Fallacies of philosophical thought--part 9

             Another faulty philosophical  view is that both secular and sacred music do not come under the Lordship of Christ since all music is amoral.  By the term "amoral musically" we mean that  this view considers the whole of music to be always indifferent to morality.  This type of synthesis thinker often often believes that, “music is completely a matter of personal taste”.  Musicians who come to this conclusion accept the view of Thomas Aquinas that man is “fallen” from grace but not his intellect.  Aquinas believed that man needed God’s help in matters of grace, but that since he had not “fallen” in his intellect he could follow an intellectual path independent of the Lordship of Christ.  (see Francis Schaffer’s Escape From Reason)  So, man did not need God’s help in matters of the natural world which includes music. 

            What does this mean practically to a Christian musician?  This synthesis thinking produces Christian musicians who believe that there is nothing moral about moral music except words i.e. the music part of music is not efficacious morally.  This type of thinker usually believes that the music part of music has no meaning or that its meaning is encapsulated in a system of musical meaning that is esoteric and its meaning  is "music's meaninng alone".  This view is commonly known to music philosophers as "music is a closed system". If the previous statement seems confusing to you, it is because I believe the whole belief is confusing and faulty.  (We will consider this faulty view in a later post.)