Strict
music functionalism is a
philosophical belief that the structure and design of music should be based on
how it will be used and that all music should be excluded that does not serve a practical purpose. This view in its strict form places music in
the camp of the music pragmatists and removes it from the school of fine art
and aesthetics. There is nothing
inherently wrong with the philosophical belief that the formal properties of a style
of music should be congruent with its function and purpose.
Certainly
all religious music should be congruent with the changed life principles taught
in the Bible. One of the major problems
with twenty first century church music is that much of it is so connected with
lifestyles and philosophies that are antagonistic toward Christianity. Although association is not all there is to
sacred music, it can and often does cloud the message of the gospel. When worldview and lifestyle are represented in
a great enough manner by the music, it ceases to be an effective vehicle for
Christian witness.
There are styles of music that have proven
over the centuries to be effective concomitants of the Christian message. Therefore, it seems odd that so many
Christian musicians have accepted the notion that they should all be jettisoned
in favor of styles that have from their inception been connected to lifestyles,
philosophies, and worldviews that are contrary to a changed life principles of
a Bible based, Christocentric. whole-life philosophy.
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