Now the question goes on for a long time and I only read a 1\/3 or so of it and briefly skimmed the rest. The person who typed the question could be considered as being defensive. But the answer has lines in it like:<\/p>\n
“Amazing. Twenty years without learning the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament.”<\/p>\n
“After twenty years, I would have thought you would have learned how to establish authority. You claim “We are commanded to praise God with instruments.” Where? The Jews were commanded to use instruments. Where were the Christians commanded to do so?”<\/p>\n
“It also appears that you missed learning about the scope of authority since you make the foolish argument that there is no permission for microphones, song books and the like.”<\/p>\n
“The laughable thing is that there is no division in the church over instrumental music. The church stands by the Bible and doesn’t add what God has not authorized. There are people like you who are wanting to cause division by adding unauthorized acts to the worship and the foolishly think you can turn the tables and claim that the group staying with the Bible is the one at fault. How naive in your thinking! No, you don’t have a common goal with faithful Christians. Read II Peter 2 some time.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I have no idea who wrote the article, but to me, it doesn’t seem like an appropriate response to someone who’s starting to question or defend one of their core religious beliefs. To me, it seems like the post needs editing or to be taken down and the problems with the author need to be worked out appropriately.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
I readily admit that in answering many questions each day, I spend more time focused on getting the answer out than on reviewing the grammar. I do have several people who kindly let me know when I have made a mistake, so I can make corrections.<\/p>\n
I’ve re-read the question and I don’t know why you concluded that the person writing the question was defensive. He is advocating a false doctrine which he clearly spent a good deal of time thinking about and coming up with arguments from a variety of directions. I understand that you don’t like how I phrased my response, but I suspect that you would probably scold John the Baptist for his remarks as well. “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” <\/em>” (Luke 3:7). Different people require different approaches. “And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh<\/em>” (Jude 22-23). There isn’t one perfect approach that will work will all or even most people. I agree, I tend to be blunt. It works particularly well with young people and it shakes up people who think they know more than others. “Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes<\/em>” (Proverbs 26:5).<\/p>\nThe person who wrote the question claimed to be a long-standing member of the church and yet offered arguments that demonstrated a lack of understanding of basic principles. He thought to make his point by using a double-barrel shotgun of arguments to overwhelm the opposition. He even took a stance on an issue that has been addressed repeatedly going back to the 1800s by using the same old arguments that have been answered. He didn’t consider the opposition to his points. It really wasn’t a question but a lecture on why his view was superior. Thus, I pointed out that his years in the church had not benefited him.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the question and answer remain. It demonstrates both the warped thinking that creeps into the church and one method for dealing with false teachers.<\/p>\n
P.S. I hope you don’t mind that I cleaned up the grammar in your rebuke.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I’m not sure if you’re the person I’m supposed to send this to, but your email was at the bottom of the page. I’m a member of the church and in regards to one of the Questions and Answer posts on the La Vista Church of Christ website, the response to one of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,1569,292],"class_list":["post-49568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-doubts","tag-instrumental-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50350,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-record-your-own-music-with-instruments\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":0},"title":"Can you record your own music with instruments?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Lord's church (Acts 2:41) and am fully aware and fine with the fact that instruments in worship toward God are unauthorized by Scripture (Acts 17:25), and thereby unacceptable (II John 9). However, I read your article Is playing an instrument for a person's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7669,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-instrumental-music-be-used-during-weddings-held-in-a-church-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":1},"title":"Can instrumental music be used during weddings held in a church building?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have searched your website and didn't find any information on this so I am submitting this question: Is it scriptural to have recorded music (not vocal) in a wedding ceremony that is held in the church building? There is a young Christian couple that has asked to have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42959,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-name-my-band-the-levites\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":2},"title":"Can I name my band “The Levites”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good Evening Minister. I trust this meets you well. I would like to ask a question: I am a singer in my church and I am trying to form a Christian band. Can I use The Levites as a band's name? Regards. Answer: All Christians are to sing in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-answer-was-not-the-best-way-to-go-about-responding\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":3},"title":"Your answer was not the best way to go about responding","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, my brother, With reference to \"God wanted instrumental music before, so why not now?\" and the response you posted from a concerned member, I humbly suggest that this was not the best way to go about responding. Some of the things you said were rude and condescending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16846,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-go-to-a-show-and-sing-along-with-the-hymns-that-are-being-sung-with-instrumental-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":4},"title":"Can I go to a show and sing along with the hymns that are being sung with instrumental music?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can I go to a bluegrass show and sing along with hymns that are being sung with instrumental music? Can I play and sing hymns at home with instruments? Answer: When something is offered up to God, then it ought to be done in the manner in which God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8723,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-it-is-wrong-to-use-instrumental-music-because-the-new-testament-doesnt-mention-it-then-it-would-be-wrong-to-use-electricity\/","url_meta":{"origin":49568,"position":5},"title":"If it is wrong to use instrumental music because the New Testament doesn’t mention it, then it would be wrong to use electricity.","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My brother was a member of the Church of Christ which is why I know something about their beliefs. They didn\u2019t use musical instruments when singing songs because, as he told me, musical instruments were not mentioned in the first-century church. Neither was electricity, but that sure didn\u2019t keep\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}