A forum for discussing matters of moment, from a curmudgeonly perspective. (The ideas posted here do not necessarily represent those of any organization with which I am a part). Rude and insulting remarks will not be published, but civil disagreement is welcome.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Neal Morse Review Pulled
Having done more research on Neal Morse (and having a good friend who is a theologian advise me), I have pulled by review of Neal Morse's record, Sola Scriptura. It appears that the church he is involved with denies the Trinity and holds other seriously off-base teachings. I will look into this further and perhaps try to contact Mr. Morse. It doesn't seem that the record affirms any heresy, though.
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI am pleased that you are going to contact Mr.Morse. I was sad when I found this to be true about six months ago. I am a musiciam myself, and am a big fan of his music. By the way, I like your taste of music. I am also a Holdsworth and Satriani fan as well! I have been listening to your lectures on apologetics while walking at night, and have been greatly encouraged by them! I am also a recovering Van tillian after listening to them!
God Bless
..but the music review should have at least stayed. ???
ReplyDeleteI am very pleased that you are planning to contact Neal, Doug. I have several of his albums, my favourite being "?", which is about someone (at the time of the tabernacle) overwhelmed by the glory of God and longing to worship but aware of his uncleanness, longing for grace to reach down and bring him in, longing for the coming of the ultimate sacrifice, but not able to articulate the longing. I found it truly moving and truly beautiful, as well as being musically outstanding. But I came across his website and found that he didn't define himself (he refused to in fact) as trinitarian. Mind you, he is not a JW. He believes (as far as I can gather) that Jesus is "begotten and not created", but not co-equal with the Father. Maybe he just doesn't realise that trinitarian belief allows for a kind of hierarchy within the Godhead.
ReplyDeleteRoger
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you must be aware of the even more off-beat religious beliefs of one of your favorite artists, John Coltrane, who pretty much dabbled in every religion on the planet when he was alive. That doesn't seem to affect your enjoyment of his music, so why should it make a difference in your enjoyment of the music of Neal Morse?
Tom:
ReplyDeleteThe difference is that Morse claims to be a Christian. Coltrane did not. So, there is more potential for deception in the case of Morse, since people's defenses are down.
Anybody with a modicum of theological discernment who reads the liner notes to "A Love Supreme" can tell that Trane was not a Christian and that he was religiously confused. This was tragic, but true.
Moreover, Trane's music was instrumental; Morse's music is highly vocal. The words may lead people astray, although I found nothing obvertly wrong--and much right--in the lyrics to "Sola Scriptura." However, some of his groups excentricities (if not heresies) may be covertly contained in some of the biblical symbolism he invokes. I don't know.
I hope that helps.
Doug, do you have any papers on the doctrine of the Trinity? Even "anonymous" has fallen prey to the misconception that there's a hierarchy in the Godhead.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's impossible to be Christian and deny the Trinity--but most Christians really struggle to understand it. I think there are (rare) cases where people give up and fall into apostasy.
I am indebted to a recent three-part seminar by Jonathon Case at Houghton College for helping me gain a deeper, richer understanding. I will ask him if his material is available as pdf.