What Is Unacceptable in Corporate Worship?

[AustinC]

I share the whole passage and SMA thinks the Bible is funny.
He is so wrapped up in his man-made law that he cannot even be persuaded by the very scripture.

 

[Scripture More Accurately]

I share the whole passage and SMA thinks the Bible is funny.
He is so wrapped up in his man-made law that he cannot even be persuaded by the very scripture.

No, I do not think that the Bible is funny.

All you did was make an assertion and then quote a chapter. It's funny and tragic that you think that is sound argumentation.

 

[AustinC]

No, I do not think that the Bible is funny.

All you did was make an assertion and then quote a chapter. It's funny and tragic that you think that is sound argumentation.

I quoted the verses around your proof text, as well as your proof text so that you and everyone here could see that the context, in no way, supports your assertion. You laugh at God's teaching by demanding we hold your view when God doesn't even teach your view.

 

[Scripture More Accurately]

I quoted the verses around your proof text, as well as your proof text so that you and everyone here could see that the context, in no way, supports your assertion. You laugh at God's teaching by demanding we hold your view when God doesn't even teach your view.

No, I do not laugh at God's teaching. You have failed to realize what that passage reveals.

As the following comparison of many translations clearly shows, the passage explicitly talks about whispered speech produced by someone whose speaking is directly likened to the demonic speaking of either an occultist or a demon:

KJV Isaiah 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

NAU Isaiah 29:4 Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust.

NET Isaiah 29:4 You will fall; while lying on the ground you will speak; from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.

NKJ Isaiah 29:4 You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

CSB Isaiah 29:4 You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust.

ESV Isaiah 29:4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

NIV Isaiah 29:4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.​

The relevance of the verse is not that it talks explicitly about whispered singing; I never made that claim: ("His revealing this evil practice of occultists instructs us that our speech and therefore also our singing must not be conformed to any extent to the wickedness of those with familiar spirits.")

It indisputably, however, does talk about whispering that is directly connected to the occult. When a Christian chooses to sing in a manner similar to such occultic speech, he sings in a manner that is unacceptable to God.

 

[AustinC]

No, I do not laugh at God's teaching. You have failed to realize what that passage reveals.

As the following comparison of many translations clearly shows, the passage explicitly talks about whispered speech produced by someone whose speaking is directly likened to the demonic speaking of either an occultist or a demon:

KJV Isaiah 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

NAU Isaiah 29:4 Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust.

NET Isaiah 29:4 You will fall; while lying on the ground you will speak; from the dust where you lie, your words will be heard. Your voice will sound like a spirit speaking from the underworld; from the dust you will chirp as if muttering an incantation.

NKJ Isaiah 29:4 You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.

CSB Isaiah 29:4 You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust.

ESV Isaiah 29:4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

NIV Isaiah 29:4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.​

The relevance of the verse is not that it talks explicitly about whispered singing; I never made that claim: ("His revealing this evil practice of occultists instructs us that our speech and therefore also our singing must not be conformed to any extent to the wickedness of those with familiar spirits.")

It indisputably, however, does talk about whispering that is directly connected to the occult. When a Christian chooses to sing in a manner similar to such occultic speech, he sings in a manner that is unacceptable to God.

I note that you are openly refusing to look at the entire passage. You pluck verse 4,out of any context, and then you demand your narrative.
Look at the entire chapter and tell me what God is telling us through Isaiah. Here's a hint: It has nothing to do with whispered worship

 

[AustinC]

I note that you are openly refusing to look at the entire passage. You pluck verse 4,out of any context, and then you demand your narrative.
Look at the entire chapter and tell me what God is telling us through Isaiah. Here's a hint: It has nothing to do with whispered worship

*Isaiah 29:1-16*
“What sorrow awaits Ariel, the City of David. Year after year you celebrate your feasts. Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means— an altar covered with blood. I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it.

Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave.

“But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant, I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire. All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night. A hungry person dreams of eating but wakes up still hungry. A thirsty person dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when morning comes. So it will be with your enemies, with those who attack Mount Zion.” Are you amazed and incredulous? Don’t you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor! For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries. All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, “We can’t read it because it is sealed.” When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.” And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.” What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The Lord can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”?