Real Creation Took Place When God Created part 1

 

Real Creation Took Place When God Created part 1

          At the outset of this discussion it should be understood that real creation is not synonymous with a musician being creative or his or her propensity toward creativeness.  Man did not create music and furthermore, it did not evolve into existence.  The process of music’s beginning and development over many centuries is a much different phenomenon when one compares the notion of some kind of musical “big bang” with no one knowing how it started since many do not believe that music’s beginning was a part of the creation as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis.  Since evolutionists, both atheistic and theistic, refer to evolution in different terms than a creationist, it is unwise for those of us who believe in a real creation to refer to music’s “evolution”. The term development is a much better word to explain what has happened over the many centuries.

          Although the performer, composer arranger, or music director is “creative” he or she is not capable of creating anything.  We know from the Genesis chapter one, verse one that “in the beginning God created…”  The lexical form of the Hebrew phrase “in the beginning God created” is “reshiyth elohiym bara eth (7225, 430, 1254, 853).  This statement is, as lexicographers tell us, rather unprecedented in the English language.  At the first (reshiyth) (of time?) the plurality of the supreme exceeding God (elohiym) through the formative process by entity and “self” created (bara eth).  In other words elohiym the supreme God by himself and through His own power took nothing and made something.  In the truest sense of the word, that is actual creation.  God took nothing and made music.  No one but God has ever made something from nothing from that person’s “entity”.

 

Christian Musicians Have an Enemy-part 2

 

Christian Musicians Have an Enemy-part 2

          Now, for just a moment, let’s take a look at how thesis thought slowly evolved into synthesis thinking.  Under classical philosophy, philosophers thought in terms of the truth which was thesis and the opposite of truth which was antithesis.  For instance, they believed that God created and that Satan perverted.  God was completely good and Satan was completely evil because he was the complete antithesis of God.  This type of philosophy always produced a unified field of knowledge.  However, sometime during the 20^th century some philosophers began to doubt that a person in this rationally absurd world could come to a knowledge of right and wrong. 

So, Christian philosophy in the 20^th century was divided between those who still believed in right and wrong in church music and others who believed that church music answers could only be found somewhere in between right and wrong, since they did not believe that terms like “wrong”, “unsuitable”, or “inappropriate” were appropriate when applied to music in public worship.  They accepted Hegelian philosophy that taught that the unified whole was always found in reconciling the opposites (thesis and antithesis) in what he called synthesis.  During the late 20^th century, Christian church musicians flocked to this concept of synthesis.  Historically the church had always believed in right and wrong.  The church had always prescribed what was appropriate and inappropriate in church music.  (See Chapter 7 on A Prescriptive Approach to Music Ministry in Church Music Matters.)  As church musicians developed a philosophy based on synthesis thinking the church no longer had the right to say that a style of music was or was not appropriate for public worship. 

 

Christian Musicians Have an Enemy-part 1

 Christian Musicians Have an Enemy-part 1

Although it is not popular to mention Satan in many Christian circles, there is a real devil!  Ephesians 6:12 tells Christians to “put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  Why do church musicians believe that there are no stratagems or wiles of the devil concerning church music?  Why do pastors and music ministers believe that Satan has left church music alone and that when it comes to music the devil has no bright ideas?   Satan is the prince of the evil in this world (see St. John 14:30) in which we live and that includes music.  We were all once caught in the “wheel” of this world system, however, Ephesians 2:2 explains that Christians are no longer a part of this world system when it says, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. 

 So, those who are walking according to the course of this world are truly programmed and are caught in the “wheel”.  Since they are a part of this world system, church musicians who are of this world are synthesis thinkers who believe that the only way to authenticate themselves in this rationally absurd universe is to validate THEMSELVES with THEIR MUSIC.  Somehow these synthesis thinkers believe that although they should not take a stand against the music of this world system, they can authenticate THEIR music ministry by using the music of this world to win the lost to Christ.

A philosophy of Music Aesthetics part 2

 

A philosophy of Music Aesthetics part 2 

Although the Scripture lesson speaks primarily to the sexual sins it also speaks of worshiping created things which includes art and art objects rather than the Creator.  Therefore worshiping aesthetics or any created art forms is nothing less than idolatry!  The Scripture lesson above warns those who worship created things rather than the Creator start by suppressing the truth that Christians must not worship any created thing.  Therefore the result of an aesthetic approach to religion is worshiping art for art’s sake.  I believe that worshiping art for art’s sake in music worship is the outcome of a faulty praxial view of the place of the arts in worship.  Worship music must derive its significance outside of itself.  If it does not, it is autonomous.  Therefore, a Christocentric Christian aesthetic must derive its significance outside of itself.  A Christian aesthetic view will consequently not derive the same musical import as a secular aesthetic view does. 

          I want to make it very clear that I believe that aesthetic beauty in the arts used in worship is not wrong but, on the contrary, beauty in the arts is one of the proofs that an art form follows biblical principles.  Beauty is a concomitant of God’s orderly creation.  I believe that when God created music as a part of his personal orderly creation that it was very good or beautiful (Genesis 1:31).  Although misguided musicologists and some Christian musicians have purported that the music of the Bible was harsh and ugly, there is not a shred of biblical or extra biblical proof of such an exotic hypothesis.  On the contrary the te’amim (the musical melodies of all Old Testament scripture) have proven the music of the Bible was very beautiful.  (See chapter Eight of Music in the Bible in Christian Perspective).

 

A philosophy of Music Aesthetics part 1

 

A philosophy of Music Aesthetics part 1

How does a Christian musician develop a philosophy of music aesthetics?  Some Christian musicians believe that art derives most of its significance outside of itself.  This is especially true when we consider sacred music.  Worship music normally exists as a means to an end.  Music is a vehicle upon which the Word of God rides into the mind of the worshiper.  However, an increasing number of Christian musicians believe that music is a closed system and that its system of “knowing” and its significance comes within itself.  This philosophical belief allows a Christian musician to function independently of the Lordship of Christ.  Since they believe that music’s significance is in no way referential it only refers to itself and may not “say” anything at all.  This belief system allows a total artistic approach to religious music. 

          Art is not the doorway to the kingdom of God.  Therefore a Christian must develop a religious approach to arts rather than an artistic approach to religion.  Christians are warned in Romans 1:18:

 

vs. 18   The wrath of God is being revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness

vs. 19   Since what may be known about God is plain to them.

vs. 25   They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised.  Amen.

vs. 28   Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  (NIV)

 

Borrowing Terms from Landscapers

 

Borrowing Terms from Landscapers

In my writings I have borrowed terms that landscapers use and understand universally and have applied them to sacred and secular music and musicing.  These terms include:

        Unity- the unity of the music part of music with its purpose.

Balance- a good marriage of words with the use of the building blocks of music as well as a balance of the use of the elements of music.

Contrast- contrast between secular and sacred music and musicing.

Harmony- chords and chord progressions.

        Color- tone color (timbre).

Transition- key modulation and changes from section to    section.

Line-melodic line

Proportion-the appropriate use of the elements of music

Repetition-of text, rhythm, melody, and harmony

I also refer to musical  landscape  as the general atmosphere which  surrounds musicing that either enhances or distracts from the effectiveness of corporate Christian worship.  I define Parlance as a particular way of speaking or using words in scholarly writing that is common and understood by those who have an interest in music and musicing.  Now I have combined parlance and landscape to indicate a common use of terms to explain more clearly how music forms an atmosphere i.e., landscape that surrounds and either supports or distracts from corporate Christian worship.