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2020-12-21T22:32:58-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Christmas Hymns of Hope and Comfort: Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Last updated on: December 21, 2020 at 10:32 pm By Jonathan Aigner

You know Joy to the World. You know Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. You know O Little Town of Bethlehem. You know the usual Christmas hymns and carols recorded ad nauseam and piped into our lives from October to late December. Some of them, like the aforementioned ones, are great hymns of the faith that are absolutely worth knowing. Others are real duds. (Looking at you, Away in a Freakin’ Manger? Come on. Baby Jesus had gas, and he cried.... Read more

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2020-12-03T14:09:23-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

7 Reasons to Stop Changing Words to Beloved Hymns

Last updated on: December 3, 2020 at 2:09 pm By Jonathan Aigner

Just like evangelical “pop” worship, which has sentenced itself to a cycle of reinvention as it tries to win people through pop entertainment, mainline Christianity is doing the same with its hymnody. While the practice of altering hymns is not new, the wholesale restructuring of recent hymn texts for political or theological reasons only began a few decades ago. Some people think rewriting hymns to fit modern sensibilities of language and theology is an absolute necessity. I wish we wouldn’t... Read more

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2020-12-01T01:27:51-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hymns of Hope and Comfort: Lo, he comes with clouds descending

Last updated on: December 1, 2020 at 1:27 am By Jonathan Aigner

I think people are usually startled by the first Sunday in Advent. They come in expecting one of two things: a ceremonial baby shower with a purple backdrop, or Christmas carols and hymns. I’m sure a number of churches turned the first Sunday of Advent yesterday into a living Precious Moments figurine. And I happened to catch a glimpse of a Facebook live stream from a megachurch in my hometown of Heavenly Houston, Texas, and they were – on November... Read more

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2020-11-29T12:31:42-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

10 Reasons to Follow the Liturgical Calendar

Last updated on: November 29, 2020 at 12:31 pm By Jonathan Aigner

Happy New Year! With the arrival of Advent today, I’ve been thinking a bit about the benefits of following the Christian year. I’ll admit that, having grown up in the Baptistland wilderness, this is a practice I once disregarded with sneers of haughty derision. But over the past decade, I’ve come to see the liturgical year as one of the more important of our Christian traditions. Here are a few reasons: It reminds us that we are a people set... Read more

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2020-11-27T13:24:16-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Congregational Singing: “It’s not about ‘you’ or your preferences”

Last updated on: November 27, 2020 at 1:24 pm By Jonathan Aigner

Congregational singing is not a matter of “taste.” Anything we do in corporate worship is about meaning, not preference. In my last post, “Why Singing Hymns the Traditional Way is Better than Singing the Pop Worship Way,” I highlighted some of the practical differences between singing hymns corporately and singing along with a soloist. My friend Sandra made this helpful comment: “It’s not a matter of ‘taste’ really. I’m not sure why people make that the argument. It’s singing corporately... Read more

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2021-03-17T16:26:37-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Singing Hymns the Traditional Way is Better than Singing the Pop Worship Way

Last updated on: March 17, 2021 at 4:26 pm By Jonathan Aigner

Whenever I talk about how pop worship music is inappropriate for Christian worship, I get comments accusing me of making hasty generalizations, and directing me to “fresh” and “new” pop recordings of treasured hymns. “See?!?” these people will usually say. “You can sing good theology but in a modern style that connects with younger generations!” I want to mention that if two generations of parents and churches had done their part, hymnody sung by choir and congregation, usually accompanied by... Read more

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2020-11-24T11:50:43-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We Need Advent More than Ever in 2020

Last updated on: November 24, 2020 at 11:50 am By Jonathan Aigner

“This is precisely the Advent situation: doom on one hand, deliverance on the other.” “Advent tells us to look directly into the darkness and name it for what it is.” – Fleming Rutledge I’ve heard a lot of talk of rushing the season, even more than usual. I’m hearing the rumblings from church musicians, as well. One person told me this: “Usually I wait until Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols, but we should give people what they need. They... Read more

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2020-11-23T13:52:50-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How to Explain Advent to People Who Think It’s Already Christmas

Last updated on: November 23, 2020 at 1:52 pm By Jonathan Aigner

I understand the significance and love advent hymns and will even sing a few, but otherwise, pass. My congregation would throttle me if we waited until Christmas for those songs, especially this year. – a church music director, commenting on my previous post about Advent hymns I’ve been there, too, and it’s quite difficult. But it’s your job. Even if the people who hired you don’t know it, it’s your job to help them understand why we don’t sing Christmas... Read more

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2020-11-21T13:54:38-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Don’t Sing Christmas Carols Until You’ve Sung These Advent Hymns

Last updated on: November 21, 2020 at 1:54 pm By Jonathan Aigner

It’s called Advent, people, and it’s crucial to our understanding of Christmas. In Advent, we put ourselves in the place of the faithful who had waited generations for their promised King. Our four-week period of hope and expectation encapsulates the longing and yearning into which Jesus finally, miraculously arrived. Advent slows us down and restores our hearts and minds so that the heaven-born Prince of Peace can be fully born in our hearts once again. People of God, take time... Read more

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2020-11-20T19:05:55-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Tragedy of Modern Protestant Hymnody

Last updated on: November 20, 2020 at 7:05 pm By Jonathan Aigner

I’ve always said that it’s important to keep writing new hymns. I still believe this. But I’m increasingly dismayed at what is being thrown our way. On the one hand, we have radio music from the contemporary “worship” industry being reproduced by house cover bands every Sunday. The songs are largely terrible in textual/poetic quality and theological content, and are written in a musical style that is incompatible with liturgy. Pop music is created to sell records; those who create... Read more

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