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CHURCH MUSIC—CIRCUMCISION
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- CHURCH, EVANGELISM, GREAT COMMISSION. For Further Reading: McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, rev. ed.; Orjala, Get Ready to Grow;
- HYMNOLOGY WORSHIP. For Further Reading: McCutzhan, Our Hymnody; Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns; Hildebrandt, ed.
- IDB, 1:629-31; ZPEB, 1:866-68. C harles W. C arter CITIZENSHIP.
- For Further Reading: BMS, 538 ff; Wiley, CT, 3:96 ff; Purkiser, ed., Exploring Our Christian Eaith, 519-37.
- For Further Reading: Augustine, The City of God; El-lul, The Meaning of the City.
- Further Reading: Wenger, Introduction to Theology, 316-25; Cullmann, The State in the New Testament; Wiley, CT, 3:98-100; Kaufman
- For Further Reading: Smart, The Cultural Subversion of the Biblical Faith; Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America; Herberg
- The Anatomy of a Hybrid. G eorge R. B runk III CIVIL RIGHTS.
- For Further Reading: Bakers DCE, 105ff; "Rights of Man," Encyclopedia of Theology, Karl Rahner, ed., 1473-76.
CHURCH MUSIC—CIRCUMCISION 117
Gavran's own words as to how the homogeneous principle should be applied and his prior commitment to the mission of God to reach all people and unite them in His love. See CHURCH, EVANGELISM, GREAT COMMISSION. For Further Reading: McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, rev. ed.; Orjala, Get Ready to Grow; Wagner, Your Church Can Grow. PAUL R. ORJALA CHURCH MUSIC. Church music includes hym-nology and hymnody. The first is a branch of. theology consisting of the study of the place and principles of singing as a biblical part of worship. The second term refers to the actual treasury of songs and hymns which a church possesses and uses. But church music, as the broader term, includes also instrumentation, organization, administration, and direction. Highly complex questions arise concerning the direction and training of choirs and ensembles, suitable types of music, the tension between church music as a form of worship and as an evangelistic tool, and the proper subordination of church music to pastoral leadership. As for importance of singing in the house of God, the Reformers early made this a prominent emphasis. Martin Luther said: "Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and so certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times." Luther not only knew the meaning of faith, he also knew the way to inculcate faith in the hearts and minds of the people. He placed in their hands a Bible in their own language and on their lips hymns with great theological force which the people could sing from their hearts. Luther undertook the composition of the German songs "that the Word of God might be preserved among them, if by nothing else but by singing." John Wesley also understood the importance of church music. In his introduction to a hymnbook he wrote, "Considering the various hymn-books which my brother and I have published in these forty years last past... it may be doubted whether any religious community in the world has a greater variety of them." He further said, "In these hymns there is no doggerel ... no words without meaning." John Wesley not only wrote songs himself but edited all that were published by Charles and himself. These singing preachers taught their people what to sing and then wrote out detailed instructions on how to sing in church. Any revival of the spirit of early Methodism will be a revival of singing. The early holiness people laid a deep foundation of doctrine in their hymns and embodied saving truth in almost every verse. In an introduction to an early hymnbook J. B. Chapman wrote, "If one is forced to choose between the privilege of preaching what the people are to believe or teaching them the songs they will sing, he might do wisely to choose the latter." Although the technical definition of a hymn is somewhat flexible, a hymn may be considered to be a song addressed to God. This may be a prayer, an expression of praise, or a poem of adoration. The gospel song is almost always a testimony. This type of song is addressed to the people and is usually a report of the writer concerning his or her own spiritual experience. Such songs are popular in evangelical churches and compose a large portion of the hymnody. A gospel chorus is a gospel song without stanzas. The chorus may be a definite testimony or in its poorer form may be nothing more than words with religious overtones set to a rhythmic tune. Today church music has become a professional field of ministry. Highly organized music programs, including choirs, ensembles, even instrumentalists, are designed both to add enrichment to the public service and appeal to outsiders. Without careful guidance this movement may in the long run prove debilitating, by doctrinal thinness, and by shifting the emphasis from congregational participation in the freedom of the Spirit to the performance of professionals. See HYMNOLOGY WORSHIP. For Further Reading: McCutzhan, Our Hymnody; Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns; Hildebrandt, ed., Wesley Hymnbook LESLIE PARROTT CHURCH RULES. See canon law. CIRCUMCISION. This primarily is the Jewish rite of incising the foreskin (prepuce) of the male genital, usually in the eighth day after birth, signifying the covenant relation between God and His people. Various theories of the extrabiblical origin of circumcision have been advanced, including the "hygienic," "tribal initiation," celebration of "coming of age," a "sacrificial offering," and "a sacramental operation, or shedding of blood to validate a covenant" (7SBE, 1:657). Circumcision is widely practiced among many different people besides the Jews, and is extended to females among certain primitives. In the OT circumcision was not only a religious significance, but crucially so. When God made His perpetual covenant with Abraham and his
posterity, He imposed the rite of circumcision as the inviolable sign of belonging (Gen. 17:9-14; cf. Exod. 4:24 ff; Josh. 5:2-12). Very early it came to be seen as a type and promise of internal spiritual and moral transformation wrought by God (Deut. 10:12-21; 30:6; cf. Isa. 52:1; Ezek. 44:7, 9). In the NT circumcision as a rite is displaced by the revelation in Christ of its personal, spiritual meaning and reality. Paul disdainfully applies the name "concision" (Greek katatome, "to cut up, mutilate") to the Judaizers who insisted on physical circumcision for salvation (Phil. 3:2-3), and even wished upon them excommunication (Gal. 5:10-12; 2:3-5; cf. Deut. 23:1). In fact Paul equates physical circumcision with uncircum-cision in relation to personal salvation, and he regards neither as having any saving value. Positively considered, circumcision is regarded by Paul as the seal of Abraham's saving faith, since it followed his faith, rather than being the means of that faith, much as baptism relates to regeneration (Rom. 4:9-13). Thus circumcision is not a condition of saving faith (Gal. 5:6). One of the severest threats to the unity of the Early Church arose over the question of circumcision in relation to salvation and church membership. That question was finally settled at the Jerusalem Council (c. a.d. 48/49). There it was declared a nonrequirement for Gentile salvation or church membership (Acts 15). Wesley remarks on Paul's argument concerning circumcision in Col. 2:8-15 that "it is evident the apostle thus far speaks, not of justification, but of sanctification only" (Explanatory Notes upon the NT). Thus the spiritual significance of circumcision in the Bible is the purification or sanctification of the heart by the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit (2 Thess. 2:13). See cleansing, heart purity, judaistic controversy For Further Reading: IDB, 1:629-31; ZPEB, 1:866-68.
In the NT citizenship is discussed by the use of three words derived from polis (city): politeia (Eph. 2:12; Acts 22:28), meaning a citizen or a commonwealth; politeuma (Phil. 3:20), which is translated as citizenship or homeland; and sun-polites (Eph. 2:19), meaning fellow citizen. Paul's use of the concept possesses political, soteri-ological, and eschatological connotations. The first of these is shown where Paul affirms his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:28). In the second, the Gentiles are declared to have been strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, but in Christ to be citizens of the household of faith (Eph. 2:19). The eschatological sense is evidenced in Paul's description of heaven as the Christian's homeland (Phil. 3:20). The classic passage setting forth the responsibilities of the Christian citizen in political society is Romans 13. To some, Paul's words seem to give a virtual blank check to the exercise of political authority. The Christian is to obey or else respond passively to civil injustice. Is this Paul's concern? The passage (13:1-7) refers to the normal regulatory functions of the state by which the good are benefited and the evil punished. No intimation is given that the state may become demonic in its activity. To understand Paul's intention we should note his teaching concerning the duty of Christian love, a powerful theme in the context (12:19-21; 13:8-10). What does love require? In general, good citizenship is an expression of Christian concern for the neighbor (13:8-10). Further, love evokes an attitude of support for the political order since God has ordered it. The state is arranged as a part of God's order. The powers "are subordinate to, or orderly disposed under, God." So Wesley interprets v. 1. Recognition of the relationship of the political order to divine order both supports and qualifies Christian obedience. When a conflict arises between God's will and state expectation, the higher command takes precedence. The appeal to Christian conscience (v. 5) enlarges the qualification. Citizenship in NT teachings about salvation centers around Christ's reconciling work. In describing citizenship in the Christian community, Paul makes use of theological themes relating both to the process of becoming, and enjoying the rights of, a citizen. The doctrines of the Fall, the reconciling death of Jesus Christ, and the creation of the new man and the new community are discussed (Eph. 2:11-22). Everyone has participated in the Fall—in pride and self-trust— and has become a stranger to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven from home. In Jesus Christ citizenship is restored. Jesus reconciles the alien world to God, bringing believers into the new community. Thus Paul writes: "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household" (v. 19, Niv). The eschatological significance of citizenship is expressed in Paul's joyous declaration: "But our CITY—CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE 119
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who . . . will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Phil. 3:20-21, Niv). The closest relationship exists between our citizenship in the Church of Jesus Christ and in the heavenly commonwealth. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ has made our membership in His Church the foretaste and pledge of the heavenly Kingdom. We are not yet aware of the "things God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9), but we savor them through hope and love. Christian hope draws the promise of things to come into our human experiences. Thus the new heaven and earth draw ever nearer. Heavenly citizenship gives us the freedom to be totally concerned with our earthly home and to be unafraid of its idolatries as we seek its healing. See state (the), chain of command, authority, conscience, civil rights, civil religion, civil disobedience, pilgrim, heaven, kingdom of god.
There was no sharp division in biblical times between urban and agricultural societies, the former being based on the latter. The city represented the place of physical security, political power, and economic control. Its fortification provided for defense and its larger population for both military resources and accumulation of wealth. Biblically, the city originated with Cain who dwelt east of Eden in the land of Nod (Gen. 4:16-17). Having left the presence of God, Cain sought security by building a city, thus the city originated as an expression of man's rebellion against God. Separated from God spiritually, man still seeks to master his own destiny by controlling the forces which affect his existence. The city becomes man's greatest achievement wherein he gains control over those forces, including his physical environment. It is the city, however, that controls man, not he it. Its spirit is destructive, ever alluring individuals with the promise of security, but enslaving them in an existence alienated from God. Justice, the basis of an equitable society, does not exist, for the rights of the individual become subservient to the survival of a society in rebellion against God. The primary biblical symbol of the city of man is Babylon, whereas opposed to it is the city of God, Jerusalem. The true "city of God" remains an apocalyptic hope. Those who wait for it have been reconciled to God and live now as its citizens. Thus they participate in both the city of man and of God. Whereas a temporal city, through repentance, may become an expression of the city of God, as did Nineveh (Jonah 3:6ff), wherever man's existence is grounded in rebellion, injustice and alienation characterize his society. See humanism, community babylon, jerusalem, citizenship. For Further Reading: Augustine, The City of God; El-lul, The Meaning of the City. Robert D. Branson CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. Civil disobedience is the refusal to observe the command of a civil authority out of conviction that this violates a higher principle of right or justice. It is based on the underlying conviction that the social order (government) is not an end in itself and that its demands may deviate from a higher standard. For a Christian that higher standard would be the will of God. The earliest Christians expressed a form of civil disobedience when they chose "to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). But the idea is rooted deeply in the entire biblical story. God was the King over Israel, and when the earthly rulers did not follow the divine will, God's spokesmen, the prophets, did not hesitate to rebuke them (1 Sam. 15:16 ff; 2 Sam. 12:1 ff) and counsel the people to obey God (1 Kings 18). Daniel was a true son of Israel and model for the Christian when he, with his friends, refused to obey Nebuchadnezzar's demands. For the Christian the right and obligation to disobey is not based on selfish interest or human preference but on what is considered to be the claims of God. In Romans 13 Paul exhorts the believer to recognize the state as an authority over him (also 1 Pet. 2:13, 17). Therefore disobedience is permitted only when the authorities do not represent the good desired by God (Rom. 13:3-4). There is difference of opinion among Christians regarding the areas of legitimate disobedience. These areas will correspond to those aspects of belief which a given Christian or church considers to be essential for doing the will of God. From the earliest times believers 120 CIVIL RELIGION—CIVIL RIGHTS have openly defied attempts to stop gatherings for worship and acts of witness. Some groups have also refused obedience in such areas as the swearing of oaths, military service, and payment of taxes for government activities considered unjust or morally wrong. The dual call of Scripture to honor human au-thorites and yet to disobey wrong demands means the Christian must attempt to display respect and not rebelliousness in the situation of protest and noncompliance. See citizenship. state (the), civil religion, civil rights. For Further Reading: Wenger, Introduction to Theology, 316-25; Cullmann, The State in the New Testament; Wiley, CT, 3:98-100; Kaufman, What Belongs to Caesar? George R. Brunk III CIVIL RELIGION. Civil religion is a rather recent term to describe an old fact of human existence. As the words suggest, it is the merging of religious beliefs and practices with the civil order that molds a society. The values that characterize society are the values of the religious system held by the same people. According to Will Herberg, civil religion is an amalgam (mixture) of values and ideals from various sources, welded together with patriotism in the national consciousness to form a society's religious foundation (see Smart, 15). The term was originated by Robert Bellah to designate the religious convictions agreeable to the mass of Americans. According to Bellah such a common religion is essential to a stable, strong society. The product has been characterized as "a nation with the soul of a church." From the Christian viewpoint the concept of civil religion arouses conflicting feelings. From the time of Christianity's emergence as the major religion of Western civilization, the values of society and church have intermingled and blended. For some this was a triumph, but for others this mixture has been a disastrous fall. The rise of conviction in the separation of church and state since the Reformation reflects a critical stance toward making the Christian faith into a civil religion. The OT skepticism of kingship (1 Sam. 8:4-9), the critical freedom of the prophets, and Jesus' creation of a new people of faith, all point in this direction. In practice, however, American Protestantism has defended and promoted a civil religious order that reflects Christian values. By dividing the sphere of influence of the church and state, the conflict of faith and patriotism disappears. All too easily God and country are peaceful partners. The Christian defends the church and his society as if of equal importance. The Bible reflects the tension in Romans 13 where the state is God's agent for good but the Christian is called to love (13:8) and peace (12:18). The Christian will support and promote righteous standards for general society, but the NT concept of the Kingdom and the Church forbids us to put a "Christianized" society on the level of the redeemed people of God, the Church. See citizenship, state (the), church, kingdom of
The term is often used interchangeably with the term civil liberties. Sometimes the latter expression is used to refer to the personal rights of individuals, while the main term has in recent years come to refer more and more to the rights of minority groups. Such a distinction, however, is hardly justifiable from the standpoint of Christian ethics. The whole issue is one of human relationships, whether it is a matter of person-to-person, of group-to-group, or of group-to-person. Reinhold Niebuhr claims that it may be possible, though it is never easy, to guarantee just relationships between individuals within a group purely by moral or rational pressures. But in intergroup relations this is practically impossible. In such cases relations between groups must therefore be largely political rather than ethical. As viewed by our American Founding Fathers, these rights are natural, that is, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights which government has no right to confer or prevent. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights, spells out the position of the government in keeping with the concepts of the CLEAN, UNCLEAN—CLEANSING 121
Founding Fathers. The violation of any of these rights therefore becomes a violation of the Constitution and entitles the injured party or parties to the resources of the federal courts. Prior to the Fall man was in complete harmony with the natural world in which God had placed him. Because of sin man found the world of nature under a curse and found himself depraved and out of complete harmony both with his fel-lowmen and with his environment. As a result those "inalienable rights" were no longer guaranteed naturally. Man found himself in conflict with his Creator, his fellowmen, and his earthly environment. The purpose of the Atonement was to redeem man from sin so that he might live in harmony with God, his fellowmen, and his temporal home in this life and finally be restored to complete harmony in the perfected kingdom of God hereafter. See citizenship, civil disobedience, community, sin. redemption.
Cleansing agents included fire (Num. 31:22-23; Mai. 3:3); water (Num. 8:7; Ezek. 16:4); blood (Lev. 12:6-7; 14:25; 16:19); and ashes (Num. 19:17). Signs and symbols, these possessed no inherent or magical cleansing power. Only God could cleanse, and restore the relationship broken by sin (Job 14:4; Ps. 51:10). Atonement effected cleansing and preserved Israel before God (Lev. 16:30). God rejected ritual purity divorced from moral purity (Ps. 24:3-5; 51:6, 16-19; Isa. 1:10-20). Moral and ethical purity are emphatic in the NT. Jesus condemned mere outward cleanness (Matt. 23:25-26); located defilement's source in man's heart (Mark 7:18-23); and declared the pure in heart blessed (Matt. 5:8). He demonstrated power to cleanse by healing lepers (8:2-3) and pardoning sinners (Mark 2:5-12; Luke 7:36-50)—implicit claims to Deity. This authority anticipated His death as an atonement. Prophets spoke of a man who would be an atoning sacrifice, and of a cleansing from inward defilement (Isaiah 53; Ezek. 36:25-27). Jesus is that Sacrifice, whose blood actualizes what animal offerings only symbolized (Heb. 9:11-15). Christ's death becomes the ground of regeneration and sanctification, by which believers are cleansed from sin and enabled to serve God (Titus 3:5; 1 John 1:7; Heb. 13:12, 20-21). Though God atones and cleanses, man is summoned to repent, trust, and obey—to cleanse himself by responding to God's cleansing provision in Christ (Isa. 1:16; Jas. 4:8; 2 Cor. 7:1). Because cleansing is the ultimate expression of grace, its refusal is the ultimate expression of sin, inviting terrible judgment (Ezek. 24:13; Heb. 10:26-31). See heart, heart purity, original sin, expiation, holiness, righteousness, purification (ceremonial), cleansing, purity and maturity, Directory: sites -> default -> files -> publications publications -> Table of Content forward introduction publications -> Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies Georgia Institute of Technology publications -> Housing Counseling Research in Chicago publications -> Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences publications -> New Brunswick Info Sheet on First Nations Child Welfare publications -> Paap’s Electronic Newsletter 14 November 2008 Volume 11 Number 22 towards ‘smart’ subsidies in agriculture: lessons from recent experience in malawi publications -> Information support of pedagogical process for the children experiencing difficulties with acquisition of preschool educational programs publications -> Asus’ ZenFone ar has Google’s augmentted and virtual reality baked in — but not combined publications -> School Readiness and Early Grade Success Consultation Memo Atlanta, ga Download 6.66 Mb. Share with your friends:
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