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Issue 31 : Golden Age of Hymns

Originally published in 1991

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Table of Contents

The Golden Age of Hymns: Did You Know?

James Townsend
The Hymn Born in a Synagogue

How a Hebrew text and synagogue melody became a well-known Christian hymn.

James D. Smith III
The Golden Age of Hymns: From the Editor - Silent String

Kevin A. Miller
The Forgotten Wesley

Often overshadowed by his famous older brother, Charles Wesley has emerged as perhaps "the greatest hymnwriter of all ages."

James Townsend
Radicals in Times of Revolution

James Townsend
Why Wesley Still Dominates Our Hymnbook

Two centuries later, what's the secret of Charles Wesley's undiminished popularity?

Timothy Dudley-Smith
The Hymn Explosion

In 1700, there were precious few English hymns. In 1800, there were hymnbooks galore. What happened?

Robin A. Leaver
Where Did We Get The Doxology?

The story behind what may be the world's best-known hymn.

James D. Smith III
The Golden Age of Hymns: A Gallery of the Hymn Writers' Hall of Fame

The poets who put words in our mouths.

Vinita Hampton Wright
Other Important Hymn Writers
The Golden Age of Hymns: Christian History Timeline

Paul Westermeyer
America's Hesitation Over Hymns

Why did colonial churches resist the first British musical invasion?

David W. Music
Were Hymns Good Poetry?

They have endured. But does their lasting popularity prove their quality?

Jan Anderson
The Spiritual

In the furnace of slavery, a lasting musical form was forged.

Angela M. S. Nelson
What Did Slave Songs Sound Like?

Angela M. S. Nelson
A New Species of Christian Song

Where did the English hymn come from?

Madeleine Forell Marshall
Irrational Music Sung By a Mob of Extremists?

Why the Church of England disliked hymns

Madeleine Forell Marshall
Three Hymnals That Shaped Today's Worship

The hymnbooks of John Wesley, John Newton, and John Rippon endured for generations.

William J. Reynolds
The Golden Age of Hymns: Recommended Resources
Who Puts the Gideon Bible in Your Hotel Room?

Nearly 100 years ago, two traveling strangers met by chance, never dreaming what they would start.

Kevin A. Miller
Down and Out From Beverly Hills

One man's encounter with a Gideon Bible

Paul Myers

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Today in Christian History

June 4, 1873: Charles F. Parham, founder of the Apostolic Faith movement and one of the founders of the modern Pentecostal movement, is born in Muscatine, Iowa. In 1900 he founded the Bethel Bible School, where speaking in tongues broke out—launching the Pentecostal movement (see issue 58: Pentecostalism).

June 4, 1948: The Far East Broadcasting Company, based in the Philippines and broadcasting across Asia, goes on-air with the staff singing “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.” ...

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Issue 31 : Golden Age of Hymns

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