HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN MUSIC 1

How Does a Christian Music?

Timothy Long

Senior World View

God’s Bible School & College & Missionary Training Home

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Introduction

With the introduction of new people into my life, I become exposed to new ideas, new

ways of thinking, and new types of music. Every person I know would claim to have some love

for music in some way or another, and some more than others. Each of these people have a set of

favorites, a type of genre that they love, and a type of music that would make them

uncomfortable to listen to. The one think that most of these people lack, but definitely not all, is

a sense of musical direction: a framework that helps them decide why they listen and play what

they do. I must confess that even after taking Christian classes and music classes, that it is still

hard for me to agree with myself on a set of principles for music that I not only agree with but

can follow. Part of the reason I chose this topic was not just because I love music “oh so much

bro,” but because I see conflicts of interest just about everywhere. I say just about because I

cannot speak about those I have failed to pay attention to. Still, I see, or hear, music being

played, listened to, admired by, people that speak a lot about worldliness. Because of this lack of

clarity, I have chosen to pursue a framework through which to look at music.

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Definitions

Music.

Daring to put a definition on something, especially something like music, can be difficult,

but I find it necessary. After much consideration, I am led to believe that music is the

combination of two things: organized sound and rhythm (Kania, A, 2017. Wolf G, 2018).

Resisting the urge to place more lines or more of a standard for what music is, I think this does

the best job at covering all types of music. When reading and trying to think of a definition for

music, I realized that there are many things that have rhythm but not considered music: cars

going down the highway, rivers, the sound of someone walking in high heels, washing machines.

There are also many forms of “organized” sound that is not considered music: roosters crowing,

wolves howling and responding to each other, wales talking to each other, and talking. Talking

being the most definite form of organized sound that I can think of that is not considered music

even though there are definite pitch and tone and loudness combinations that all mean different

things.

People make music with just about anything. I saw a video of someone making a song

using mayonnaise. Because of this, it is hard to define. I think that this definition of the

combination of organized sound and organized rhythm serves the best purpose for this paper. An

alternate definition proposed by Dr Garen Wolf would be that of mathematical ratios artistically

woven together by a musician (Wolf, G. 2018). I would be happy with this definition if one so

chooses to use it because it seemingly serves the same purpose as the one that I proposed.
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Secular.

The next thing I would like to consider is the term secular. Everytime I ask someone the

question “is it ok for Christians to listen to secular music?” their minds go to the worst possible

places and then answer with a firm “no.” I think it is funny that the brain does that. When asked

about something that is a grey area, what is thought of first is the worst stuff. When this happens,

I think that the person is forgetting what the word secular really means. Merriam Webster's

online dictionary defines secular as: “of or relating to the worldly or temporal,” “not overtly or

specifically religious” (Webster online dictionary). If I am understanding this right, secular

means anything not specifically related to the church or religion. So secular music is really just

all the other music in the world other than church music. To say that all secular music is bad

would be the blanket statement of the year.

Secular music is basically the rest of life that is not related to religion. The first things

that come to my mind is the millions of classical genre songs or orchestral works that could be

considered secular: but that is not even close to being all. This means that classic jingles used in

commercials, little songs about arithmetic and the “ABC” song, and nursery rhymes are all apart

of this large world of secular music. When taking this into consideration, I think that the world of

music deserves more thought than a blanket statement of “worldly” or “EEEVVVVIIIILLLLL.”

Not of the world. ​I have heard this said a lot, especially in my time at Bible college, that

Christians are “in the world but not of the world.” I have heard this phrase said over and over

again usually in a way that attempts to restrict the behavior or actions of a group. I have also

heard people say “that is too worldly” when discussing music and other things. Usually I
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understand what they are saying, but do I really understand what that means? I mean, John

chapter three verse sixteen says that God loved the world so much that He sent His Son, but we

are called to not be of this world. So what does this really mean? John writes “Love not the

world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15, KJV). I think there are two

meanings being displayed by these two references. When John wrote that “Go so loved the

world,” I think it is talking about people, but in 1 John 2:15 when it says “Love not the world,” I

think it means the ways of the world. I think how this would apply to music and to this paper,

would mean to love God more than music, and not listen to or make music that goes against

Biblical principles.

Beliefs/Presuppositions

God Created everything

​I am entering the discussion of this topic with the presupposition that God created

everything. I take the Bible literally when it says in six days God created the heavens and the

earth and on the seventh He rested (Genesis 1:1-2:2:2, KJV). John says that “All things were

made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3, KJV). I take

this to mean that God created the world and the substance, vibrations, frequencies, energies that

everything is made of.

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God Did Not Create music.

How can I say that God did not create music after I said that God created everything?

This sounds contradictory and according to some as if I am trying to get off the hook

philosophically. Dr Garen Wolf in his book Music Philosophy in Christian Perspective, talks

about this thought and says that those who believe this are seeking autonomy philosophically

(Wolf, G. 2018). I can assure the reader that this is not the case. I believe it is the duty of all

Chritian musicians to carefully observe and filter their music through a biblical lense.I also

believe that God made everything in the universe, and then gave Adam the original mandate to

subdue and organize it. Genesis chapter one verse twenty eight states that “God said unto them,

be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish

of the ea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” I

think that when humans take God's created matter and organize it into things, that they are

fulfilling this original command to subdue or have dominion over the world. So in saying that

God did not make music, I am not saying that God never intended for music to be made, I am

saying that God created what music is made of with the expectation that humans would organize

it into something beautiful.

This I think means that God perhaps intended for humans to build houses and chairs,

bridges and roads, but did not create them himself. So really what I am saying is that there is no

difference between music and a chair? No. I would think that continuing in this frame of thought,

there are some similarities between music and other created things like a chair. Both music and

chairs needed an arranger, one being a carpenter and the other being a musician (the combination

of the two being a luthier). They both are made out of things that God created both seen and
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unseen. Both are tools, one used for sitting and the other to convey ideas and emotions. I guess

that it is quite absurd to compare music to a chair, but I am not saying that music is the same as a

chair. One only has to listen to works of composers to feel that there is something that cannot be

seen and is hard to describe about music that a chair does not have.

The purpose of saying that God created sound, not music, is to say that there are no good

or bad sounds. The way in which they are organized is a different debate. I say this, because

some choose to believe that “good” music can only come from a specific set of instruments, but I

feel that this truly limits music to a set of arbitrary standards. The world, especially the modern

world, is filled with millions upon millions of sounds; Sounds that have yet to be thought of as

useful. Because God intends for man to subdue the world, the more sounds and types of material

used to make music is just humans continuing this command to subdue the world.

Framework/The Filter

How does one discriminate between two pieces: what is good and what is not? When I

say good, I mean it in the sense that it is good for christian consumption. I understand that

something can be artistically “good” but not “good” as in Christlike or Biblical. Anyways, how

can a listener take a piece of music and determine whether it is kosher or unclean? I think that

the Bible has set forth a myriad of principles for the Christian to think about. God in all of His

wisdom chose not to use black and white statements when He spoke of music and art, thus

leaving it up to His children to make decisions. God chose to use Paul in Paul’s letters to the

churches to speak to us about how to live life and also how to live life with others.
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Phillipians 4:8.

​Paul gave a pretty good list of things to think about in his letter to the Philippian church.

In Phillipians chapter four verse eight, the list goes on to give these standards: true, honorable,

just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. Paul said in the end of this verse to

“...think on these things” (KJV). I take this as a sort of set of guidelines for all believers, as a

filter through which to look at life, especially music. When considering a piece of music, one

should think of this verse, and ask whether or not it fits through this set of standards. I do not

even have to name any genres or artists because if I look at the world through music, this makes

a lot of things obviously not worth my time.

1 Corinthians 9:19-22.

​In these verses, Paul writes that “I am made all things to all men” (KJV). What does this

mean? I think it means that he adhered to the groups he was around. How does this work when

also thinking about true, pure and honest things? I would think that if something is perverted or

blatantly unbiblical, one must choose to abstain from those things, but I do not think this verse is

encouraging anyone to break God’s law. I think this means that in order to influence people and

develop a relationship with them, Christians must learn to relate to the “outsiders” (dun dun

dun…). This means that Christians might have to speak to people, and be open to listening to

things that are a little different. I guess what I am trying to say is I would not listen to Gaither

Vocal Band when trying to influence someone who normally listens to Lil Uzi or Ariana Grande.
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I would like to believe that when someone is open to learning new things to reach new

people, what they like to listen to in their free time changes. For me, this is a wonderful thought,

almost like a personal belt or maybe tally sheet. That for each new person or people group that I

have come in contact with, I gain a notch to my likes or another tally on my list of preferences.

That as I discover new things, my tastes also change. Maybe this is too far out there, but another

way to think of it is like the taste preferences of a child. Children have a limited list of foods they

like, with a much larger list of foods that they believe they would never like and could never see

themselves liking: but with time there is change. As children grow, so does their taste and the

things they choose to eat. Maybe this is a bit bizarre, but the musical food that a person grows up

with is that mothers milk or candy, and only after they grow and hear more of the musical world

do they develop a taste for other things.

Romans 14:13-23, 1 Corinthians 10:28-33.

​There is a lot to unpack with these two segments, but both are following a similar

thought: do not do something if it offends the people around you, even if it really is ok. This is

something that I think is hard to swallow for a lot of people, myself included. That I have to limit

my liberty for the sake of those around me. I guess this is part of the second greatest

commandment to “...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39, KJV). Would I

want someone to listen to something that offends me or that I do not like? No, and I do not think

anyone else would. This scriptural principle is hard for me to cope with sometimes, but it is a

truth that I have to face and will continue to have to face. I do not think this verse spreads across

all times. What I mean by this is, if I meet someone that is offended by hip hop sounding music,
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this does not mean I can never listen to that music again. I just have to be courteous and choose

another selection when that person is around.

Matthew 22:36-40, Deuteronomy 6:5, Psalm 19:14, 1 Corinthians 10:31.

The greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all

thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt 22:37, KJV). I think that when considering what to listen

to, or whether something is acceptable, one must carefully consider whether or not what is being

done is: bringing glory to God, showing love to Him, pleasing to Him. There is a lot that can be

said about this, and a lot that has already been said. God delights when His children bless Him

and delight in Him, but He also likes when believers take care of themselves. Christians are

called to bring glory to God in how we take care of their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20). What I am

trying to say is, sometimes people need to relax and some people use music for this. I think that

God likes seeing His children happy, so even when taking time to rest and enjoy a song to lift up

one’s spirit, this brings glory to God.

After considering these verses this is the set of principles that I have come up with. When

introduced to a new song or style of music, first one must consider: how does this bring glory to

God, is it true, is it honorable, is it just, is it commendable or praiseworthy. After this, one must

consider how it affects the people around them. I know that this is much easier said than done,

but I think if one chooses to look at the world through these frames of thought that they would

live a blameless life.

How should Christians music?

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This question is hard because the answer varies depending on the circumstances: context,

content, culture, time/season. I may sound too liberal, but I am led to believe this because the rest

of life is like this. Romans chapter fourteen speaks to this, in saying that “One believes that he

may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that

eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him”

(Romans 14:2-3, KJV). I think that this verse would also apply to music, and how to think about

the way other people and their cultures music.This frame of thought is exciting to me because it

means that not only is music diverse, but God is also pleased with a diverse spectrum of songs.

To take it a step further, I would say that God is not only pleased with the music that conforms to

the American, conservative holiness, white, standards for music. God is big, He created a big

world, and I think that his tastes span more than the small subset of musical standards of one

culture.

Context.

​One must always be aware of the context of the music being played. The way in which

one group of people perceive a sound is completely different from the way another group

perceives it. I think the way the author of my music education textbook (Hoffer, C. R. 2001) puts

it really sums it up.

“The word music covers a lot of territory. It extends from the tunes people

whistle while working around the house, to pieces teenagers use to associate

themselves with their peers, to music created to inspire patriotic or religious

feelings, to complex musical works that probe our psychological beings. There
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are many kinds of music for many different purposes, just as there are many

different types of clothes, most of which are appropriate for particular times and

places. Tuxedos and sweatsuits are two examples of this fact.”

As Mr Hoffer notes, there are many different types of music for different

occasions, to name a few: birthdays, weddings, funerals, graduations, and Church. Yes, I

think that there should be a contextual standard for what is used in and for church. I think

that music is diverse, and that there should be a song, or set of songs, for every occasion,

and this includes church. The same way that I would not play funeral songs at a wedding,

or songs about meeting other women around my fiance, I think Christians should be

careful how they use worship music.

Recently I was pointed towards an example of a gospel group while on stage

singing about salvation, playing around and dancing

(​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqnfjMHTGCU​). The way these gentlemen

behaved on stage seemed like a glorified or “sanctified” version of the backstreet boys.

Why do I bring up this example? Because I think many Christians are trying to blur the

lines between recreation and worship, and I think I know where this comes from. Paul

writes “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of

God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). I think many Christians have taken this verse and used it to

mean that nothing can be done for the sake of anything other than worshipping God. By

following this line of thinking, they have starved themselves of enjoying recreation, or

enjoying music, or enjoying other things. Because they are unknowingly starved for fun,

they allow sacred things to be used as a means of recreation.

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Content.

Content should be the obvious one. After considering the principles of Phillipians

chapter four verse eight, one should be able to immediately know how to go about

musicing based on content. Is what I am listening to true, pure, honorable, just, praise

worthy, excellent? For some songs this is less obvious because artists use language to

disguise meaning. For instance there are a lot of popular songs that mention doing drugs

that use language to disguise what is really being talked about. Because of this, Christians

should be very careful to examine the message being presented by the content of a song,

even if the message is slightly hidden.

Culture.

Culture in music is such an amazing thing. Just from listening to a culture's music,

the listener can get a feel for what that culture is like. Music has the ability to

communicate cultural norms and values. It has the ability to connect present generations

with the cultures of the past. Music can aid in the familiarization of someone trying to

enter into a new culture.

Music can also help reach past cultures, and this is something that I think

christians should keep in mind. I think Christian musicians should be careful when

leading worship to choose music that can relate both to an older generation and the

younger generation. In doing this, both people groups are able to engage in meaningful

worship. Not that one cannot worship using worship styles that are unfamiliar to them,
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but everyone has specific music styles that speak to them and aid in the process of

worship more than others.

Time

When considering the time or the season, I think what is simultaneously being

considered is appropriateness. The Scripture that comes to mind when thinking about this

is in Ecclesiastes chapter three verse one “To every thing there is a season, and a time to

every purpose under the heaven” (KJV). I know that appropriateness changes with time

in other areas of life, so why would it not change with music? Take for example sexual

intercourse. For someone who is single, sex is off limits, its a sin, and even considered an

act against ones own body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). This changes the moment two people

are joined in marriage. This act that was once sin and harmful is now God honoring and

loving. I think music should be thought of in the same light of timeliness. That some

forms of music are simply not fit for certain people in certain times.

How can one apply this to music? What music is appropriate for what time?

Music is so diverse that there seems to be a song for everything. Especially in modern

times, music is readily available at almost any time. This means that Christian need to be

even more careful when considering the timeliness or appropriateness of a certain song. I

think this concept of timely appropriateness is not only true for long term seasons of life

as has been stated, but for the immediate situations that present themselves. As has

already been stated, I would not play funeral music at a wedding the same way I would

not wear a tuxedo to run a marathon.

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Closing thoughts

How should a Christian choose music? This question is something that has

bothered me and will probably continue to bother me for a long time. Why? Because

there are so many voices shouting their opinions, and so many others that like to

condemn those who do not conform to their standards. I have been scared while trying to

think of principles and ways to music, that I would come up with something I do not

follow myself. What I have tried to do is come up with a set of principles through which

to look at how to music, instead of black and white rules. While black and white rules

may be needed earlier in childhood, I think that the world of music becomes quickly

saturated with interrelated styles and then lines between right and wrong music becomes

blurry. I am not sure if I have made lines less blurry, but I have definitely given myself,

and anyone who chooses to look at music in this way a lot of work.
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References

- (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2020, from

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-music-definition-terminology-characteristics.ht

ml

- Kania, A. (2017, July 11). The Philosophy of Music. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/music/

- Secular. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2020, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular

- Brian Resnick, N. J. (2014, May 14). The National Anthem Was Set to the Tune of a

British Drinking Song. Retrieved May 12, 2020, from

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/the-national-anthem-was-set-to-the-

tune-of-a-british-drinking-song/453693/

- Wolf, G. L. (2018). ​Music philosophy in Christian perspective: a philosophy of music

education and church music.​ Nicholasville, KY: Schmul Publishing Company.

- Hoffer, C. R. (2001). ​Teaching Music in the Secondary Schools​. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth Thomson Learning.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqnfjMHTGCU