Research On Religion » Hebrew

Anthony Esolen on Timeless Hymns

tonygill — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 09:00:02 +0000

St. Augustine once said, “He who sings, prays twice.” Music has been a powerful component of Christian worship for its entire existence, and Prof. Anthony Esolen, a faculty fellow at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, joins us to discuss the nature and importance of the truly timeless hymns. We begin as we usually do with a chat about our guest’s personal background. Dr. Esolen enlightens us about Thomas More College (in Merrimack, New Hampshire), a new program he is setting up, and why he decided to translate a work of literature that had already been translated (Dante’s Inferno). Following that brief discussion, we dive into the world of religious music and start off with a wonderful thought by St. Augustine who said, “He who sings, prays twice.” Prof. Esolen explains the importance of music in worship and observes that the first element to go in a church on the verge of decline is the music. We then discuss “timeless hymns” and Tony (Esolen) lays out a list of characteristics that make such music so enduring including the fact that they are passed down over generations, but also other aspects such as logical progressions from stanza to stanza, proper word choice and imagery, and the meter of the song. Esolen notes how much of contemporary Christian music is too maudlin, prompting Tony (Gill) to make an odd reference to Seals & Croft from the 1970s.

Our conversation also covers why some periods in history tended to create a great flourishing of hymns, and Dr. Esolen makes an argument that we are in the doldrums now (and have been for the past century) as our culture has lost its connection to poetry. Noting the importance of poetry throughout all cultures and eras, he explains this loss as the result of academics making poetry too esoteric and cut off from common people (who have used poetry to tell stories throughout the ages). He also warns of the dangers of making poetry to overtly political. Later in the interview, we also discuss why Protestants did so well in crafting timeless hymns in the 18th and 19th centuries, noting that they had a mission to take the Scriptures to the average person in the pews. He sings the praises of folks such as the Wesleys and Robert Bridges.

The second half of our discussion walks through a series of themes that are found in hymns, starting with their origins in the Psalms. Prof. Esolen points out that Jesus prayed the Psalms and that music was important from the earliest stages of Christianity, as noted by St. Paul. We also discuss the difficulty in translating Hebrew, which is a much more “concentrated” language, into English in a way that preserved the meter, meaning, and poetry of the original verses written in the Old Testament. It is at this point where we feature a clip from the CD included with Real Music, Prof. Esolen’s book. The first one is “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” written by Henry Baker (1868) and performed by the St. Cecilia Choir at St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, Illinois. (All music clips are from the same choir.) Another important theme within the great hymns examines the divine nature of Jesus. Here we listen to and discuss “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” by Gerard Moultrie (1864). Other themes include the importance of the Nativity, which although we frequently attribute to a time of great merriment in our Christmas carols, was a time of great tribulations for people in Judea. Dr. Esolen helps us understand the critical difference between “joy” and “pleasure,” noting that joy and sorrow are two emotions that are often linked together as they were at the birth of Jesus. The hymn illustrating the Nativity is “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” (John Mason Neale’s 1854 translation of a 4th century hymn). We also discuss the music teaching us of the Crucifixion and Resurrection (with “Ah, Holy Jesus,” by Robert Bridges) and “the Church militant,” a set of songs that encourage congregants to take their faith forward into the world. Here Dr. Esolen explains how our culture has done itself a disservice recently by downplaying the martial energy of young men that could be brought to bear for the promotion of Christianity. He notes that “battle themes” are common in the Bible and religious music over time. We listen to Charles Wesley’s “Soldiers of Christ, Arise” and Tony (Esolen) points out the powerful nature of such music.

We finish our discussion by asking our guest what he would tell a young Tony Esolen some 30 or 40 years ago at the outset of his career. Tony, the RoR host, presses Tony, the guest, to talk about some of the things he has learned over the decades and Prof. Esolen cautions us on the decay of culture over this period and how we must trust the Word of God. Recorded: December 29, 2017.

(Note: Copyright permission for music clips provided by TAN Books and Fr. Scott Haynes of St. Cecilia Choir. Documents on file with host.)

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of Being Jewish in America (Encore Presentation)

tonygill — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 09:00:02 +0000

Welcome new visitors. Please enjoy this episode and other great discussions in our archives (now 350+ episodes deep), and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Also, we are on a short sabbatical but will return soon with some crescent fresh interviews.

What are the various cost constraints with being Jewish in America? Prof. Carmel Chiswick, a research professor of economics at George Washington University, uses the lens of economics to reveal the various constraints facing a religious minority in the United States and how this affects Jewish culture. We walk through her book Judaism in Transition: How Economic Choices Shape Religious Tradition.

We start the conversation with a general overview of Jews in America, including the size of the population, their immigration history, and other demographic features. It is pointed out that Jews are both an ethnic group, and a group with a distinct religion. We chat a bit about how Jewish (in terms of religion) Jews are in America. Prof. Chiswick then discusses the difference between Great Tradition and small tradition Judaism. The former focuses on the essential religious components of Judaism, including the Torah, Talmud, Mishnah and several key holy days. Small tradition Judaism, on the other hand, is a reflection of different cultural practices and emphases that can vary across different groups of Jews (e.g., Spehardi or Ashkenazi) and across time. This is mixed with some personal reflection on her own life growing up Jewish, which gives this academic topic a much more personal touch. Carmel explains why she chose to write her book with these personal stories, noting that she uses economics everyday to understand her own daily choices.

We then begin a discussion of how economics is used to explain Jewish behavior and traditions. Carmel gives us a good introduction of how actions not only have a financial cost but a time cost as well, resulting in what economists call the “full price” (or “real cost”). She points out that there are a variety of constraints on Jews in America that affect how they make decisions about worship and other aspects of life. For example, as an individual becomes wealthier, the cost of their time also increases and this has an impact on how synagogue worship has been conducted given that Jews have been an upwardly mobile community. We also talk about the issue of human capital and education and the constrained choices that have to be made here. Carmel reflects upon her family’s decision whether to send their children to Hebrew or public school, as well as the reliance upon summer camps and other activities that are designed to preserve Jewish religious culture in an environment where time becomes more valuable for professional parents.

Carmel next lays out some of the contemporary challenges facing Jews in America. Most notable among these challenges are the new demographic categories that are emerging, principally “young adult singles” and “empty nesters.” With marriage ages increasing quite substantially over the past few decades, there is a growing population of individuals in their 20s and early 30s who are not married, do not have children, and who do not feel as connected to the synagogue. Whereas people often connect with religious institutions when they have children, and synagogues often cater to the needs of this group, the decade or so wherein individuals are not married or having children becomes a time when they can drift away from their faith. We also discuss the issue of intermarriage and how that might affect the Jewish population in the future. Interestingly, the rise of “young adult singles” also gives rise to another demographic group known as “empty nesters” who are not actively raising kids yet are not grandparents either. Once again, this becomes a life cycle point where people do not feel as connected to the synagogue. (Note: These issues arise again in next week’s podcast with Daniel Libenson, who discusses some attempts to deal with this new environment.)

We finish off with some of Carmel’s personal observations on what she has learned in her years studying the economics of religion, being Jewish in America, and writing her highly readable book. Recorded: April 7, 2015.

Carmel Chiswick on the Economics of Being Jewish in America.

tonygill — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 08:00:51 +0000

What are the various cost constraints with being Jewish in America? Prof. Carmel Chiswick, a research professor of economics at George Washington University, uses the lens of economics to reveal the various constraints facing a religious minority in the United States and how this affects Jewish culture. We walk through her latest book Judaism in Transition: How Economic Choices Shape Religious Tradition.