I am disappointed that I haven't been able to post much the last year. However, it hasn't been for lack of desire or shortage of ideas. I have been doing a lot of reading, thinking, and jotting down ideas, and have been working on a few pieces that were not necessarily something I can post on this blog at the moment.
But here is something on music I found in a book I'm reading:
"The problem we face concerning music isn't that God keeps us in the dark about what is good or bad music. We are the main problem in that we are unwilling to be honest. We enjoy our music. We would rather not look too deeply into what God thinks about it because we might be forced [to] make some tough decisions. We would rather not know for sure and hope that ignorance is bliss. The scripture has a name for such actions. It is called being willfully ignorant." (Arvin Martin, Walking the Talk. Vision Publishers, Harrisonburg, VA, p. 138.)
Sometimes it's difficult to know whether bad Christian music first influences a person away from God, or whether bad music first attracts a person who has already departed from God. I think sometimes it can be either, and sometimes both simultaneously. I believe if we re honest, the music scene of the last century has proven that there is (at least) a strong correlation between bad Christian music (or any bad music, for that matter), and lukewarm Christianity and gradual departure from God. I don't think we can say that bad music is the only factor in someone's departure or apostasy, but the correlation is very obvious sometimes.
Music can be as much the temperature as the thermometer of the Christian. Be honest, be responsible, be faithful. Many are the people who watch you, and compare their spirituality with yours, and take your life as a reference.
What is your experience with music? Do these thoughts resonate with yours? Are they biblical? Or have you found it to be totally different? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.
But here is something on music I found in a book I'm reading:
 * |
Sometimes it's difficult to know whether bad Christian music first influences a person away from God, or whether bad music first attracts a person who has already departed from God. I think sometimes it can be either, and sometimes both simultaneously. I believe if we re honest, the music scene of the last century has proven that there is (at least) a strong correlation between bad Christian music (or any bad music, for that matter), and lukewarm Christianity and gradual departure from God. I don't think we can say that bad music is the only factor in someone's departure or apostasy, but the correlation is very obvious sometimes.
Music can be as much the temperature as the thermometer of the Christian. Be honest, be responsible, be faithful. Many are the people who watch you, and compare their spirituality with yours, and take your life as a reference.
What is your experience with music? Do these thoughts resonate with yours? Are they biblical? Or have you found it to be totally different? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.
-E.S. Gutwein
*Image courtesy of Stuart MIles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Thanks for posting this. I found it very interesting since I have also been doing a study on music and its affects on our spiritual life. Sadly many Christians will state non-Christian music doesn't affect them so i came up with a quote to challenge people on this issue. "As a Christian, if my God was willing to die for the sins that are talked about in non-Christian music lyrics, why would I want to be spiritually dampened by listening to it" ~Javin Martin
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Javen. It boils down to being willing to lay everything out before the Lord, and give up the things that hinder us from growing spiritually, which create so much clutter and baggage in our minds.
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