WORSHI IP FOR 2000 AND BEYOND | MUSIC ACCEPTABLE TO GOD | IS EMOTION IMPROPER ASSEMBLE My PEOPLE alwww.icrn.com % The best Christian broadcasts at your fingertips. ‘Visit ICRN — the Invoived Christian Radio Network — for a ‘Chnstian broadcasts mnand RealAudio” iat The Bibe Study Hour and Ges Word Today with Dr. James Boice and The White Horse Inn wih Dr Michael Horton — and many other of the top Christian broadcasts avallaie today: Not only todays programs. but extensive broadcast archives, The teaching an information you need — whem you nen i (@) ere RADIO} YOUR ONLINE SOURCE FOR THE BEST IN CHRISTIAN BROADCASTINGASSEMBLE MY PEOPLE The Worship Event 12 Worshiping the Lamb or Entertaining the Sheep? {Whom is worship for? And who does the worshiping? Seeker ervee" proponent ofer quite dle anowers than do the Onda, Cabo, and Reformation ations by Hm? Spinks 18 Worship for 2000 and Beyond “The Predenof he itera Chacha Synod of even hes abot he puross and nur ofworthin—pas, preset, and tab AL Bary Pha: Refecions on ContemporayAraive Worship 25 The Word Proclaimed ‘One hell key to Pauline theolgy the contest Letween hope ina promise annexed hearing) ‘on the one hand and wscn oa alt lly experienc (ht othe ob fy Mel Hoe hos: Is Contemporary Worship Becoming SelCritical? 34 Music Acceptable to God ln dhe worship wars of recent years the nasties battles have erupted over music. But hove Far have we iret think theologically and biblically about the matter? hy W Robt Caley Plas: Psain 22 jn meter 39 How Does the Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly? Hove does conarcaationl singing relate t her clement of the Sunday moron sathering of ou large, doped amily? by amar R.Payon 42 Is Emotion Improper? Contry to cacares, Reformation churches donot deny that our emorons we ole in ‘ors, We simply main hat the fou shoal be on Ca ots. by Renal Fin In this Kose pe 2| Letters jove 3 | Ex Audits fae | Speaking of jae 9 Between the Times fae so| Resource Center pj 2 Free Space use «+ | Reviews fae ce Om My Mind ae 2by Michael Horton Worship ce me tell you fist what this fasue i wet about: musical pufamcee—clasial, pop, ints country, or any other style, In fac, the ise nat techy about musica all. Nonetheless, sas we am ta tall about Sunday morning worship service,” ‘ivine service" or Yeavenan renewal meeting’ depending on your tradition) t seems that we must go through the lightning rod” tote mist reach our anger ee Obviously our age is thoroughly permeated by music. Auk reproduction and transmission have made easy and nexpensve olsen all sols of Imusic in a varcty of environments without ever having to actually share physical space with the performers, And Madison Avenue has hammessed sich technologies 10 consistently link the appearance of fun tn their products, In sich a rmusicladen culture (far good and i), we should rot be surprise! that manic hs become a hot top inmost areas of hfe including whenever believers consider what the gathering of the sain should look lke, So of course music i & part of the ‘dixon in this nsue of MR But Fvangeleaam tas seen far too many frutess debaes recently ever music, which have been redaced 10 mere matters of taste. Now | do at believe that style neutral, sr that whether we sing “Shine, Jesus, Shine or °O Sacred Head Now Wounded” or for that matter, Pale 28, is entiely a maver of preference. Nevertheless, this ise, we need tn sep back abit to develop a slivy of worship—wieh easly encomprses nich ‘Therefore, the first thine we mist establish 48 that the praeuce of simply equating, “worship” with Next Ise A Wish List forthe Dist Century singing (Lets just tke sometime now to worship" Is tembly flawed ‘When the church meets corporntely with hee God, he sets and we respond, Fle calls s tthe meeting, he gives himself in Word and Sacrament, and he blesses us as we leave the meeting and retuon to var earthly callings. In san, we confess cn sins, reccive his gifts, praise and thank him im song for what he has done, and express our needs te him in prayer Conrezoionsl snang is, thus one ofthe importa oa hy which we participate in this dialogue But we should be very auspicious ryt har wede becomes central inthis meting. For Ga as called the assembly, and fe isthe chief Actor in the ‘event. Worship then is not about enteainment, and i f not even primary about evangelism CGhourh i is indeed the best place for a nom ‘tian to hear God speak). For this occasion is chiefly about God himself creating and nurturing Faith nis people, One day we will nce! with hin rot by faith but by sight (ace face"). Un shar day, though, we must be conrent with his humble bt appointed means: the ministers soc, ink and AODERN Lise) Males Deeb Ham us ys aR sw Used yest Cant eat ay ses Kime esi Sases Ohe YRS SAR Seh‘The Benefits of Sold Hermeneutics At the rsk of soualiny too domestic for this weigh periodical, dare I say #2 Hermenentis is for kid too! While we theological adults are dics hermeneaties and postmodernism, we should not forget tbat our chikren are likely being sept way in our evangeicl Sunday. schools Sunday school teachers are often untrained, new (Chstians the earsculn i "dumbed dow Even in Dible-blieving churches, and merely therapeutic, and the primary “docrine” our elke learn i: "You are special ta Jesus Those of us who teach the catechism shame cannot brew we were studying the temptation of Jesus in the Romans 5 to contrast Jesus and Adane. Too much fo year old> Think again rest om our laurels either, For though systematic theology isan invaluable tool, itcan never replace Gods revelation i a story, in ¢ narrative in real history thas has weowraphy, cultune and langage, When my sev year okd daughter discovered that she could locate Ur s ‘ofthe world of fairy tales and wok ones and load and Gonaen on 2 map, her spirituality amped out Ourchien need tae taught the fle of salvation history, and should be able to identify where certain characters figure in, And they need o be aught 1 ask Whar does the passage teach about Coss About sin About man Aout redempiion? We cannot be afraid to teach on God holiness or wrath, For if we dont each them this, ao one else will, When I raught my children about Nouh, they were ieraly hiding in the comers of the room, beatin me to stop and praying to be sived from the wath to come, On the other hand, when they learned about redemption in Ruth, they spontaneously lance arcund che livin room for E dont know how long. The Law makes the Gospel gand news indeed God in his wisdom gave the responsibility of ‘Ghrisian edcation vo parents, There fs no doctrine 1 complicated for them if taught in the context of the When we were studying the tation of Jess in the wildemess, 1 broughe in bablial narrative Taw mach fora Romans 5 1 contrast Jessa Adam seven and five year old? Think again. My gies stil rmcurm the sin of Adam and thank Cod for their New Representative ow about an sate on catechesis) Christian parents ned to give more serious thought wo the development of thet children’s hermeneutical ill Prsl Lohmae 1 Graal ae The hhemeneutis proves why MR is such an excellent and timely publication, 1 twok special delight chat you inched works by Leland Ryken i biblioeraphy. Doing reinforced the message echoing, throughout the ie Memes, [brought in 1a seven and five that atention o literary concemns heightens both the accuracy of interpretation and the apprecistion of the Fables beat. also pays bute co 3 yeat teacher who hag, cough bic writings, fe, and lectures, upheld he highest desice of commitment to both the sath and ehe 1 eount ic amen the highest May beauty of Gods Wd. priseges of my ie 0 have Perhaps the nations most smportant ecumenical agency, the National Counc of ‘Churches, elebrates its itt anniversary this November But lori expcs grand fess, 3 the onanizaton sich long ‘ime Time magazine religion editor Richard Osting once called arueaucracy without 3 consttueney’—struges with an annual budger deficit of over $8 millon ‘Were a multimedia rminisry, Webcams are popping us ike mushrooms all over the worl, This seemed like the obvious thing to do Evangelical Uncertainty in the PCUSA he Presbyterian [ Coalition, an evangelical group in the Presbyterian C USA, (PCUSA), continues to debate whether leaving the ‘denomination shin be an tion in the face of smn endless debate over the imerpretation of Sesinure renerally andthe ordination of homosenlspariculary Ata fall meeting in Dallas, Rex ‘Mark Toone of Olympia (WA Presbyterian Church spoke for a numberof young West Coast evangelical clergy who said hac hey are ning to spend years of ministry time fighting >In sarement called "The Indianapolis Alfiration a group of evangelicals within the United Methodist Church has called on thar body vo subavita the ible on questions of homosenalty ‘and abortion, and more generally © reus to the *canstizutionally established doctrinal standard’ of the Why do.we sing’ Mos often i seems thatthe armies anayed on the varying sides of ses have fot ender the banner of preference. What do we ke and what moves wm? Preference has ene! to pit older people against younger and high brows against lowe brows, But how hard have we tried to think theologically and biblically about music? How much are our convictions and practices shaped by the New Testament? In shi ace, we wal examine seme ofthe Bible’ hey ec hings fm isc aid song, and iy to alae them to the history ‘of Reformed reflection and contemporary sues Masi Music i$ not a prominent element in the New “Testament, No bands or cots secompany the preaching blows, There fo evidence of misc trent inthe syngas as dese in the New Testament. Church, music seems absent from the Acts of the Apostes— ‘kha Pal ine in priv a the praise of the churches ‘nay well ave hoon aang, The only urambipuons erence toxingrg inthe churches sin 1 Cor. 14:26—although Col 43.16 and Eph. 5.19) may well reflect the asi of pu ‘worship. No musi nsrumentsare mentioned in lain 1 the wership ofthe New Testament churches Nusie seems somewhat more prominent in the bheavenly worship described in the Book ofthe Revelation, the Bible This added prominence probably reflects the correspondence beoween the heavenly temple ane the music ofthe earthly temple of the Old Testament. tn the (Old Testament temple, musical instruments and choirs of singers especially accompanied the offering of saenfices (2 (Cir 2925-46), Sill sn the heavenly wor inthe Rook af he Revelation, the only sical intact refered co 6a harp (e.g Rev. $8)—and the harp there i probably intended as a symbol of praise rather than 2 Feral reference thar in heaven ce Re 142}. IF the worship of the New Testament church i 3 model for the contemporary church, serious re examination jemporary practice is needed Music—so peripheral in the New Testament—has become centeal and erucal in our time. Choirs, solos, ad special music occupy eomsiderable time. Debus rage over the style of usc among champions of everything from clasical to contemporary or many churchgoers, it would appear that music has become a new sacrament. Invense, prolonged singing #6 a way in which God comes 10 bls the \worshiper and in which the singer seeks 2 transeendent ‘experience of Gad, That experience 90 mportanc that as deserbed of a An Argument for Greby W. ROBERT GODFREY table to God snany judge a church on the character and quality of ts music. In many churches the amount of time spent in prayer, Bible reading, and preaching is reduced so that sone time can e given mse Reformed Christians in patcalar have sought 0 fallow the teaching of Scipture on worship. They have believed that only the dections or examples of the Bible can guide ‘ur worship, This conviction flaws frm the word ofthe Bible isl eg Col. 2:23 and Mat. 15:6). Theological, the Reformed passion for hihi, biblical worship laws cut ofthe sung. warings im Scripture against idolatry Ilan is bet the worship of a false Grad and the fie ‘worship ofthe tue God. Idolatry isa violation ofthe fst, Lurthe second ofthe Ten Coremandments. The Reformed commitment io hia weship must apply to music a all osher aspects of worship. ‘Though music seems 10 be 2 relatively secondary clement of worship in Ue New Testament, it till one ofthe elements, Jesus dings with his disciples a the Last. Supper and the Corinthian church clearly sang (as di the Colossian church most likely). Singing isan element {nits own right as a distinctive act of wenship, I ay function in similar ways to other clemtens. le may share hinctions with teaching and prayer; for example, yet it remains a distinct element, (the samme way, Bible reading, preaching, and blessing ema all use the came words of the Bible and all have in part 9 reaching function, thouwh they remain distinct elements of ater Use of the Psalmsworship). As a distinctive element, it needs to be understood in terns fits unique funtion in worship as Aiccted bythe Seriprues. What kind of singing should be an element of Chistian worship? The words used of singing in the New Testament (psalm, "hyme," and ‘song’ technical rerms, ur simply seem to refer to songs. (ln the Greck Ole Testament, these three words areal used ta refer tthe canorical Psalms.) For example eum i ssid to sing a hymn (Matt, 26.30) where almost conainly fone ofthe canonical Psalms is meant. By conrast the palm refed co in 1 Cor, 1426 f probably not a ‘eanonical psalm. (See ako the references to songs in Rom, 15:9, 1 Cor: 1415, and Jam, $:13.) The kind of song used in New ‘Testament churches cannot be established by the word used necessary to know what should he sing ‘Many argue that Crstans are fee to compose and sing any songs that ane orthodox in conte argument rans that singing praise to God is parallel to proving, Since we are free to formulate prayers, we are free (0 compose songs, But itis nor selt-evident that sung shoul be seen as parallel co prayer: Perhaps 1 should he scen 3s parallel tn Serine reading’ The worship clement of Scripture reading is limited to the reading of inspired, canonical Seriptire. Such a limitation may nat scem be strictly necessary logically Many orthodox, edifying writings by Christians might be ead in worship. But most Christians would agree that we should hove as an act of worship the reading of the inmpired words of Go (see 1 Tan 413) (On rellection, at least in Old Testament worship, singing ems more bke Seripture reading than prayer because while the Old Testament has no book ol prayers, itdoes have a book of songs. God, for reasons that may, ade us, has seen fit to inspire songs for worship, but not ‘Actual reasons may account for the need of impired songs, Song is an activity of the people of God hat units them in one activity of heightened emotional response to God. The beightened emotion of song and its potential for abuse mi inspire the words ofthat response. Ako the praying and preaching in public worship in the Reformed churches has been done by ordained leaders. The Church has se aside leaders who are gifted, called, examined, and fordained so that work, Tice’ singing seldom meets hose standards of cate and supervision Clearly the canonical Pisins were se for singing a6 Jesus and his disciples sng them at the Last Supper Surely Pauts ell sing ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual ona sncludes the call co sing canonical Pasi, Ata Other indications are The well be a reason for Cad unt then we should conclude from the examples and teaching of Scripture that the singing of the ‘eanonical Pals ought to be a signiieane part of the urchin Demonstrations of the Value of Singing the Psalms Let me list some ofthe strongest arguments I know for singing Psalms +The Poalms are inspired, are meant to be sung, tnd are certainly orthodox in their coment Singing Psalns is commanded by Gad, i ertain tobe pleasing to hi, and isan excellent way of hiding bis Word in our hearts. Ar dhe very east the Pains need to be a central element of the (Church singing and must be a adel forall that ‘surg, They ae the inspired pattem of praise +The Pols are songs that are balaeed. They balance the declaration ofthe eth of God and his ‘works with our emotional response. The balance beeen inalnandheanlel response deca ane dlficut. Oursongscan be ether 00 informa onal and doctrinal or too subjective and man-centered, 4 The Pesims prow us with songs that have the fall range of appropriate emotional responses to (Gods work and ou situation. Insome ages ofthe Church, hymns seemed primanly filled with repcntanee. In our age they seem prima filed with joy. The Paalms balance human confusion, frustration, distress, sare, and anger with joy, praise, hlessedness, and thanksgiving +The Psalms remind us that we ive sn a word of confit. ‘They impress upon usa biblical world of ‘hought in which dere san everpresnt anthesis berween the righteous and the wicked, the godly and the ungodly. (Only two Pst, | bebeve, do rot make that opposition explicit.) snirequenty tha antithesis found in most hymas How +The Palms sein us that we are che rue se of Cad. We have inherited the histay, the promises and the status of Isat of old and must ‘dently with tat rel (ef. Eph 23, Rm. 911 Heb 11, 1 Pet 12, Jom 1, Cal 16) pecially as we find ourselves i an increasingly polvtheistic world, the focused monotheism of che Psa is valuable for the Chueh, +The Psalms ate Christocentric, Fess testified that che Palins were writen about him (Luke 24:44 45). Martin Lather called the Peslter “2 isle Bible and found it full of Christ. An ancient saying inthe Charch declares. “Semper in ore palms, semper in corde Chasstus" Calways 3 psalm inthe mouth, always Cit in the heat’. ‘The Palms contain explicit prophecies of Chist ea, Palms 22 and 110), They abound in the ‘pes whch slkanine Christ. They open is redemptive work from he person and work ofmany perspectives. ‘The Church must avoid the tendeney of both liberalism and dispensationalise toms Chrisrin the Psalns and miss the continu of Irae in the Old and New Testaments John Calva recognized the value of sioging the Palms. He insted major lumial reforms in the (Church of Cane ater careful rellection onthe character and roe of msc in worship. He came wo conclude tht the Prams were the best songs forthe Church since God biewslf had given chem to the Church. (In Geneva the ‘hurl sang Psalms in unison without any insteumental accompaniment) Most Reformed churches in Taro followed Geneva practice and Pslm-snging became one ofthe distinctive marks ofthe Reformed churches. Some Cabins went beyom Cavin, anny that Palms were the ony songs permitted in divine worship, ‘This postion was argued with paicular vigor in Scotland where Presbyterian faced repeated ose presse 10 ahandon thoi ditnctive forms of worship, The Scots responded that they mest obey Go rather than man and applied tha precile wo the defense ol exchsive plod. ‘Servs debates 0 this sve tok place aronyg Cassin he cightcenth and ninetcenth centuries 28 some Refi churches intexiuced the we of hyransin worship. Objections to More Psalmody lemay be help to consider six common objections co greater (possibly even exclusive) use of the Pls, and to offer reasonable responses to ther, Obyeetion 1 stones in Go eae thi pesto “This objection fails vo understand the nature of the biblical imprecatons, The imiprecations ste not the personal prayer of the Christin axainst personal te the prayews of Chist and the Cush against the enemies of God. They ae realy no diferent foom the prayers ofthe Church for the return of Chis ‘whic wil fring ath blessing abd jugsent The mprcaon of the Psi (ie, xe fl abhi Objection 2, The Nu Tetanont outhrzs the ur of sired bys: Co 51a (Ep) 518), «Cor 14:26, oy Figen unl th Na Tmt ‘This objection is not as clear as it may appear. A) Neither Col 3.16 nor Eph. 5:19 refers unambiguously 10 public worship ot the fre use of uninspited songs that worship, The words in those verss for song all may refer o canonical Psalms, B) 1 Cor. 24.26, I beheve, does refer w sngs other than canonical Psalms, But these thers songs ae most likely spre songs ven by the Spire throgh Spiriteendued Kadersip in the aly Church. The psalm, teaching. evelaion, tongues and inwerpetaion of tongues in this en ll seem 19 me to be lsinelyinspiced? Those inspite sons, however, were not preserved as a part of Serptue forthe use of the ‘Church usivesal. C) Fragments of poems do seem to be quoted by biblical authors at points inthe New Testament “Those fragments cannot with any cerainy be seen a songs, uch les s songs used in public worship. ‘Objection 8, The Pane sor stn pate fom od Fi of tous This observation sue a fara i oes. Thane fair ‘with hymns are acastomed to lof thought and poetic form thats common tothe westem world, In such a workd the Psy de sem strange inspired by God we shuld expend the eff to appreciate ‘why they have the fom they do and what we can Fea from them. (We must resist the common tendency in church rise only 10 like he fara ae tf “That tendeney found among the devotees oF every kine fofchurch musi} Indeed the very srangenessof the Psalms nay speak of eu ec fr them. Perhaps John Up captured this thought when he wrote of “fingertins sensitized bythe sandpaper ofan abrasive ceed” But sine the Paks ane ‘Objection ts Thesiger ol egg of the el anol Pe. AA good metrical version ofthe Pals not ony gives 8 very close translation of the Palms, but also sees to translate Hebrew poetry into a western poet form. To communicate something of poetic form along with verbo translation is 2 strengsh ofthe metrical psalms Objection 5: We do ot buen ne th which sig th Pras Indeed we do not hove inspired tures, God bas felt is reaple fee 19 compose tunss from varius cltral and Ihistocicl settings to support the singing of the Psalms ‘Two criteria would seem to provide adequate soteguards forthe Church in writing andl choosing tunes: firs sors tunes shouldbe appropiate ta the content of the Pais, and second, they should be singable by conereyation Objection 6: The Pats re mt fly Cie ‘The elaboration of this obection suaests that at each sage ofthe history of redemption inthe Old Testament fey, establishment of che Messic economy, the celebration of the Davide kingship and the exe), new songs were added to the eason. Iti mos likly, chen, thac at the mos portant development othe history of redemption the actual seveltion of the Savior that new sons would company the new covenant in Fess ‘The objection argues that we should obviously celebrate the mame and work of the Savior in the most expat weighty of any agains excusivo—or lrg exchaive— psalmody: Several responses might be offered A) This objection as stated is abstract and This objecsion is surely the most sigrticant and speculative, @ fou in Reformed theological reflection‘My Go ny Gd. © why hae You Femaken mo Ovchy ‘Ar Yu Taro vir elo ‘And irom my guaringas? Bye and ight ony Ce, Leal Your sneer al day Andy Yaa he Fly One Who diel in pra ‘Our aor puree ot You, From Yor ther reve came “They heyged You ar! Y x ther free “They were nor puto hae Be aeforme Tam 3 oem Ande man 33 ‘Tomen lam despised aad base “Thewscomigs oneal All thos eho lok x me wl uh And east epoach at ne “Thou mouths they open wide they ag “Thotehesde im mockers “The Loxb was is chance once, New sce wht Ga will Ye let God and ci res, “Thistan tha war His end, Yo 3k me om my mers woe Tosakey athe hr, Since ink when weet on Ye nou my Cod, rt. Bestar fr ge rea, ‘And ane ein fund For ball of han in ther ret Now ete me aun “Thee ones they open wie, And rare eae her ey My bene is wa. my bones urn, My fe poured aay ‘My song ic ony Bren cy, My mouth and rong ae dy For nthe very dst of dese You thee make met le For chow dos ence me (On every side there sande Alvudiahood of cel: Thay ery ct and hard ‘My be te lan forme wo cou, Men seme ar hey ste My clothes amar the thy divide, ‘And gala lor Ur ohare “The Book of Psalms which in Hebrew i entitled the Book of Prases"—enables congregations to respond to Gods gracioustess using his inspired word. Here Psalm 22, act in common meter (a hine oF 8 bears followed by one of 6 beats, 8 6, etc), helps che faithful saving work of Godin Christ. Now uy. Oy Siena bel Do et be fa; O Los Bucs sol ro agi os Aid spae me rom ihe sword. Fro rs ma rd nce ara O aves, hear ny paver {Ara wo oy brethren be burch Your nao Fol dec et hove tha fae he ang Ge glory t0 me so, All cob sed all be ee, Inne before Hi os Fore did mo deni nor spur “The iet of ne opresed Nor dd He shan hs ry or hel, tea and ave est Wen prciim my pase of Yow “Then all he church ll hear, And Tl pay my vows ful ‘Where mes hold Hi The wrctched poor wl et hei fl And willbe made eure ‘Aa those who sec will pra che Lo, Soet your heats endure “Then men nrmember a he Lm Tocarh rote shoe, Aral the Gentile Ged {Towurip and ade Fora denoion nthe cath woniy of te Lm Arig the ratios He mas “The pve ofthe ward. “Ta Hi willl the ich how denen Who rast and lve nee Anal howe sole descend ro dost {Wil fll upon thes knees There shal forever be 9 ced “Tasere Him ly Ageneation of the LORD ies seed be Aa they wil come an wil make Town Te pee ye to be Te iio hat s His ow, For nec hs bak ‘Only Scripture cam tell us what songs ate needed celebrate the new covenant. Many elements in the ‘worship of the Church will be explicitly new covenant some Bible readings, some Biessnys, sermons, prayers Sacraments. Mascall be? The service asa whole must be explicitly new covenant, but must every element? Only the Scripture itself can answer chat question 1B) The Psalms are nota ull and explicit statement and celebration of the old covenant. Many aspects of Irae history, law, and sacfices ate not mentioned in the Psalms. Key institutions like the Sabbath and the prophetic ofice are alas entirely absent. One cou not sally roconstrct the Mosaic economy from the evidence in the Psalter alone. Clearly the Psalms dig not seck to cary the whole charseter ofthe old covenant. (©) The inspite songs a the new covers, sich a6 the ones that we have inthe Book of Revelation are no more explicitly Chrstocentric than the Psalms. The mame of Jesus snot use and fe called the Lamb (Rev 5 and 19), the Chest (Re 11), and Gind and King (Rev 15), Those are all tiles found in she Old Testament. ‘The distinction between the old song of creation and the ind in the Book of the Revelation (chaps, 4 and, isa distinction taken over from the Psalter (Psalms 40.3, 961, 981, 14940, The Pralter abounds inthe new songs of redemption. 1D) The titles and types used of Christin the Okt Testament generally and in the Psaer particularly do not veil hin, bu n face eves hi, explaining who he i and ‘what he has done. (Tits and types such as: Lord shepherd, king, rics, cic, temple te} Withet the rich background of Old Testament religion we would not tndersand the person and work of Chr as fully we do Idea thove ties an types are not fall ermprchensible ‘ul the coming af ess, In that sense the Pslterbelongs yae tothe new covert than tothe oe Ako, in shat sere, the Maker is more useul forthe New Testament church than it was for dhe od eenenane pene Opinions will probably continue co «lifer on the penuesiveness of angenents forthe rxsive we of the Paalsfor singing i public worship. Cope that these reflections on the value of the Peslms, however, wil «encourage all Christians to much grew ofthe Pals My own experience has been that the more Isr chem the more T love them and the more T sense the completeness of shee religious expression of the praise vw Gos. In che music wars that bese the Church today the Psalms are lle discussed or appreciated. Surely is ironic that those who love the Bible seem often Uuninterested in singing it—and learning sin that way ‘We do need the Peal for our spinal wellbeing, a new song of redemption, W. Rar Gad (PAD, Sigel), amcuhr af th comet of th Alin of Config Eventhc, frit and rofoxor durch bry at Wotan Telia Siar in Cai,A ASSEMBLE MY PEOPLE | The Worship Event How Does The Word of Christ Dwell in Us Richly? Blessing and honor and glory and power, Give we the glory and praise to the Lamb, ‘Wisdom and riches and strength evermore ‘ake we the robe and the harp and the palm, Give ye to him who our battle hath won, Sing we the song othe Lamb shat was sain, Whose are the kingdom, the crown, and the tome Dying. in weakness, but rising vo reign, bese words were writen in 1866 by the Scottish Free Church pastor, Hortus Bonar. Boner had begun {ownice poems to be sung by children while he wasa your assistant the minister in Leith, This he ed because the culdren were lacklistern the singing of metal palms, hy a sense was akin of catechesis. Oddly enous, these texts were sang in churches of other denominations long before they ‘were sig within the Free Church where Bonar was an ordained minister of the Word! It was a f 10 sy, "Wwe mst ‘you when you stand inthe put, bat not when you sing” To this day one can fin Bona texts Presbyterian, Baptist, Lateran, Methodist, and many other hymnal. Those who heard him preach from the pulpit ae long dead and gone, but Bonar still preaches, and his preaching i heard widely. Here is a man truly preaching in and our of season, causing the Word of Chast to dell icy nal sons of people, by LEONARD R. PAYTON(One of Bomar’ avert themes was the Lamb of God and his work of redemption, Bonar was hardly unique in this. Pope Sergius brough a now famous song int the ‘communion liturgy about 700 AD. which reeds (© Christ, thou Lamb of Ged, that akest away the sin ofthe world have mercy upon us ©-Christ, thou Lamb of Cod, that takest away the sin ofthe world have merey upon us (0 Christ, thou Lamb of Cod, that takest away the sin ofthe world sant us you peace “il hy Cospl bring vo me Lite and immortality Because our Father in Heaven loves ws, he cals us together regularly to receive all the blessings in Chris, chic of which i the forgivenes of ins. ll alle and Inealth come from the forgiveness of sins. That i why it Js listed first in the numerous blessinus of Palm 103. 1 think Martin Lather dsl this cleanly 4 his Smal (Catechism when he said "for where there i forgiveness ‘ofsins, there al feand salation” [belabor this point because its so simple, an! because ofits simplicity, in our redder sophistication we are sempted to pass ver the forgiveness of sins quickly inthe interest of wetting onto the glitering pariclarsol sanctification, Inse doing, we shally and unintentionally cut loove saneufication {rom its moorings, namely, the forgivencs af sins. We need this continuous forgiveness of ins not because Alter the family conversation, we have the family meal, the Lord’ Supper. Ibis the Chvit has to dic more than cance, No. Chriss death on the "communion of the body and blood of the Lord’ (1 Cor. 10:16). We cat it together cross sulficient forall. Rather, we need this ongoing ‘There is no more intense expression of Christian fellowship this side of heaven, forgiveness of sins haus we catine tos, This is why our frst order of business when Cot Aha! So this isa Roman Catholic accretion! Well, lls us together in his name is to confess our sins not really Sergius was 2 Greek rom Syra, where togetherand toreceive absolution. Again, Moncgomey: Christians hed long consciously exalted the Lamb of Gerd, Beyord this, truly outajes to adchens the While thy ministers proclaim Lambof God so ditecty inthe common liurgy? Ard Prace al pare in thy name, invhat way is this wrong, even itis aRoman Catholic Threugh their woe, by faith, may [ accretion? Alter all. Jesus dd say, ‘And this the will of Hear thee speaking from the sky. him who sent Me, tht xr iso ses Qh Som al ei Fin nay be erasing Nie" John 6:40), How does one bbehold the Lamb of God and beliove and live? In some ses, we cannot divide sein and believing ‘The Family Gathering Jn 10812, lames Momyomery ote “To your temple I repair, Lord love to worship there When within the vll I meet (Chie befove the mercy seat. We area larae adopted lamily, Each of rom ime cotime {indeed often; behaves hke ou od fly. This caled “the flesh” Jes sn. Ie puts isin the bonds oF atfetion berween us and our Heavenly Father, and between us within che body of Chit. Our lout Heavenly Father i eeply grieved by this, but cannot merely sex the sin und the ag, because he is hoy. Agein, Montgomery While I heaken o thy Ta, Pll my soul wath humble asec Having confessed our sins and received absolution wwe have the family conversation, God speaks (0 us together in the preached Word, im the read revealed Word, and in “the Word of Christ dwelling vichly us” that is congregational singing (Col, 3:61. We, in turn, speak to God together in our pravers and in our singin ‘We even speak to ane another in psalns, yarns, and spintusl songs (Cal, 3:16) ‘Lecme saya brie! word about congregational singing as the Word. Right up front this assertion 1s counterinnitive,Ithinkthisi¢so for one of two reasons, depending on the type of congregational experience, Fist, sometimes we cant ake congregational singing seriously as the Word because what being sng isso thin and fatuous. It fels good, and we want r0 keep it rig there. On the other side ofthe ledge, we cant ake ongreyational singing seriously as the Word because we dos litle of. proportion tothe other kinds of things that happen in the servic, in proportion to the other kinds of music we consume the other one-hundred, sixty-seven hans ofthe week, Now, with this sn mind woul we ncrate the mandste of preaching merelybecause preachers give expositions of slogans on T: shits? Of course not, Would we negate the mandate of the publicly rad revealed Word merely becnuse the render wears a down sit? Of course not. Rather, we would strive for more faithful preaching, and more reverent eading, In the sae way, lets restore the word of Chris dwelling ius rchiy ois place. Bonar Here would I feed upon the bread of God. Here drink with you CO My Lond” the royal wine oF heaven, Here would I ay aide each earthly oad, Here taste afresh the calm of sn forgiven After the family conversation, we have the faily meal, the Lords Supper body and blood ofthe Land? (1 Cor 116). We eat i together (Christian fellowship this side of heaven. We may not see it Our senses ae inadequate to the tsk. We may not Feel i, but it abjectively so. everything is right. We are ready to live rut our ves together in the fellowship that occurs outside of and beyond the service Iris the ‘communion of the ‘There is no more intense exprewion of Again Bonar: ey my sin on Jess, the spotless Lamb of God. [He ars them allan fces ts from the accursed oa bring my gull o esus co wash my crmgon stains {Clean in is blood most precio ill nota ‘The Centrality of Gods Aetion 1 often hear gathered worship described a “ma centered,’ pejorative appellation, "Gaxd-centered an approbation, OF couse, the former label is no-brainer. We we it precisely browse of iy extravagant ad hominem value Bat what about dhe fitter label? What ahout statements Hike, “At X Church, we are God! centered, our services are dignified and centered around the wlory of Goel. We exalt God aX Charehe* heii all ellya bit ie “I have decided to follow Jesus” [My youngest son is five years old. He is beginaing towrite by copying the words of “Go Dows, Gio” A few days ago, he gave me a seal of his writing, very proud of the accomplishmens. He gave it to me because he wanted 1 give mea present, and in cat spit, [received ve wrth yreat delight. But, wath be told, he dda understand a word he had wentien, the wating 9s dlc o ead, and there were Food s | could have done a much beter job on my own had L decided that a seroll extrac from “Go Dos, Ca ws necessary to my existence, Do ned anything from my inson the pap. five year old? No. Do | want anything from him? Of course Ido. want his lave and afection, Tesi ike this when our Heavenly Tather draws his Jamuily vogether. He ves us the fonsivenes of sin, hfe and salvation in Christ. We give him the afection of ‘much-loved chien, Ta be honest then, This famuby tgthering is mar-cemtered, bt on Gols we Gad meets ‘aur needs in gathered worship hens tn Asaph, speaking the Word of the Lord, sail. "Call ‘upon me inthe day of trouble; wil deliver you, and you shall glonity me" (Psslm 30:15), What doy isthe day of trouble? Fvery day that wesin. We need to keep a sense of proportion in gathered worship and receive Gods silts tous in Word and Sacrament with one simple word, ‘Thanks. Montgomery once more: Trom Tay house when I rtur, May my heart within me burn, And a evening et me ty have walked with God today Or perhaps, ‘I have beheld the Lamb of Cod toxay. 0 Lozard Bayon (PhD. Us of Clif, Sar Digs cbf maa a Reker Pray Circ, i, Tas he minior lade worship. a6 a comvenation between God anal the people. Inthe movement of wonip God spanks this worshipers, and they respord to him. .The oe ofthe miner in Fading ths alg between God and is pop semis caren bse 9 erp tse mnie bo speaks for Cod tothe congegion and sptks forthe congregation to God. When the minster reads dhe Bbl, preaches, animes the Sacraments, o prone the bene he pak for Cato the conreaton. When he fe the pastel prays, he speaks for the congregation to God Robert Godfcy, Pang Cal ie Our Wari, 56,A ASSEMBLE MY PEOPLE | The Worship Event Is Emotion Improper? motions, obviously are apart of ws. The emotional self, along with the physical intellectual, and social, make up who we are. The Seriptures speak of us as body and seul or body and spit, All hese ate parts of what ‘makes us the persons we ate; all are therefore gilts of Gods creation. But all ae also under the curse of sin, ‘They are all therefore flawed. When we use our in’, this can serve a6 2 blessing, but sometimes that same intellect ean be a will unto sell. So when we lear of Gods redemprion for us, we are thankful that this salation isnot only for cu spiral being, but for our whole being. Thus, for instance, we confess the resurrection ofthe body ‘On one accasion, eanhy in his mins, Pr, Billy Graham was accused of exciting the emotions in his crusades. "The emosions are certainly involved” he replied, "Yo I speak co people about Gods lve, and love 6 an emotional thing!” So when we hear the Word of Goats Gospel in the divine serie, we too respond with the emoiion of love for im who ss loved ws, We are tefl for apponunites vo use our itellet, ous bodes, ‘our whole being in is service. When we come to Gods ‘worship, weare engaged in our whole being. We respond ‘to Cod message both tntllecely and emovonlly by RONALD FEUERHAHNBat is there an improper wy to ue our emotions oF ta give emphasis to our feelings in Gaxts worship? That may be the wrong question, for we don exactly ‘use! our So, to put it another way: Can we be to cotional? Again, thats not the real nestion. But f we ask whether there isa way in which we expect or desire certain feelings in the divine sewice, perhaps We ae getting closer roa proper concern Imagine a scene in whieh three con received the Lords Supper for the frst time. les alter theservice, and one gil sys toher friends: ‘Did you fel any differen” One of the frends respond, "was nervous." "Dut," persists the fist one, “dd you. fel anything different” ‘The third gil answers, the wine burned on the way down" ‘The fren Luigh, "Wel, Lind of thought would feel something, I dont know, just diferent, somchow We dont say the gil was wrong. Her expectation was rite understandable. But what might bea problem here is that her expectation was misplaced, She was looking for the wrong thing. The important coocem is what God has done, has given. When she focused on her leetings she may have been dhappointed and bkely auld aeays he. Feelings, as we know, can be very unpredictable. Emotions depend on so mary diferent {hings, perhaps even things as mundane a indigestion oul have What Is Certain? Bur the one thing certain het, the ane thing she cam hays fn matter how she feels or thinks, thas Gord is here with his gifs. Thats Gods promise, a promise given substance inthe Hesh and blood of Christ, here forher. Her Lords there forher ne because of her rood, her understanding, not even he fail here because of his will and Word. She can come to the Supper feling happy oF sad, bright or blue, but thas doesnt matier. Go and hist will be the se. She assured chat she is fogiven, no matter how she fel ‘One of the greatest dangers of an emphasis on emotions feelings is that dis cat ipl that the way we fee fleets cur acceptance with Gnd. This was one ofthe mos spiriually dbilnating atures of Piet, ft actually caused people ro believe tht the sign of Gods acceptance was whether or nat they felt accepted When the kevel of our emotional apie becomes the criterion of worships efectiveness, then wwe become prisoners ofa very uncertain power When T came out af church on a Sunday morning and dor fel any diferent, does this indicate a fallare in the service—or even in me? Does the fact that lam not “uplifted” by the sermon or hymns indicate that they. We acknowledge that a sermon or other parts ofthe divine service might e ill prepared to serve Gods holy purpose, our wn condinion may even contribute to that, But is the blessing of Gods action finally dependent on the nastor or mys No, Christ is were not up beat encaigh? ultimately the Blessing is Cods even through wesk vessels, by the power of his Holy Spirit, His promise i there through Word and Sacrament, regardless of the pastor effectiveness or my mood. The divine service i Intended to point us away from ourselves to God, Infact, thatis one of che most impontant things about the divine ervice: i is meant to point us away’ from couselves and point us ro God, 10 Christ and his eros This is fact we need ta be reminded of often, As one rman ebserved "we place ourseles a the center of cur projects” To focus on ourselves, for instance on eur Feelings, can threaten worship. improper use of cur rason ean wry Gods el but 0 can an improper emphasis on our feelings. When, for ‘instance, we seek ta be moved’ by warship, we facus on ‘ourselves rather than on God Bat when we begin wth the stance of recipients of Gods ats in Word and Sacraments, Cod isthe one who decides the nature of the worship, including its mood We know that an God's Action ‘When Cod comes to us in his service, he speaks, he pours water, he (eds sully, we are guilty whether we feel guilty or not And when God then declares a righteous, forgives ‘ur sins, ves his promised blessing, we ane blessed whether ornnt we fel gond or different. God even calls Us saints when we hardly feel lke saints (or act lke saints) But when God declares i 0 be, so #18 Our cenations cannot hice or black the tith of Gods Word, We can hinder Gods Word, to be sure, bit we cannot change the uth or sureness of his aw and promise So its nota question of whether or not ur emotions When his law sys that we are are involved its not a mater of whether we “use” our Basially we dont approsch Gos service thinking about or emotions or ow intellect of or bodies We approach Gods service, hearin is ‘nwitaion and all his wos, and ceceving his gilts ‘The emotions and the intellect are involved, but in 3 way that we dost chink about them. We come to the divine service confident and thankiul that Gods thinking about ur feelings and about everything ele pertaining tothe well-being of ourlives. Then, when we are thankiul for Gods gracious concern and promised gilts, the emotions are likely to be very much present in ‘our worship, Tor 8 jovtl response is the Christian’ satura reply tall that Chest has done for ws coal that The has given us, Pras be his Name Ronald Fras (PhD. Cambie) 6 poser at Concord Talal Sonnary mS Laas. Aa in oft eile espe i Lutheran Worship Notes, 2 (99)Interview with Gregory Boyd Is God Dependent On Us? Te lst ese of MR was devote! ta erties] examination af contemporary evangelical challenges to the casieal Cry Peto sa Tele Snr doctrine of Gad To conclude these discussions, we ae including inthis isa both a review by Paul Helm af of Sanders stternt to articulate an "Open! view of providence, and the following interview with an outspoken “openness ‘of Gos theologian, Gregory Boye MR: Bris elie the “Ono of Ga potion ond at atm w i lal doco of Gad GB: ln my view, the “Openness of Gd’ postion s mare shout eration than itis about God. fd rather eallit ‘the openness of creation’ postion, oF "open «creationism The view simply states tha che fuse is partly apen to possibilities, and since God i omniscient and knows al of reality Just ike 4, he hows the future as being pany open to pomsbities, In the easel view of Cas the faure eteraly sete For God there genuine posiblitie—no genuine “maybe, MR: Wy do you thik hi alent is ue ten grin wna f eagle» enact GB. There ae anny factors, but ane of the moi importane sre has to-do with the fat that throughous witnessing the prdual demise o he tational western understanding the oventicth century we have bee fof realty which was erected on the twin foundational pillars of ancient Greek philosophy and enlightenment raion fn many areas of scence, for example, have been witnessing the emergence of a more dynamic view of reality in which ime as an ineversible process plays a ental role In my ve, this param shit has Iheen postive, for st has alawed people w read Septure and to think about God and the werld in ways that are less influenced by Plo, Ansotle, the Stoks, and Newton, MR: Ho relation if Gal de cn sti Citic Gs promi of oe kw al aire cmt, ma on GB: | jusiy ic by appealing to Gols Word. Cod says hell redeem those eho put their trust am fim, and belive it. God wouldnt promise something he cout pull off. Ido not se that this promise logically entils that allure events be seed, either in Govls will or Gaafs mind. And donot sce that Sept teaches that all future events be settled In my view, #8 a very ‘insecure dety who needs to-coneal ying in onder co censure ayia IMR: A typical fet to thr as doc that rots So mach om agen (cially, Ske) Hoy. sm st bce th your esto et of Gd bas bo Whar ort roenstyh trast ad etn f buon stone, sel asonabenns> Clark Penk, fr ast, be sad snd bce have “ally made one peace wth te cote of ody” Jha coo fet (GR: Ido not koxow what Pamack meant when he spoke bout “coming to peace with the “eultue of modem. Ihe meant that the Open view is completely Jrarmumies with che “culture of moderniy”— seh you sccm 10 mply-—T would stomgly disagree wath hm. But I doube this what he meat. In any’ ease, in my view the freedom which the Open view attnbutes 10 free moral agents + no different than what wradkional Anminianism ascribed to them, sts ust worked out with Tes influence from the pagan sources mentioned inthe question MR: Thro sy of Go aed wor si ser ofc ot mc of hear, procs ought (i, he an chang nel oblariy- amone mite Deli. To hat ett doyou think throb? rend ing snd proces GB: None Despite uninformed protests 10 the contrary, the two movements have next to nothing i They both alfim thar the furure parly ‘consists in possibilities, and tha ist. Some Open theists (ouch a5 myself) find certain arguments of Process theologians for a dynamic view of reality, for a responsive God, andor for a partly open future persuasive But I dant know of any who have become nr many areas of science, we have been witnessing the emergence of a more dynamic view of reality in which time as an irreversible process plays a central role (Open theists for that reason They are Oren thebis hheeause they believe Serpture teaches this Consider that L. D. McCabe, the renowned Methodist profesor and chancellor of Ohio Wesleyan Universiy in the nineteenth century was a widely publshed Open thet seventy years before Whichead published Proce ond Realy. Others in the nineteenth century held this view as well fond, incidental “ert” for doing 0 x were not jue as being MRE If Gd ids ote world land aw) a ht some cient fr bis hpi. rook, ou nd sce am rally asi al loo asd praia God GB: IF God bal to depend! on something other than bimslf, my answer would be no, Buty the same token, it Cod had to avoid al forms of dependency in order to be great, ould abo sy no, fay view, we ci anenbe al glory and pease wo Gov only when we recogenze that he fre to be independent insofar as he chooses, and free to be dependent insolaras he chooses. The elsical tmdiion deried Gad the second freedom, at kast by logical implication, for € asaumed that all forms of dependency exerplty weakness. Bur why chink that Dealt Scripture consistently depier God as saffring, hheatbreak and frustration when we turn from him and as changing his mind about us when we change our mind about him fe, Jer 18)? And doesnt cis imply thax Gad has chosen, by his own sovereign voltion, to have his happiness and his planning to some extent dependent fon what we dor Moreover, don't we ordinarily see people who allow themselves to become dependent in erin ways on others who they Tove a exer strength, nota weakness? Init the unwillingness to da ‘his sign of insecurity and weakness) MR: Whotdncins doy dink the nope wl ab in lic! hoy ad do yo tin tt classical tho ol ‘atte tor? 1 do not sce that this ‘new perspective leads forward inany particular dsection, though | do believe tha it ill ‘hear a great deal of kingdom fut 36 gers increasingly ‘worked out in the Churché theology and lie Among cother things, 1 hope and pray that the Church wil Inecome more aggressive in engaging in spiral warfare it frees itt rom theillsion that everyehing in history fallows a divine Bheprint. Will classical theology weather the storm? If you mean by “lasical theology’ the view that God is aliogether devoid of change potentiality, and_ passion, and that God experiences all of history imam eter istant—I hope not Far Ise this view of God as being far more compat with Antec than withthe Bible. MR: What do yo tink steht of Whe arth ha ofourcnal ts» Or tation. hat rool la tele oly Joss sol out te bod of te Anakin, fra you are cone? GB: If someone lleyes thar Seriprre 16 mistaken in seaething teaches, a they deny thay Chris Lord or that God is Father, Son and Holy Spit, they deny that ‘Goal is Creator ofall shat iso that he i the sovereign Lord uf history, working in history to accomplish his desired objectives, | would have trouble calling them “evangelical.”cS BOOK | The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence Openness Theology and God's “Project” for the Future be Ga Who Rid A Tholagy of Prandony i, co my knowledge, the fist book-length there is anything here that is owe! or that casts futher light onthe theology of ‘openness: tweatment ofthe idea of providence that one gets fone takes the ‘openness’ of God view As wich it tobe weleamed by hove who tke opposite sew, a view of provadence tha i a» Content The central theological chim fares is thatthe ‘openness view of God, and i alone, entils Gad is concerned risks. Forone af the ways in schich what Sanders calls relational sew of divine providence debate fstered is hy opposed points of Let us rely Inok at ach ofthese the “openness view THE GOD f vermtinsouticr serene pontionss of God andthe elton! eof pone WHORISKS Fc cthcyentcmcnty One tna! manos ter et hn een © of the great virwcs of this book is that crate individals with Fce wil, eth whom he deses Professor Sanders writes clearly. Iicusually —sendship and lellowship, with whom he reeiprocates in nor difficult 9 know what he means, And ime, and who have the power to thorn his purposes ad Fhe writes abrut the postion that hedisents often do so. As & shown by chapter five, "Divine from almost always fairly and accurately, Relaionalty sn the Christan Tradition’ this claim seems and always courteously, And so the pain to set the openness postion apart from mainstem {hat one sometimes experiences when Christin, even when chat steam & allowed t low reading material with which one sharply —tetween wide barks. How far apart depends upon the disagrees, particularly when that matter is positions understanding of divine foreknowledge, The fundamental wo ores entre eullook, is mautiainas dicamsions of divine forknowkelge and JOHN SANDERS comiderahly alleviated by Sandere’ human freedom by Augastinins, Thoms, Malini, and seatlemanly qualities, Arminians (to name but a Few) have been based upon the sssumption that Cd dos have complete foreknowledge Scope ‘ofthe fare merical foekownelede as Sande pars “The scope of the work will be friar to anyone In these discussions, the questions have alway been If who knows The Onanas of Goi, writen by several men and women are to be responsible for thee actions, authors, inching Sanders (lnerVarsity 1995), There then masini they be icktenminisically fee? And sf Goel The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence by fbn inde are chapters om the bibeal materia, both Old and New has meticulous foreknowledge, then how ean they be “Testaments, on historical eheology, then two important indctministcally free, they nocd t be? chapters on the divine character and on divine There seems to be considerable confusion in Sanders sovereignty, and finally one on the Chistian Me, The mind over whether God foreknows the fuure or not. At pening chapies, “The Nauare of Une Task" ss about certam pees (196) he asserts that Gud! his exhaustive language and methodological sues and in many ways it forcknovledge of what hs fice creatures will do, Tso, is the most important of all, Bur while thete ss then although Cod may cake sks, nothing can surprise considerably more detail in this expostion of the him Sanders cannot then tke hteally any of the position than in the carker hook, it eannot be sid that scriptural anthropomomnhsns whieh imply such surpriseI Yer ehewhere (199-200), Sonders ses the need to deny divine knowledge of future contingents in order to preserve the fature’ openness. If this tobe his position, think it mst be spaces the “operess view of Cas knowledge firmly outside the Chrisian mainstream, ‘Some hold the “openness” position for philosophical reasons. (Tor example, the main reasons offered by Swinburne, Lucas, Geach, and Hasker are all philosophical reasons) But Sande reasons are more Alirccly biel, He hole that this s what both the Old and New Testaments reach. Hence what he has to sy about human language about God and about hermeneutics! method i important, According. to Sanders, mach Christian theology has gone wrong due to the baletl infuence of Ausstine of Hippo, who favored Grevk entegores aver bibleal ctegones, and classically trinitarian, who as consequence read Grcck eas into the bic The relational view of providence flaws um the ‘openness position in the follving way. Suppose that the future is open and that God has providentil purposes, How is he to proceed? The answer must be, by endeavoring to enter into relations with men and women whe have, by theie freedom, the power to ‘overturn his purposes, So it follows that God can en, be fearl, nd come to fel remorse and reap, srprise and peer, ust hike you and me, The character of these relations is very like the character of some interhuman relations. Indeed, for those who accept the “opennes position the best “model” a favorite Sundry word) for thinking of divine providence sta think of it lke the relation that sometimes may exist between one furan ppenon and snother. Each may want the other to do something, To eoeree the other woul be to violate the tnuly personal quality of their relationship. Hence each rust reason and endeavor to persuade, with sympathy, respect, and lave. When sameane succeeds, in 2 culy personal way, 10 get the other to respond, he wl ‘experience please and ullment, and when he ls, he may suffer pain, frustration and anguish, Burin advance pf entering inta the relationship there no gurantee of the desired outcome. Hence cach such relationship i risky. This i how 4 according to Sanders, in any personal relationship, wherher berween human persons br beween God anid human persons. "Gods projet involves the creation of significant others who ar Comologically distinct fom himself and upon whom he showers his caring lve in the expectation tha hey will respond in love” (169), Te is claimed that his relaionaiey is itself grounded in the reatonalty chat ‘ets between the persons ofthe trintrian godhead Sources and Implications This the position. Let us tum to its source. the biblical data and especially the openness way of understanding tht data, and particu its sensiity to the charge of amthropemarphism (191). Sanders defends interpreting such anthropomorphism literally on the rounds tha it disincvely brace, He uhinks chat cfors x0 think of God non-anthropamoephically ‘depreciate’ that mode of thitking (21) and inevitably ‘disparage’ it, and even that they fail w ake the Incarnation seriously Moreover, what anthropomorphissm truly implies that all cur language bout God is derived fron human categories (2), Each fof these claims reveals misinderstancing, ane we shal return to them, Sanders i nearer raking a signifcane point when Cis hard to see how, in the long term, the openness position can remain he sys that Gad and we require haved contest (24). (Tdevelon this point later on There is 2 general problem with Sander of mode” suggests that no understanding af Cod form Serre i possible until we devise certain models and then snterpret the otherwise intractable data in terms of one of them, In this way, the idea that Scripture provides straightforward teaching about the essence and power of ‘Gods os, and wiht what che Reformers refered 0 as, the perspiaity (or clanty! of Sexpiure, Sica, Sanders pays litle or wo atention te pasages and cess which straightforwardly teach God knowledge of the future et alone his working of all things after the counsel ‘of his own will; much fess does he shone appreciason of te biblical wellprings ofthe Gospel of sovereign erace ‘The books doctrinal heat is found in chapter si Risk and the Divine Character’ which concerns the conceptual ntlligibiy ofthe “opennies” propor and chapter seven, “The Nature of Divine Sovereignty” Although considerable emphasis f given in chapter six tothe idea of divine grace and the free sovereig wil ‘Gad (169), Sanders makes it clea, i standard Arminian fashion, that Gods sovereign will can be defeated and that his grace may not be efficacious in respect 10 As snended effect, Tartana lave, not the more abaraet artributes of onmipotence and omiscence (175), is at the hear ofthe divine character. And love s precarious sind vulnerable, Presumably love cannot be thus by definition, since, one sannoses, the intemersonal love of the Tinity is both necesary and invulnerable. Sanders does nor dwell on the fact thatthe Tansy tel a pre Augustinan theological cansinact whch ses “alien GGreck terms, In acta show later, its hard to sce how, fn the long term, the openness postion ean remain classically tritarion’ I any case, Sonlers hinsell seareely avoids the use of philosophical lingasge wthor Sanders, because our plight is not so great, the power of God need not be so great either. There is no need of a covenant of grace to which God is immutably faithful, with promises on which the sinner can utterly rely, lear Greek ancestry (e4 223-24) odds providenil project is an expression of his wisdom ashe inceracts in human history in ways which, display competence and resourceluness. According t0 Sanders, he has a good “wack record (183) of succesflly engaging in reciprocal rations of love with humankind. God is faith in the sense thar there isa ‘constancy in his program (186), but is fithulness does not have immutability as core, because God 5 nox uunchangcable in that sense. Simi wigh his power he has sufficient power to manage all that he undertakes (191). As for Knowledge, the key sve fs nol the type fof knosedge an omniscient deity has hut the type of sovereignty. an omniscient God decides to exercise 1951, So all divine atibuses are redefined in terms of their fumgness to enable God to camry oat his ‘openness project (206-7) (Chapter seven is devoted to the ssue of divine sovereunty. Predictably by naw, sich sovereigmiy defined interns ofthe sant of project God fas (208-9), He has sovereignly chosen the ‘project of reciprocal love (211): he is nor a God of particular providence bbecase if he were he would not bea the Bible porzays him (212-13), Rather, he exercises general sovereignty—he is a boundarysetter—making cles ‘which Lint hs ow power ana this making germinely inccterminisic,rsky-fonGod choices posable. He i rot so much like a chess Grand Master (229) asa theater Aiector (217) allowing the actors thei own creativity. The final chapter applies the openness postion to the Chusuan Ife, to grace and evs, and parculaly to those reo perennials—uidance and praver, Grace mast be resistble and only elficacions when the sinner provides independently walled cooperation One of the ways in which Gods purposes fails through our failure te pray (273), snd he acts only becsuse we have freely those cask him 10 do sa (274), On wuidanee, Cod seeks to cooperate with our freedom in guiding us, but the suceess of his project cannot be quaranteed—for we may choose wo thwart it, In general ake any Chisia doctrine eg, the Cross, eeewon and Sanders produces a defeasible version oft, the Cross could be unavailing (100-1), he divine election ofA requires thar A accepts his election (61), and so on. Con Sanders! position, so. very dilfereat ftom the torhodowy that his come down uo us through Paul Auumstine, and countless others, 88s series aeesOns rot al of hich can be addresed here, But should be noted that what is fundamentally at sake is wot ciferent understandings of the nature of God and of the Interpretation ofthis or that pasage of Senprur, but 2 profoundly diferent appreciation of mankines plight ane Gadd power. For Sanders, because our plight is not so reat, she power of God need not he so great either. There is no need of a covenant of grace 0 which Cod is imutably faithful, with promises on which the sinner can uterly rely, This, ultimately why’ Sander’ book i s0 superficial, In treating the language of accommodation, reciprocity andthe rest the book does not get to the heart ofthe sue only 3 God ofmeticulous providence can ensure the salvation of his elect. However, in the hope of fostering further discussion | sul estect myself to seme ofthe bok’ ena aes — to those places where Sanders gives a misleading impression of the “no rik’ view of providence, perhaps Inecase he is misnderstood tale places where his ‘vn argument i nelcar or deficient 1, The Nature of Risk, Determination, and Permission Let us first he clear on that the “no rik” vw of providence does and doesnot imply, awiding the sort of risunderstanainy Sanders falls into (54:55), Gos risless government is for the rst part what I shal al jostie sereenent Positive government ts poverment in which the he governs But God cannot bring abuut colin the sense in which he would be the author af in Dees this mean that God who cannot positively govern cel takes nicks? [ do not think so, For there i a least ‘one way of saesaarding God sk feels contzo inthe cae of human actions which are movally evil, namely, the idea of Cod wing persatng particular evil actions Such permission is mot compatible with positive owernment a have characterized i, butt consent with sklessness. God does not and cannot wall ich ei etons, but he may nevertheless be willing for them to ‘occur Bars noc anyone who i willing fran ev action aout whatever to occur the cause of that action, ora least am accessory t01t, and so himself evil? But why should this ‘Godl postively yoverns acts which are nate He governsall other ass (eviaets by pemtsing them, since the cannot positively gover them. However, if such ‘perission is ta be consistent with the absence of risk then it has ro be a particular kind of emission, whas to bye knwwingly and wilingly given, and st has co be pemsssion of parsiclar actions, So God postvely ‘govern all acts which occur except those which are evi and he negatively governs el acts by willinglySo one may make seme of the ides of divine permission ina way that is compatible with risk-fceness if ane is prepared eo maintain that there ae types of etions which Cod can prevent but which he nevertheless camnot cause, even though he may be willing fr them to occur. Then God ean only costrol an cl action by willingly permiting it, by deciding not to preventit, And the ev ction occurs because tis eased by the naures and circumstances of those who perpetrate it, bat not enused by God-—beeaise God cannot cause it—though willy permitted by God— because though fe cannot cause he ear willingly permit it, and does so fve might presume) asa necessary component part of some broader overall wll 2, Accommodation “The fundamental methodological inte raised by this book is how to teat she various types ot biblical language ant Cex] One of Sanders series mbamrstaalings that Calvin and others thought of the langage of sccommodton as second best. (Sanders i sometimes stronger than this; he writes dha Calin and others think of sch langage, anhrpemorpam, a a esbin” 68), Nothing could be further from the tnith, The fundamental point is that such language snot dispensable bt necessary, not necessry only fr he plohman but necesary forts view of our mora and metaphysical position oro God, IF the eternal God is to ‘cominumnicate 10 embocied intelligent creatures in spice snd time ant bring abo his purposes throu them, then he muse deo so by representing himself to them ways thatare not literally eue, For instance, how could be pt Moses fo the test apart from appearing to change his nin (On the theory of divine accommodation statements such as "God repented” are fale, if taken literally, because God doesnot literally repent, and cannot do so. But in what sense are they fake? Someone who upholds ‘he principle af non-contradkton in logic nevertheless may, when asked if cis raining, say "san its” In saying this he does not ekeve that he has floated the priveiple, bat he nevertheless succeeds in conveying something inteligible using language which, steely speaking ssncoheremt, Simiay, someane whe dees peocentram as 2 theory about che heavenly badkes may nevertheless say es wormer inthe garden now thatthe sur has cone ou rem behind the clouds" hog eral taken to corney a eth, Somtins looseness in speech Slane wail Buc at other mes language may be loose lohan judged from the standin of some theory) bur Fach ofthese sentences, she, may be al he very onponieaf walle, shard io behee that such Tange, the Innguage of accommoddtion, i ‘ypically misleading or wrong, i language which records he appearance of things sn an unpestintc and vv way 43. Relationality Sanders makes much of elationality, and i is certainly 2 popular theological theme least two dithculties. One is his and other use ofthe Tiny as the paradigm of a reciprocal relationship of lve to which God aspires in his endeavor to establish Tu there are at relasions with humankind. The problem is hat (at least fon an orthodox understanding of the Trinity) the selavions in which the uiniarian persons exist are nocessary—they crt not he other than they’ arc—and 0.can hardly bea condition so which crentures who are {and must ever remain) indeteministically free can connected with indeterministic freedom, The irony of this situation cers to have esped Sanders, The second hifieliy concerns the akea that parity So reciprcity can only be contingenthy Fhetwcen she partners and the enssing reciprocity i necessary fora relationship. Of course it possible co define a relationship in this way, bu he rest that you wll simply alle past those whom yout are trying t0 convince and misdesribe mary genuine human relations in the process. For such 2 definition i surely luncomsineing claim abut ordinary human reli You may have a relationship with someane wha cannot reciprocate: with a baby or someone with very low fnteligence, or with someone who isn a coma, or whe has fallen through the ie and is suck bencath i Someone in a coma has co be brought back to consciousness and to lt, bur this proces is isa ease ‘ofa personal relationship. Diane rseuing and bringing te ie, an all chat dha implies, the estan of a relationship the key to which « not indeterministc Juan freedom but the omlateral establishing of = rela of love that wil not fet go until thas secured reciprocal love by re-creating it According to A.gutinsnism, God establishes 2 genuinely personal relationship with peuple who are incapable of establishing it for cherseles. And Goel does this by a act of condescension and power, condescension because the isthe infinite Creator, and power because our plight 4 sls chat without that power the relationship could neither be established or continue, This is a different sort of divine-human relationship than that envisaged by Sanders. Bucs the bibica sor 4. The Scriptural B AS we have alteady noted, Sanders argues for the ‘openness pension a ostinn, thas, ram the Serpe, Hence the imporsance to him of hemencutial method Pursuing this from ime to time he asks a question Ike "Calvin says thar inthe use of certain expressions Cod is accommodating himsel to ws but how does he know" (66, 65,156). Sarcly the answer to this s obvious: ts that besides the accommodated language of Scripture there is non accommodated langage, For example “Then Joseph sal to them, Do no intenectationsove that will not let go until it has secured reciprocal love by re-creating it belong to Ged) Tell me your dreams” (Gen, 40) "Will the Saul come down, as your sewant has heard? © Lord, (God of sre, tell your servant” And the Lord said, He sell" (1 Sam, 239) understands every motive bchind the thoughts’ (1 Che 289) ns of Keilahsurendr me to him? Will “The Lord searches every heart and “All che days ordained for me were written in your ivine rescuing and bringing to life, and all that that implies, is the establishing of a relationship the key to which is not indeterministic human freedom but the unilateral establishing of a relationship of book before one of them came toe (Ps. 159.16). “Lvl raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: will make all his ways straight. He wl ebuild free” Is. 45:1 beginning’ ts 46.10). “foretold the former things ong ayo, my mouth announced them and I made the own. Therefore Hele you these things ln io, ny ity, ard se my eles T make known the end frm the before they hanpcned I annexneed them to yo 448.5) “This what the Lord God Almighty, the God llama says: Ifyou sirender tothe officers othe hing ‘of Babylon, yo Ife will he spared and this ity will not bbe burned down, youand your family wil ive. Bat ifyou will nor surender.."" er. 38:17). "Fo Jesus had known, fromm the begining which of them did not believe and who would betray. hin! John 668}, This man was handed over 10 you by Gods set purpose and foreknowledge and yo, sith the help of wicked men, rat ins er death (Acts 2:23), “Nathing inal creation hidden from Gods sight” (Heb 4.13). These passages show that Sanders is simply mistaken when he says thax litera talk about Gods imposible because all our language ahout Cad ic derived from human categories 2 Sanders mosly ianores soch dia, ‘That such clear language should have theological pronty over the unclear, the figurative, and anthropomorphic, is 2 matter of decision, but given that God is pure spirits surety a reasonable decison baba dita sul as that cived above has to be explained sone other way, ain ttn the antopomorphiss have terbe aken herally.Icahen follows that Gd hierally has Ive decide the other way, ches a physical shape, hei lacated in space and time, and 0 fon. No? Then lsnauage sbaut God location must be regarded as an instance of accommodate language Sanders makes much of che native langue about Gad, pontiulrly othe Old Testament such naratives cannot he devi Dk adequrely face the fact shat such narratives can only be That there ae he docs not lige within a raenowork in which God isable to bring abet that he as promised, Sands says, foe cevample, that she story of Joseph must be interpreted in ‘openness terms because of the presence of Inman responsibility and evil. Dut, as we have scen, the nts view embraces responsibility and ei 2s Joseph sid, his brothers meant i for ei, but God meant it for Rood (54 Tn sum, this book resents a view of divine providence which is sharply ddveryent from the Christian consemss, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, [submit that it offers what is, intllecually spcaking, an unstable pesiton like Adelt years ago, hey A ears against what i This is because, Hornack many regards a the intrusion of Greck terms into the biblical world picture, in i trnitarianism it employs such lerms—aubstance, person, essence IF it is 1 be cansstent, it must adopt an anthrapamorphic trintananism which 1s not taintarianam at all, but teitheism. Mone important than all ol chi, che proposals which ane embodied im the book depend upon an inadequate diagnosis of human need, raised do nat simply concern how one may interpre the narratives of the Old Testament and so how ane may For the isues come to have a reavoned preference af anc interpretative ‘mode! of Scripture over others. The sues raised go to the hear of the Gospel. For aur plight is sel that only 8 Gad who ean efectively Bring about his redemptive aims, God who works all things ater the counsel of his ‘own will—tha i, dhe God of Seripture—can help us. Pant He wofsor of bisery and pilsephy of region Kong Col LoadENDNOTES Worn the Lam or Entering the Sheep by Bran. Spinks HaHa Ras, Sy Ao 1, 19, Ban BS rh Ubon es Le th Lex Aree Lex Oran Towards adeno Ssker Serta New '> Cane Catan Mery Neil, Ayden 901, 1819, td, $5, ‘Char Frm Las Boni ion (New Vek Peng Revel [864,471 Amen, Wolpe Tyo Pack New Ys Oo 1965.77. The oping enka he ner Cac oe Wen Amey, Wht ithe ie and Feghoenfrmen? A Stn chan hosed ly Galas sen ew trv” ET in Tas iy ee Rei hah, Cavin Tamaion Str (81), 12627. ‘as (1536 eon 1744 Same Geneon oe eed proves Clo fanning le alan ser te eonfen sn hers ge fr nt ng Mh” ar oun a Ca re ne Rel Wood rch, Theses Veg 1979. "See abn Wir Nev, Te Ayal Pee A Nalin ot elo ait rin of fe Hr Eb Pilon. Linc, 124) Bin Geis, ane eid TE yf i Wor for 2000 a Bayly AL ary 18,6. "The Tray he Fr Tro Och #985), 39“ Sls Commision an pps ant sn cr Sree rom ewer Rw, Toc hatcnerdhan nk nla, hich eerie rst oro it, cnleniondy Later prevention on wore a a ce colin Eg Si Laer ok: Hite hai, Ar est Silk ie Sel Wp A Gai Lao Soe wih wld Be oo Hose St Lei AO, Pra TS ete Ton Tiare ai Lan Car Fushi He, 998), 2122. ur he eps, wears onensidcwWkhi, Oder ie tle a Refs on Cantenporary/Atematve Wop the ene dain which rt pened an imei he ry 188 dione LMS Rewer ce whore, So hoo “The Word Prohine by Michel Horton We-ne Neyan 199.22 TnL. hy ting ou ‘xa Hem ins wrth preci colar n MR 1s Contenporay Wop Becoming SlCr by Mich Horton Wowk uke vn 99,1. Te Td BA. i 2 “Sec. hn Fe, rink Wii Ms, AY Plata NI Pan lee 1971, pial ir 7. Wns pc 24h, 26 Te her rl Wier 18 Wide. 3 31 Tn 32", 36, Sethe ast Shem Mean Pnsagrg in Te rari Rin i nto Pox 97, or: sen ed Ul of Sa iNew Yr Freee Far far inaton wh yds pnt, a en Pps i th SenembesOueber 129fe oR Opennea Teslogy and Gals “Proje he Fetes by Pal Hee. Screech 90 ec MR. Rebar Seite, Te Cae Te (Oserd. Carendon Pre 977, chap 10 JL Las, Tie te Ose Pat 1989 hu 14, Por Geach, ian il Cai: Cambie Univer Pew 197, chap 3, Wil Hak, GT Kroc Bros Cel tay poms ot in i hea sepa othe “oem” soem (Th rw Ge [Cale Pesan Po, Comal Une, 1589 IDR he Cre er wih ire iain Hin ky ena revo (50s cerng Yo ot x pce ide wee popade by Seinen tess cent The nn om Oe es the wih ar rereciive Sr, nbn Bd, al ety (Vink Enn 6 in Wake W.H. Good pen nies ane of Th, 1966 Vol XD, Hi eas nthe srt ase God ch, 1 acm rip kx my Gansta nd rap owt her weld wi or can da, wh ah can do, hth ne ay hn. ere ny hing eb oe wich tn can ly vd propery ect Kil, wh rma gt of iho sheen iting nd org whan yl eek (9), “Tai ccc a bing ts om pp by oe rd soning ges thot the den oth foc he ah eke the tl ger envy ay who ned Hin Care ten, Bie ome wh ve he He, ede 2 far lin puro 2k «dst Etoen she od ard {1 have dient poe father in Taha Cain and Mises Susi Pl Hen Ganon 986), tr see ore se Per v0 ewan, ed ic, Com Unies Pon 180, 10.1 ible ‘sino snceme wih Wm Hoe Dots od Tike Rake Govern th Uninc nC ro ny of Rl Mac PenJames Montgomery Boice Children's Sermons dont do childrens sermons. I know they are popular with parents and that they are a staple in the Sunday serices of most evangelical churches. But I dont like them, and I dont da them. Letime expan why] My fist reason thn chiresermom dsc pepe am dhe worship of Cah Pry Cin Ser Mit Te Probytu Chak “They ae meant invchechlrenin the worhip sence br feng something appropriate to dei aye. Bu thee, wether tein oF ot 64 fess the atietion ofthe aks on the chidn, and that is oe what we should he coming to church to do. We shoul be focising on Godt | find hat whan chien re sited fond wo hearse ee swe fom the mins, the ats perk up an bos oa closeatentionothecalden. They areamused, They laugh Ici a bright spor inthe sence, Bur st noe wens, (Chie senmocsidetrac wership ee ifs bee i fm previ ehich offen i as at Tn prtice cide sermons conve dangerously clos o ida sine they inte ‘worip of heat ur loins athe tha the Lond ‘My second reason is cht children's sermons are part ‘of what se as an overall bad direction n which seviees have been moving, They are a part of what we cal ‘Gumbiny down nother dips Lecane paths way The goal we should have with ‘ur childrens to bring them up tothe level ofthe adlte— that is to enable cher to bento funtion on an ad level heir veaionships so God But what we have sceceded n doing instead i to bring the adults down to the level ofthe children, In many churches the sermon is hardly sued wo any senuively adult mind the pra ethorses wuld eter ata igh shoo ally chan the worship ofthe Bibk’s God, and the children’ sermons probably speak as mach w adult immansiy as co the lien. In fc, the childrens semans ae sully geared to the smallest children and the older children are inored The delense of this bad practice 4s probably that luldren cannot follow what goes on sn churel. But thax is aot te. They can, And even if they cannot follow what goes on at fist, our ask i to seach dhem so they both can and will, And why not? It does not reqite much more time to tench chikren to participate in the worshin service than i¢ does 40 prepare some af the childrens sermons | have hes ‘We have though bean this challenge a Tenth Presbyterian (Church in Philadelphia and have develope a few ies that we fn work prety well Tse, we keep the children in church from 2 much younger age than we used to do, We sil ake the very Iawle ones out for the patent sake a much as for shes We dont wont excesive distractions lor anyone. Ait we cep the children in church from the second grade up. They ean read at this age as well oy pnp, and we think its ond For ur familes to be worshining together Second, we prepare 2 chiens bulletin which the luldren pick up when the adults recede thers. The clas bulletin contin the textos sec tess the Ape Cree a there ar sce ars anc ae eats ith anos to cplin what varies word o pases occuring in The third pase conan one pargzaph saiary ofthe sermon with several cations abo it or the the swice mean ‘older eleren anda “word ale” ction for those who ae younger. “Wor len iss words they can ten fr Third, both the organist and I come to the opening exercises ofthe Sunday Schoo! to talk about the sermon and the hynmas, | explain what Iam going to be talking boat and what the cilren should look kor Leven ask them to pray that people who are mot Christians may hear what God has to say and be converted. The fonganis tells about the hymns we will sing, who wrote them, andl why we sing them as we do, By the way, we teach the chien hyrnns instead of hones, since they Iaen them exsby this age, We have them memorize a childrens catechism and large blocks of Scripture 9, believing that it a serious mistake to waste precious Suny School tine with mere games oF tv, I would Wheto get pastors and other church leaders to rethink whar we are doing with our children. There more than one way’ of casing these hile ones to stumble las Motgenery Baie (Tha, Uber of Basel) i the sided of the Aline of Confing Foals and sevor nero Th Prin Cle, liaa rere erate Rareacon neste seeds Seana ints Some stent cemca ier Cent a nine netin Cao for what you believe, spend some time on your knees. REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A Mind fir’ Truth, A Heart for God