Debate: Are Mechanical Instruments Condemned in Christian Worship Services? #7

The last bastion of "unity" in the "Church of Christ" segment of the 19th century "Restoration Movement," which was originally a "reform" & "unity" endeavor launched by Thomas Campbell in 1809-1812, is the practice of "a capella" singing as the exclusive "music" in congregational worship.

The two broad "branches" of Campbell's "Restoration Movement" of the early 1800s developed after the introduction of "mechanical instruments of music" in the 1850s. The pro-instrument segment was primarily the northern churches while the anti's were dominant in the South. The controversy was a "family quarrel" in the early stages, each "side" viewing the other as "brethren." As the crevice widened, the consequences of "error" were perceived & pronounced to be of weighty significance - even salvation itself was "on the line" in the minds of many.

By the 1900s, the "lines" were distinctly drawn - two "parties" had crystallized: the "Christian Church" (or "Disciples of Christ") & the "Churches of Christ;" the former was the leading party of the northern states, & the latter was the scourge against musical instruments south of the Mason-Dixon line. Names such as McGarvey, Lipscomb, Kurfees, & Hardeman became veritable "legends" in "restoration" history relating to "the instrument question." There was no doctrine or practice which became more "symbolic" of "Church of Christ" unity than their "sing only" worship.

The "five-acts-of-worship" segment had no place for an organ or piano except for repeated condemnation. Next to Acts 2:38 on baptism, Ephesians 5:19 on music bacame a primary "foundational" block in "Church of Christ" nonmenclature. Since this clear-cut division.