Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hymns: Theology on Fire!

I came across this quote today while working toward incorporating Hymn Study into our homeschooling. I'm linking to the two-part article here and here, although I (a) haven't read them fully, and (b) disagreed with at least one thing. But all disclaimers aside... wow! A lot of great stuff there! A few personal favorites:

"Hymns are theology on fire! We need solid theology rather than just a constant diet of fluff and fads."

"Hymns... cover a wider range of emotions than modern choruses. This is often a surprising point because we associate hymns with a lack of emotion and modern choruses with emotional excess at times. But a careful study will reveal that the emotional range touched on by modern choruses is really rather narrow.
"

"Hymns focus us on God's promises more than upon ours! We grow by feeding on God's character revealed and by feasting on His promises. Many modern choruses, with their almost constant emphasis on what we want to do, ("Lord I just want to...") fail to teach us to rely on God's love for us...
"

What about you? Do you have any favorite sites that feature hymns, the history of specific hymns, and/or tips for studying hymns? Please leave a comment!