Instrumental worship for New Testament Christians can be justified

This person was presented with arguments that cannot be argued. Therefore, he just thinks they do not exist. Everything I said must happen, must happen for the very reasons I said it must happen. In spite of his mental gymnastics to change the Bible into a god after his own image, the Bible is still there, and it still proves his position to be sinful. He actually said psalms do not have to be accompanied by an instrument, then he waffled and said all psalms, by definition, are done with instruments. He is contradicting himself. This is the best proof he is in abject error. The Greek word for "psalm" ("psalmos", or verb form, "psallo") did indeed have the original, or radical meaning "to pluck", "to touch", "to strike", or "to twang". At one point during the evolving history of the Greek language it did connote plucking on a stringed instrument. If we assume for the sake of argument that it had this meaning during the time of writing of the New Testament, the question remains, "What instrument was to be plucked during the singing?". The instrument is not inherent in the word. The context must be examined to answer this question. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:18-20) The instrument of choice is already specified by the Lord - the heart. The "heartstrings" are to be plucked. The graceful melody produced by this instrument of divine origin exceeds the appealing melody produced by any instrument of human origin. Since the instrument to be "plucked" has been specified, what authority do we have for changing it? Language Authorities J.H. Thayer (1828-1901) was Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at the Divinity School of Harvard University. He also served on the revision committee that produced the American Standard Version of the New Testament. In 1885 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament was published, which reflected Thayer’s translation, revision, and enlargement of an earlier work involving the labors of C.G. Wilke and C.L.W. Grimm. In its day, Thayer’s work was the finest lexicon available, and still is of considerable value. In discussing psallo, after commenting upon the word’s use in classical Greek, and in the Septuagint, he notes that "in the N.T. [psallo signifies] to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song. . . " (p. 675). The first edition of W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Wordswas issued in 1940 in four volumes. In 1952 a one-volume edition was published. F.F. Bruce, Head of the Department of Biblical History and Literature at the University of Sheffield, wrote the Foreword for that production. Therein, Prof. Bruce praised Vine’s work. He stated that the “Greek scholarship was wide, accurate and up-to-date.” He noted that the author had a “thorough mastery of the classical idiom,” a “close acquaintance with the Hellenistic vernacular,” and an awareness of the influence of the Septuagint upon the New Testament. In his popular work, Vine, in commenting upon psallo (under “Melody”), notes the classical sense, the Septuagint usage, and then says: “… in the N.T., to sing a hymn, sing praise” (1997, p. 730). In another book, Vine explained the matter more fully. “The word psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, or to sing with the accompaniment of a harp. Later, however, and in the New Testament, it came to signify simply to praise without the accompaniment of an instrument” (1951, p. 191 – emp. added). In 1964. the prestigious Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (edited by Kittel, Friedrich, and Bromiley) issued from the press. The article which dealt with psallowas written by Gerhard Delling. Relative to Ephesians 5:19, Delling contended that the literal use of psallo, as “found in the LXX, is now employed figuratively” (Kittel, et al., p. 499). In an abridgement of this work, published in 1985, Bromiley expressed it this way: “. . . psallontes does not now denote literally playing on a stringed instrument” (p. 1226). In the revised edition of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, David Howard of Bethel Theological Seminary, commented upon psallo. “Psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument; in the LXX it generally translates zimmer and ngn. In the NT it refers to singing God’s praises (not necessarily accompanied by strings)” (p. 314). In the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, Balz and Schneider write: “In the NT psallo always refers to a song of praise to God” (p. 495). In his popular work, Word Meanings in the New Testament, Ralph Earle comments on psallo in Ephesians 5:19. “‘Making melody’ is one word in Greek, psallontes. The verb psallo meant first to strike the strings of a harp or lyre. Then it meant to ‘strike up a tune.’ Finally it was used in the sense ‘to sing’” (p. 333). It is important to remember that these men were affiliated with denominational groups that employ instrumental music in their worship. They have no motive for misrepresenting the facts of this issue. Their testimony, therefore, is compelling indeed. First of all, Brad Obviously does acknowledge what is the meaning of the “old Testament psalm” but he doesn’t acknowledge what is the meaning of the “new Testament psalm” Kurfees ultimately quotes 17 different lexicons to ensure a broad sampling of the reputable, scholarly world. He condenses the observed changes in psallo's definition over time as follows: 1. Radical meaning, "To Touch", regardless of the particular object touched, the latter not inhering in the word. 2. Meaning as applied in Greek literature: To pluck the hair. To twang the bowstring. To twitch the carpenter's line. To touch the chords of a musical instrument, that is, to make instrumental music. To touch the chords of the human heart, that is, to sing, to celebrate with hymns of praise. The radical, or root meaning of the word meant "to touch", and it was first used in reference to touching, or "plucking the hair". If one insists on going back to the original meaning of "psallo", because they hope it will authorize instrumental music, imagine their surprise to learn that it instead authorizes a congregation full of people singing, while stroking their beards and pulling at each other's hair! Clearly, the question we must ask ourselves is, "What was the meaning of psallo at the writing of the New Testament?". As was already noted, Thayer, although occasionally misrepresented, limits the New Testament meaning to singing with no instrumental accompaniment. The separate lexicons of Liddell and Scott, Robinson, Bagster, Sophocles, and Thomas Sheldon Green also indicate similar definition during the writings of the Septuagint and New Testament (Kurfees 9-15). Among these names are the most prestigious names in New Testament Greek scholarship; therefore, we conclude that misinformants notwithstanding, closer study of the subject proves that instrumental music is not inherent, but it is rather excluded by the New Testament usage of psallo. The arguments raised previously based on the text alone, additionally bolster this conclusion. References: Kurfees, M. C. Instrumental Music in the Worship or the Greek Verb Psallo. Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, TN. 1975. 1911, orig.