Book Details
Over the past fifty years there has been a remarkable surge of interest, within the analytic tradition of philosophy, in philosophy of religion. Most of what has been written by participants in this movement deals with one or another aspect of religious belief. Yet for most adherents of most religions, participation in the liturgies and rituals of their religion is at least as important as what they believe. One of the aims of this book is to call the attention of philosophers of religion to the importance of religious practice and to demonstrate how rich a topic this is for philosophical reflection. Another aim is to show liturgical scholars who are not philosophers that a philosophical approach to liturgy casts an illuminating light on the topic that supplements their own approach. Insofar as philosophers have written about liturgy, they have focused most of their attention on its formative and expressive functions. This book focuses instead on understanding what liturgical agents actually do. It is what they do that functions formatively or expressively. What they do is basic.
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Sound Theology
This book surveys the liturgical soundscape during and after the Reformation with regard to the use of instruments in worship in general, and the (dis)use of the pipe organ specifically.
Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being
What is gratitude? Where does it come from? Why do we need it? How does it change us?
In Gratitude, award-winning author Cornelius Plantinga explores these questions and more. Celebrating the role of gratitude in our lives, Plantinga makes the case that it is the very key to understanding our relationships with one another, the world around us, and God.
Servanthood of Song: Music, Ministry, and the Church in the United States
'Servanthood of Song' is a history of American church music from the colonial era to the present. Its focus is on the institutional and societal pressures that have shaped church song and have led us directly to where we are today.
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