Monday, January 7, 2019

Being a Conservative Christian Musician- part 4


Being a Conservative Christian Musician- part 4

Some Christian musicians have failed to recognize that when music has been set into motion, it does its own communicating because the music part of music has great power to influence the listener for either for good or evil.  Therefore, Christians need to realize that the concept that music has great power is not a novel notion hatched up by conservative Christian musicians who are over protective of traditional church music.  Musicologists are aware that as far back as Plato and Aristotle music philosophers have believed that the musical mode makes a difference because it communicates meaning to the listener.  Furthermore, no music philosopher ancient or modern has made any sensible hypothesis or musical evidence that would discredit these ancient musical observations that resulted in the theory that music does have power.
For centuries music philosophers have written about their convictions that music has power to communicate moral values to the auditor.  They have over the centuries elaborated on how music goes about strengthening or weakening these moral values.  Philosophers have not always agreed about the way music communicates its power to the listener, but historically, until the twentieth century, they have almost universally believed that music does have great power to communicate. 
So, when a musician connects music’s power to God by marrying it to the worship of a holy triune God, that power definitely makes a reflection on the auditor’s perception of who God is, what He is like, and what He is capable of doing.  Although music cannot change God’s moral nature, it can change the listener’s perception of His moral nature when a musician, in a willy-nilly manner, connects a music style to worship music that represents anything but wholesome moral or Christian values.  What is often done in jest by a composer, an arranger, or a performer can become a tool for Satan to distort the auditor’s view of who God is.


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