Video summary
The lecture begins by establishing the theological foundation of worship through Hebrews 13, emphasizing that under the new covenant, the true sacrifice acceptable to God is not animal offerings but the "fruit of our lips"—the continuous offering of praise and thanksgiving. The speaker argues that this spiritual sacrifice is placed on the same level as acts of kindness and generosity; therefore, a believer's lifestyle of doing good and sharing with others is just as precious to God as corporate times of worship. This perspective shifts the focus from merely attending services to living a daily life where every act of gratitude and service becomes an offering that pleases the Lord.
The historical evolution of worship music is then traced from the Reformation era, highlighting the shift from restricted access to Scripture toward congregational participation led by figures like Martin Luther and John Calvin. As time progressed through the Puritan period and into the 18th and 19th centuries, hymns became more formal and archaic, often lacking intimacy or references to the Holy Spirit due to ritualistic traditions. However, the landscape changed dramatically with the Pentecostal and Holiness movements of the 20th century, which introduced a radical shift toward expressive, intimate language that reflected personal experiences of healing, deliverance, and the outpouring of the Spirit. This era, particularly marked by the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 70s, gave birth to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), characterized by simple, authentic lyrics and a musical style that moved away from traditional organs and choirs toward rock-band instrumentation and small vocal teams.
As this contemporary style spread globally through technology and missionary influence, it faced significant challenges regarding commercialization and the risk of worship becoming a mere performance. The lecture notes that while innovations like LED screens, recording equipment, and streaming platforms allowed for wider reach and flexibility in worship expressions, they also introduced distractions such as the need for high production value, which could turn church services into concerts where the congregation becomes passive observers rather than active participants. Furthermore, the industry aspect of worship music, including awards and revenue streams from digital downloads, risks overshadowing the core purpose of worshipping in spirit and truth. The speaker concludes by stressing that despite these modern complexities and historical variations—from the liturgical chants of early Indian Christianity to the fusion of Carnatic music with Christian faith—the essential goal remains to ensure that every believer can genuinely engage in worship without being hindered by performance aesthetics or commercial motives.
Read the full video transcript
Okay. Before we pray, just wanted to
read from Hebrews 13 and [snorts]
uh 15
and also verse 16. Verses 15 and 16,
right? Hebrews 13:15. It says,
"Therefore by him let us continually
offer the sacrifice of praise to God.
That is the fruit of our lips, giving
thanks to his name." Right? So we know
the book of Hebrews um talks about the
uh the the sacrifices the contrast
between the sacrifices that that was
there at the temple and how the Lord
Jesus is that perfect sacrifice. Right?
So so here it says um by him let us
continually offer that is by Jesus let
us continually offer the sacrifice of
praise to God. So what is it sacrifice
of praise that we are offering in the in
the new covenant says that is the fruit
of our lips giving thanks to his name
right so when we give thanks to his name
when we offer praise to God says that's
a sacrifice unto him uh verse 16 but do
not forget to do good and to share.
Okay. Verse 16. But do not forget to do
good and to share.
And it says, "For with such sacrifices,
God is well pleased." Right? So this
doing good uh which means acts of
kindness and sharing. It says that with
such sacrifices God is well pleased. So
in God's eyes, you know this sacrifice
of praise which is the fruit of our lips
giving of thanks. Yes, that is that is
something that is accepted by him,
received by him. And also on the same
plane or the same level is when we do
good and when we um uh when we are
generous and when we share, right? So
which means that um here it's talking
about a lifestyle, right? Rather than
more than uh you know a personal uh time
of worship. Yes. that is valuable,
precious to God. Our cor corporate times
of worship again valuable, precious to
God. But also our lifestyle of worship
which is doing good to others you know
and also giving and [snorts] um uh
generously to others which is also
considered by God as a precious
sacrifice. Right? With that he is well
pleased. Right? So let's just um you
know as we've been studying worship
ministry you know let's uh let's
remember this uh as we pray right let's
let's pray father we thank you for this
day Lord we thank you for this reminder
Lord about the sacrifices that you are
well pleased with master Lord we thank
you God you give us opportunities to
open our mouths and thank you and praise
you and worship you father god and uh
yes master with that you're well pleased
father we thank you for the
opportunities that you give us lord
uh that come our way Lord to be uh to do
Lord uh acts of kindness to others
master to be kind to others Lord and
also Father God to share with whatever
you've blessed us with master with as
your word says that with such sacrifices
you are well pleased Lord I pray that
we'll enable us Lord for our lives a
lifestyle to be a lifestyle of worship
that we will truly be worshippers Lord
who will worship you in spirit and in
truth. We thank you Lord. We thank you
for this time. We come at this time we
commit ourselves into your mighty hands
Lord. We give you all praise and glory
in Jesus matchless name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Okay. Um
so we were looking at um we were
studying the hymns right last class
we're looking at the hymns. We're
looking at some of these hymns um right
from the reformation time some of the
hymns that were used and um Amazing
Grace again Fanny Crosby then Horesio
Smapford right these were some of the
names that we looked at and how uh these
hymns um came from lives that were
difficult and also um
times or moments in in their lives which
are even tragic Right. Horesio Spafford
we read about um I mean we studied about
him and how in a very difficult moment
he wrote that hymn it is well with my
soul. Right. So today we'll just look at
um you know the unfolding or the you
know the way the worship music as we
call it here um today in today's
contemporary church right the worship
music how it actually unfolded over the
years right um let me just share that
with you
okay
Okay.
Okay. So, we looked at the hymns. I'm
just going to yeah to look at um you
know how church music actually evolved
over the years. Right. So we see that um
songs which came from Martin Luther and
there was also uh Martin Luther actually
wanted everyone right that everyone
should be able to participate in
worship. Okay. The the reason you know
he was writing hymns for congregational
worship and also for teaching the
congregation right so the reason he was
doing that was because just prior to
that the word of god was not available
for the people right in fact the word of
god was chained and kept the bible was
chained and kept it was uh unlawful for
common people just like you and I if we
are not like the priests in the church
to even possess a Bible. You know, first
of all, it was very expensive, but it
was unlawful for for people, common
people to read the Bible and to, you
know, so that was the time, right? So,
um and so after the reformation, you
know, so he was he made it very clear
that uh uh that hymn should be sung by
all and everybody should participate.
Now, there was also another person by
named John Calvin. um you know you may
have known about Calvinism and how he
you know brought that about. Now John
Calvin was a little more
cautious in his approach right to him
writing. So uh he would specifically use
only the psalms right the psalms and
scripture in the writing of uh hymns and
um so he um uh he he was actually um
that kind of uh that kind of a
background and he also did not you know
trust music too much right uh the use of
music he did not really um subscribe to
you using lot of instruments or
elaborate music like we see in David's
the Davidic worship you know he uh was a
little cautious about that uh and the
the reason being you know out of the
reformation into this movement he didn't
want anything to take the place of god
like to take the focus of god right so
that was his um u that was his approach
right so then we you know uh then all
then came all the uh other hymn writer
and and uh songwriters. Okay. Then what
we see is uh something very interesting
that happened um during the time of the
revival the move of the holy spirit and
uh we see that uh there were um uh there
was a because of the move of the hol
holy spirit because of the the lord's
work of reviving the church you know
from ritualistic worship or ritualistic
traditions we see that Um there was a a
a realness an authentic manner in which
worship worship songs were written and
worship um uh the the worship whole
worship movement um happened right so
reformation is one period which is let's
say 1500s
then we also have something called the
Puritan uh psalm singing period which
was in the 1600s then we had the hymns
Yeah. Then 1800s what what happened was
that um uh you know when this was a time
when particularly in the west right and
we're talking about uh the US uh and and
the UK so we see that there were big
preachers who used to preach in these
open air meetings and crusades as we
call it right they actually used a lot
of hymns lot of songs um for the worship
time right And also it we see that a lot
of songs that we call the choruses right
something simpler something which was
direct uh the language was also
different. Now the language of the hymns
if you see it is old English. um uh it
was very archaic, very literary but the
language also changed to be more real,
more I I won't use the word casual but
less formal right where you know uh if
in in the hymns if you look at those old
hymns you won't say you won't see things
like uh Lord I love you
Lord uh you know you are my friend you
won't see usage like that because it was
a lot more formal
Right. Very official language. Of
course, it um it actually um recognized
the holiness of God, recognized the
majesty of God, but the intimacy was
actually missing, right? The intimacy
and and songs about the Holy Spirit um
was missing and understandable because
we you know when we see the moves of
God, right? We know that during the dark
ages that um uh a lot of things were
lost right. Whatever god like whatever
we see in the new testament church we
see a whole reversal of that right. Uh
in fact the whole theology teaching was
not there right and it had become very
ritualistic. So we see a lot of things
were lost. The scripture, use of
scripture, the the the personal
relationship with God, everything the
salvation message being preached, you
know, everything was not in the
organized church, institutional church,
right? So we see that the Lord was
returning or restoring that, right? That
is what we call as the restorative moves
of God which you would have studied in
in the book revivals, visitations, you
know, we we see the moves of God, right?
from the 1500s from reformation right so
with this with the moves of god we see
that in the let's say the 20th century
right um with the pentecostal movement
and the holiness movements uh we see
that it would these songs became more
and more expressive more and more
intimate right so in the sense your
heart whatever the person the believer
was feeling in his or her heart or the
worship that the believer
was um you know wanting to bring to God.
Now these songs actually gave words for
that. Right? So that is what we see u in
the 1900s and especially if you if you
look at the what we call as the Jesus
movement which happened in the in the
west right um let me just um
share the notes. Okay. Um
right the Jesus moment 1960s uh 1970s
right you would see that and if this was
um especially among the drug users um
and and what we would call as people who
were rebelling against everything that
was uh that had a structure right what
had structure okay government had
structure family had a structure to it
right um marriage had structure
and all that the the hippie movement was
rebelling against you know so there was
a lot of drugs there was a lot of
immorality there was a lot of um you
know uh because of the drug use there
was also u moving into new age and you
know psychedelic experiences um
spiritual experiences which were not of
god right so uh new age and uh that kind
of a movement so the hippie movement was
into that but people started getting
saved and um because of that we see that
whatever songs that they were writing
you know it was radical it was a real
language it was u it was real authentic
language it was simple language at the
same time it was intimate language right
so we see um those kinds of songs giving
birth um or having given birth through
those kinds of songs from the right from
the um uh the hit the Jesus movement as
we call it right um okay so in the 1960s
we see that there's a birth of what we
can call as the contemporary Christian
music now what is called as CCM right
contemporary Christian music um and uh
we also see that with the birth of the
Jesus movement right several um churches
which began to which we gave birth to
certain churches like the vineyard
movement like the Marinata uh movement
and so on. So we see a lot of churches,
[snorts]
lot of uh songs uh which were written uh
and u and this uh was actually uh
something that happened in the 1960s,
right? Then we also see uh when it comes
to contemporary movement, contemporary
worship. So we see all this, right? The
Jesus movement, then Maranatha and
praise and worship choruses, then we see
uh the vineyard movement. Um and uh and
we see uh hillsong like churches like
hillsong and and bethl and so on. Bethl
of course is more recent but um vineyard
Marinata Hillsong and all these churches
and movements uh came there right now
the newer movements would be like
passion bethl elevation worship and so
on right now these were um these started
began to be used in churches worldwide
right and some of these songs were also
translated into the regional languages
angages and used worldwide, right? Um
but at the same time it was not without
opposition,
right? Every time like just like how we
see you know when we when there is a
move of God when there is a restorative
move of God um there was always
opposition. Right? Now this was
something that was we see that it was
initiated by the lord and uh but then
the people uh there were there were some
who readily accepted experienced uh the
change transformation in their own lives
but there were others who would actually
oppose you know well well-meaning
sincere people who would oppose that
right and we see that like even in the
the Lutheran movement and the puritan uh
the holiness movement and the and then
the charismatic movement and and you
know and everything like everything when
when God started restoring a truth the
previous one which was which was
actually something which experienced the
move of God that would either resist or
uh be very very um hesitant to maybe
cautious to actually jump in to actually
uh you know receive. Um so that is also
that is something that also happened
with the music right. So initially when
vineyard music in this in the 1960s
when they brought in those songs now we
sing some of those songs now right and
these they seem old to us right now.
Okay. Like songs like Lord I lift your
name on high came out of that. Right.
And um what else um can I think of? Um
songs like um
step by step you lead me. I forget the
title of that song but um you know some
of those songs which we sing now. It
came out of that moment, right? And
because it was, you know, it was more
like a very radical, very rebellious
kind of a generation, right? Now, that
that time or the music of that time did
not have just the church organ, right?
It was a it was more like a rock band.
So, they would have the guitars, they
would have the drums, they would have
know like the bass and everything. And
instead of a choir, they would have um
maybe a few vocalists, right? One lead
singer and two other singers. So it'll
be instead of the choir, there were
three people who were actually singing,
three or four people who were singing
and leading worship and so on. So the
songs which came out of that movement
had this kind of a music supporting it.
Right? So we are talking about the west.
We'll go you know into uh what happened
in our own nation also. Right? Um so uh
like India for example and I'm sure like
that every other nation also has its um
um has its roots and also has seen that
changes you know uh as the years went by
right so there was also opposition to
the kind of music they're saying hey
this is too loud this is too
contemporary this is too radical this
cannot be used for church church use
right it is it is very irreverent disrep
respectful, right? And the language that
is used, no, this is not the language
that you use to talk to God, right? You
have to be a little more um respectful
of God. You can't tell God, Lord, I'm
your friend or you are my friend. You
can't tell that, right? So, um you know,
so the re so the thing is the language
why did the language come, right? Why
were such songs used? It came with a
revelation, right? It came with
understanding, right? Especially when
you look at the you know the Jesus
movement and the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit um during that time you see that
people experienced God in a very
intimate way right they were um they
were delivered from drugs and they were
delivered from you know alcohol and all
kinds of addictions um and they
experienced God in a very intimate way
and they experienced him as their
deliverer as their savior as their
friend and naturally their songs
reflected that right whatever they had
you know the the thing is they had come
from broken homes right where uh because
it was that generation where there was a
lot of divorces right in the west so
they would either uh you know grow up
with a guardian or they would either
grow up with a single parent right so
their songs reflected the love of God
the father who was bringing lot of
healing emotional healing
right? Emotional healing and deliverance
and and so the songs reflected that
right. Um and and that is why we see
that the words which people use in the
songs reflect the revelation which they
experienced in those times right and
also it goes back to the restorative
move of God. So the theology of the
songs um if you look at the words of the
songs we see that it's it's very
different right it's it's talking about
the gifts of the spirit it's talking
about the anointing it's talking about
the you know outpouring of the holy
spirit now those those kind of themes
were actually not there if you look at
you know Martin Luther's time right
maybe some references here and there but
those kind of themes will not be there
you know like pour out your spirit or
rain you know uh let it pain those kind
of usage will not be there right because
that was that came with the revelation
of the charismatic moment that the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for us
like things like themes like healing and
deliverance those were not there earlier
but it came earl
uh also includes in addition to
forgiveness also includes healing
deliverance and so on right so the so
the new what we can use the word the new
flavors that we s we see in these new
movements came with the revelation. So
we should understand that right. Um so
as the restorative moves of God um there
there came these um uh revelation and
the words of the songs changed right so
there was always a bit of a tension when
it came to contemporary worship right
what are the things that we hear today
hey these songs don't have depth right
which is true right some of the songs
are very casual right um uh some of the
songs are very superficial
Right. And that is uh that is also there
very light-hearted right and well one
can say that that is because of the
grace that people have experienced in
God right the freedom that they've
experienced in God the joy that they've
experienced in God but people have also
made mistakes people have also you know
taken the the scriptural depth out of it
and then made it very very light right
very superficial right that is that is a
thing the second thing is also about the
structure, right? The structure of the
uh the uh the the worship itself, right?
The Lord Jesus, John chapter 4 23:24,
he said that um yes, we need to worship
in spirit and in truth, right? Spirit
and in truth worship,
which means that that should be the
foundation. If you miss out on that,
right, when you not worshiping out of
your spirit, if you're not worshiping
out of truth, if you miss out on that,
then everything else is a waste, right?
But if you're making that as a central
aspect of your worship, spirit and truth
worship, then the form of worship or the
format of worship might change, right?
You could have a choir, you could have
liturgy, you could have, you know,
everything. But then at this at the core
of it, if it is spirit and truth
worship, then it's fine. So, so the
thing is like we said, you know, hymns
everybody was singing together, right?
One person would start and everybody
sings together. There's nobody to lead
worship, right? Then it became
with uh starting with the vineyard and
you know the Marata and the Jesus
movement it became a band became
[clears throat] a small team. Okay. I
wouldn't say I wouldn't say band I would
say a team right musical instruments few
singers who were leading congregation in
worship right there were there were many
reasons for that one the kind of music
was like that it was not not suited for
organ and church organ or choir uh
primarily right but the music was like
that so that that is why we had the band
the second reason also was because the
spirit of god was leading leading you
know in a certain way uh in the
congregation pouring out of the spirit
people were experiencing the gifts of
the spirit and so on. So there came um
uh you know um I would say a need to
actually lead right to lead the entire
group into what God was actually pouring
out into what God was having in store
you know during the time of corporate
worship and so we had a like a worship
team that was leading worship leader
that was leading now the danger is that
it can become a performance right
Everybody sitting or standing, watching,
listening, clapping but not really
engaging,
right? Um so you you can see that okay
hymns everybody is you know gathering
together there's no one person leading
maybe the pastor will just call out the
hymn and everybody would sing
but no interruptions during that time
right there is no interruption start to
finish they sing sit down then maybe
some prayer and then maybe a sermon and
then okay now let's all stand and sing
this hymn so that's it but in a in a in
a format where a team is leading
you know there is um you you are
listening to God worship leaders
listening to the Holy Spirit leading of
the Holy Spirit maybe there is a time of
you know and different expressions of
worship also people are getting
revelation right Psalm 95 it's talking
about shouting it's talking about
rejoicing talking about kneeling
all these different expressions of
worship God we see in Psalm 95 is also
something people are getting a
revelation of now this format act of
worship would actually give us the
freedom to do all that. Right? So the
worship leader might say okay now you
know let's all lift our voices and shout
to the lord right it's a shout of
victory the lord is giving us victory
right maybe that that is what the lord
is leading okay he sense the spirit of
god feels that okay a lot of people are
having carrying bondages a lot of people
are feeling you know heavy in their
spirit and today is a day of
breakthrough and liberty so uh unlike
the previous formats of worship
structure which was which was not really
flexible this was a flexible structure
which would allow you know those kinds
of expressions of worship also. So again
you know there was a tension there
people were saying okay hey we used to
that this is what we used to do why are
we doing this now right this is what we
are always used to why why is this young
person or why is this person you know
telling us what to do right um I just
want to you know sometimes we also make
the mistake right the people who are
leading also make the mistake of giving
too many instructions you know stand up
sit down raise your hands clap your
hands right shout louder sing loud uh
you know smile and saying too many
instructions right so people are saying
you know why I don't want I I didn't
come to church to hear all these
instructions like Arabic instructor you
know exercise do this do that no I I
just want to worship the lord myself so
we you know people made mistakes in that
side also right so participative versus
you know performance you know that was
something [snorts] then the other thing
with technology like okay with
technology it made things even worse the
performance part of it right now we
started streaming we started recording
we started putting that on YouTube's
YouTube videos right on other social
media which meant that it had to be
good-looking
right it had to be bright you can't use
one tube light and one you know
something like this and record it and
put it look very dull and people who are
watching will feel okay let me watch
something else right then the audio
right audio had to be clear it had to be
crisp it had to be equalized well it had
to be balanced well so with the
technology with the need for putting you
know videos and everything on social
medias making sure that everybody you
know one end you put something in some
you know village in India and everybody
across the globe, whoever has internet
access can actually see it, right? So it
had it advantages, right? And so with
the technology
came those challenges also. So you
decided to put a big LED screen, right?
Everything is there. He decided to use
cameras because people started meeting
in big you know gatherings and uh
sometimes the camera would focus on the
person or the speaker or the team so
that people sitting right at the back
could actually see it right and engage
with it because if it's a big room there
there are chances for you to disengage
right so you started putting that so
then again the challenge of the whole
thing becoming a performance right so we
need to be really careful careful. Uh so
again you know people felt okay this is
becoming more of a performance. I go to
church and then it's like one concert
you know there are these lights there is
this smoke machine there is this big
screens and yeah the it's like concert I
go and then I come back and I don't I
don't have to do anything I can't hear
myself sing it's you know so things like
that right so we we just needed to be
the church needed to understand it went
to that and needed to understand hey you
know we need to pull back things a bit
know yes it's great that we can use
technology
And we need to use it
uh in order things to be effective. But
at the same time preserve the heart of
why we are doing this. And if we forget
why we are doing this and the whole
intention is worshiing in spirit and in
truth so that every person is able to
engage in worship. We keep that at the
center then then you know we can
actually avoid a lot of mistakes. Right?
And another challenge is
awards, right? Because of the recording,
because of the um widespread um uh you
know the use of recordings and videos
and so on,
it became monetized,
right? So if you're putting on a
platform and um there is money to the
view like you can opt not for it you
don't have to opt for it but that is the
only way certain ministries would
actually be able to sustain themselves
that is the only way because they are
totally into that this is what they do
they don't have a physical church or
anything this is what they do which
means that with the views and you know
when it when it reaches like 1 million
plus views there are certain there's a
revenue stream you record it and you put
it on Spotify or anything with the you
know with the downloads and with the
people streaming it there is a certain
revenue attached to it so it became
commercialized
right so with that also that is also
some challenge like people are saying
this is so commercial right it's all
commercialized there's videos there's
saying is there um and it's becoming
more and more like an industry by itself
Right? You have the film music industry.
You have the film know those videos.
This is also another thing you just it's
a different category. It's worship or
gospel or contemporary Christian music.
But that is also becoming a industry you
know the commercialization of it and
also you know the award for it you know
best worship song or best worship leader
or something like that. If you put
awards to it you know that's the mistake
right? Then you know how would you call
it a best worship song
right based on the views
or based on the downloads?
How would you call it the best worship
song? Is God actually putting his label
approval on it and saying okay this is
the song I like the best of all the
songs you guys have written and sung you
know this is what I like the best. You
know how do you say it right? So of
course people have their own rationale.
Um you know and in this particular
season this was a song which blessed a
lot of people and all that but having
said all that it is still a little bit
commercial right. So so those were some
challenges when it came to uh worship
music. Okay. Okay. Let's look at um a
little bit of uh history of the any
questions here. anything that you may
want to add?
Okay. Um now our present notes have only
about the Jesus movement and um you know
a little bit of the evolution of music
till the contemporary time but um
you know we'll I'll share that I'll
share the you know exact notes for that
a little later and I'll upload it also
right so we can take a look at it.
Okay. Now coming to our you and know
this was a whole lot of things that
happened in the west right but also
whatever happened in the west you know
found its way globally because of
technology you know because of the media
like those days it was cassett cassette
tapes then came the CDs then uh came the
internet and so it was streamed so it
more and more uh it was becoming
available for everyone available
globally uh worldwide. People started
using it also. It was not just just the
music but it was also the the teaching
right is it was also the restorative
moves of God right where um where
globally everywhere people were hungry
for the truth and God was restoring it
to the global church. Of course it would
start with one person. It would start
with uh maybe a group where God would
pour out and you know the revelation and
uh also the that experience maybe
sometimes
but it would reach the world it would
reach globally right because of
technology uh because of you know those
days it was it was just the people who
are growing you know they would they
they heard they experienced in their
maybe in their own bodies in their minds
maybe you know let's Say take for
example healing and they would go to
other places and share hey this is what
I experienced a god is a god um on the
cross he took our sin he took our
sicknesses and he's a god who heals he's
a god who delivers and this is available
for every believer who believes and
every believer who can minister right
that whole thing of every believer is
called to minister you know the the
whole teaching about the prophetic Okay,
we you know you and I can hear the voice
of God. You and I are designed to hear
the voice of the shepherd, right? You
and I can prophesy. So whoever
experienced that, hey, I heard God
speaking to me and I shared that and
then it was so accurate and and so I now
I understand that God speaks. So they
would they would go other places where
they came from and then they would
teach, right? So the the churches
everywhere, local churches everywhere
started you know teaching started um and
and so these songs and these this
worship or the structure of worship also
came along with that right let's say um
if a church would have a conference
right maybe a vineyard church has a
conference or a any church has a
conference any other you know uh place
in the world so they would teach about
it And the the normal thing is also to
have the worship time and the worship
music right of that of that church or
whatever they had written or about that
particular theme they would teach they
would they would learn. So the this
particular church in you know maybe in
other side of the world gets to hear
gets to learn and uses it starts using
it right. So this is how the whole thing
spread right the truth um the revelation
and everything spread right so in our
own nation like uh I'm talking
particularly about um India right so we
see that um when you look at when you
look at Indian Christianity
we see that um you know the earliest uh
thing of uh the earliest u let's say
influence was through the arrival of uh
St. Thomas Apostle right Thomas he came
to India and um
traditionally he's uh he's you know we
have the historical proofs also that he
came to the Malabar coast which is
modern day Kerala right which is the
west coast of uh India and he came there
and um they maintained like people who
are who are saved they maintained a
liturggical form of prayer Yeah. Right
now we know that Thomas when he's coming
from he's coming from a from a Jewish
root. Right. So some of the prayers he
must have used you know Syriak or
Aramaic and all those things. So so
whatever he was used to is what he
brought and people started using that
you know the the believers started using
that. So you see that the Syrian or the
Orthodox Christianity uh being there and
the and the worship would have been like
more like chants more like prayers that
were said it was written it was read out
and even today like if you look at some
of the Syrian Orthodox
u church service if you attend or even
the Marma church you know Martha church
came from the Syrian Orthodox church
right anybody attended Martoma the whole
thing will be in Mallayalam. No. Okay.
Maybe you should try and attend one
Matava church service or a Syrian
Orthodox church service. Right. So, so
right from you know the time they they
started wearing those you know the robes
and everything and there's a lot of
incense and all that is used. Um but the
chants which are there is in a different
language. It's in Syriak language. So,
so we see that you know that is that is
how it would have it would have started
or originated here in India. Then we
also see the colonization by other
countries right the Portuguese.
Where did they arrive? The Portuguese
they arrived in um the west coast
further up in Goa, right? So we see
their influence in the architecture in
the food and also culture and also in
the Christian Christian roots. Right? So
they brought uh some of that culture.
The the British again with the uh
colonization that also brought in you
know people actually think that the
British colonized to bring in
Christianity. It was not right. They
colonized purely for a economic reason,
right? They wanted the spices that are
grown here. They wanted the crops that
are grown here, the natural resources
that was sent back to the nation, right?
So, it was more of a economic trade.
Then that's how it started. Uh the
religion was uh we would say an offshoot
of that, right? An overflow of that
where people saw that they were aware
that yes there is a need in this nation.
you know people do not know God. So the
ones who like um we we read about all
the missionaries who came like some of
the Protestant missionaries and they
came and they shared the gospel. So you
see you know from that from these
nations people coming and sharing right.
So that is why when you see some of the
mainline churches like the earliest
churches you know have you seen St.
Mark's Cathedral MG road St. marks in
Bangalore. You would have seen it on the
way from here to central EC central,
right? It is there on MG road. It is
more than 100 I 150 plus years old,
right? It was built when the British
army came here. It was mainly built for
the soldiers. So if you go to that
church, you will see that there is a
place there is a place where they used
to bring the horse and tie there. No
vehicles those days, right? horses,
horses, carriages. So that is why that
area is called area. Atonement area is
typically where you have the army parked
there. I mean camping there, right? So
it's called a cantonement area. So you
would seement area in different cities
also. You know, Belgam there'll be ament
area. Pune there's ament area. uh uh and
uh I don't know if other places you will
see wherever you hear this word
atonement area it means that is where
the army came and set up a camp there so
this mark's church 150 years plus had um
British soldiers and British army
officers uh come and then they would you
know tie their horses there and they
would walk in and uh they would have the
church service so so the church of
England And you know it was more of a
Anglican liturggical service Protestant
church but it had a uh Protestant
meaning you know it was uh after the
reformation but it had all these roots
right. Similarly the other Catholic
churches also right where the fathers
would come and on missions and start
maybe a school maybe a hospital and you
know and the church also right so the
songs were mainly you know if you see in
these churches it will have the choir
the organ and the English being the
language because that's those are the
missionaries so they would bring the
songs right but these songs even in the
north and other places right if you see
the northeast East the Presbyterian
missionary missions and uh Baptist
missions right they brought those songs
now those songs were translated into the
Indian languages and sun right so it
began it it began to be used in the uh
churches right now when we come down
south right we see Kerala we see Tamil
Nadu
here
what happened was they there was already
some traditional music which was there
like Indian classical or what you would
call as the karnatic music right it was
used uh in in the worship of gods and
goddesses and deities temples and
everywhere the karnatic music was used
now when people became believers they
started using the karnatic music the
form was karnatic music the instruments
were Indian instruments like they would
use the vina they would use the tabla
they would use any other percussion
instruments like the murdangam or
anything or harmonium and stuff like
that but the tunes were katic right it
was not western dori fasal for solati
you know it was not that but it was a
karnatic scale and they started using
karnatic music in their devotionals
right okay we'll stop here and then
we'll come
Thank you.