Beyond words
Sing in the pews
By the time you read this I shall have watched two days of the 3rd Test between India and Australia at the WACA in Perth, and given a paper on how important good Church music is in the context of modern worship. Both events will not be without their political sides: the novelty of an Indian being penalised for racist comments about an Australian, however mixed-race, has not escaped the attention of cartoonists in the local media; and my lecture topic is designed to rebut the pronouncements of the current Dean of Sydney, whose extreme evangelical views have been making waves throughout the global Anglican communion for some years now.
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Kent Maddock
January 31st, 2008 8:22amExcellent. As one in Sydney, on the ground as it were, this is very accurate. Biblical Fundamentalism is an excuse for purveyors of cheap fear and loathing to control people and search for their own fiefdom. The bible the read is not the usual RSV, anyway, it stands for Revised Sydney Version.
Phil Craig
January 31st, 2008 5:13pmWhat an odd article. It seems perfectly reasonable for a churchman to say that music, in itself, doesn't represent contact with God. He's not saying that music is a no-no, he's just saying that other things are more important. This writer is twisting his words to make it sound like Jensen is making music and belief mutually exclusive, which is clearly nonsense. Perhaps Peter Phillips should have actually spoken to Jensen before writing this silly piece.
Greg
February 1st, 2008 8:04amHere here. Down with Jensen, I say.
T Reeves
June 2nd, 2008 9:30amExcellent article! Spot on. Sydney Anglicans are barbarians and philistines.
Andy N
July 19th, 2008 9:44amCompletely agree with Phil Craig. Jensen doesn't have a problem with music in church, but clearly sees that there are much more important things when it comes to Christianity. As with organised religion, he doesn't like how traditions of the church is prioritized above the Word of God.
Besides, if someone wanted to have their imagination "fly" or have "sensations", you might as well take some illicit drugs. You don't need singing in church for that.
For the record Sydney Anglicans read ESV - English Standard Version. For a good few years too. So Maddock, stop making false facts.
Also the writer CLEARLY has some biased conservative views on music in church. Pentecostals can easily argue to use rock based music for exactly the same purpose.