"Everett Ferguson has favored us with a fourth edition of his scholarly study of A Cappella Music in the Public Worship of the Church.
Ferguson has a masterful knowledge of Greek and Latin in which the relevant data is to be found. He is unparalleled in the fellowship of Churches of Christ for his grasp of ancient church history.
This study begins with the relevant texts of the New Testament. The history and meaning of the word psallo is examined. Its context in New Testament times is looked at. The testimony of history is surveyed. The reader will find his perplexities about temple music are dealt with. No less considered are quandaries about synagogue music. Rabbinic testimony is considered. Doctrinal considerations are taken up. Ancient authors and works are cited. There is a glossary and a selected Bibliography. Questions for discussion are supplied with each section. Without reservation of any sort, this study is to be recommended to every person whether his interest is great or small."
– Jack P. Lewis, Ph.D., Harding School of Theology
"During my graduate study days at Harvard I lived in the same dormitory with a Greek Orthodox student who was a graduate of the University of Athens and a candidate for an advanced degree at Harvard. I asked him if it was correct that the Greek Orthodox churches did not use instrumental music in their public worship. He said, “Yes.” Then I inquired as to the reasons why. His reply was most interesting to me: “We do not use instrumental music because it is not in the New Testament and it is contrary to the nature of Christian worship.” By this he stated my case exactly for unaccompanied church music. Other Orthodox would add that the tradition of the church is against the practice. A special contribution of this book is to demonstrate the historical evidence of the early Christian centuries.
In elaborating the reasons for advocating a cappella music in the public worship of the church I would like to apply a method of approach which I have found helpful in considering disputed matters of Christian practice. This methodology involves three steps: (1) an analysis of the New Testament evidence, (2) a testing of one’s interpretation of the New Testament by the testimony of church history, and (3) a consideration whether there are doctrinal or theological reasons which explain or give meaning to the Biblical and historical evidence."
– Everett Ferguson
DETAILED CONTENTS:
CHAPTER I: THE NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE
• PSALLO: ITS HISTORY AND MEANINGS
• THE CONTEXT OF NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
CHAPTER II: THE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY
CHAPTER III: DOCTRINAL CONSIDERATIONS
ANCIENT AUTHORS AND WORKS CITED
GLOSSARY
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
About the Author: Everett Ferguson (PhD, Harvard) is Professor Emeritus of Bible and now Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, where he taught church history and Greek. He is the author of 30 books, including Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Early Christians Speak, and Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. He was also general editor of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Early Christianity as well as editor or contributor to numerous other books.
