Synopses & Reviews
This series is designed to promote reflection on the history, theology, and practice of Christian worship and to stimulate worship renewal in Christian congregations. Written by pastoral worship leaders from diverse communities and scholars from a range of disciplines, these volumes seek to nurture worship practices that are at once spiritually vital and theologically rooted. Book jacket.
Synopsis
Foreword by John D. Witvliet
While many evangelical congregations have moved away from hymns and hymnals, these were once central fixtures in the evangelical tradition. This book examines the role and importance of hymns in evangelicalism, not only as a part of worship but as tools for theological instruction, as a means to identity formation, and as records of past spiritual experiences of the believing community.
Written by knowledgeable church historians, under the supervision of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, "Wonderful Words of Life explores the significance of hymn-singing in many dimensions of American Protestant and evangelical life. The book focuses mainly on church life in the United States but also discusses the foundational contributions of Isaac Watts and other British hymn writers, the use of gospel songs in English Canada, and the powerful attraction of African-American gospel music for whites of several religious persuasions. Includes appendixes on the American Protestant Hymn Project and on hymns in Roman Catholic hymnals.
Contributors: Susan Wise Bauer
Thomas E. Bergler
Virginia Lieson Brereton
Esther Rothenbusch Crookshank
Kevin Kee
Richard J. Mouw
Mark A. Noll
Felicia Piscitelli
Robert A. Schneider
Rochelle A. Stackhouse
Jeffrey VanderWilt
Table of Contents
The defining role of hymns in early evangelicalism / Mark A. Noll -- "We're marching to Zion" : Isaac Watts in early America / Esther Rothenbusch Crookshank -- Hymnody and politics : Isaac Watts's "Our God, our help in ages past" and Timothy Dwight's "I love thy kingdom, Lord" / Rochelle A. Stackhouse -- Jesus shall reign : hymns and foreign missions, 1800-1870 / Robert A. Schneider -- Marketing the gospel : music in English-Canadian Protestant revivalism, 1884-1957 / Kevin Kee -- "I found my thrill" : the Youth for Christ movement and American congregational singing, 1940-1970 / Thomas E. Bergler -- Protestant hymnody in contemporary Roman Catholic worship / Felicia Piscitelli -- White folks "get happy" : mainstream America discovers the black gospel tradition / Virginia Lieson Brereton -- Singing about death in American Protestant hymnody / Jeffrey VanderWilt -- Stories and syllogism : Protestant hymns, narrative theology, and heresy / Susan Wise Bauer -- "Some poor sailor, tempest tossed" : nautical rescue themes in evangelical hymnody / Richard J. Mouw -- Appendix I : American Protestant hymns project : a ranked list of most frequently printed hymns, 1737-1960 (the Marini list) -- Appendix II : "Hymns recommended for ecumenical use" in Catholic hymnbooks -- Appendix III : Hymns in Roman Catholic hymnals.