Monday, May 11, 2009

Inclusive language, Kenny G., and the destruction of worship

I love to read Carl Trueman.

I had to link to his latest post at Reformation 21:
A few years ago I was attending a conference on behalf of the Seminary arranged by an organization which includes in its membership institutions from a wide variety of theological and religious perspectives. As the conference stretched over a weekend, there was a worship service arranged for the Sunday morning. I had wondered whether to attend, not knowing how such a theologically diverse group might come together in such a setting; but I finally decided to do the polite thing and show up; and, I was not disappointed. Indeed, I have been retelling the story at dinner parties ever since.

The service kicked off OK, with a short call to worship. So far so good. Then we sang a hymn. Now, I have a preference for psalms, but the hymn was fine, as far as I remember. It was then that the real fun began. The first Bible reading was from the book of Isaiah. The gentleman apologized at the outset saying that he had been unable to obtain an inclusive language translation of the Bible; but indicated that he would make the necessary changes himself as he read the passage. I confess that, personally, I was quite relieved about that since, for one horrible second, I had imagined I was about to witness the terrifying and distressing marginalization and oppression of over half the people present. But with the necessary substitutions, I was confident that the women around me would feel suitably enfranchised and affirmed.

That's when it all started to go wrong.

Read the entire post HERE.

2 comments:

Pete Morris said...

What no dance? No actors?

To echo my LORD, "unless you (all) are born again you will not see the kingdom of God."

Todd Pruitt said...

This morning's session at the Basic's Conference John Piper preached a message on why we must preach the new birth. It was deeply moving, challenging, heart-breaking, etc...

One of the first things to go in liberal churches is the clear proclamation of the gospel.