Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 5

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 5

            One can remove a pig from his muddy wallowing hole, give him  a thorough bath with a scrub brush, but if the pig is allowed to not only return to his wallowing hole but to also again continuously wallow in it, there is absolutely no way that he will remain clean. Psalm 40:1-2 clearly explains, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”  Notice that verse three further explains. “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”  The Cambridge scholars AV marginal reading for the words “horrible pit” i.e. shaown bowr (7488 953) is a “pit of noise”.  Again, I find it odd that so many Christian musicians, pastors and church boards believe that the best way to help a Christian, who has passed form death unto life by the born-again experience, is to subject this Christian to the same horrible pit of noise that he or she wallowed in as a carnal un-regenerated sinner who was dead in trespasses and sins.

            Surely fellowships of believers should provide music for the new man which is of a higher renovated character i.e. “new song” chadash shiyr (2319 7892) rather than the music of the old man and the old life.  I am not saying that it is absolutely impossible for Christians to exist spiritually on a diet of fried musical bologna on white bread made from bleached musical flower that has been stripped of almost all of its life sustaining ingredients, but such a worship diet is by no means the best musical diet. It is ludicrous to suppose that music graduates who have never developed a conservative Bible based music philosophy will desire to feed the people who come to the House of God to worship anything of a deep musical and spiritual value.

            Psalm 40:2 also teaches that God had to pull the psalmist David out of the “miry clay” i.e. yaven tiyt (3121 2916) before he could place him upon the rock and establish his goings.  At least by implication these verses in Psalm forty teach that the old song of the old life in the pit of noise was miry clay that held the psalmist down spiritually.  So, YHVH replaced the old song with a new song of a higher renovated character so that he would not be drawn back into the horrible pit of noise.   

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 4

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 4

            Yesterday we discussed that as important as knowledge of famous visual arts and famous musical compositions may be to an undergraduate student’s general education, such knowledge should never be placed above Bible knowledge of music.  Furthermore, musical knowledge, which has been thoroughly interwoven into every Christian student’s music philosophy that is seasoned with a thorough understanding of music as a part of worship from ancient to modern times, is essential to every student receiving general education that is truly Christian.  It is high time that so-called Christian colleges and universities realize that having Christ’s name as a part of the institution does not automatically insure that its graduates will receive a Christian music education.

            Every Christian educational institution that I know of denies that it has been squeezed into the world’s musical mold.  However, as I alluded to in an earlier post in this series, multitudes of Christian colleges and universities believe that it is proper to worship with music styles that were created to feed carnal desires of depraved men and women.  This philosophy of music is fed by the belief that the most effective way to music unto God is to make worship exactly like the carnal music of the world.  It seems odd to me that so many Christian colleges and universities believe and teach, at least by default, that the way to music unto the high and holy triune God is to use music that sounds exactly like the carnal music of this godless world that was produced to appeal to the carnal desires on sinful men and women.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

You can tell what a pastor really believes about musicing unto God by listening to what he puts up with musically from his worship leader.

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 3

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 3

            The problem is not fitting such courses into the general education portion of broad based general education, but rather a lack of the belief that every student must have an understanding of what the Bible teaches about music and musicing and have such knowledge interwoven into his or her philosophy of music.  Accrediting associations give accredited member colleges much more general education freedom than many college academic officers will admit.  However, even if there is not much variety in general education curriculums, Christian colleges can always require some Bible based music courses as a part of all professional programs. 

            Music has become the “war department” in multitudes of churches in the last half of the 20th century and now in the second decade of this century.  Every church deserves to have a senior pastor and a minister of music that both have a thorough understanding of Bible principles of music and musicing.  Furthermore, these pastors and ministers of music must be able to utilize this knowledge in a well-developed Bible based ministry philosophy.  Churches cannot expect secular universities to provide Bible based curricular offerings for pastors and ministers of music. However, they have the right to expect Christian colleges and universities to provide and require such offerings of each of their graduates.  If this were to happen, much of the shared ignorance would cease, and Churches would be much better equipped to face this post postmodern world. 

 

Scripture for the Day

Scripture for the Day

Ro 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

You can tell what a pastor really believes about musicing unto God by listening to what he puts up with musically from his worship leader.

 

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 2

Graduates Cannot Teach What They Do Not Know-part 2

            Yesterday we began this series of posts by citing some of the problems that are facing public music worship today.  Because so many Bible Colleges and a host of Christian universities have been more concerned with liberal arts education than a thorough Bible based Christian education, many undergraduate curriculums are now devoid of any required courses in Music of the Bible and Music Philosophy taught from a bible based Christian perspective.  Although Christian Colleges and universities would adamantly deny it, they have allowed the world to completely influence their broad based undergraduate curriculum decisions.  Although they blame accreditation requirements for the lack of Bible bases music courses in general and professional education curriculums for all students, this is not a fact.

            For instance, they have chosen courses like Art Appreciation, Fine arts Appreciation, and general Music Appreciation which could have been replaced with course like Music Philosophy in Christian Perspective, Philosophy of Music Worship, Music of the Bible, and a Host of other courses such as the History of Music Worship. I know, after working with different Christian and secular accrediting agencies in the US that Christian Colleges can make the above curriculum decisions in their undergraduate general education programs.  So, accredited undergraduate Christian colleges and universities are without excuse when they ignore Bible based music courses that are acceptable as fine arts general education. 

Quote for the Day

Quote for the Day

Romans 1:28, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”

 

Different Methods of Thinking

Different Methods of Thinking

I found this quotation which I find thought provoking.  “… there is a needless prejudice in our society for "objective" over "subjective" thinking. Carl Jung was wiser. He understood that both are equally valid perspectives of human thought. The only difference is that objective cognitive processes are turned outward, subjective cognitive processes are turned inward - it is not a question of one kind being more reliable or more accurate than the other. The processes have to do with how we take in information and how we then decide based on that information.”  by Michael Levy http://ancientlyre.com/the_original_3000_year_old_music_of_the_bible_revealed/