Aesthetic Experience and the Christian Musician-part 2

Aesthetic Experience and the Christian Musician-part 2

There is general agreement among music philosophers that some people who are knowledgeable concerning music and musicing who perform it or experience musicing are capable of having aesthetic experiences at least part of the time.  Therefore, the Christian musician cannot ignore the philosophical issues that surround aesthetic experiences.  So, all Christian musicians need to consider if and how aesthetic experiences with music do or do not affect sacred musicing.  Christians must also consider whether aesthetic experiences with music should be a regular concomitant of public worship.

Some Christian philosophers have loosely co-enjoined “holy day” and “holiday” when considering the experiences that surround both.  I object to the notion that religious experiences which are indeed joyful, and other non-religious joyful experiences are one and the same or even remotely the same.  What happens when the Holy Spirit assists the Christian musician when he or she is musicing should not be considered to be synonymous with what happens when a performer has aesthetic musical experiences during a secular performance.  However, that being said, I have no objection to a Christian having an aesthetic experience when he or she performs or hears sacred music.  Aesthetic experiences with musicing or listing to music may very well be a concomitant and an aid to worship—but never worship in and of itself.  Certainly, the worshiper does not have to have an aesthetic experience with the music that is used in the context of worship in order to have effectively worshiped God.

Thought for the Day

I think of the use of music in the context of worship much like a praxialist rather than as a aesthetician.  The reason for this philosophical position is that I consider musicing in the context of worship to be an on-purpose concomitant of worship—a means to an end rather than an end.