<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]I think that a choir is merely talented (and sometimes not so talented) members of the congregation who are worshipping the Lord with songs.</font><hr></blockquote><p><br>The fact that some are better at singing is not, in itself, justification for restricting the rest of the congregation to worship along with them in song.<br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]Obviously, God prescribes singing as a valid form of worship. Is not a choir singing?</font><hr></blockquote><p><br>God enjoins all of His people to sing praises to His name. Are you suggesting that the choir is just one particular form in which this takes place?<br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]So the Bible specifically mentions a choir as Him-glorifying. I don't know if that answers your question.</font><hr></blockquote><p><br>Well, the problem with going this route, is that if you begin citing texts concerning the Levitical choir as the basis for legitimacy for choirs in the New Covenant, then you have to argue that choirs should be an indispensible part of worship, not merely an optional form of congregational singing. The Levitical choir was not merely a voluntary group of singers who liked to sing and were good at it. It was a particular Levitical duty commanded through David, and they sang around the clock as their full-time service. It would have been a sin for the choir to cease performing their functions, a position that I doubt any proponent of choirs would adopt today (i.e., that it would be a sin not to have a choir). The fact that the choir was countenanced by God during the age of Levitical temple worship does not indicate that this is the manner in which we should worship today. I think you can appreciate that point without me elaborating on it.<br><br>So, I guess I would summarize my responses as follows:<br><br>1. Would it be a sin for a church not to have a choir?<br><br>2. Is the vicarious singing of the choir simply one acceptable form of congregational singing?<br><br>Sincerely in Christ,<br><br>~Jason<br>