Revenge of the Antiquated: What the Dissatisfaction of Postmodernity and Reemergence of Hymns in Christian Worship Can Tell Us About the Value of the Humanities

September 13, 2024

Thanks to John M. Wiley, HMU 2024 Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.

Two things that aren’t exactly trendy today are the humanities and church music, particularly historical hymns. At first glance, such a statement seems incoherent, if not utterly ridiculous. However, I believe there’s an intertwining of the two that gives us valid insights into some of the shortcomings of our postmodern age, as well as much-needed wisdom for today. This isn’t to malign all contemporary contributions to art, philosophy, and culture. Nor is it to assume that all old things are good things. But the wise caution from C. S. Lewis to at least be aware of “chronological snobbery” seems rather helpful at the moment.(1) Although not a universal phenomenon, the re-emergence of hymns for Christian worship services speaks to the durability of that which is seemingly antiquated.

To learn of the re-emergence of Christian hymnody most recently witnessed in the last decade or so, we first need to briefly trace the original emergence. Singing wasn’t alien to early Christians. The Hebrew Old Testament included well over a hundred Psalms. And then in the New Testament, there are examples of first-century hymns.(2) Gradually, Christians composed hymns for personal devotion and corporate worship, but such a practice came into conflict with the Protestant Reformation. Followers of Luther were happy to incorporate newer hymns, which included the bulwark of a song, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Meanwhile, Calvinists settled with just singing the Psalms, favoring what they saw as inerrant Scripture versus the fallibility of human-derived compositions. The English-speaking (and -singing) church largely followed Calvin in this regard, that is, until the likes of Isaac Watts came onto the scene.

Watts revolutionized the hymn-singing of Protestantism with classic works such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” but soon others followed with hymns still cherished in the twenty-first century, including Charles Wesley’s “And Can it Be?” and John Newton’s “Amazing Grace.” These classic hymn writers were skilled craftsmen of both vivid poetry and deep theology. When hymn-writing crossed the Atlantic Ocean, it developed with the excitement of revivalism, leading to the genre of the “gospel hymn.” These songs were typically less poetic, focusing on the simplicity of the Christian message that is encapsulated in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But they were certainly composed in a way that captured audiences with their memorable music—first on the revival circuit and later in local churches. These gospel hymns also heavily favored a personalized relationship with God, such as found in the song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early part of the twentieth century, hymn-writing impressively formed the theological and aesthetic foundation for the faith of many (if not most) Christians in the West. Two books that could typically be found in the homes of even the most meager of Americans were the Bible and a hymn book, and it’s hard to say which one was used more. 

And then modernity changed keys for church music. Still patterning after the innovation of the revivalistic gospel hymn by starting outside of local churches, contemporary Christian music (CCM) on the post-World War II era first found a hearing among large group evangelistic crusades with organizations like Youth for Christ.(3) Soon after, local churches, particularly among evangelical Protestants, incorporated CCM into their church music repertoire. Such an intermixing of historic hymnody and “rock music” proved tumultuous among practicing Christians, amounting to what became known as the “worship wars.” And rather quickly, CCM monopolized much of the evangelical church’s music.

With CCM becoming an impressive industry in its own right, such a market created a demand for more and more songs for Christian worship. Although such a phenomenon might seem to have had a trajectory for further democratization, the ironic result is that between 2010 and 2020, nearly all of the most popular worship songs were co-written or popularized by only five megachurches.(4) Furthermore, church music has gone from lyric-based poetry to pop music, largely beginning with ear-based compositions rather than text-based.(5) Typically, this means that the lyrics now subordinately serve the music as master, whereas in classic hymnody, the roles were reversed. Additionally, the lifespan of a worship song today “only last[s] a few years,” compared to the decades (or in some cases, centuries) of classic hymns of the Christian faith.(6)

Such rapid change can scare the daylights out of not a few senior saints in local churches. But I think there are valuable points to be made for all ages, and not just for church music. And this is where I see a connection between classic hymnody and the humanities. Our postmodern culture today is drowning in a sea of information, with waves of ideological shifts that constantly crash. The chronological snobbery that Lewis warned about is more evident with each passing day. Where is reprieve to be found?

A boat caught in a storm will be more secure with a steady anchor, and that is where we find the wisdom of the humanities and classic hymnody. None of this is to disparage contemporary philosophy or to throw away the electric guitars, but I am suggesting the value of drawing from the past to better understand and contribute to the present. Indeed, we are starting to see that shift in contemporary evangelicalism with the re-emergence of hymnody. Most notably, this is seen in the yearly Sing! Conference, hosted by Keith and Kristyn Getty, where thousands of worship leaders and church musicians gather in-person and online to discuss, learn about, and especially sing hymns, both historic and modern. Something that Keith Getty has stated speaks perceptively: “We’re trying to preserve hymnody not for the sake of conservation but to reinvent it so it can live and breathe for a new generation.”(7)

Perhaps the same can be said for the studies of humanities. Keeping Aristotle, Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, and other classic works of Western literature simply in academic curriculum for the sake of preserving historical texts alone is an insufficient argument. What should be argued is that the humanities provide a steady anchor in a turbulent post-modern culture that is seeking the same answer to the question as Pontius Pilate: “What is truth?” (John 18:38). By appealing to ideals of the present age alone, we are starving ourselves by passing up the buffet that is found in the study of the humanities. Works like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness point to the futility of finding meaning in the endless scrolling of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Despite having access to digital volumes on Wikipedia perhaps larger than the Library of Alexandria, we don’t seem to have a sturdy understanding of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Once again, I will tie the connection back to church music. Let’s take the example of one of the most popular worship songs today, “Graves into Gardens.” The chorus reads as follows:

Oh there’s nothing better than You

There’s nothing better than You

Lord there’s nothing

Nothing is better than You (8)

Although there’s “nothing” (no pun intended) unorthodox from these lines according to historical views of Christianity, they lack the poetic qualities of historic hymnody. On the other hand, consider the vivid and convicting lyrics from Charles Wesley’s “And Can it Be?”:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray

I woke the dungeon flamed with light

My chains fell off my heart was free

I rose went forth and followed Thee

Sure, there is some archaic language here, but the craftsmanship in the power of words is hard to miss.

Is there hope for a future in the study of the humanities and in the conservation of classic hymnody? I would strongly suggest that the answers are “yes” and “yes.” As we blaze new paths in both fields of study and practice, we would certainly benefit from our awareness of the giant shoulders on which we stand today. Songwriter and acclaimed children’s novelist, Andrew Peterson, once composed the lyrics, “Keep to the old roads, and you’ll find your way.”(9) The interstates of new songs and new ideas are being paved, and that can be effective for our fast-paced lives. But those old roads of the humanities and hymnody aren’t going anywhere either.

(1)  Cited in Arthur W. Lindsley, “C. S. Lewis on Chronological Snobbery,” C. S. Lewis Institute, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/c-s-lewis-on-chronological-snobbery/ (accessed August 12, 2024).

(2)  See, for example, Philippians 2:6-11.

(3)  See Thomas E. Bergler, “The Youth for Christ Movement and American Congregational Singing” in Richard J. Mouw and Mark A. Noll, eds., Wonderful Words of Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 127.

(4) “How Songs Like ‘Great Are You Lord’ Are Connected to the ‘Big 4’ Worship Megachurches,” accessed August 13, 2024, https://worshipleaderresearch.com/how-songs-like-great-are-you-lord-are-connected-to-the-big-4/.

(5) See Nathan Burggraff, “Silencing the Congregation: The Impact of Musical and Cultural Changes on Congregational Singing in American Evangelical Churches,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 66:1 (Fall 2023), 97-117.

(6) Daniel Silliman, “We’ve No Less Days to Sing God’s Praise, But New Worship Songs Only Last a Few Years,” accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/december/worship-music-lifespan-shrinking-faster-study-tanner-ccli.html.

(7) Joan Huyser-Honig, “Keith Getty on Writing Hymns for the Church Universal,” accessed August 16, 2024, https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/keith-getty-on-writing-hymns-for-the-church-universal/.

(8) “Graves into Gardens,” © 2019 Brandon Lake Music; Maverick City Publishing Worldwide; Music by Elevation Worship Publishing; Bethel Music Publishing.

(9) Andrew Peterson, “You’ll Find Your Way,” Light for the Lost Boy, 2014.

Photo credit: Shutterstock/ Freedom Studio