(((sigh))))

These 'expensive' threads do nothing for my bank account!

But - back to the original question, over two and a half years later - I bought an interesting book a while back, again a Mudcat Recommend (see! - this place is expensive!): The Sound of the Dove. Details here
According to the author, many people testified that they had joined the Primitive Baptist because they had heard the music and knew that they had found their spiritual home. Other members who had near-death experiences (some on the battle field) said that this music came to them as their life hang in the balance. Many seem to feel that the music, more than the preaching or the prayer, was the key to their beliefs.

Maybe you're a Baptist at heart? I suppose stranger things have been known to happen ...

sian