Keeping in Tune with the Times—Praise & Worship Music as Today's Evangelical Hymnody1 in North America

Abstract : In the heated discussion about different church music styles, one aspect often gets overlooked: the similarities between traditional hymns and the modern or contemporary Praise and Worship music (P&W). Aiming at unfolding some of these similarities, this article contemplates technological, sociological, and theological perspectives to reveal parallels between the two practices and postulates P&W as today's evangelical hymnody in North America.     

Expanding Perspectives on Evangelicalism: How Non-evangelical Students Appreciate Evangelical Christianity

Evangelical students pose a distinctive set of challenges to higher education professionals. These students, though advantaged to some degree because of their Christian identity, commonly report feeling marginalized and silenced on college campuses. In light of these tensions, the purpose of this study was to examine how non-evangelical students come to an appreciative understanding of evangelical Christianity. Specifically, the research focused on the specific campus conditions and experiences that influence non-evangelical students’ appreciative attitudes toward evangelicals. Findings reveal distinct demographic, institution type, and academic major differences in those students’ perspectives toward their evangelical peers. Additionally, the results suggest that appreciative attitudes toward evangelicals are associated with non-evangelical students’ interfaith experiences, albeit to differing degrees based on self-identified worldview. Recognizing that the work of helping non-evangelical students develop an appreciative understanding of evangelicals is as complicated as it is challenging, especially in the collegiate context, the authors conclude with a discussion of implications for research and practice.     

A Singing Citizenry: Popular Music and Civil Religion in America

American popular music, politics, and religion have all, in some combination, inspired thorough research. However, there has been little investigative effort regarding the important co-relationships among the three areas. One convenient site for such study is located in the idea of civil religion, where faith and patriotism converge—as Robert Bellah wrote in 1967—in a cultural network of "beliefs, symbols, and rituals." This essay offers a contextual examination of two popular patriotic songs in relation to the dynamic state of civil religion from World War II to the Iraq War, from Tin Pan Alley to American Idol. Behind the endurance of songs like "God Bless America" and "God Bless the U.S.A." lies a relentless need to define Americanness in civil-religious terms. And as the nation, and the nation-state, are reshaped in the currents of globalization, appreciation of these songs contributes to the crucial understanding of why America sings.     

Social Class and Finding a Congregation: How Attendees are Introduced to Their Congregations

Despite the large numbers of Americans switching religious congregations each year, social scientists know relatively little about how people are introduced to new religious congregations. In this research note, I use multiple surveys of congregants??two surveys of Presbyterians in the 1990s and a survey of attendees from a random sample of congregations in 2001??to examine the effects of education and income on how attendees are introduced to their religious congregations. Results show that education and income are key predictors of how attendees find their congregations. In general, Americans with low levels of education and income are disproportionately likely to be introduced to their congregations through their social networks while those with higher levels of education and income are more likely to rely on denominational affiliation. These results address fundamental assumptions underlying theories of social class and religion and also provide religious leaders with valuable insight into the factors that influence how people are introduced to new religious congregations.     

Just Call Me by My Name: Worship Music in Asian Ecumenism

This article examines the historical development of worship music in Asian ecumenism by examining three ecumenical hymnals from the 1960s to the present. It identifies key personalities and institutions involved in the formation of Asian worship music. The essay argues that the maturation of Asian Christian spirituality via music making requires the church to hold in tension both its missional heritage and local cultural practices. It proposes the development of robust theo‐liturgical scholarship as being critical in helping the church mature.     

信息资本与当代社会形态

1 对于社会形态的区分,20世纪80年代就有学者提出"经济社会形态"和"技术社会形态"的区分.这种区分无疑是相对的,两类形态之间应该是有关联的,如马克思在讲到"蒸汽磨生产的是以工业资本家为首的社会"时,就多少揭示了近代技术社会形态与经济社会形态之间的关联.     

The Renaissance Ethics of Music: Singing,Contemplation and Musica Humana

Abstract

This article considers Calvin's late work, the Harmony of the Pentateuch (1563). It takes account of previous attempts to illuminate Calvin's purpose in this production by De Boer, Blacketer, Thiel, Wright and Balserak. There follows a consideration of Calvin's view of the ceremonial law for Christians, and a distinction is drawn between the Old Testament cult and the Old Testament law concerning that cult. It finally takes soundings from the work itself to argue that for Calvin, the timeless spirit of worship could be understood behind its outward expression. What matters is that God is seen to call believers out of the flow of everyday occurrence into worship.