Reconstructing 00.2: Instrumental worship

I take a number of issues with the distinctive teachings of the Churches of Christ that I grew up in. Most of them come down to how certain so many things are presented as being. There’s a big difference between “this is our best understanding” and “this is the only faithful way to read the Bible and everyone else just isn’t trying.” This comes up in a lot of ways, but I’ll start with the most obvious one, which is the prohibition of instrumental worship.

For those unfamiliar with the Churches of Christ, think Southern Baptist, but with no organization or musical instruments. The fundamental argument is that, if the Bible doesn’t mention instruments in Christian worship, they shouldn't be used, and that their use is actually displeasing to God. One could pick at this position all day, forcing its proponents to come up with ever more complex arguments justifying the arbitrary line they’ve drawn between “okay” and “not okay.” But that’s been done, at length. My problem is more broad, with the very idea that one can be so certain about something that is literally nowhere in the Bible.

The truth is that sometimes, scripture is ambiguous. If you think you shouldn’t worship with instruments, that’s fine, I’m not going to push you in any other direction. But don’t present it as if that’s the only possible faithful reading of scripture. That kind of unqualified certainty is why, even within this tiny group, there are so many factions. Churches that don’t have kitchens, because they’re not mentioned in the Bible. Churches that don’t work with other churches on acts of mercy, because churches working together isn’t mentioned in the Bible. (And yet they all have church buildings, which are not mentioned in the Bible!)

 

You have to acknowledge that Christians can, in good faith, come to differing conclusions on cases like this. Otherwise, you're elevating man-made traditions to the level of scripture. Divisions are created. The Kingdom of God is hindered. And worst of all, people who leave the denomination carry with them the idea that there’s no other way to be Christian, and they leave the faith entirely.

 

Woe to you who shut the Kingdom of God in people’s faces.