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Contemporary
Worship Music: A Biblical Defense (P & R Publishing, 1997) by
John Frame. Reviewed by Dr. Barry Liesch
With worship wars raging over the value of hymns versus
choruses, one wouldn't expect a 50 year old seminary professor with
a Ph.D in theology from Princeton University to throw in the gauntlet,
and write a serious book defending worship choruses. But that is exactly
what happens in this volume! One
would think that John Frame's love for playing the organ and classical
music would lead him in a much different direction. Moreover, his heritage
in the Reformed tradition (the intellectual wing of the Protestant movement),
and his involvement as professor at a Reformed Seminary, would appear
to make him a most unlikely candidate to write this book. But surprise! John Frame staunchly takes on the academic
establishment, names names (ouch!), and accuses academics of "shoddy
argumentation," "carelessness in research," unethical
scholarship, "aesthetic snobbery," of "sheer stubbornness,"
and of being "locked in cement," in their harsh criticisms
of worship choruses! I must tell you, as I read these phrases, which
tend to occur mostly toward the end of the volume, my eyes were literally
bulging! Readers who are on either side of the debate, however, will find Frame's discussion of the issues both rational and instructive, and will soon learn that his mains concerns are primarily theological in nature. He deals squarely with all of the objections leveled at choruses--the subjectivity, narcissism, triviality, emotionality, anti-intellectualism, pragmatism, consumerism, and musical chauvinism commonly associated with choruses. As readers proceed through the process of evaluating Frame's defense, though, they are sure to gain a good grip of the issues. That is valuable Frame is an advocate of blended worship and of retaining
both choruses and traditional hymnody.
He acknowledges that choruses lack adequate doctrinal coverage,
fail to challenge mature believers sufficiently, and are musically monotonous
at times. Nevertheless, he asks, "Why don't critics
give choruses their due?" He
insists that some choruses are better than some hymns. Frame defends the attempt to make the Gospel accessible
through choruses, claiming it does not violate the norms of Scripture,
and insists that the biblical principle of intelligibility in 1 Corinthians
14, to some extent, "implies contemporaneity." He argues that there is actually more emphasis on reformation, and
on the critique of tradition, than there is upon respect for tradition,
in the Bible. On the issue of evangelism, he seems himself as "seeker
sensitive" but not "seeker driven," and contends we should
willing to "adjust" our worship styles as much as possible
in order to nullify the trivial objections of unchurched visitors may
have. He concludes that everyone's music should be heard, unless it
can be shown to be inappropriate. Christians, he claims, ought to defer
to one another in love. The index
at the back of the book lists about a 100 choruses that Frame considers
to be worthy of use in worship. This is a good book in my opinion, and it could have been a great book, if Frame would have also brought out with more rigor, the weaknesses in choruses. But that was not his purpose. I have used this book as required reading in teaching graduate courses in worship. His writing style is straight forward and easy to understand. This book gets my recommendation as good reading for pastors, worship leaders, and academics (!) alike, no matter what their worship orientation. Buy the Book Now from Amazon.com Worshipinfo gets a small payment from Amazon.com if you buy the book by clicking on our link. |