Two perspectives in the music debate




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I opened a can of worms last week when discussing what the OT law had to say about music.  In trying to think of a way to articulate my position on this, I came up with a few diagrams.

In my opinion, people that have staked out positions on church music tend to loosely hold to the philosophy/theology demonstrated in a few diagrams.  Here is the first one.

diagram1.jpg
This is the perspective I grew up with and I would sum it up like this.  Across the spectrum of music, God has a line that divides what is acceptable from what is not. Conservative (older) music is on the right side of the divide and the liberals are on the wrong side.  If you are on the right side, that is not really enough. While some music is not wrong, other music is better (more spiritual for various reasons).  Your goal should be not to settle for music right at the threshold but to move as far to the right as possible.

Now, here is another perspective.

diagram2.jpg

This perspective is slightly different than the first one.  There is absolute truth (God's truth).  Whether we are conservatives or liberals, the further we move from God's truth, the worse off we are.  A conservative far from God's truth is no better off than a liberal far from God's truth. 

Some might ask why I put the line for God's truth in the middle.  Some might think it should be on the far right end.  But the line does belong in the middle.  Religious leaders (such as Pharisees) have a history of creating systems that are more restrictive than truth demands.  People that hold the view of this diagram believe there is just as much danger in erring on the conservative side as erring on the less restrictive (liberal) side.

Rather than stake out a position here (though anyone that reads me knows where I stand already), I do want to go back to the first chart for a second and give you some examples of that kind of thinking. 

Equating conservatism with truth
There are numerous blogs I could take you to that promote the idea that conservatism is a worthwhile goal in itself.  What are they conserving (preserving)? The answer is simple: old styles of worship.  Some are content to go back to the worship of a century ago but some want to conserve the worship of a few centuries ago.  Some would like nothing better than a return to the worship of the Reformation.  Now, we are starting to see people state they would like to go back even further.

While I find much to disagree with many of these people, I do not want to imply that these people are choosing conservatism over truth.  Rather, they believe that the two are very close to the same thing.

Give me that "old-time" religion
In general, there is no doubt that people find safety in that which is old.  It is not coincidental that churches love to sing songs like "Give Me That Old Time Religion" and "Church In the Wildwood."  The sentiment of those songs is the idea that religion was somehow bettter in the past and we need to find ways to conserve that worship rather than new (perceived as liberal) worship of the present. 

The use of sentimentality is very alive and well in many churches whether the sentiment is for the worship of the Reformation, the Victorian Era or the early period of the United States.

Equating high standards with safety
When I was growing up, I remember one sermon illustration that I heard over and over.  Here is the story.  A king needs a chariot driver and interviews three people.  He asks them all the same question: How close can you drive to the edge of a cliff without falling off?  The first person said he could get within a foot.  The second said he could get within 6 inches.  The last one said he would stay as far away from the cliff as possible because he would not risk the king's life.  The king of course hired the last, and the lesson being taught was obvious.  Some things might be on the right side of God's threshold but you should get as far from the threshold as possible.

In terms of music, you might have heard things like this: Certain music is OK but you should not make a steady diet of it.  It is not best.  You should rather cultivate a love for classical music.

If you start thinking about it, you can come up with many examples of this theology.  Whether it is correct or not is up for debate.  I will flesh this out more over coming weeks, but this post is just an introduction to the idea. 



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