
Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings
August 16, 2000: Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal's preface says that it has 'preserved the Christian and Lutheran heritage of liturgy and hymns from The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) and at the same time improved and expanded it. Wrong! The only improvement CW has made is in its English usage and lower keys for its musical settings; all other areas are weaker and of poorer quality than TLH. Among the modern Lutheran hymnals, only Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary has improved over The Luthern Hymnal in every area (excepting modern language--too many 'thees' and 'thous'). Yes, this hymnal is supposed to be the epitome of confessional Lutheranism in America--but it falls very short of that mark! Perhaps, it is a bit conservative, but surely it is not orthodox and confessional.