hymnology - Baptist Bible College
Winterim 2012 - Dr. David Harris, a.k.a. “Doc”

“Great hymns serve as prayer, praise, and proclamation in the context of worship. They often paraphrase a psalm, distill [increase the concentration of] the teaching of a specific scriptural passage, or relate doctrine or other spiritual truth by drawing on several biblical texts. Hymns are not emotionless. They make demands on the whole person . . . Fifty years ago the idea that one would need to argue in support of the existence and use of hymns in the worship of the church would have been laughable. Hymns were an element of Christian worship as customary as bread at mealtime. In the post-modern [Postmodernism is a term describing a wide-ranging change in thinking beginning in the early 20th century. Although a difficult term to pin down, postmodern generally describes the criticism of absolute, or unquestioned truths], post-Christian age [Post-Christian is a term used to describe a society which no longer accepts or adheres in the majority to classical Christian principles and theological concerns] in which we live, however, we should not be surprised that worship and worship music in evangelical churches have followed the path of our culture. Under closer examination one finds that our value system, musical and otherwise, reflects society’s primary philosophy [pragmatism], object of attention [ourselves] and occupation [our own amusement]. In this system, psalms and doctrinal poems set to music in the traditional form of Reformation congregational song do not appear relevant.” Paul S. Jones, Hymnody in a Post-Hymnody World [2003]

"The pastor is called to feed the sheep, even if the sheep do not want to be fed. He is certainly not to become an entertainer of goats. Let goats entertain goats, and let them do it out in goatland. You will certainly not turn goats into sheep by pandering to their goatishness." William Still [1911-1997] The Work of the Pastor

“‘God loves me’ is not the essence of biblical Christianity. Because if ‘God loves me’ is the message of Christianity, then who is the object of Christianity? God loves me. Me. Christianity’s object is me. The message of biblical Christianity is ‘God loves me so that I might make him—his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness—known among all nations.’ Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is. The Bible is not saying that God does not love us deeply. On the contrary, we have seen in Scripture a God of unusual, surprising, intimate passion for his people. But that passion does not ultimately center on his people. It centers on his greatness, his goodness, and his glory being made known globally among all peoples. And to disconnect God’s blessing from God’s global purpose is to spiral downward into an unbiblical, self-saturated Christianity that misses the point of God’s grace.” David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream [2010]

"Because of the inherent power of music, the texts we sing about God can be especially helpful [texts that accurately teach and admonish], harmful [texts that are theologically inaccurate], or unhelpful [texts that are insufficient or incomplete or imprecise or vague or ambiguous]. Having recently listened to a number of new worship songs, I can't say the texts were either helpful or harmful—just textually unhelpful and thus ultimately harmful." Doc

Course Description

A systematic, historical study of the origins and purposes of the hymns of the church, including examination of hymns as literature, theological expression, devotional material, and musical expression. Special emphasis will be given to the importance and viability of hymn singing in the 21st century.

Course Objectives

Acquiring an understanding of the historical origins and purposes of the hymns of the Christian church [1, 3]

Recognizing the theological and musical components of hymns as literature, theological expression, devotional material, and musical expression [1, 4, 6].

Exploring, through student led discussion, hymnody against the backdrop of the 21st century worship spectrum [2].

Analyzing various contemporary responses to hymnody [3]

Singing and recognizing hymns of the Christian church [1, 4, 5]

Contributing to the viability and importance of hymn singing in the 21st century. [5, 6]

Course Requirements

1. Reading 10%
William J. Reynolds and Milburn Price: A Survey of Christian Hymnody [1987]

Paul E. Engle [series editor] and Paul A. Basden [general editor]: Exploring the Worship Spectrum: 6 views [2004]

David W. Music: Hymnology: A collection of Source Readings [1996]

Daily Internet reading [see course outline]

2. Writing 20%
Hymn Writing Project [see course outline]

3. Singing 5%
Daily singing of hymns [see course outline] Development of sight-reading and part-singing.

4. Hearing
Recognizing 100 hymn names, hymn tune names, and meters from the Trinity Hymnal corresponding to its tuned played. [see testing]

5. Blogging 10%
2 Daily “Blog” Journal entries [50 to 1oo words]
A general blog including a question that may incite class discussion
A specific blog on a source reading of your choice.

6. Testing 40%
Daily Testing
Comprehensive Cumulative Testing [January 6th and 13th]

7. Questioning and Conversing 15%
Engaging daily conversations by crafting questions