A Defense for Christian Music Education part 6

 

A Defense for Christian Music Education  part 6

There are a wide variety of other reasons to support music education philosophically. One of the obvious justifications for teaching music is that that music is one of the valuable  and useful fine arts.  Another reason is it can enrich the lives of the students who are involved in performing it, listening to it, and learning about its theory, history, and performance practice.  A third justification is that student performers can be involved in enriching the lives of others with their musicing. Although all of these reasons are valuable justifications for teaching music they are not the main reason for including music in the curriculum of a Christian school, Christian college, or university, or to providing applied lessons in the private studio of an instructor who is a Christian.  The main philosophical justification for music education is that the Bible teaches so strongly that it is the responsibility of Christians to train their own.

 Obviously this training can be most appropriately done by a Christian music educator.  I am not contending that Christian music educators necessarily do a better job of teaching.  However, their teaching is more effective in the sense that they are capable of providing each student a music education that is truly Christian in its character.  Only a Christian the teacher is able to teach by spiritual example.  This example is more efficacious because it influences a music student to live out his or her life as a musical servant unto God.