Quotes You’ll Hear Around Here

Nineteenth century philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard said it best: "In the theater, the play is staged before an audience who are called theatergoers; but at the devotional address (i.e. worship service), God himself is present. In the most earnest sense, God is the critical theatergoer, who looks on to see how the lines are spoken and how they are listened to: hence here the customary audience is wanting. The speaker (worship leader) is then the prompter, and the listener stands openly before God. The listener, if I may say so, is the actor, who in all truth acts before God.”

Music has a divine effect upon divinely influenced and directed souls.  Music is to the soul what wind is to the ship, blowing her onwards in the direction in which she is steered… Not allowed to sing that tune or this tune?  Indeed!  Secular music, do you say? Belongs to the devil does it?  Well, if it did, I would plunder him of it, for he has no right to a single note of the whole gamut.  He’s a thief…every note and every strain and every harmony is divine, and belongs to us…So now and for all time consecrate your voices and your instruments.  Bring out your harps and organs and flutes and violins and pianos and drums and everything else that can make melody!  Offer them to God and use them to make all hearts about you merry before the Lord!

–General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

“There are several reasons for opposing it.  One, it’s too new.  Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous.  The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style.  Because there are so many songs, you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics.  This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly.  The preceding generation got along without it.  It’s a money making scene and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

-A pastor in 1723 attacking attacking Isaac Watts

(Here are a few of Isaac Watts’ “blasphemous” Hymns)

-O God, Our Help in Ages Past

-We’re Marching to Zion

-I Sing the Mighty Power of God

-When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

-At the Cross   (Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed)

-Joy to the World

“I dislike very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music.  But as I went on I saw the great merit of it...I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots.  It gets one out of ones solitary conceit.”

-C.S. Lewis