Ulrich Zwingli

Ulrich Zwingli's militant stance on theology caught me off guard. It seems strange to think of a period of time when people cared so much about their faith that they would go to battle over what they believed. On one hand, it is wonderful that people placed such great importance on their faith. On the other, I find it horrifying that people would kill each other over their ideologies. Although I have often read about the Reformation, yesterday's reading opened my eyes to the difference between Zwingli's time period and my own.

"St. Francis was was annoyed by mice. / His cell was made of mats. / How do we know such facts precise? / We read and wear hymn hats." Doc

Can't we do the same?

In response to Best's essay, Horness states (speaking of Jesus), "When he taught, he communicated in stories and idioms that his culture would relate to. In centuries past, the church music some of us love so much today was written in an effort to do the same. The old hymns were written, just like many of the contemporary hymns being written today, as powerful, educational, and culturally relevant expressions of what God was doing in the lives of the people of that generation" (82).

By this statement, Horness makes a good point. The past hymn writers wrote about what God was doing in their day, and they did so in their own music style. Therefore, why can't today's musicians compose contemporary songs about what God is currently doing in their lives? I feel that this view is very plausible.

However, as Sally has said earlier, many recent composers are writing songs that are inadequate (52). Their "culturally relevant expressions of what God was doing" in their lives are many times 2% milk and not meat, and I believe they should be avoided in our church service.

What is the Mission of the Church?

http://www.amazon.com/What-Mission-Church-Justice-Commission/dp/1433526905

How about New York City on Sunday Night?

Hey you all,

How about catching the 5:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. service at Redeemer Presbyterian this Sunday night?  Would that work for your guys? Musically [artifactually as Best might describe it p. 64], it's their Contemporary/Jazz service. Let's talk about it tomorrow. We could adjust class a bit on Monday morning [January 9th] if we're out too late "drinking with our Congenial Companion" as Clement of Alexandria puts it.
  
http://www.redeemer.com/sundays/service_info.html

Preserving The Sacred

This series of questions relates to yesterday's class discussion on archaic language used in antiquated hymn texts. If worship is meant to be a time set apart for God, what does that entail? Should we try to maintain a separate language because worship is unlike anything else we do during the week? It seems like this line of thinking agrees with Zahl's beliefs on formal-liturgical worship.
The bottom line is this: How "set apart" does our worship need to be in order to bring glory to God?

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Every time I open the source readings I am struck by the sacrifice and work of previous generations. The book of songs that I am guilty of callously laying aside and ignoring is the culmination of almost 2,000 years of hard and tedious work. Whether it be that of Notker Balbulus in setting down the ancient texts and songs or that of Francis of Assisi in persevering and choosing not only to praise God in times of hardship but also to spread Spiritual Praises to God. We truly stand on the shoulder of giants and yet I find myself too often wishing to cut their legs out from under them.