Dr Paul Allen

By Jonathon Aigner The war against the once-beloved “Onward, Christian Soldiers” is decades old. When the United Methodist Church was revising its hymnal in the mid-80s, it made the mistake of trying to drop this hymn from what would soon become the current United Methodist Hymnal. Good Methodists and Methodists are good people. They started a war of their own, essentially inundating the hymnal committee with correspondence which, according to Carlton Young, made it “impossible for the committee to go on with its work.” Suitable for those lovely Methodist saints. Other denominations have long since dropped it like a hot potato. “Onward” hasn’t been in a mainline Presbyterian hymnal for 50 years. Other traditions still have it in their hymnals, like the Episcopal church, but I would guess that few Episcopal churches would use it lest they make those among them with little Scripture knowledge uncomfortable. On the one hand, I understand how militaristic language can be complex. It can be...

What is a modern hymn ? Opinions vary but for the sake of this new playlist , we’re including songs that: Feature all (or mostly all) original lyrics . In other words, these are not old hymn lyrics that have been set to new music (often known as “retuned hymns.” We’ll do a special “retuned hymns” playlist at a later date. Feature lyrics that are set to regular “metrical” patterns. You can  read more about hymn meter here . Are either entirely made up of verses, or that rely on verses to carry the message or story, but also include brief choruses or refrains. Without any further adieu, here’s our  full Spotify playlist of  modern hymns  – 17 songs, over an hours’ worth of music. If you’re blessed by these songs, consider purchasing some of them as singles (or purchase the full length records from whence they come). And if you’re a worship leader , consider adding some of these songs into the rotation at your church! Related articles The Sacred In Betwe...

Charles Wesley’s hymn “And Can It Be” (1738) is one of the greatest hymns of all time. It’s a powerful proclamation of the good news of the Gospel , and full of amazing images of the freedom that Jesus purchased for us on the cross. s. Related articles Wesley's Chapel, the Museum of Methodism, and Me (aprilyamasaki.com) Moravian Musical Influence (haskerj.wordpress.com) The History of Christianity in 25 Objects: Olney Hymns (challies.com) A Thousand Tongues (thehaynesblog.com) Sunday, January 26, 2014 (musicatwesley.wordpress.com) John Meunier on Charles Wesley's "Let Us Plead for Faith Alone." (tbolto.wordpress.com) The heart of Methodism in 16 lines (johnmeunier.wordpress.com) Sunday, December 29, 2013 (musicatwesley.wordpress.com) Amazing love! (theonegaz.wordpress.com)

The famous hymn of the church "And Can it Be?" contains a line that asks a very poignant question : "How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?" Is it accurate to say that God died on the cross ? This kind of expression is popular in hymnody and in grassroots conversation. So although I have this scruple about the hymn and it bothers me that the expression is there, I think I understand it, and there's a way to give an indulgence for it. We believe that Jesus Christ was God incarnate. We also believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. If we say that God died on the cross, and if by that we mean that the divine nature perished, we have stepped over the edge into serious heresy.   In fact, two such heresies related to this problem arose in the early centuries of the church:  theopassianism  and  patripassianism . The first of these,  theopassianism , teaches that God Himself suffered death on the cross.  Patripassianism  ind...

Olney Parish Church, Stained Glass Window (1) The lower part of a larger window showing John Newton and William Cowper. Between them is a depiction of the church and the first line of two hymns; 'How sweet the name of Jesus sounds' and 'God moves in a mysterious way', both of which appear in Olney Hymns http://www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_069_3_Pollard.pdf . (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John Newton, slave trader, abolitionist, minister, and author of the hymn "Amazing Grace" (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John Henry Newton, Jr. (July 24, 1725 – December 21, 1807) was an Anglican clergyman and former slave-ship captain. He was the author of many hymns, including Amazing Grace. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To be at sea in a storm on an ocean liner can be thrilling. To face a storm in a sailing vessel that is not seaworthy can be terrifying. The boat in which John Newton sailed was in disrepair and its sails and rigging worn. A hard man who had often m...