Heard this on the radio this morning. To be discussed at the Free Church of Scotland general assembly in Edinburgh - the allowing the playing of music and singing of hymns during worship as well as psalms.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8687525.stm

I fear this may lead to dancing.

It's high time musical instruments were allowed. Even folk clubs accept them these days albeit rather grudgingly in some areas......

Actually I rather like their unaccompanied psalms.

I enjoy listening to unaccompanied song within folk clubs but I wouldn't want them to be compulsory.
They can still have them, surely?

I'd be very sad and quite angry if instruments are used as a ploy to "attract" new people to the church. That is a stupid reason. It's not to be joked about - it's a major part of a lot of people's heritage and culture, whether you agree with it or not.

So was burning witches at the stake........ in the bygone days.

Unaccompanied singing whether in worship or in a folk club is a very important part of Scottish music - is it just something else to be shelved in the archives, and replaced with a funky jazz beat?

But surely, as a fundamental point of christianity is that its adherents should proselytise, attracting new people is essential.

Personally I found it interesting (showing my ignorance here chaps) that they only sang psalms from the Old Testament and were not allowed to mention Jesus's name in song.

David, and whoever else wrote the psalms, weren't alive at the time of Jesus but wrote prophetic psalms that mention the coming of the King.

There are people in the Free Church who find the New Testament a tad frivolous and Christmas and Easter beyond the pale. Gaelic psalm singing is a different issue and with the right precentor (one who doesn't imagine everybody can hit a top G) can sound glorious.

D

Hopefully they'll start karaoke nights. Maybe even open a bar. I might even be persuaded to go along.
But not on the karaoke night.

"But surely, as a fundamental point of christianity is that its adherents should proselytise, attracting new people is essential."

This really is a red herring. The Church of Scotland has had instrumental accompaniments and hymns as well as psalms for years - and guess what? Membership/attendance is still plummeting. I don't have a problem with hymns or musical accompaniment but I honestly don't believe the odd hymn or guitar would make the slightest difference to Free Church attendance/membership.

Why should the Free Church change? If people want musical instruments they can get that at just about any other church you care to name - if that's really the reason they come to church. But the important thing is the message that is preached, not whether or not the church has electric guitars!

"There are people in the Free Church who find the New Testament a tad frivolous and Christmas and Easter beyond the pale."

There's absolutely no mention of either Christmas or Easter in The New Testament.
I'd hardly describe The Book of Revelation as being frivolous.

I personally like the unaccompanied psalms, English or Gaelic - was brought up on them and they are a glorious thing to sing if you have a decent precentor. The also mean the congregation really gets involved, as the default, as opposed to listening to others performing. Everyone gets hymns in school, so it's not that Free Church members don't know or sing them.
And as you can go elsewhere (includng Free Church camps, youth clubs, concerts and other events) for everything else (hymns, guitars, modern sacred song, performances of religious music etc), I personally am in no hurry to change that tradition for a wishy-washy attempt at modernisation. (I really, really don't like the new psalmodies either, while we're on the subject, or any version of the English Bible later than the King James. ;-))
We should be glad we have a heritage of unaccompanied song in both the secular and the religious areas and should appreciate it and celebrate it.
If folk want instruments etc at weddings and funerals, fine, nothing against that, but in normal services I see no need.

I like Sing Psalms - a nice new edition of the psalms with new metres and tunes, lovely.

I too grew up surrounded by the Free and Free Presbyterian churches and, as I recall, they stifled all creativity like weeds in a garden.

The fact that the unaccompanied psalm singing survived and perhaps even blossomed is a testament to the power of the music itself and mankind's basic need for expression in times of hardship.

The only time I ever hear it now is at funerals, as that is the only time I step into one of these dreary rooms, and it does make the proverbial hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

If church attendance is going down it has probably more to do with the implausible beliefs and confused priorities they are trying to sell in this information age, rather than the lack of banjos.

dealan-de - "This really is a red herring..."

I'm afraid it was actually the 'lowest form of wit'. I just couldn't work out a 'tongue-in-cheek' emoticon.

and - "But the important thing is the message that is preached..."

Important? Some mistake surely?

As an agnostic (What else would you expect from me?), it's not really any of my business what goes on in The Free Church although I can't see what possible harm it would do to introduce musical instruments *In addition* to the traditional psalms. Nobody's necessarily suggesting banjos or electric guitars either.

However, I do agree with those who would argue that the main purpose of a church is to go there and worship and that music and song is incidental to the proceedings. When I want to hear the latter, I can go to a concert or some other type of musical gathering where (preferably) I won't get preached at although this often tends to happen too.