This paper aims to propose a lyrical theology methodological analysis for contemporary praise and worship music (CPWM) from within its own theological framework. Others have written on the history of CPWM as well as conducted analytical research ethnographic and quantitative research into worship experiences and songwriting. Still others have critiqued CWM for its continuationist or … Read more
Brent Strawn, in The Old Testament is Dying, utilizes a linguistic analogy to describe the Old Testament as a dying language, undergoing various stages of pidginization and creolization. I apply his pidgin and creole language to contemporary worship music, the American evangelical corpus (henceforth AEC), to assess the shift in conceptual worship language in the … Read more
Nicene controversies was at least partly a conflict over authority. Arendt defined authority “contradistinction to both coercion by force and persuasion through arguments” (Arendt, Between Past and Future, 91). By that definition, the Nicene controversies of the fourth century represent a complete lack of authority as both force and persuasion marked virtually the entirety of … Read more
The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) affirmed the full divinity of Christ, securing a doctrinal foundation that continues to shape Christian theology. While Nicene Christology is often discussed within patristic and systematic theological frameworks, its theological significance extends beyond the councils and into lived expressions of faith. This paper explores how the Christological affirmations of … Read more
Catholic theologian and liturgist Josef Jungmann proposed that though private prayers were common in the first centuries of the church, public prayers were generally prayed to the Father through the Son (per Christum). The Jungmann Thesis is the theory that it was in reaction to Arianism (along with inclinations toward monophysitism) that prayers to Jesus … Read more
While the Reformation is often characterized by its critique of medieval liturgical practices, this study highlights the Reformers’ efforts to retain and refine Nicene orthodoxy in worship. It examines how their theological commitments to Trinitarianism influenced liturgical reforms, including the structure of worship services, the role of the Word, and the emphasis on Christocentric prayer … Read more
The Nicene Creed stands as a theological and liturgical anchor in Christian history, yet its role in Protestant worship has varied widely—from central confessional recitation to near-total neglect. This paper examines how the Creed has been employed in Protestant liturgy as a means of retrieving early Christian theology, particularly in contemporary worship renewal movements. What … Read more
Biblical worship is fundamentally a response to God’s self-revelation and a proper understanding of who God is precedes and determines true worship. The Book of Psalms offers a fertile ground for investigating this connection as it richly portrays both the attributes of God and diverse acts of worship. Hence, this paper proposes to explore the … Read more
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 A.D. – c. 215 A.D.) has often been portrayed as a Christian teacher who ministered apart from the ἐκκλησία. Hans Von Campenhausen’s view represents this opinion of Clement: “Clement himself and his own teachers are outside the rank of the professional clergy” and “in his spiritual instructions he hardly ever … Read more
Being “passionate” about Christ or the Gospel or Christian worship is frequently cast as an uncontested virtue, a principal indicator of authenticity in a milieu infatuated with that concept. This presentation pushes back against this notion, following the lead of dissertations by Thomas Dixon (Cambridge, 2003) and Ryan Martin (T & T Clark, 2019) in … Read more