MYF Topic: Comtemparary Christian Music: Good or Evil?

STYLES OF CHRISTIAN MUSIC [Full Article]

"The church in the later part of the twentieth century is being served a variety of styles of Christian music. Whether our music decisions are conscious or not, the music we choose reveals our theology and even shapes our future.

I believe that many of the contemporary Christian music trends are moving in dangerous directions. Often when Christians try to be relevant to the culture we lose more than we gain. Many Christians will often argue that we must adopt the music styles of the culture in order to win the new generations. But I remember the words of one brother who said, "What we win them with, we win them to."

Much of contemporary Christian music is at best spiritual milk(soft food for baby). There is not much solid meat for mature Christians to sink their teeth into. If we attempt to attract our culture with milky music, we are really doing them a great injustice. The maturing Christian will not find much nourishment in many of our contemporary songs. Therefore, we can discard the notion that the preferences of the older generation must give way to the newer. The acceptance of the newer music is not simply a matter of generational tension but is often a debate over doctrinal purity.

Remember that music is not only for the praise and glory of God but also for the exhortation of people. Therefore, it is necessary to have doctrinally rich music. A Contemporary Christian Music writer admits, "I am scratching my head trying to come up with any contemporary titles which stand up very well to hymns like 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God' or 'O Sacred Head Now Wounded" (Melissa Riddle, March 1998, p. 44). We often sacrifice theology for what we think is relevance, but in the end we may have distorted the gospel.

Much contemporary music is self- centered and an individualistic following of the spirit of our culture. There is a spiritual excitement in our society toward personal religious experiences and emotional healing. But doctrinally rich hymns call worshippers beyond themselves to focus on God, His attributes, and His works. While it is good to verbalize and confess our spiritual failures and problems, as the Psalmist often did, it is not good to stay there.

We only find real encouragement, strength, and healing as we move beyond ourselves to focus on the nature and work of God. Styles of Christian music may differ, but the New Testament teaching is that we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We must remember that a compromise in theology will always be to our detriment. The praise and worship in heaven centers around Him who sits upon the throne and the Lamb. If we want to insure that our music is in fact Christian, we must pattern it after heavenly worship and praise. ..." [Article quoted from STYLES OF CHRISTIAN MUSIC by Eric Brubaker, 1998]

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The Ten man made Commandments On Christian Music
(Please Note: The following 10 assumptions are satirical only)
I. The beat must not be dominant or be too fast (cuz the devil liveth in the heavy beat).
II. It must not have too much syncopation (cuz the devil hideth in the
irregular rhythms).
III. It must not be "rap" or "rock n’ roll" (or whatever is new and popular).
IV. The music must contain no distortions and the electric guitars must not squeal.
V. It should not make me want to dance like david; if it does then it's wrong.
VI. The music must not be more dominant than the words (but if it's classical then it's OK).
VII. You must be able to identify every word the first time through.
VIII. The words must be straight from the dictionary (i.e. no "ooh"s, "ah"s, "la la"s, "sha na na"s, or "oh ya"s).
IX. You must not put religious words to a secular tune as did that man martin luther.
X. It must sound "Christian" (to me that is).
"Their worship is worthless, for they teach their man-made laws instead of those from God." Mt. 15:9 (A condemnation of music style is found nowhere in the Bible. Whenever it is presented from a heart that honors God it is very good.)

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