I stopped by World Magazine to see if any other World bloggers have slipped the fold prior to July's shutdown. We're still the only ones.
But while dawdling on Gene Veith's Cranach I found this reflection on Christian music:
I can't believe I have watched every episode of "American Idol" and Tivoing it when I am doing more important things and watching it later. That is so unlike me. But I have to comment on the latest voting-off-the-island episode:
We learned that Melinda listens to "Jesus music," specifically, Curt Franklin, the gospel singer. I exempt black gospel and country gospel from my general dislike of contemporary Christian music. Whitebread CCM is pop, a style that, by its nature, is just not equipped to be profound. Gospel music, by its nature, needs soul.
Now I know that Gene is Lutheran and that Lutherans don't hold to the Regulative Principle of Worship, but this strikes me as a Lutheran variant on a Reformed theme. How many times have we seen Reformed people define what is acceptable in worship in a manner which makes clear that they (and only they) have aesthetic tastes refined enough to substitute for God's?
Of course, the real delight here is Gene's caveat for black and country music. Affirmative action of the soul?
