There is a big controversy in my church over what kind of music is acceptable to use in our services. Some are objecting to certain kinds of Contemporary Christian Music as sounding too \u201csecular\u201d for church. How do you determine the difference between \u201csecular\u201d and \u201csacred\u201d music? Where do you draw the line between what is profane and holy? Does the Bible give any specific guidance on this subject?<\/p>\n
Music Minister<\/p>\n
Dear Music Minister:<\/p>\n
The Bible simply says, \u201cLet everything that has breath, praise the Lord.\u201d The Psalms are full of encouragement to use all kinds of brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion instruments to offer praise. The fact that these instruments were used rhythmically to get the body to move and feel the joy of being alive is obvious: \u201cPraise him with tambourine and dancing.\u201d (Psalm 150: 4)<\/p>\n
The Hebrews were normally quite phobic about adopting the customs of their \u201cpagan\u201d neighbors. The Mosaic laws had 613 rules, many of which spelled out in exact detail how NOT to behave like the nations surrounding them. Rules about diet and dress codes and all kinds of things. But when it came to music, absolutely nothing is forbidden. They used the same musical instruments and styles as anyone else. The only difference is that they used their music to worship the one true God and to celebrate life.<\/p>\n
Music is the language of the heart. The language itself is neither holy or unholy. If the heart is profane, then what comes out of the heart is profane. If the heart is pure, then what comes out of the heart is pure. (Matthew 15: 18,19) It\u2019s not the sound of words that makes them holy. It\u2019s the intention and motive behind the communication. We now have historical evidence that the Hebrew language grew out of Canaanite dialects. So did their music. They borrowed from their contemporary culture and made it their own.<\/p>\n
Though we have no record of music being a source of controversy in the Old Testament (or the New Testament for that matter), the history of the Christian church has been full of controversy over this issue. At one point only unison chant was considered \u201csacred\u201d. Harmony was considered too sensual. Worship was perceived at that time as being only contemplative and sober and the music of the church reflected that.<\/p>\n
This controversy runs like a sticky thread through the entire history of the institutional church. It has no basis in Scripture whatsoever but in tradition and culture. Calvin condemned the pipe organ as being profane. Luther loved it. Today we all consider Handel\u2019s \u201cMessiah\u201d as being one of the greatest works of sacred music of all time. But when he composed this masterpiece he was roundly condemned in conservative pulpits all over London. How dare he profane the Word of God by using the same musical motifs employed in Italian operettas? And to make matters worse, he premiered this work NOT in the church but in the theater\u2013a house of secular entertainment. To many Christians this was shocking and offensive.<\/p>\n
Luther\u2019s music was just as scandalous. His most famous lyric \u201cA Mighty Fortress\u201d was set to a beer-drinking tune straight out of the pub. Today it\u2019s considered traditional \u201csacred\u201d music of the finest order. Charles Wesley had the same mindset that Luther had. Make church music singable, hummable, simple and melodic\u2013but with profound theological lyrics.<\/p>\n
Move forward to the last century and we see the emergence of gospel song writers who hijacked popular music and did the same thing. Songs like \u201cIn The Garden\u201d were considered too romantic and sentimental to be sacred for some. John Peterson\u2019s gospel songs like \u201cIt Took A Miracle\u201d even landed on the hit parade in the fifties. Stuart Hamblen combined Country Western and pop musical motifs during that period to write such standards as \u201cUntil Then\u201d. His best known song, \u201cThis Ol\u2019 House\u201d, became a chart-busting hit.<\/p>\n
During the sixties, Ralph Carmichael scandalized the evangelical church by using the same sensuous orchestrations with gospel songs that he used when arranging for Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Roger Williams, and other pop artists. He had his feet in both worlds and the church didn\u2019t like that much either. How dare he use the rich sensorial harmonies of jazz and pop music to interpret sacred themes? And he didn\u2019t stop there. While scoring the Billy Graham movie, \u201cThe Restless Ones\u201d, he was pretty much the first Christian musician to push the envelope further into using rock motifs. \u201cHe\u2019s Everything To Me\u201d comes from that movie. Today that song is a standard and most of Carmichael\u2019s music from that period would be considered classic and traditional now.<\/p>\n
Everyone knows Bill Gaither\u2019s enormous legacy in gospel music. His premier song, \u201cHe Touched Me\u201d was roundly criticized in the late sixties as being too sentimental, too pop, too country, too simple. Today you can\u2019t buy a hymnal without it being full of Bill and Gloria Gaither\u2019s rich repertoire of gospel music. They have changed the way the church sings. And it just doesn\u2019t get much better than \u201cBecause He Lives.\u201d If you can\u2019t feel the gospel thrill you right down to your bones with that anthem then you might as well fold your cards and go home.<\/p>\n
The seventies witnessed another shift as Contemporary Christian Music created a genre all it\u2019s own that paralleled all the styles and sounds of the popular culture. Lots of controversy once again. But as Larry Norman put it: \u201cWhy should the devil have all the good music?\u201d At last the pseudo-boundaries of sacred vs. secular music came tumbling down as artist after artist claimed their own unique voice. That genie will never go back into the bottle. It\u2019s taken us this long to get back to what the Hebrews knew millenniums ago. \u201cWhatever has breath, praise the Lord!\u201d<\/p>\n
I have an observation about all this. Christian music today employs all the sounds and rhythms of virtually every cultural expression. Personally, I think that\u2019s a triumph for the gospel. No other religion can claim that. How many Grammy categories do you see for Moslem music? Buddhist music? Hindu music? It just isn\u2019t there. It is the gospel that has universal appeal. It is the gospel that speaks to young people and old people. Conservative people. Progressive people. Red and yellow, black or white. All are precious in his sight. There isn\u2019t a single style of music today that isn\u2019t giving praise to God. That\u2019s something to celebrate, not condemn.<\/p>\n
To those who still hold on to the presupposition that there is a difference in the sound of sacred vs. secular music, I would ask this question: Is there a different vocabulary you use to describe your everyday life from your faith? Are some words holier than others? Words are neither secular or sacred. The New Testament was not written in classical Greek, but street language Greek. There are no sacred words in the Bible that weren\u2019t also used by pagans throughout the Mediterranean world. It\u2019s not the words themselves that are sacred. It\u2019s the message that is sacred. It\u2019s all about the intent behind the words.<\/p>\n
Christians have always seemed to have an uneasy time with percussion and rhythm. But rhythm is nothing more than mathematics. With today\u2019s musical technology you can program virtually any beat or rhythm into a computer simply by entering numbers. It\u2019s nothing more than numbers. Are some numbers more holy than other numbers? How ridiculous is that? The body was constructed by God to enjoy the feeling of rhythm. The heart beats in rhythm. The universe pulsates and moves in rhythm. The seven day cycle of activity and rest is all about rhythm. The more rhythm you feel in your body the more alive you are. To not feel rhythm is to be dead.<\/p>\n
You can also graph and edit virtually any sound or combinations of sounds on a computer. All the audible colors of musical harmony and expression are nothing more than vibrations. Sound waves. Is a vibration of sound either secular or sacred? Of course not. Sound is all about physics. Physics can\u2019t be subdivided into sacred vs. profane categories.<\/p>\n
Even in the somber monotone of a sacred chant there are harmonic vibrations that the ear can\u2019t hear. If those monks from the Medieval period could have heard them they would have freaked out. But they\u2019re there. They\u2019re just not audible. The universe if filled with the vibrations of sound that reflect the mind and diversity of its original Creator. No wonder the Bible says \u201cLet everything\u2026 praise the Lord.\u201d It all points back to him.<\/p>\n
What makes music profane or holy is not the subdivision of numbers between the beats. It\u2019s not in the sound waves. It\u2019s all in the intent behind the communication\u2013the spirit of the music. All music is sacred if it glorifies God and celebrates his creation. A good love song is sacred if it honors the kind of devotional and sacrificial love that harmonizes with the character of God. The Song of Songs in the Old Testament even celebrates human sexuality as a sacred gift from God. The Hebrews were not afraid of the body the way Christians are.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s musical culture we are bombarded with musical expression that is indeed profane. It\u2019s profane because the message degrades human dignity. It\u2019s profane because it ignores God entirely and celebrates self-indulgence. The images and lyrics regularly portrayed on MTV are truly disturbing. The message of popular rap artists like Eminem are beyond deplorable. They incite misogyny and bigotry. The only good that can be squeezed out of this kind of material is the wake-up call it signals to the rest of society. It\u2019s really a scream for help.<\/p>\n
The mission of \u201csacred\u201d music should always be concerned with addressing the human condition with hope. The ministry of grace. The ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of healing and mutual respect. Lyrically you can accomplish that with good theology that lifts the spirit and inspires faith. Sonically you can accomplish that with instrumental beauty that resonates with the soul. Music is God\u2019s gift to reconstruct the human spirit, not tear it apart. That\u2019s the best way I know how to evaluate what is holy or unholy. But this criteria is subjective and personal. What might edify and inspire me might not inspire you.<\/p>\n
A music minister has the thankless task of pleasing a whole range of musical tastes in a diverse community. Many churches have solved this problem by splitting the services into traditional and contemporary services. The goal should be to service the cultural diversity within the congregation. And if there isn\u2019t any cultural diversity I don\u2019t think that church is doing its job very well. The gospel unites all cultures together by its message of inclusion, not exclusion. The Kingdom of Heaven is made of up \u201cevery nation, tribe, tongue, and people.\u201d The church should reflect that. The music should reflect that. The key word here is \u201ctongue\u201d. It\u2019s talking about communication. And music is a form of communication.<\/p>\n
God is the Creator of variety and diversity. There\u2019s nothing boring or monolithic about his creation. It\u2019s full of surprises. He brings order out of chaos. That is what the artistic impulse is. And good music is full of surprises. Like good humor it employs that \u201cah-ha\u201d moment when the lightbulb goes on and you \u201cget it.\u201d A great musical artist knows how to achieve that goal. The worst thing that happens in a lot of \u201csacred\u201d music is that it is predictable and boring. God is neither. Sacred music should expand the soul and fill it with grace and insight and the delight of discovery. Nothing crosses boundaries and melts walls quite as powerfully as music. It\u2019s our most powerful tool of communication, rightly used.<\/p>\n
The gospel embraces humanity with all of it\u2019s emotional colors. The Word becomes flesh. The gospel is incarnational. If music is truly \u201csacred\u201d it will be fully incarnational as well. It should speak to every human emotion and yearning. If it doesn\u2019t do that then it isn\u2019t very Christian. It should be both vertical and horizontal in its scope. Why? Because the gospel is. The gospel isn\u2019t afraid to dig it\u2019s fingers into the soil. It unites heaven with earth. And when music does that it is truly sacred.<\/p>\n
The word \u201choly\u201d literally means \u201cother\u201d. It doesn\u2019t mean stiff, pious, and aloof. When the angels sing \u201cHoly, Holy, Holy\u201d they are marveling at the character of God\u2013whose heart is fully focused on the \u201cother\u201d and not on himself. That\u2019s what separates him from false gods. God is not narcissistic. Jesus came to serve. (Luke 22: 27) That is what holiness looks like. That is what charity looks like. That is what a Christian is supposed to look like.<\/p>\n
So let us not be \u201cunholy\u201d by demanding that all sacred music must serve our own tastes. I don\u2019t like every kind of music in the world. I\u2019ve traveled around the world and I\u2019ve heard some things that make my ears bleed. But I am fascinated by what the human emotion is behind the artistic expression. It enlarges my world to make the effort to understand. I think that\u2019s all that God requires of us. Be respectful of others and try to understand what they hear. You don\u2019t have to like it. But by enlarging your understanding of others you tap into a \u201choly\u201d impulse that makes you more fully human in the image of God.<\/p>\n
There won\u2019t be any music police in heaven. So why develop that skill on earth? Aren\u2019t there more important issues to invest our time in? Like maybe calming the storm in other people\u2019s lives, rather than creating new ones. So much time and energy has been wasted over debating issues like these. So many unnecessary bruises inflicted. Just think of how much good could be done in the world if Christians had their priorities focused on what really matters most.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo every thing there is a season,\u201d the Bible says. \u201cA time to mourn and a time to dance.\u201d Why is that Christians are more comfortable with mourning than dancing? Odd, isn\u2019t it? We have so much to celebrate and communicate. I think the real question regarding music is: what is the appropriate \u201cseason\u201d for this or that kind of music. And that is primarily a question of taste and good judgment\u2026 and a sensitivity to the needs of the community being ministered to. There\u2019s no \u201cone size fits all\u201d rule of thumb. The Scriptures haven\u2019t given us any.<\/p>\n
Let everything that can breathe\u2026 praise the Lord! That\u2019s as specific as the Bible gets. It\u2019s very broad and inclusive. The gospel challenges us to have hearts that are generous and inclusive. I think if we\u2019re truly filled with the Spirit our appreciation of all kinds of cultural and artistic expression will naturally be expansive. Not restrictive. Of all people on earth, Christians should be the most eager to expand and grow. In doing so we harmonize with the expansive, innovative Spirit of God.<\/p>\n
Did Jesus ever experience a \u201csecular\u201d moment? He was God in the flesh, wasn\u2019t he? How can God have a \u201csecular\u201d moment? It\u2019s an oxymoron. The Incarnation demolishes all boundaries of secular and sacred. The \u201cWord made flesh\u201d confirms that all of life is sacred. To be fully human, as Jesus was, is to live for the \u201cother\u201d and to discover our true self in the presence of others. Anything short of that is profane.<\/p>\n
A true artist gives his soul away to others. That is his or her gift to the world. It is a sacred impulse. A holy impulse. That impulse should not be contained and restricted but encouraged to flower and flourish. Christians, of all people, should be the first to facilitate that artistic impulse. During the Renaissance period the church got it right. That period produced the greatest art the world has ever seen. What happened? We\u2019ve lost a lot of ground since then. It\u2019s time to face the music and claim it back!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is a big controversy in my church over what kind of music is acceptable to use in our services. Some are objecting to certain kinds of Contemporary Christian Music as sounding too \u201csecular\u201d for church. How do you determine the difference between \u201csecular\u201d and \u201csacred\u201d music? Where do you draw the line between what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[171,3472,3469,3471,3470],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6009\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}