Tag Archives: Regulative Principle

An Experiment in Christian Dialogue: Colossians 3:17

In the first post of this series, I invited comment on 1 Corinthians 4:6, because it is, in my experience, the most frequently cited verse in support of the Regulative Principle (scriptural silences are prohibitions). Although the post received many … Continue reading

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Instrumental Music: An Experiment in Christian Dialogue

So it’s been a long, hard week. It’s been encouraging to have 50 or 60 comments a day — I mean, I remember when getting just one spam comment was cause for rejoicing! But, man, it’s hard to keep up … Continue reading

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The Fork in the Road: I Can’t Find the Words

BrotherhoodNews.com recently issued this report — MERIDIAN, Miss. (BNc) — The Northside congregation hosted a Bible debate on church benevolence Jan. 21-22. Thursday night Patrick Donahue of Huntsville, Ala., affirmed that, “The Bible does not authorize use of the church … Continue reading

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The Regulative Principle: All Churches Must Be Painted Green

The Regulative Principle is the formal name for what many in the Churches of Christ call the Law of Specific Authority. But how do we know that we need authority? Well, it’s obvious. You see, the opposite of the Regulative … Continue reading

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The Regulative Principle: The Acts 20:7 Argument

I just have to jump in here and make a serious argument — although some will take it as a bit snarky. Nonetheless, I think it’s serious. (Acts 20:7-12)  On the first day of the week we came together to … Continue reading

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Instrumental Music: The Patristic Evidence and the Regulative Principle, Part 2

How, then, do we explain the absence of instruments in the early church? And it is highly likely that the early church did not use instruments. My own view is that the early church took its form of worship from … Continue reading

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Instrumental Music: The Patristic Evidence and the Regulative Principle, Part 1

In contemporary Church of Christ thought, worshipping God with instrumental music is sinful because (a) it violates the Regulative Principle, that is, because it lacks authority in the scriptures, and (b) the history of the Christian church shows a uniform … Continue reading

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CENI: Introduction

I’ve been planning to say something on CENI hermeneutics for years. Now I finally get to it. For those not familiar with the term, “CENI” is the internet abbreviation for Command, Example, and Necessary Inference. And CENI is the foundation … Continue reading

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Renewing Our Worship: Authority

We have this false doctrine, this peculiar notion, that everything we do in church requires authority. We inherited this doctrine, known as the Regulative Principle, from (of all people) John Calvin. It’s amazing, you know, that we can be as … Continue reading

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The Regulative Principle: What the Bible Really Says

I’ve explained my views many times on this site. Let me just mention these few posts that explain what the Bible really says, rather than the Regulative Principle. First, there’s this one old post dealing with the arguments made on … Continue reading

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