Music, God, and Worship

Last Wednesday I had an excellent time of discussion in the youth Bible studies surrounding the idea of music, God, and worship. We started out with a discussion on the popularity and importance of music in our lives/culture, and then everyone had a chance to play a song for the group to listen to and explain why it was meaningful to them. (If you're wondering what song I chose it was U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - see my previous blog on "Songs that have been meaningful in my life" if you want to know why I chose that particular song.) It was a fantastic night, one which gave some great insights into the minds/lives of the youth that shared a song.

Part way through our opening discussion, I posed the question: "Do you think there is such a thing as "Christian" music?" If so, I asked them to define it. I let them throw around their ideas and opinions, which were often well thought out, and then I gave them my view on the subject. Here is what I think of that question:

This is a bit of a hobby horse for, really the idea of anything in mainstream culture being labeled "Christian" (ie. books, music, movies, etc.). I don't believe that we can label any music "Christian". Here is why:

1. First of all, what makes something "Christian" (in other words, how do we deside what to assign that label to)? Basically it is if "Christians" make it/produce it/perform it, and/or it has explicit references to God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, etc. in it. Does that automatically make it "Christian"? Does that make it morally better than all other music? By placing the label "Christian" in front of it, we are saying that Christ endorses this, and that he endorses it above all other music. It is Christ's music. Do we really believe God endorses one person's creation and expression over another's just because it has these certain characteristics? On the other side, I feel that some of the music labelled "Christian" isn't, whether it invokes the name of God/Christ or not. Sometimes it is not fully truthful, and just plain false at other times. How can anyone claim that Christ is a part of that? Care must be taken not to disrespect the name of Christ by labelling it "Christian".
2. This means that no music created by the great classic composers (Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Handel) would have much merit under this classification. This music was not made by Christians (well, some of them were), nor does it have any references to God (or anything else) within it to let us know where the composer stands on spiritual matters. And yet this music is glorious, and are some of the best musical creations that we know of. How is it that God doesn't endorse this music?
3. O believe that God enjoys all creative acts that are authentic, truthful, and that add something positive to the hearer/viewer/reader (new thoughts, new experiences, challenging ways of thinking and worldviews, lifting spirits, make you laugh, help you express pain and struggle, etc.). God is Truth (Jesus says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life), and He seeks Truth and appreciates Truth in any form of expression. There is a whole lot of Truth in music all around us (sometimes I feel there is a whole lot more Truth in "secular" music than in "Christian" music), and that needs to be recognized, appreciated and celebrated. I believe God does. God is in that Truth (if Christ is Truth, than all things that are Truth must be a part of Him) - how can that not be defined as "Christian"? To illustrated my point I used the song "Raven" by the Dave Matthews Band. This song is full of Truth about the gift of the created world given to us by God and our responsibility (and failure of that responsibility) to take care of it and protect it. This song is neither written by Christians nor explicity is about God, yet it is an incredibly Truthful song with a message that inspires and convicts. How dare we say that God is not a part of that, or that it is any less than music by Michael W. Smith, the Newsboys or Audio Adrenaline?
4. God shows up in music all the time when I'm listening to it. And I don't listen to much "Christian" music (basically none). Music that I listen to turns my thoughts toward God, makes me think of life, the pain, the joy, the struggle, love, relationship, creation. I find myself continually listening to music with God, and he speaks to me through it. It helps me express my own thoughts, feelings, emotions, questions, and ideas to God. This is communion with God - this is worship. If Christ is not a part of that, then I don't know what is.
5. I believe very strongly that God wants us to redeem music (and books, and movies, and other art): To look for Truth and goodness in it, and affirm it and call it out. God wants us to partner with him in redeeming the world, and this is part of how we do that.

Closing thoughts: Maybe we should have a "music night" where we get together and share songs with one another. I think it would be fun and uplifting. And along the topic of music influencing our lives, we must get together and watch the movie High Fidelity. It is a fantastic.

J