Hymnals: Preserving the Church or Preventing Tradition?
The trend toward the past in some Lutheran circles has been present for a few decades now, and it is taking stronger shape as the world seems to be more liquid by the day. In a culture that does not seem able to hold on to anything for more than 24 hours, the instinct is understandable: we look backward. Pews, liturgy, hymnals. The assumption is: there was a time when the Church was better than it is today, and that is the time to which we should return if we want the Church to remain and grow, or at least to be faithful as it declines. I have addressed the topic of the golden era of the Church in another essay. This text focuses on hymnals as one of the greatest marks of a faithful church. It seems to me that we have tried to turn the hymnal into something it was never meant to be: the only way in which a church that wants to be considered faithful to Christ and the Word can properly conduct the Divine Service and worship the Lord. There was this time when I was ...
