Some of the Lameness of New Calvinism on Display

https://g3min.org/why-is-the-organ-relevant-for-major-league-baseball-and-irrelevant-for-local-churches/

One has to chuckle when one considers that the author of this G3 article considers himself to be a 'hardcore' or die-hard Calvinist – a real old school type.

And yet as the article makes clear his thinking is in fact terribly divorced from Church history and the historical theology surrounding the larger Calvinist movement and in particular its views on the issues of worship.

He might do well to spend some time in the Confessions in particular that of Westminster and its London derivative. He would learn that their approach to such questions was rooted in different concerns – Westminster in particular developed a Redemptive-Historical argument related to typology and fulfillment and rightly understood that musical instruments had no place in New Testament worship, let alone those that resulted from innovation and innovative styles that emerged later and in corrupt cultural environments.

Mr. Buice might also investigate the writings of the ex-Confederate Presbyterian RL Dabney who castigated the introduction of the organ during the nineteenth century. One need not agree with either the Confession or Dabney to appreciate their arguments on these points. And I say this as one who has no interest in identifying with historic Calvinism – but nor am I remotely interested in the New Calvinism of one such as Buice.

The article is filled with tortured analogies vis-à-vis the Scripture – verses taken from context and misapplied. It's enlightening in terms of revealing the nature and extent of Buice's hermeneutical and exegetical skills.

Contrary to popular narratives in Magisterial Protestant circles, JS Bach is not the paragon when it comes to music let alone so-called Christian music. Baroque is certainly not the apogee of Biblical culture and in terms of music it is certainly not above criticism. Bach may have been a master regarding a certain style of music which itself must be placed in a larger context of music history. He was talented and interesting in his way, but he has been elevated beyond reason.

The article is replete with flawed thinking about politics, and society and sadly typifies the kind of ignorance and showmanship that seems to reign in New Calvinist circles.

I would urge any church with an organ to tear it out and preferably burn it. This is not to call for 'praise bands' as the Scriptures know nothing of the such or the ethos that produces them. This is not a question of either-or but neither.

I for one agree with Dabney that organs are appropriate in places like the carnival and perhaps a sporting event or maybe some kind of low-end theatre. The musical arguments made by Buice in the article are easily countered and highly subjective. In fact I love handing over such articles to my wife who has degrees in history and music. She begins to tear her hair out when she reads these kinds of narrative-driven reductionist appeals which are common enough in Christian circles – made by well-meaning but completely misinformed and misguided people.

Even an organ can become entertainment. A lot of that can depend on how it's played alongside the singing. Personally I find it an irritation and distraction and would much rather follow the early Church pattern of singing a capella. We don't need to borrow from the style and ethos of Old Covenant Temple worship and indeed to do so is theologically problematic. Neither do we need to innovate and borrow from culture. Singing and the larger question of music play a very small role in New Testament doctrine regarding worship – a far cry from its central and even sacramental role in today's Evangelicalism.

I'm afraid I'm also a little biased because I'm old enough to remember when electric organs became the rage during the 1970's and early 1980's. Every mall seemed to have an organ store. You could hear it down the concourse as the besuited salesmen would take turns playing a 'bossa nova' or even a 'rhumba' beat accompanied by an improvised melody in an attempt to draw people in. To this day I still associate them with that period and perhaps the kind of cheap Vegas-style lounges and gambling dens my father appreciated. But on a happier note I also tend to think of the Lawrence Welk Show and as much as I might appreciate the skills of Myron Floren and Bob Ralston and the trip down memory lane – such music (even if dressed up and played in the grand style) has no part in the worship of Christ's people.

Buice is critical of those who seek the contemporary – as am I. And yet he must know that while some of the earliest 'Church' organs appeared in the Dark Ages, they did not enter normal church life until hundreds of years later. Rural congregations wouldn't have them until long after the Reformation. Would he argue those congregations should have made a point to get them too? It's kind of a silly argument and one very much rooted in the present moment – all too typical of the New Calvinist ethos. It's a conservative throwback of sorts but not one rooted in any kind of historical precedent, solid principle, and certainly not in any kind of Biblical argument.

Once again we find that New Calvinism is little more than a semi-conservative contemporary Evangelicalism dressed up in Calvinist costume.

Don't listen to Buice and do not buy an organ for your church!