Morality in Music

Some of the most crazy arguments turn up when answering the question, "Can music itself (without the words) have a moral or immoral aspect to it, or is music itself amoral (and the words are what determines morality)? Both sides of the CCM debate suffer from faulty arguments in this area. CCM proponents claim that since music is made of notes, and musical notes in themselves are neither good or evil, that means music must be amoral. The other side claims such things as electric bass guitars stimulate girl's sexual impulses, rock music must be evil because it kills houseplants, etc. etc. and when you get down to it they usually believe that only their preferred styles of music are morally good, and all other styles of music are morally evil.

Unfortunately neither of these responses actually deals with the question at hand. The proponents of CCM use faulty logic, and their opposition uses faulty science. So what then is the answer to the question? First to deal with the argument based on the notes being amoral and therefore music is amoral is logically flawed. Would one be willing to use the same logic applied to words, or pictures? If we did we could ask if the letter "e" was good or evil, and the answer is of course not. So taken to the same conclusion as in the musical argument that means that all books, poems, lyrics to songs (yes this does kind of kill the other point to their argument that the words are what determines morality, not the music), essays, newspaper articles, web blogs, etc. etc. are also completely amoral. What determines the morality of a piece of literature? The message that it is communicating. If it is a trashy romance novel full of drugs, sex, and violence it is an immoral book. But, if it is a book written to help believers grow in their Christian walk than we would say it is a "good" (or moral) book.

How many times have we heard it said that music is the universal language? (I do not completely agree with this statement, but, I will deal with that later in the post). If asked almost anyone will agree that music is a language of sorts. It communicates something to the hearer. "Song A" will make one want to jump for joy while "Song B" will make him want to cry! Why is this? Some music makes one lethargic while other music gives energy, some cheers us up, while other music depresses us. And words are not even necessary for these reactions. So we can say that music does communicate a message to the hearer just as words communicate a message to the reader or listener. The difference is that music can only communicate a general idea (usually emotion)  while words can communicate very specific ideas, instructions and thoughts. I do not believe it is a stretch to say that the morality of a piece of music can be tied to the emotions that that music evokes. If a piece of music makes you angry or depressed should you listen to it? Or should it be used in a church setting? Should it be used in "Christian" music? These are some of the questions we need to be asking ourselves.

The true difficulty of this then is not the question of whether or not music is amoral, but how to decide what music is good and what music is bad (in the moral sense, not the artistic sense). Often this is where the anti-CCM crowd begins to trip up. They begin to preach their preferred styles of music as being what is moral and all other styles as being immoral. Many vault the western classical era (Baroque through Romanticism) as being the pinnacle of music and what is good and moral. (I am not demeaning classical music, I personally love classical music but I also don't think it is the only good music) Others only accept music in the church that has been around for at least 20, 50 or 75 years. So a song that was considered "wrong" 20 years ago is now accepted by the very people who lambasted it earlier. Certain musical ideas or performance methods are preached against, then accepted 10 years later by the same crowd. (Using a microphone, using a guitar, drumbeat, backbeat, etc. etc.) Often the idea you get is that if it doesn't line up with what they like it must be wrong. The gamut is wide of what is preached, taught, and believed about what musical styles are good and what musical styles are evil. Music from other cultures and countries is often demonized and missionaries have even been known to try to force western musical tastes upon the people they are trying to reach. Is western music the only good music? Is our tonal system the only good tonal system? Are our ideas of meter and musical expression the only ones that God enjoys?

To say that music is the universal language is false, for every culture has it's own style of music. Just like spoken and written languages some musical languages are more closely related than others. Spanish and Portuguese are not the same language, but they are similar in many ways. Spanish and Japanese have very little in common. This is often true of music as well. And just like with written and spoken languages, one must be fluent in a musical langauge to understand what is being communicated. That means that an Independent, Fundamental Baptist from the U.S. might not be able to understand what is being said by music from another culture. Just because we do not understand it however (or like it) does not mean we ought to demonize it and proclaim it as wicked. There are also generational differences is musical language just as in spoken language. An eighty year old man does not usually speak the same as a 12 year old girl, even if they are from the same family! In fact there are many times when there are communication difficulties in such a situation. I think that we ought to at least consider the possibility that the same is true of music (History seems to show this is true, Bach's music was considered "worldly" and wrong by some of the "old-timers" of his day).

We must be careful that our ignorance of a type or style of music does not cause us to automatically dismiss it as immoral and wrong for a Christian. Instead, we need to carefully consider and think before making such bold statements. I am not saying that all styles of music are good and right, their are many styles of music that a Christian ought to be wary of, (because of what is being communicated and of course many other considerations as well) and stay away from. But, we also need to be open-minded enough that we do not allow our personal preferences to dictate what music we proclaim as good or evil. Nowhere does the Bible tell us what styles of music a Christian ought to listen to, but neither does it tell us which authors we ought to read, or what T.V. shows we ought to watch. These are all areas in which we are expected by God to use our discernment to decide. I am not asking Christians to accept all music as good and wholesome, I am just asking that we put some real thought and biblical discernment into what we believe and that we be able to biblically explain our positions regarding certain styles of music and even be willing to accept the fact that just because we don't like it doesn't make it wrong.

The Confusion of being an Independant Baptist and a Musician

Even though I grew up in a independent fundamental church (my dad being the pastor) I never really was exposed to the varying views within fundamentalism about music in the church. I knew that worldly music shouldn't be listened to and that certain styles of music are not appropriate in church, but it wasn't until I went to college that I began to get an inkling of the confusion that goes on in fundamental circles about music.

As I sat in chapel under various speakers, both college faculty and guest preachers, I was "taught" many things about music standards in the church. I was told that syncopation is evil and no godly music is syncopated. I was informed that drums are the instrument of the devil; Jazz, rock, country, and rap are evil; if it makes you tap your toe or bob your head it's worldly; Rhythm appeals only to the carnal, fleshly side of man; and while not directly it was inferred that we should only listen to the "good old" hymns.

However, after chapel I would go to music theory class, where I learned that syncopation is everywhere. There are many types of syncopation and all music contains some form of it. Well, I thought, these pastors must be talking about a specific type of syncopation, that of emphasizing the off beat. (This is often referred to as a back beat, or rock beat). However, one day I began working on a Mozart Sonata that did just that! And Classical Music is good, right? I began to learn about the circle of fifths, and how 7th chords are very useful for strong resolution. But, this went against what some said about 7th chords being the basis for jazz and therefore they should be avoided.

I then went to music history where I learned about the history of music; How that in every age there is a group of people that cling to the old style of music claiming the new stuff is wicked and ungodly. In one time period only tertiary meters were acceptable because the Trinity is 3, and so our music should reflect that. But, in another generation it was considered worldly because it was a waltz, which was a dance and therefore should not be used in the church.

I planned on one day using my music in the church so I knew I had to figure out where I stood on this issue. So, I began reading various books on the subject. I read many books from both sides of the issue. (CCM vs. anti-CCM). This did not help however, because I quickly realized that most of the arguments used by both sides were illogical and did not prove anything. And to top it all off, no one could agree on a standard definition for CCM! What was CCM 20 years ago is now okay to use, but today's CCM is wicked. I began to broaden my reading past the CCM issue and read authors who said we shouldn't use instruments in church, or we shouldn't sing any song that is not scripture, or that we should only use certain instruments in the church. So, what should I believe?

I do not think that all music can and should be used in the worship service. Far from it. I tend to be rather conservative in this area. In a pragmatic sense I line up with many fundamentalists. However, I think that we need to rethink our views in this area. Not so that we can toss them out, but so that we can understand why we believe what we believe. The foundation for what many teach in this area is slippery indeed and often based on preferences and generational differences rather than a carefully though out, biblically sound philosophy of church music. So, throughout this blog we will explore many areas of church music philosophy and the ramifications thereof.