Here's been the general direction of the thread.
The first link in the OP was supposedly to a "Christian" site. It was deemed offensive enough to be removed from the thread. The site was full of outright lies, a little bit of truth, absolutely stupid logic ("Marilyn Manson is evil. Thus, Toby Mac is evil"), plagiarism, discredited (or non-existent) science ("cook an egg at a concert, anyone?"), and horrific perjoratives hurled at Christians--calling them "Godless," "gay-loving perverts," and the like.
The end does not justify the means. Just because you can't stand something doesn't give you the right as a Christian to engage in that kind of behavior.
And so, from the get-go, we started this thread with an attack documented from a baseless site. Now, several of you have weighed in and have been above board and Christian in your responses. I appreciate that, even if we disagree.
But a larger share of the angrier and more venomous posts HAVE come from folks who think that modern Christian music is inherently evil. A few of you have insulted people's churches, belittled their testimonies, and even questioned their salvations. If you're trying to convince folks you're right, that's a poor way to do it. A couple of you owe apologies to other posters.
Here's the MO I've tried to carry through:
(1) I do not EVER recall making fun of a church for being traditional or "hymns-only," nor will I do so. We use hymns, ancient songs, and new stuff in our worship. God bless you if your conviction is otherwise.
(2) My opinion on this matter is borne out by my studies of the Scriptures (to the best of my ablility, doing so in context), my personal testimony, my ministry gifts and passions, my study of church history, music history, and music theory, and evidence of God's blessing. It hasn't been pulled out of the air. It doesn't use slanderous websites to do so. I do my best to be intellectually honest, and would ask that others do so.
(3) A common mistake is to equate "CCM" (that one might listen to out and about) with music used in corporate worship . I'm willing to concede that there's plenty of CCM I wouldn't use to lead worship. It's "fluff," or not God-centered, or has poor theology, or is inane musically, or the artist doesn't meet my standards, etc. BUT, there is modern music out there that meets EVERY part of my criteria (informed by point #2 above), thus I believe God puts His blessings on our using it for worship. "Is CCM inherently evil," and "Is any modern music appropriate for worship" are two entirely different questions.
The first link in the OP was supposedly to a "Christian" site. It was deemed offensive enough to be removed from the thread. The site was full of outright lies, a little bit of truth, absolutely stupid logic ("Marilyn Manson is evil. Thus, Toby Mac is evil"), plagiarism, discredited (or non-existent) science ("cook an egg at a concert, anyone?"), and horrific perjoratives hurled at Christians--calling them "Godless," "gay-loving perverts," and the like.
The end does not justify the means. Just because you can't stand something doesn't give you the right as a Christian to engage in that kind of behavior.
And so, from the get-go, we started this thread with an attack documented from a baseless site. Now, several of you have weighed in and have been above board and Christian in your responses. I appreciate that, even if we disagree.
But a larger share of the angrier and more venomous posts HAVE come from folks who think that modern Christian music is inherently evil. A few of you have insulted people's churches, belittled their testimonies, and even questioned their salvations. If you're trying to convince folks you're right, that's a poor way to do it. A couple of you owe apologies to other posters.
Here's the MO I've tried to carry through:
(1) I do not EVER recall making fun of a church for being traditional or "hymns-only," nor will I do so. We use hymns, ancient songs, and new stuff in our worship. God bless you if your conviction is otherwise.
(2) My opinion on this matter is borne out by my studies of the Scriptures (to the best of my ablility, doing so in context), my personal testimony, my ministry gifts and passions, my study of church history, music history, and music theory, and evidence of God's blessing. It hasn't been pulled out of the air. It doesn't use slanderous websites to do so. I do my best to be intellectually honest, and would ask that others do so.
(3) A common mistake is to equate "CCM" (that one might listen to out and about) with music used in corporate worship . I'm willing to concede that there's plenty of CCM I wouldn't use to lead worship. It's "fluff," or not God-centered, or has poor theology, or is inane musically, or the artist doesn't meet my standards, etc. BUT, there is modern music out there that meets EVERY part of my criteria (informed by point #2 above), thus I believe God puts His blessings on our using it for worship. "Is CCM inherently evil," and "Is any modern music appropriate for worship" are two entirely different questions.
