The synod minders are never far away. Note the 'not all contemporary worship is bad' and the plea for open and honest discussion (as apparently opposed to WELS bashing) coming from someone speaking from the shelter of anonymity.
Contemporary worship comes from a lack of trust solely in the Word. It is the negative symptom of deeper problems.
In Christ,
Brett Meyer
Brett Meyer
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| This verse is never quoted or addressed by the UOJ/CoWo crowd. |
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It is simply not possible to even have this discussion in the WELS. That is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless, as can be attested by any on the confessional side who have tried. You see, to even bring up the subject is to be accused of Phariseeism by the CoWo side. To them - and all the middle-of-the-roaders in WELS - it is simply a moot point. There is no need for discussion. It is adiaphora, and that's it. Case closed - or actually, not even opened. Anyone who says otherwise is a legalist and does not understand the true Gospel, and does not care about the unchurched, or the young, and is not interested in outreach to lost souls, etc..... End of discussion. So, good luck with this. I've tried for 35 years with no success whatsoever. It is just not acceptable in the WELS to question any and all practices that are done in the name of "evangelism." We MUST grow. Period!
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| 84,000 page views. |
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I've put down my thoughts on so-called "contemporary" worship in numerous places, perhaps most succinctly here: http://ecclesiaaugustana.blogspot.com/2012/11/orthodox-variety-trumps-sectarian.html
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll just summarize the three main issues I've identified with sectarian ("contemporary") worship.
1. It's a matter of origin. The worship forms of heretics should not be used by the orthodox.
2. Lex orandi, lex credendi. Worshiping like heretics indicates that one believes like heretics. Whether or not one actually believes the dogma behind sectarian worship, giving the false impression that we believe what heretics do (and actually running the risk of starting to believe what they do) is not acceptable.
3. Abrogation of the Divine Liturgy. Lutherans profess to retain the Mass. Sectarian worship is inherently opposed to it. Since the Divine Liturgy is nothing other than the Word, sectarian worship often proves to be contrary to the Word (whether explicitly, like talking about decision theology, or implicitly, as in a song written by non-Trinitarians like Phlips, Craig & Dean, whose music I have experienced in a WELS church before). This point should be enough for any Confessional Lutheran to reject sectarian worship on its face, since it is completely opposed to a Confessional paradigm.
Anyway, I'll close with this quote from C.F.W. Walther, which is particularly damning to advocates of sectarian worship:
"A preacher of our church also has the holy duty to give souls entrusted to his care pure spiritual food, indeed, the very best which he can possibly obtain. In Methodist songs there is much which is false, and which contains spiritual poison for the soul. Therefore, it is soul-murder to set before children such poisonous food. If the preacher claims, that he allows only 'correct' hymns to be sung, this does not excuse him. For, first of all, the true Lutheran spirit is found in none of them; second, our hymns are more powerful, more substantive, and more prosaic; third, those hymns which deal with the Holy Sacraments are completely in error; fourth, when these little sectarian hymnbooks come into the hands of our children, they openly read and sing false hymns."
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'll just summarize the three main issues I've identified with sectarian ("contemporary") worship.
1. It's a matter of origin. The worship forms of heretics should not be used by the orthodox.
2. Lex orandi, lex credendi. Worshiping like heretics indicates that one believes like heretics. Whether or not one actually believes the dogma behind sectarian worship, giving the false impression that we believe what heretics do (and actually running the risk of starting to believe what they do) is not acceptable.
3. Abrogation of the Divine Liturgy. Lutherans profess to retain the Mass. Sectarian worship is inherently opposed to it. Since the Divine Liturgy is nothing other than the Word, sectarian worship often proves to be contrary to the Word (whether explicitly, like talking about decision theology, or implicitly, as in a song written by non-Trinitarians like Phlips, Craig & Dean, whose music I have experienced in a WELS church before). This point should be enough for any Confessional Lutheran to reject sectarian worship on its face, since it is completely opposed to a Confessional paradigm.
Anyway, I'll close with this quote from C.F.W. Walther, which is particularly damning to advocates of sectarian worship:
"A preacher of our church also has the holy duty to give souls entrusted to his care pure spiritual food, indeed, the very best which he can possibly obtain. In Methodist songs there is much which is false, and which contains spiritual poison for the soul. Therefore, it is soul-murder to set before children such poisonous food. If the preacher claims, that he allows only 'correct' hymns to be sung, this does not excuse him. For, first of all, the true Lutheran spirit is found in none of them; second, our hymns are more powerful, more substantive, and more prosaic; third, those hymns which deal with the Holy Sacraments are completely in error; fourth, when these little sectarian hymnbooks come into the hands of our children, they openly read and sing false hymns."
