Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

It seems strange to me that those who contend that the Bible commands Christians to dance in public worship do not mention that there are serious word translations problems with the English word dance in many modern translations. Also, just as disconcerting is the fact that they also fail to acknowledge that many of the word translated dance in English versions do not refer to any type of public dance in codified Christian worship.

 

Music and the Allied Arts--Dance A

Music and the Allied Arts--Dance A

            A good place to begin our discussion of music and the allied arts is with a discussion of dance as fine art.  Although some Christians approve of secular and religious dance, there are many who have problems with this art form. Whether or not a Christian musician approves of dancing, he or she must admit that it is an art form.  So, the issue is not whether or not dance is an art form but rather whether or not it belongs in the life of a Christian who is following the changed life principles taught in the Bible.             

            Even classical ballet should trouble a careful Christian because of the problems with costuming and the actual dance movements of his art form.  Since this book is a philosophical study, I will not thoroughly discuss the multitude of problems that come with the inclusion of this art form in the life of a Christian.  I will also not discuss the “how to” of teaching about dance as an allied art.  I will narrow this discussion to some thoughts on whether or not the Christian music educator should include dance in a discussion of music and the allied arts and some philosophical pit falls to avoid.

 

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Refusing to make use of any decorative art in a house of worship in favor of keeping the church plain and the walls bare is analogous to refusing to listen to a CD on modern equipment in favor of only listening to music on a wind up Victrola record player.  Both will get the job done, but those who do will miss an artistic blessing.

 

 

Music and the Allied Arts--Decorative Arts B

Music and the Allied Arts--Decorative Arts B

             The decorative art objects, most of them not mentioned in the short Bible excerpt above, were expensively decorated and many of the were not only beautiful but also useful .  Although some Bible historians claim that the Israelites never made any sculptures because of the fact that they were forbidden to do so by the statement in Exodus 20:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (pecel 6459) …” (Also see Lev. 26:1; De. 4:16, 4:23, 25,5:8.)   However, they often forget that Exodus 20:25 clears up the matter when it explains, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God…”  So, God did not forbid ancient Israel to carve decorative art objects but rather YHVH elohiym only forbad them to worship these art objects.  So, when II Chronicles uses the word *tsa’tsua (6816), which means that the cherubims were carved or graven images, it is not a violation of the “no graven idols” commandment.  Therefore, I find absolutely no prohibition in the Bible of anyone elaborately decorating a Church.

            How does all this discussion connect to music? As I said earlier, music is often allied to the decorative arts by the fact that these objects beautify the place where we music such as: sanctuaries, classrooms, and concert halls.  It is the obligation of every music educator to beautify the physical surroundings of all the places we music or study about music.  Also, making our music students aware of fine decorative art objects can be a source of educational inspiration to them.  For instance, bringing a beautiful hand painted glazed Rookwood vase or a Nileoak glazed pitcher to the rehearsal room can be a philosophical comparison of a fine pottery work to a fine musical performance. 

 

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

If a church used high-quality decorative objects that are both useful and beautiful they can serve more than one purpose.

 

Music and the Allied Arts--Decorative Arts A

Music and the Allied Arts--Decorative Arts A

             This category includes art objects that are usually of a high high-quality and also includes both the useful and beautiful.  Although these art objects are often labeled as “useful art”, this designation should not suggest that the other art forms are not useful.  These art objects are often allied to music simply by fact that they beautify the place where we music.  They decorate a sanctuary, rehearsal room, classroom, or concert hall. 

            There has been much debate during previous centuries over whether or not Christians should decorate God’s houses of worship with these art objects.  Because of this debate many churches that have been constructed in the past one hundred years are almost devoid of any artistic decoration.  Where should the Christian stand on this issue?  To help answer this question I have included a small portion of the description of how the Temple was decorated and embellished with art objects and expensive overlays. 

                2Ch 3:6-10 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold 

               was gold of Parvaim.  He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls

               thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. And the

               weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with

               gold.  And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid

               them with gold.  2Ch 3:14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and

                fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

As one can see the Temple was very artistically decorated with fine linen and Gold.  Its furnishings included much statuary and other ornately decorated objects.  So, there is absolutely no biblical prohibition on the decorative arts in a place of worship, or any other place for that matter.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

A miniature stage setting can be found in the Bible in Ezekiel 4:1-3, “Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.  Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.”

                                                           

Music and the Allied Arts—Drama B

                              Music and the Allied Arts—Drama B

            A source of further complication is a lack of understanding of the valuable connection between the nature and value of music and drama.  After utilizing drama and music together for nearly forty years, I am convinced that drama and music are natural concomitants of public ministry and therefore should be a vital part of educating Christian musicians.  Some people are primarily visual learners while others respond more readily to what they hear.  Reinforcing the gospel message presented through music with sets, lights, costumes, spoken drama, sung drama, and instrumental music are all effective ways to increase the audience’s mental intake.

            The gospel message can be effectively presented through the suggested realism of a well-lighted stage setting wile real people in authentic costumes are depicting the characters of the story being presented.  For  instance, Mary singing to the baby Jesus surrounded by the simplicity of the humble birth place lighted with soft moonlight blue mixed effectively with an amber, straw or no color pink can bring the old, old story of Jesus’ birth to life in an unbelievably realistic way.  So, rather than quibble over costs and necessity of the use of drama as an allied art to sacred music, Christin organizations should spend their energy on making sure that they are presenting  depictions of the  stories of the Bible that are accurate.  These Christian organizations should also make sure that the staging, lighting, costuming, and vocal and instrumental music are philosophically appropriate and God honoring.

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

When a Christian organization uses drama, actors, stage sets, costumes, and special lighting, they should use these pictures and symbols to cause the audience to understand the message of the Bible more clearly.

 

Music and the Allied Arts—Drama A

                               Music and the Allied Arts—Drama A

            Some Christian music educators have a strong aversion to dramatic productions.  As a matter of fact, they often are opposed to not only secular drama but also religious dramatic productions.  On the other side of the coin, there are those who use drama very effectively in worship and in education. 

            Stage settings, lights, props, and costumes are also a cause for much debate among church officials as well as among educational leadership in Christian schools, colleges, and universities.  Questions over the appropriateness, necessity, and usefulness of dramatic productions are also the cause of much heated debate.  The reason behind this disagreement and debate over drama and dramatic productions is that these Christian organizations have not established basis for the inclusion of dramatic productions in their ministry and educational philosophies.

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day 

The ability that the science of photography has to create durable images can and should be regularly combined with the great art of music to help to indelibly impress the message of the gospel on the minds of the worshiper and the seeker.

 

Music and the Allied Arts—Photography

                Music and the Allied Arts—Photography

            Photography like cinema has the potential to bring a high degree of reality to the message of the Bible when allied with sacred music.  To explain what I mean I will quote the age old *quip “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  A photo placed on a large overhead screen of the rugged terrain over which Joseph and Mary traveled to reach Bethlehem has the unique power to cause the worshiper to instantly be mentally transported to that scene.  Even more than words, instrumental accompaniment or vocal inflection, a photograph of Mary on a donkey and Joseph trudging along beside her has much power to transport an audience from the padded pew to the bleakness of the long road to Bethlehem.

            Christian musicians have not even begun to utilize the potential of multimedia involving photography and music.  There is a sense in which a still photograph has the   potential to imprint a visual message on an audience without the possible distractions that may be caused by a moving picture.  If the tenor of a story is intended to be primarily presented through music, a photograph is most often a valuable and non- obtrusive ally and concomitant to the music being presented.

            Can photography be problematic when it is allied to sacred music?  Yes, it most certainly can be more of a hindrance than it is helpful.  Photography like the other allied arts is a direct window through the eye gate to the mind of the viewer.  It only stands to     reason that a music director should be extremely careful of the photographs that he or she sets before an audience to be a concomitant to the Gospel message.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

“Art can of course be put in the temple.  But it doesn’t have to be put into the temple in order to be to the praise of God.”  Art & the Bible by Francis Schaeffer, p. 24

 

Music and the Allied Arts-- Visual Art-B

              Music and the Allied Arts-- Visual Art-B

            There is no overarching reason why a Christian musician should not consider visual art as allied to music. However, the psalmist David very carefully explained in Psalm 101:3, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” A Hebrew word study of this verse confirms that this verse is well translated in the AV.  Simply put, a Christian should not view visual arts that are of a wicked nature and should not connect such images with the secular or sacred music that a Christian performs. 

             There is much debate about what makes a painting, sculpture, fresco etc. an excellent piece of visual art.  A fine representation of the human body naked or entwined with another person can be the result of an artist’s excellent skill. However, although this visual representation may be an example of artistic skill, it is still pornographic art.  It only stands to reason that if a particular painting, sculpture, etc. is sexually suggestive or pornographic it has the potential to harm the whole life of a Christian or a non-Christian who views it.  So, allying pornographic visual art with sacred music is incongruent and inconsistent with what a Christian is trying to accomplish.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

“If anyone is still troubled concerning the Bible and representational art, then he should consider what the Bible says about the brazen serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness.”  Art & the Bible, by Francis Schaeffer, p. 20

 

Music and the Allied Arts-- Visual Art-A

Music and the Allied Arts-- Visual Art-A 

            The visual arts are normally explained as the arts created primarily for people to view.  They include etchings drawings, paintings, sculptures, frescos, photography and various other decorative arts that most often exist in permanent form.  The visual arts have been wonderful representations of spiritual things and wonderful things of God’s creation in the heavens and on the earth.  Multitudes of Bible scenes have been portrayed with the various visual arts. Stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals have depicted the stories told in the Bible to those who could and could not read its wonderful truths.  The visual arts have for centuries been a wholesome way for civilizations to beautify their surroundings.

            Visual arts have been a strong ally to music in more recent decades since advanced technology has made multimedia presentations possible.  Music and the visual arts strengthen each other in the presentation of the scenes and message of the Bible.  The visual arts, when couple with music, have also been a source of secular wholesome entertainment, education and worship.

            Like the other fine arts, the visual arts must be judged individually according to each work’s content.  Each visual representation must be in congruency with that which a Christian believes.  The eye gate is a direct path to the mind.  Therefore, music can only be allied to the visual arts if they are compatible with the changed life principles of a Christian.  There will be differences of opinion about violence, partial nudity, immodest attire, and subject matter of the various visual representations among Christians.  There is also much argument about the inclusion of the famous well-known artifacts such as Michelangelo’s sculpture of David and Gericault’s painting of The Raft of the Medusa. Each music educator will have to make choices of which of the visual arts he or she is comfortable allying with music in the worship service, classroom and concert hall in order to not offend students, parents, administrators, school board members, and the organization’s constituency at large.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

“Styles themselves are developed as symbol systems or vehicles for certain world views or messages.”  Art & the Bible by Francis Schaeffer, p. 52.

 

 

Music and the Allied Arts--Introduction

Music and the Allied Arts--Introduction

            The Christian music educator has a responsibility to consider which of the other arts to connect music.  Number eight of the Voluntary National Standards for Music Education is, “understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.”  This standard often proves somewhat problematic to some Christian music educators.  What does one do with dance, cinema, drama, photography, visual arts and the decorative arts? Certainly, dance and cinema have the most perplexing problems for the Christian musician but connecting music to the other fine arts is also often fraught with problems. The Christian educator must always remember to keep every educational endeavor Christian. What is taught in the music classroom will have long lasting consequences.        

            Christian music educators often feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities of teaching music.  Since the enrollment of many Christian schools is so fluid, and since so many of the new students have not had general music as a part of their previous education, music educators in the Christian school find it difficult to progress through a curriculum spiral sequence presented in a current music series, let alone engaging in educational connection of music to the other fine arts.  With an already overloaded teaching schedule and the primary responsibility of teaching music literacy to all of the students in their general music program, and the performance pressure placed on their performing organizations, Christian music educator need to have philosophical justifications for adding allying the other fine arts to their academic praxis.

 

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day

I am amazed at Your love for me Lord.  In Your wrath You have remembered mercy.  Thank You for treating me as Your Child when I asked You for forgiveness of my sins.  You are truly an awesome God.  Thank You for making it possible for me to truly say “Abba Father”.  I do not have adequate words to express my awe and wonder at Your love that You have shown me.  Al that I can think to say right now is thank You, thank You, thank You for making me Your son!  These thoughts I am bringing to Your throne.  Amen.

Song for the Day A Child of the King by Harriet E. Buell

Thought for the Day

Since God has forgiven us of our awful transgressions, surely we should be able to forgive a friend when he or she commits a trespass against us.

 

 

 

From East to West

From East to West

            Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  “As the east and the west can never meet in one point, but be forever at the same distance from each other, so our sins and their decreed punishment are removed to an eternal distance by his mercy.” (Adam Clarke)  Even my best friends on this earth might have a tendency to bring up my transgressions on occasion, but my precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has removed them in such a way that no matter where I go or what country I am in they are always far from me.

            The words east (mizrach 4217) and west (ma’arab 4628) connote sunrise and sunset.  So when you see the sun shining through your bedroom in the early morning and when you set in your lawn chair and watch the evening sun slip silently beneath the western horizon you will be receiving a mental picture of our loving heavenly father’s love.  He chose to remove our transgressions as far away as the eastern and western horizons.  Since our loving Father has forgiven our’ sins in this great manner, surely we should be able to forgive a friend who has committed a wrong against us.  If we could manage to place wrongs committed against us far apart as the east is from the west, then we would‘t have so much trouble with unforgiveness.

 

Prayer, Song,and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day

I want to thank You heavenly Father that you have given me so many reasons to be happy today.  I want to thank you for my family and for some friends that are really my friends when I need them.  Lord, thank You for being a friend that “sticketh closer than a brother” (Ps.18:24).  This morning I want to also thank You for Your Word that tells us to drown out Satan’s voice by shouting the praises of our God with singing.  While I am thanking You LORD, I want to also thank you for creating music.  These things I am praying in Your wise and wonderful name.  Amen.

Song for the Day-- Praise Him, Praise Him by Fanny Crosby

Thought for the Day

If you feel like shouting today, shout out the praises of our wonderful LORD who is worth of shouting and excitement!

Be a “Happy Musician”

Be a “Happy Musician”

             Psalm 100:1-2 instructs the Christian musician to “Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” (NKJV)  Do you ever wonder why the Lord told musicians to be happy?  It must be that we often have trouble rejoicing.  He not only instructed musicians to be joyful but also very explicitly commands them to shout (ruah 7321) out these praises with joy.  I think our all wise heavenly Father wanted us to drown out Satan’s accusing voice by coming into god’s presence with joyful shouts of musical praise.  I know for sure that I cannot hear God’s still small voice (I Kings 19:12) when Satan is whispering “gloom and doom” in both of my ears.

            God also instructed Christians all over the earth (erets 776) to serve Him with gladness.  Strong’s Concordance says that the word simchah (8057) means to serve Jehovah with “blithesomeness or glee, exceeding gladness, joy, mirth, pleasure, rejoice(-ing).”  Wow, I needed that admonition this morning because I got up at 3:30 AM because I couldn’t sleep.  So, I am purposing in my heart to be happy today.  It would be a good idea if you would also decide to be happy in the Lord.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

Philippians 1:9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

 

 

 

Philippians 1:9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

 

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 8

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 8

              If Christian musicians avoid all of the more intricate and developed sacred music, they run the risk of not supporting the majesty, glory, and honor of our awesome God with music that is more capable of representing these great spiritual themes of the Bible.  Sometimes Christian musicians seem to forget why some musical works are referred to as sacred classics. A classic is by definition a work of art of recognized and established value and in this case it is an artistic musical work that has proven itself to be a quality vehicle for the sacred content that it embodies.  A musical work of this nature is a more intricate and many times a more complicated working out of the formal properties and structure of the music. 

            These sacred classics have the capacity to deliver more designated and embodied meaning than a work of less musical stature.  One of the concepts that I am stressing is that the greater the working out of the music the greater the payoff in aesthetic value.  Also the greater one understands the import of the embodied meaning of this music, the greater will be the understanding that the performer and the auditor receives.  This conclusion is gathered from understanding that all quality music has a greater amount of understandable embodied meaning in the music and designated (referential) meaning which is given to the music from outside of the formal properties of the music itself than the more simple vehicles have.

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 7

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 7

            While we are discussing whether or not all music is “created” equal, the concept of simple and complex music should be considered. I contend that a Christian musician must present God his or her best musical offerings; that all music is not equal in its nature and value, and that styles that are antagonistic by association to the principles of the changed life of a Christian are not well suited to represent the moral nature of a perfect and holy God; and that not all music is equally appropriate and useful as a worship vehicle because of the intrinsic and extrinsic  nature. o different styles of music. However, the concepts mentioned above are not controlled by whether the music is simple or complex.

            There are many situations in which a simple musical vehicle is more appropriate than a long intricate working out of musical themes, chord structures, and complicated organizational patterns.  Sometimes the proper concomitant to the simplicity of the gospel message is a simple music vehicle.  However, it should be pointed out that by the term simple I am not reefing to banal music. Furthermore,the simplicity of a piece of music does not necessarily connote that it has a lack of artistic quality.

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

Romans 14:22 “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth [dokimadzo 1381—approves].”

 

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 6

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 6

            A composer, whether he or she is a Christian or not, is not a creator in the truest sense so the musician is not dealing  with elements of music that he or he created from nothingness, but rather the composer is artistically ordering or reordering, as it were, God’s building blocks of music is new and fresh ways.  Since God’s creation is an orderly creation, then it stands to reason that in the realm of music theory and aesthetics, the possibility exists that there is a good, acceptable, and even perfect ordering of the formal properties of a given music composition.  So, if any composer uses his or her creative gifts well, he or she may produce music that is appropriate and fitting for worshiping our awesome wonderful triune God regardless of that person’s spiritual condition.

            As I have often said, quality sacred music is not entirely about a high level of artistic quality or intricate musical working out of the formal properties of the music.  Also, acceptable musical offerings presented to God, although they must be the Christian musician’s best possible offerings, are not about high art or exceptional artistic musical performances. In Isaiah 29:13 the man of God stated, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.”  These people went through the procedures of worship, but their musical offerings were not acceptable unto God.  What I am contending is that although a composer who is not living in personal relationship with God may be able to use his or her artistic efforts to compose music that is appropriate or public worship, these same musicians are not able to worship with that music because God said they “have removed their heart far from me .”  No matter how well a musician who does not love and serve Christ has artistically ordered the building blocks of music, his or her attempts at worship will fail since true worship is not about high musical art.

 

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day 

The Artist made us artists so that we might reflect the Beauty of His character and the wonder of His story.  Worship Leaders We are not Rock Stars, by Stephen Miller, p. 109

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 5

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 5

            Although the quality of the music we bring to God as an offering matters, musical offerings are not solely about  quality musical performance or high quality musical art forms. Amos 5:22-23 states “Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.”  God declared that He would not accept Israel’s musical sacrifices because of their spiritual condition and refers to their musical offerings as noise.  God was referring to the spiritual condition of those who “leave off righteousness in the earth” rather than, at least in this case, the quality of their music.  I am drawn to this conclusion by what is recorded in Amos 5:12, “For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.”  The Bible lesson is clear that our musical melodies and our instrumental music will be considered to be noise by our heavenly father if we attempt to music unto him with sin in our hearts.

            Now I will attempt to answer the question “Is all music created equal?”  First of all, based on the conclusions drawn earlier in this chapter, only God can create.  Man always takes something that already exists and uses his God given gift of creativity to construct  musical compositions in new and wonderful (or not so wonderful) ways.  Odd as it may seem, the spiritual condition of the creative musician’s heart does not always dictate the nature and value of a musician’s creative musical works.  It is sometimes difficult to reconcile the statement above with  Luke 6:45 which states, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”  Because of the evil condition of a composer’s heart, he or she may not use his or her artistic efforts to produce music that is suited for worship.  However, that musician could artistically arrange the formal properties of a piece of music that is appropriate and useful for Christian worship.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

2 Samuel 23:16 “And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.”

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 4

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 4

          Why all the philosophical fuss over the sacrificial system of the Old Testament?  If a minister of music is going to refer to worship music as musical offerings presented to God, then it stands to reason that that musician should believe in the concept of presenting God the best and most appropriate musical offering that he or she and the worshiping body of believers are capable of offering.  Therefore, the notion that all music is created equal is not congruent with the philosophical concept of our sacred musicing being musical offerings presented to God.  Every honest minister of music minister or music educator who is knowledgeable of music composition and music theory will have to admit that all the creative efforts of composers and arrangers are not on the same level of musical quality and profundity and therefore not of the same appropriateness and value as musical offerings.

          As I mentioned earlier, references to the Old Testament sacrificial system appear in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (For more references to the sacrificial system, also see Romans 12:1, Philippians 4:18 and 1Peter 2:5.)  So, since there are references to the concept of sacrifices made unto God in the NT without any reference to this concept not being compatible with Christian worship, I see no philosophical problem with worship leaders referring to their worshiping by musicing unto God as musical offerings.  I am simply contending that there is no logical philosophical reasoning behind the notion that these musical offerings should not be the very best and most appropriate offerings that a Christian is capable of presenting.  If one accepts the concept of musical offerings presented in the Bible, then it stands to reason that all musical offerings, regardless of what they represent; how they are presented; and what they contain, are not necessarily equal in their nature or value.

 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day 

The Artist made us artists so that we might reflect the Beauty of His character and the wonder of His story.  Worship Leaders We are not Rock Stars, by Stephen Miller, p. 109

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 3

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 3

           Other references to the sacrificial system include: Le 7:12; 1Ch 16:8, 34; 2Ch 5:12-13; 7:3-6; Ezra 3:11; Ps 107:22; 116:17; 136:1; Isa 12:4; Jer 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; and 33:7  From these and other Scriptures we get our understanding of the sacrificial system and its connection to the presentation of our musical offerings unto God.  There were many reasons why sacrifices were presented unto God—among them was the sacrifice of praise. Jesus became our permanent sacrifice for sin and therefore superseded the need for the shedding of the blood of animals.  I see no place in the New Testament where Christ’s sacrificial death did away with the need for Christians to present God with musical sacrifices of praise and I have no philosophical objection to calling our sacred musicing  sacrificial musical offerings.

          This sacrificial system mentioned in the Old Testament was very prescriptive in nature.  For instance, Leviticus 4:2 states, “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:  If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.”  Notice that this offering was prescribed by YHVH to be a lamb “without blemish”.  The sacrificial system instituted in in Ancient Israel was quite involved and included various acceptable sacrifices for different occasions and under different circumstances.   A careful study of the requirements for these sacrifices reveals that every sacrifice had the prescriptive requirement of being the best sacrifice the worshiper had to offer.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Try conceptualizing a time when there was no music, no melodies, no harmony, no instruments or sounds produced by instruments and no one praising God with these wonderful results of God taking nothing and turning this condition into something-- music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 2

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 2

          Also, every college or university that has a quality music degree program takes a prescriptive approach to music.  They prescribe which music is appropriate for study and performance.  They decide which music is of a poor quality, good quality, or fine quality.  However, when it comes to sacred music, some Christian musicians have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a quality musical offering to be presented to God, or worse yet, they follow the notion that all music offerings are equal in their nature and value.  Although we hear much about worship music being a musical offering that is explicitly performed as an offering unto God, it appears that some of these Christian musicians do not understand the biblical concept of the sacrificial system.

         What we do not  often hear about is where Christian musicians get the concept of musical offerings presented to God. This concept is taken from the Old Testament (it is also mentioned in the New Testament), This sacrificial system is mentioned in Jeremiah 33:11, “The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.”

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

The problem with the belief that all music is OK when it comes to using it to worship God is that this belief is just not OK.

 

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 1

Is All Music Created Equal? Part 1

             Writers like Greg Scheer claim that they are not interested in the musical style debate, but every musician whom I have had the privilege or knowing or reading their books or articles about music who mention music styles have taken a position on styles of music. Even the writers who have decided not to decide have in reality taken a position on musical style because they have come to the faulty pluralistic conclusion that everyone’s music is equal.  So, when Scheer made the statement, “I take the position that ‘all musics are created equal’” The Art of Worship, by Greg Scheer, pp. 11-12 it stands to reason that he definitely, by that statement, chose to enter the style debate.  As a musician, surely he does not really believe that all creative music efforts are equal.  If one were to ask him if the music of J.S. Bach was equal to my compositions that I wrote for my undergraduate music theory class, I am sure that he would vote for Bach.  What he was doubtlessly meaning at the time he wrote his book was that when one is referring to religious music, the music part of the music does not matter.  

             I am well aware that if a writer does not take a cosmopolitan view that is a liberal pluralistic view of music style, he or she runs the risk of being considered to be “out of touch”, “musically bigoted”, or at least to have been “hiding under a rock” philosophically.  It seems a bit strange that at the same time a writer may believe in a prescriptive approach to secular music without receiving the same labels and accusations. Various writers who have addressed secular music in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries have devoted much of their writings to the belief that the music part of all music matters without being accused of stifling creative efforts

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

“The role of the worship team vocalists is to support confident congregational singing.”  The Art of Worship, by Greg Scheer, p. 125

 

What the Music Leader Does part 3

What the Music Leader Does part 3

            I have absolutely no philosophical problem with the use of a praise team as long as they are function as music worship leaders, are dressed modestly, and do not usurp the role of the chief musician.  I also want to make it clear that I am not intimating that leading music worship is not extremely important to public worship because it most certainly is.  At the same time I wish to make it also very clear that the use of music in public worship, although vitally important to the work and responsibility of every public ministry, is only part of the work of that organization’s music ministry. Because of the time and space it would take, I will not discuss thoroughly the other very important aspects of public worship at this point in our discussion.  For a more thorough discussion of this topic, I suggest that you read chapter two (pp. 28-37) of the book Church Music Matters. 

            Church leaders, educational administrations, and the musicians involved must realize that the music educator and the minister of music has many more philosophical responsibilities than those worship service leadership.  I fear that many Christian organizations are trying to travel first class but only pay coach fare.  Christin elementary and secondary schools as well as Christian colleges are not preparing their students to enter adulthood with the necessary musical literacy i.e. being able to read, write, and perform, and evaluate music.  Churches have also abdicated their historic and biblical responsibility to musically and philosophically educate their own.  (Read I Chronicles chapter twenty five)  In ancient Israel the church historically trained its own musicians.  So, public music worship leadership is vitally important, but it is only the part of the music iceberg that one can readily see.  However, it is the part beneath the surface which one cannot readily see that gives the music ministry its real substance.

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

When a leader is talented and charismatic in personality, we tend to put them on the proverbial pedestal and blur the line between admiration and worship, between imitating them as they imitate Christ and substituting them for Christ.  Worship Leaders We Are Not Rock Stars, by Stephen Miller, p.16