Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
•
|
Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
• |
|
|
Music—harmony or harm-for-thee Q. Is music good or bad?
Here we will deal with music as it pertains to church. For music outside the church check Music non-church, there is difference. Few things can split a church or cause a major dispute like
the subject of worship music. Church "Hark the Harold Angels Sing", wonderful song, I always loved it. Did you know that the Bible doesn't say anything about the angels singing? In fact I can't find anything about any angels singing. If I'm wrong please let me know. Angels and humans are different. One doesn't become a angel when you die. Each are separate and made different and it seems singing may be unique to humans. Just a thought, but wouldn't it be special if it's us who bring worship by song to heaven. If that's true then maybe we should take greater care in the music we worship with. The word “song” comes from the Bible. It comes from “Psalm”. The word Psalm comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "mizmor". Mizmor to me isn't a long stretch to music. God’s smart and knows many of mankind has the attention span of a snail when it comes to church. To teach great truths, prophesy, or to help in the worship and knowledge of the Church, some of God’s word was put to music. One, it was interactive and helped to keep the people interested. Two, music is easy to remember. It’s a great learning tool. Whole blocks of knowledge can be memorized just by putting it to music. And the most important reason, it was a way as a group to worship our Lord. It can bring together everyone in a single mindedness. We can gather as one Church to give Glory to God as in almost no other way. Some times the whole of Israel, that was gathered at the Temple, would join in. To hear a nation all singing in one voice must have been moving. Even today a large choir, with the congregation singing along, can be stirring. The church members should be joining in. A large choir may sound wonderful but without the members in the pews, it becomes a “show”. If this happens the Church has lost much of the meaning to what the “Psalm’s/songs” were meant for. The Bible teaches that we will sing a new song, that David (a man after God’s own heart) was a musician. The father of music, and first musician from a earthly point, was Jubal a son of Lamech (jubilee, jubilation) (Gen 4:21). The the psalms were sung in the Temple. Sung during work, sung in the home, and everywhere man would move to. It helped unite the Hebrew nation, then, and now. Music is a wonderful gift that God has given to us. But like all gifts it can be used wrongly. Not all music is up lifting, praiseful, or should be used in for the Church. This has very little to do with the instruments. Whether we think music is bad, or music is good, has more to do with personal taste then with the music it’s self. In the church, tradition and up bringing has a lot to do with what we find expectable. My wife grew up with a piano in her church. To her a large pipe organ reminded her of the sound tracks from old black and white horror movies they would show on TV, on Saturday afternoons. For others pipe organs bring to mind large cathedrals and massive choirs lifting their voices to heaven. And of course Silent Night was written and first played on a guitar. If everyone liked the same things, and thought the same way, then many of us would be redundant. We were all made as individuals, unique, and special. Does this mean all music is good, …no. It’s a little like food. At one time (and still is if your Jewish) some foods were considered off limits. Shrimp, lobster and calms were a no go. Did God just hate garlic butter, didn’t like clam bakes? I like a shrimp fry once in a while, do I eat it all the time? No I don’t. A diet of shrimp, lobster, or clams everyday isn’t good for the body. High fats, cholesterol, little nutrition. Calms can be hard on the immure system. Pork has gotten better over the years but it was low on nutrition, high in fat, hard to digest, and when Moses gave this law, the Jewish nation was heading across the wilderness with not the best of cooking conditions. And undercooked pork is never a wise idea. Check the list of non-kosher foods. There is dietary and medical reasons for all of it. Then God put us under grace and the law was relegated to the tool it is now. Check "What's the Ten Commandments", Or "What's the Law". Peter had a vision that told us all food was acceptable. What we eat or take in our body can't make us sin, or damn us. Let no man call what God has made bad. Does that mean all non-kosher food no longer has drawbacks? No everything that was a problem before, still is in some minor or major way. Some food is good for the body, some is fluff, some poor, and some things are poisons that can kill you. I think we can take this principal and apply it to music. Now you may be thinking, "what's wrong with you, food has a physical effect on the body, and music is just music". Lets take a look at just music, without lyrics, and the effects on the human body. First lets look at rhythm. A big fight in some churches is whether drums should be included. Whether you have a rhythm section isn't the point. All music has a rhythm, with or without drums. Pop, rock, and much music is in 4/4 time, waltz 3/4, march, tango, etc. all have rhythm that comes out in the notes, or the singers voice. Then you have secondary beats, backbeats, and counter beats. All this has a effect on the body. Imagine a movie without a sound track. If you have ever seen Jaws you know the rhythm that signaled the big fishy was coming. As the villain gets closer and closer the rhythm gets faster and faster. Commercials go to great lengths to pick just the right music. They pay out sometimes millions of dollars to advertise a product, why? Because it pays off. Music helps them sell. Next visit to the dentist or doctors office take notice of the music they play in the waiting room. They call dance music, dance music for a reason. Rhythm can heighten a mood, make you want to dance, and a number of studies have shown that some rhythms can produce hypnotic states. The reason a number of these studies were conducted was to better understand the voodoo and black magic rites of some cultures. What they found was that the rhythms they used (many times mixed with drugs) produced a trance like state. What is scary is a number of music groups have studied these rhythms and incorporate them in some of their music. Lets take a look at volume. The higher the volume the more the nervous system is affected. Many workers can attest to this. They come home tired and spent just from the volume of machines they work around. Once the volume gets above the 85 decibel level, people start to get effected. Different people have different levels, but all will be effected when raised enough. The fight or flight response kicks in and the body starts to release adrenaline and endorphins. Now if your working all day this will energize the body to the point, that at the end of the day the body is beat and wore. If your sitting in a mega-church, not working these adrenaline/endorphins off, it has the same effect as a runners high. The same rush adrenaline junkies get from sky diving or roller coasters. Some of these mega-churches are in a sense getting their members "high". The people show up every Sunday to get their "fix". Now if your going to church to get a cheap high, you've got other troubles that I'm not going to discuss here. The main problem that we are facing here, is a false sense that they have received a "religious experience". They walk out thinking that they have been indwelt or touched by the Holy Spirit. And of course they can't have a experience like this unless they are saved, or at least the church they are attending is Spirit filled. When they go to another church, and they don't get the same high, then that church must not be any good. And since they don't get that feeling anywhere else besides the church, they need to attend as much as possible to get more of the Spirit. In the mean time they are walking around unsaved and lost. Anything that the pastor of one of these churches has to say must be correct, after all "they can feel it". I find it interesting that God tells us to be still and know He's your God. Lets take a look at instruments. It would be nice to give you a list of instruments that never ever should be used in a church setting. I can only propose some guide lines you can use in that decision, and a little how they should be used. What I can give you is what I believe is the one instrument that should be used in all church music. It is the greatest instrument ever created...the voice. Now I'm not speaking of sitting your butt down in a pew and listening to the choir. If that is all your going to church for then you may wish to stay home and save yourself the trip. Remember that the music is for the worship, the teaching, and the honor of God, it's not a concert. If you happen to just like the music itself try to find a CD, tape, or some recording of it and listen at home. The time in church shouldn't be entertainment. As far as other instruments one must take into consideration the tone and how they're used. The Salvation Army has lead many to Christ over the years with horn based street bands. Over the years others have been lead by massive pipe organs (my problems with these giant organs is the money and pride that goes into them). Others have found God while listening to a simple piano or guitar. The Bible gives a list of instruments that were used in the past but what some of them were is up for debate. What we need to consider is the tone and sound the instrument will produce. Imagine the sound of fingernails on a blackboard, or the wale of a police siren. Some pitches and notes have a negative effect on people. If you play a electric guitar you will understand what noise, phasing, feedback, reverb, dirty and clean is. Remember some of these are acquired tastes. If some of the congregation is taking offense to the music because of the sound of the instruments, then you may not wish to play in that manner, in the church. In fact if the music or instrument takes away from the lyrics of the hymn or song, don't use and/or play it in that manner. You must remember that the music is only the vehicle to be use in delivering the lyrics. If at any time the music over shadows the message, then the music no longer is a asset, but has become a hindrance. If you feel that your churches music has cleared the above hurdles lets try one more. Style Today with music, the style has become a focal point. Over the years music style has changed both in and out of the church. What today is traditional, at one time was pop. Pop of course is short for popular. Is the pop today the same as the popular music in the decades pass? Of course not. Each generation believes that the next ones music is inappropriate. At the risk of sounding like a prude let me try to make some common sense points. The music in the churches today mirrors what's on the popular radio. In the past the music has been separate in the church. In the Christian faith there is a term; sanctification. It's the idea of putting someone, or something, to the side for God. To set apart for God. A church will have a room that is called it's sanctuary. It's a room set apart for the worship of God. Music in a church should be sanctified. Set apart for God, one should, with little effort, find it easy to tell the different. A churches music should be held to a higher standard, it should set the bar. By bringing the common (popular) into the church we water down the message. By presenting the church message in a popular format we risk lowering the message to the same level of any street corner philosopher. Lastly lets take a look at the most important aspect of the music, the message or lyrics. The music's main function is to be a vehicle for the lyrics. Music is one of the best ways to teach doctrine, lessons and truth. What can be taught is unlimited. Music can bring everyone together in prayer, and in one voice worship the Lord. Again in a effort to dumb down the church, much of the worship music has become little more then vane repetition. I like Rich Mullians, so much of his music was well written. But it's his song "Awesome God" that is played more then any. Not that we don't have a awesome God, we do, but repeating the reframe over and over isn't giving much of a message. Watch the lyrics for truth, some of today's lyrics aren't based in sound doctrine. And don't assume that if it's in the trusty hymnal it's fine. There's a couple old ones that stay in the hymnal, more out of tradition then out of worth. Know what your singing. For years Christians were so eager for Christian base pop music they would grab onto anything with Lord, God, or Jesus in it. It's amazing how many Christians will start to sing along with a oldie like George Harrison's "My sweet Lord" and never realize that it was written for Krishna. The chorus sings in the background "Krishna Krishna" and the Christian just wails away. If you have done that and never knew the song was written because of Georges beliefs in Harry Krishna, don't worry you haven't committed a sin. If you had Jesus in mind, the Lord knows it. I was just making a point that most don't look too deep. If you didn't know it, sorry to spoil the song for you, but it is very repetitious anyway. I know this sounds like I'm against the newer music, believe me I'm not. I play a number of instruments and have a great love for all music. Blues, jazz, rock, county, classical, folk, you name it and there's something in all I like. And there's something in all of them I don't like. But with a lot of the newer contemporarily Christian music it's just a matter of hitting the Top 10 for radio play. When John Newton wrote Amazing Grace it was after a life of heartache. The song came out of a life lived and true trials. So much today is just a catchy hook, up the charts, then to the discount bin. I find it sad when Brooks and Dunn (never known for their Godly songs) can write and perform a song like "I Believe", and it has more truth in it then half the music on the Christian charts. I turn on the pop Christian stations and we have songs about cartoons getting saved. Yes it's cute, but cute doesn't get you to heaven. Some of the heavy metal stuff could be played by black sabbath. If you write, read, or play music for/in the church, take the time to make sure it qualifies for sanctification. Remember your playing in Gods house, your playing for God, and the entertainment is secondary. If you have people who would like to experiment in different or new music, more like today's radio play, that's fine. Get together after church, do it with the youth groups, have a special showing after service. Use the music as a outreach, there are many avenues for this music. Just keep the music in the service, "sanctified". May I take the liberty to purpose a guide line for the church music. Take the lyrics and music and separate them. Take the music with no lyrics, and play it for some non-judgmental people. Does it inspire, up lift, move, or engage them. Do they enjoy it, or does it bore them, irritate, anger, or evoke negative feelings? Good music should stand on it's own. Likewise take the lyrics and write them out. Let some non-judgmental people with a good knowledge of the Bible read them. Are the words or message Biblically based? Do the words convey truths, faith, worship, honor, doctrine, or a Godly message? Can they also stand on their own? Or are they just the same 4 lines repeated over and over? If both the music and lyrics can meet those standards, then you may have a handle on whether to play it in church. Whether the song is played on a Telecaster guitar or a Grand piano, a pipe organ or a kazoo, you have a better chance that it's sanctified. Now we have entered an age when the people who run the music industries have awaken to the fact that "Christians have money too"! With that fact coming to light the "star machine" has gone into overdrive. Walk into a Christian bookstore, and the music section has taken on a life of it's own. Finding a book by A.W. Tozer is near impossible, but I wonder if finding a Rap version of Amazing Grace would be possible (if you do, don't let me know, I'd rather think not). A lot of this music is generic. They use God, or Lord, with very little insight to which God, and what Lord. So much of this music would fit in a Krishna group, could be sung by muslins, or hindus, or for that matter wiccas. It's not by accident, they are in the business to make money. I'm not saying that all the artist are this way, but for the industries, it's the bottom line, and the bigger the demographic the higher the sales. In a world that's so politically correct, it also isn't written to be conversational. So in many cases this is the music that's being used by the new age Christian church. No substance, repetitious, and polytheistic (meaning many gods) in it's appeal. But you sure can sing it loud and no one forgets the words, even if they have little meaning. I'm sure I've gone on too long and lost many before they got to this point so I'll wrap it up.
|
Last modified: 12/15/07For a FREE downloadable KJV Bible click here. Opinions or questions: Mail@SimpleBibleAnswers.com
Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
|
members will set up battle lines and spend
far more time then they should beating this horse to death. Is there music that
shouldn’t be used in worship…yes. Should all new music, or electric instruments,
be banned from church….no. It would be nice if one could judge church music as
acceptable by the style or instruments used. Some of the new music is solid and
well written, good doctrine and well composed. And believe it or not some of the
older hymns have bad doctrine or bad teaching. Just because a song is played on
a organ doesn’t make it better then if played on a Fender Stratocaster. Use you
head folks, after all God gave them to us for more then hanging a hat on. Lets
take a look at this with common sense and the Bible as our guide.