Philosophy of Music

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal - all music is not.

The psalmist says in Psalm 119:24, "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors." In other words, "God, I do what I do, because You are Who You are." Everything hinges upon Who God is; and life is to be lived in light of His unchanging character. The "testimonies" of God are the revelation of His invisible character. This manifestation of the nature of God is elsewhere referred to as His "glory" (cf. Ex. 16:7; 1 Kgs. 8:10-11; Ps. 19:1; Ezk. 10:4), and always the purpose is to incite an appropriate response from those to whom He has revealed Himself.

This is the "doxological" unity of all that exists -- to manifest God's glory, to elicit Creation's adoration and imitation. Scripture is doxological (Ps. 138:2). Creation is doxological (Rev. 4:11). Man is doxological (Gen. 1:26-27). History is doxological (1 Cor. 15:24-28). Christians are doxological (Eph. 1:12). The Church is doxological (Eph. 3:10, 21). And the Church's music is to be doxological (Eph. 5:19-20).

The music of God's people has a three-fold purpose:

To respond to God's character,
To reveal God's character, and
To reflect God's character.

Although the church is a New Testament phenomenon, the doxological purpose of music is not solely a New Testament concept. Psalm 96 links the glory of God to the vehicle of music. In this psalm (itself a song), God's people are encouraged to sing a "new song" (v. 1). That is, the character of the song itself (both music and lyrics) is significantly different, and inherently better than any sung before one's realization of God -- Who He is, and what He's done.

Verses 2 and 3 indicate that this new song is designed to "show forth" and to "declare" God's great works, whereby the wonder of His nature is displayed. So marked is to be the distinction of this song that it is to bear testimony to "the heathen," even to "all people." It is no ordinary song in that it has no ordinary subject -- "the Lord is great" (v. 4). But neither is it an ordinary song in that it evidences no ordinary response -- [the Lord is] "greatly to be praised" (v. 4). Our response encourages others to respond. Only a true grasp of God's glory is rightly able to communicate God's glory.

The psalm climaxes in verse 9 with the relational triad of the song's purpose ("worship" -- to respond to God), the song's appeal ("beauty" -- to reveal to man), and the song's character ("holy" -- to reflect in oneself), all with respect to God's glory. The psalm closes with a reminder that God will one day judge His creation in light of His character (v. 13). Man is responsible for how he handles God's self-manifestation.

Thus, the music of the church fulfills its three purposes as it simultaneously engages in three relationships:

In relationship to its divine audience, it responds to God's character in worshipful adoration;
In relationship to its human audience, it reveals God's character in both doctrinal and aesthetic exaltation;
In relationship to its participants, it reflects God's character in personal consecration.

In light of the preeminence of God's glory in our musical selections, the following is a breakdown of the criteria we employ to evaluate the music used in our ministries.

Concerning the music:

The pleasure of the Divine Audience supersedes the pleasure of both the human audience and the musicians.
The message of the music must complement the message of the text.
The sound must be distinct from ungodly and amusement genres.

To that end, the following standards are utilized:

The melody must clearly contain both movement and resolution.
Rhythm and harmony must serve to support and enhance the melody.
Melody, rhythm and harmony must adhere to objective standards of music-theory and counterpoint.

Concerning the text:

Sung doctrine must complement our spoken doctrine.
Christian doctrine must be promoted above Christian experience.

Concerning our musicians:

Those involved in the music ministry of the church must model a heart of holiness.
Those involved in the music ministry of the church must model a heart of humility.
Those involved in the music ministry of the church must model a heart of submission.
Those involved in the music ministry of the church must model a heart for excellence (though not necessarily perfection).

Music which meets these criteria will accomplish the Scriptural mandate for God's people to "sing a new song." Such a song pleases God by responding to Him rightly. Such a song challenges individuals by revealing Him accurately. And such a song matures individuals by reflecting Him consciously. When it comes to the music of the church, Who God is must determine what we do.

Addendum:

As far as music goes, we want to be careful that the music of the church is distinct, not primarily in sound, but in philosophy. However, this will inevitably make the sound of the music used by the church to stand out against the characteristics of what has been unconsciously embraced as the familiar sounds of a culture defined as "Pop."

Note: Calvin M. Johansson, Ph. D., Music Director and Prof. of Music at Evangel College in Springfield Missouri, identifies these characteristics as: entertainment, novelty, immediate gratification, low standards, subjective worldview (i.e., existentialism and impressionism), commercialism, indulgence, superficiality, and imbalance.

Not all music is created equal; therefore, not all music is appropriate for worship. For too long Christians have approached music naively, both in regard to its status as an art, and in regard to its status as more than an art. Essential to the conversation about music is a three-fold understanding of its function:

First, music is a (non-propositional) vehicle of communication. Insofar as it functions as a "language," the meaning of music must not be left to the "interpretation" of a reader-response "hermeneutic," which Christians refuse to allow in other Christian arts (particularly literature, esp. the Bible). The composer is responsible for what is communicated.
Furthermore, music is an art. And as an art, it must be routinely subjected to a rigorous, philosophical consideration of aesthetics, especially as it pertains to worship.
Finally, music is not only an art, but also a science (and is, therefore, mathematical), operating by objective and transcendent standards of ratio, proportion, relationship, etc. These relationships were discovered (not invented) by men willing to subject themselves to an authority higher than themselves, and have been articulated and preserved in the disciplines of music theory and counterpoint.

Note: Because music theory is approached as an examination of the music of a certain time period or genre, it is generally accepted as descriptive, not prescriptive. However, if one is willing to acknowledge that much of the greatest music this world has ever known was achieved during the common practice period, it is not difficult to assign to the theory of that period a prescriptive status. For those who are not yet ready to make such an acknowledgment, please reference the works of Charles Murray (Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950), and Roger Scruton (An Intelligent Person's guide to Modern Culture).

As a result of these considerations, it must be concluded that music always "works," regardless of who writes it. But it works best in worship (i.e., responds to God most rightly, and communicates God most accurately) when it adheres to the way God set it up.

One final matter that requires discussion is the assumption that all the Christian needs to make right musical choices is Scripture. While this may sound good, it is also somewhat naive. This model, when applied to counseling, has done as much damage as it has done good. Furthermore, Christians do not even apply this model strictly when it comes to the Scriptures themselves. Because the Bible may be interpreted in a variety of manners, some boundaries must be imposed on the student of Scripture to interpret it rightly - and still differences exist. Thus, while the Bible must always hold preeminence in informing our musical choices, the subject of music itself is a matter beyond both the content and intent of Scripture. While it certainly provides us all we need to make right choices, it does not necessarily provide us all we need to understand what makes good music.

In the end, Christians must be convinced that God is pleased with the music they employ to worship Him - because, in the end, "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Rom 14:23).