Tuesday, April 01, 2008

The Music Is Reversible

At the heart of the debate between the Covenantal and Dispensational views of the covenant(s) is the argument of continuity or discontinuity from Old to New Covenant. Covenant theology stresses continuity and dispensationalism stresses discontinuity.

Yet, in the area of music in the church, they quite often switch positions. The hard core covenanters often hold a "biblical" position limited to the singing of psalms alone, a cappella, completely ignoring both the instruments used in the psalms themselves and the "continuity" that would invite their heavy use today. Dispensationalists on the other hand often sing only "spiritual songs", citing the New Testament reference as replacing the Old way, yet use every instrument that makes a sound (without reference in the NT for validation).

So much for systematic theology...

1 comment:

  1. This is an exceptional point and shows that even the best positions are hardly constructive if not worked out in the life of the church. If Reformed/covenant theology-minded folk really believed their own theological outlook, the church today would be a far different place...and the music would be absolutely the best thing the church has seen in five hundred years.

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