Tag: church history

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church

What Kind of Music Should You Use In Your Church?

Rap. Rock. Hip Hop. Jazz. Chants. Acappella. Choral. Guitars. Harmonicas. Pianos. Flutes. Organs. Drums. There are so many styles and ways of making music that the question comes up all the time: what kind of music should you use in church?

If someone hates a certain style, lovers of that style get personally offended—you’re judging them! Because of that, music has been at the heart of sometimes totally changing the local assembly and at other times splitting it right down the middle.

What I want to do is, beside touching the third-rail of Christian discussions, cut through the ways most people deal with this then move to where the questions really lie.

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christ church quotes

Early Church On Jesus’ Deity

Right up front, some of these guys are making a good point. To read the text through the lens of later theological developments winds up ignoring what the text is actually saying. So in some sense, they are (at least on the surface level) trying to be faithful to the reading of the text as it stands.

But some of them go further:  the text, they conclude, doesn’t contain any of those things that later theologians noticed. Some are quick to add some note about the importance of tradition but they do so to point out what they see as a deficiency in relying on Scripture as ones ultimate guide.

In so doing they suggest, without being explicit, that these doctrines originated in a vacuum filled only by necessity. A teaching arose, a response had to be formulated, a doctrine was created. But, it wasn’t Christ’s Deity ex nihilo and I think history proves that. The teaching arose and was recognized as aberrant exactly because there was something substantial already in place.

If you recall, the council of Nicaea was in 325 AD. But jumping solely to Nicaea leaves one ignoring years choc-full of declaring Christ as the Divine God.

So here’s a sampling of early church writings I’ve found that underscored the understanding that Christ is God.

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reviews

Church History in Plain Language By Shelley

BOOK: Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley

REVIEW SUMMARY: Decent overview in very easy language.

MY RATING: [rating:4]

OVERVIEW: A basic overview of church history in readable English, good to read and helpful but only a primer on a very complicated subject. Definitely pick it up if you’re looking to do research or plan to teach and need some refreshers.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Perfect introduction to church history, easily accessible with plenty of references to introduce the reader to further study.

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