My sporadic blogging of late has led me to ignore several outstanding posts on my favorite blogs. My friend Nathan Pitchford, earlier this month, put together an excellent piece on the ever controversial music issue. His post is entitled “10 Observations Against the Style-Specific Position on Music in Worship“.

Let me copy his 10 Observations here and encourage you all to read the fuller discussion of these points along with Scriptural defense over at his blog. You will find the comments provide an excellent defense of the post. There is some charitable back-and-forth over this issue that many will find profitable.

So here are Nathan’s 10 observations:

1. God commands that we use music in worship.
2. It is commanded or exemplified that in doing so, we ought to use every available instrument.
3. It is commanded or exemplified that we ought to do so with the utmost emotional intensity.
4. It is commanded or exemplified that we ought to do so with the expression of every conceivable emotion, only with regard to the right realities.
5. The “new song” enjoined upon the believer has reference to the lyrical content, and not the musical style.
6. The distinction between “clean” and “unclean” indicates a separation between the inherently moral and immoral.
7. The specific Old Testament regulations were dissolved upon the coming of Christ.
8. Nothing created by God is inherently immoral.
9. Music was created by God.
10. And so we finally conclude that music is in itself not immoral, but is to be used with thanksgiving.