Duotarians

It’s always fun to invent new terminology! So just what is a Duotarian? Of course, we all know what a Trinitarian is. I’m a very strong one. A Unitarian, it has been said, is one who believes in "one God at the very most."

A Duotarian then, is going to be one of those evangelical Christians, and unfortunately there are many, who believe in God the Father, and Jesus Christ, God the Son, but who believes that the one who we Trinitarians call the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, it not an equal member of the Godhead, but simply an extension of the Father and the Son.

Now I grant you that you will not find a written statement to that effect in the doctrinal statement of any church or denomination that I am aware of. Their public, written doctrinal statements will give the standard pronouncements and accompanying scripture references that all traditional Trinitarians have used throughout the history of the Church. But their informal pronouncements and writings tell a different story. First, they have an abject fear of pronouncing the “H name”. Second, they will not recognize His work, and power, or even mention the subjects of His gifts if at all possible.

Just a few weeks ago, when I was visiting a church service, I was shocked to hear a pastor, who was giving an otherwise very good message on worship, to make a scarcely veiled admission that he looked at the Holy Spirit as a lesser being than God the father and God the Son.

He was talking about worship music, and touching on the subject that I have recently heard referred to as “Worship Wars” in which there is so much strife over the “old” vs. the “new” music (see my last posting, February 11, entitled “Worship Wars”). Anyway, he was talking about that chorus that goes:

Father we adore Thee,

Lay our lives before Thee,

How we love you!

The subsequent verses substitute “Jesus”, for Father, and then “Spirit” in the third verse. This preacher then said that the thing that was wrong with this “theologically” was that nowhere in the Bible are we “commanded” to worship the Holy Spirit!

I thought that this was a rather peculiar statement in light of his selected text for his message which was:

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is [the] Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 NLT italics added)

And if that doesn’t say it all right there, let’s throw in this one:

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT, italics added).

Lest you think that I am making a mountain out of the proverbial molehill, and that this is just a senseless rant, let me demonstrate that I am in good company in my opinion on this matter. Many others have expressed a similar concern, not the least of whom is the late A.W. Tozer (1897-1963). On pages 60-61 of his book The Pursuit of Man he wrote:

“Our blunder (or shall we frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the Spirit to a point where we virtually deny Him His place in the Godhead. This denial has not been by open doctrinal statement, for we have clung closely enough to the Biblical position wherever our creedal pronouncements are concerned. Our formal creed is sound; the breakdown is in our working creed.

This is not a trifling distinction. A doctrine has practical value only as far as it is prominent in our thoughts and makes a difference in our lives. By this test the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as held by evangelical Christians today has almost no practical value at all. In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone. Brief reference is made to Him in the Doxology and the Benediction. Further than that He might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore Him that it is only by courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity boldly declares the equality of the Three Persons and the right of the Holy Spirit to be worshipped and glorified. Anything less than this is something less than Trinitarianism.” (This selection is quoted not directly from the above book, but from an email sent from a friend a couple of years ago. I do not doubt that it is substantially intact from its original source.)

Amen brother Tozer!

The apostle Paul warned Timothy about some folks that he would deal with who “[have] a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.” (2 Timothy 3:5) He also cautioned the Thessalonians, “Do not quench the [Holy] Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). When we deny the name, the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we do just that, and we deny ourselves the power and the multitude of benefits that He brings into our lives.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.

Worship Wars

I read an interesting article recently in the Southwestern (Baptist Theological Seminary) Alumni magazine about “Worship Wars.” Worship Wars, of course is the rather unbecoming infighting that is going on these days in many churches regarding the style of worship that is to be practiced, more specifically, the style of music used in congregational singing. Even at Adventureland, a normally harmonious situation, we have experienced a few skirmishes in this battle.

First, let me weigh in on worship style. I love the old songs as much as anyone, but I am particularly inspired by the group of young (at least as compared to me) anointed song writers who are writing songs about the things that God is doing in their lives and in our world today. If we heard our preachers stand up in the pulpit and announce that they are going to preach some great sermon out of the past, we would be appalled. We expect a fresh sermon (at least for our congregation) every time. Yet God is trying to speak to us afresh through today’s living songwriters, and I feel that it behooves us to listen to what He has to say.

The Lord admonishes us six times in the book of Psalms alone to “sing a new song”, and in the book of Revelation as well, there is mention more than once of a “new song” being sung. I think that one of the reasons that I like the new songs so much is that God is always doing something new in my life.

The old songs hold many pleasant memories for me, just as they do for many others, and in my case, as I am sure in many others as well, that is a part of the problem. Nostalgia walks hand-in-hand with the comfort zone that so many of us, myself included, are so bent on inhabiting, and out of which the Lord is always having to shake us.

Often, the thought of any kind of change is regarded as some kind of “modernism.” As a result there are many of my brothers and sisters who have elevated the hymnal to about a half-click below the status of Holy Scripture.

Interestingly, I found out something about some of those good old hymns recently. I was thinking about my grandmother lately. She was the greatest Christian influence on my early life, and the reason I am able to write for Christ today. Her two favorite hymns were The Old Rugged Cross, and In The Garden. Old classics, right? My grandmother was born in the early 1870’s. I looked it up, and sure enough, these were both written in her lifetime! I guess that indeed the apple does not fall far from the tree. My point is that every song was a new song at one time. I wonder if those two old standards had as much trouble being accepted into the Church’s repertoire as some of the great contemporary songs have had?

Well, now that you know what side I’m on, enough of that! The article in Southwestern News, by Southwestern’s president, Paige Patterson, starts off with a discussion about Augustine’s ideas about war (as in fights between armies) and about whether there was such a thing as a necessary war. Brother Patterson then inserts that worship wars are unnecessary wars. I would agree on this conclusion. He makes a statement with which I wholeheartedly concur:

"Had genuine Christianity been guiding what we were doing, such wars never would have taken place; but nonetheless they are real and sometimes devastating."

Amen brother Patterson!

He goes on to offer six guidelines for worship. I agree in principle with at least five of these, as I am not sure what is meant by the one which is fifth of the six on the list. Two of these guidelines in particular deserve comment here:

“Any music used in the church must have theologically true and significant lyrics”.

Well, there goes about thirty percent of the content of any of the hymnals that I have ever seen! We seem to want to carefully scrutinize the new songs coming in, yet few are willing to hold the existing hymnal songs to the same scrutiny. The old standard Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee which goes all the way back to brother Beethoven is a classic (no pun intended) example:  “ . . . Christ our brother . . .” really folks, give me a break! There are many more I could find if you were to turn me loose!

“ . . . songs should be eminently singable.”

Once again, I couldn’t agree more. I once was in a contemporary service in which they sang Chris Rice’s Cartoon Song. This is a fun little song with a great message, but is not very singable, especially if you are hearing it for the first time. These are the kind of songs which make it hard for the congregation to identify with contemporary music.

His article makes several more good points that I don’t feel necessary to reiterate here. The magazine is Southwestern News, vol. 68, no.1. I don’t know for sure but probably it can be accessed at www.swbts.edu

It occurs to me however, that beyond these guidelines, a better solution is in order. The problem, it seems to me, is that we are asking the wrong questions. The combatants in worship wars are asking “what do I want to hear?” and “what am I comfortable with?” (there’s that “C” word again). The theologians and churchmen are asking “do the elements of worship, and particularly the songs fit in with appropriate theological guidelines?” The question that I feel is more appropriate to ask is “what does God want us to do?”

I recently heard a feature about singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp on K-love radio. Jeremy was relating how when he first became a worship leader, he was concerned about singing and writing songs that ministered to the needs of his congregations. He soon felt God speaking to his heart and saying (and I am paraphrasing at this point): “Jeremy, I want you to sing songs that speak to My heart, and I, in turn will minister to the congregations.”

Our worship and our worship style should certainly be heartfelt and sincere on our part, but let us never forget that our worship is directed toward our wonderful Lord, and should be an interchange between us and Him.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.