A Systematic Theology Of Music

Bart Visser
TM1
2 February 2011
[email protected]

Chris Grey & John Wilks

Understanding Music
 Outline

Introduction

Music and our relationship with God

• Stewarding God’s Creation
• Studying God’s Laws
• Singing God’s Praise

Music and our relationship with other humans

• Cultivating Society
• Conveying Emotions
• Communicating The Gospel

Conclusion

Bibliography

2
 Introduction

Some years ago I spoke to the leader of a Christian organisation in Holland. They produce CD’s with
contemporary worship music and we talked about one of their recent recordings. It was aimed at
teenagers and contained an instrumental introduction called ‘Mystery’ in a style that could be best
described as progressive rock, similar to the music of Dream Theatre or the (Christian!) artist Neil
Morse.1 “If I’d known the producer was going to put this kind of music on the CD, I would have
stopped him,” he said, “it’s too dark to be Christian music”.

It was an interesting comment that raises many questions. Is there a particular style that could be named
‘Christian?’ If it does exist, how should Christians relate to it and to ‘non-Christian’ styles? In other
words: how should a Christian approach music? What does the Bible as a whole teach about the subject?

Jesus tells us that the law and the Prophets hang on the commandments to love God above all and to
love your neighbour as yourself (Mat. 22:36-40). Love for God and love for other humans are therefore
the two angles to take in answering the question ‘What does the Bible as a whole teach about music?’

1 Listen for example to ‘Neal Morse, Testimony, 2003’

3
 Music and our relationship with God

Stewarding God’s creation

In the beginning God spoke the universe into existence. He made the world using sound. And He
created humans, the only creature on earth that can purposely order sound.2 Humans are called by God
to enjoy His wonderful gifts and to steward them. Music consists of intentionally organised patterns of
pitched sound.3 Making music is bringing order out of chaos.4 ‘It is a noble calling to be a musician, …
to embark the arduous but necessary task of bringing order to the world of sound.’5 In other words:
music is a gift from God. When we make music (shaping sound) and enjoy music, we are fulfilling His
calling.

Studying God’s laws

Pythagoras discovered that a strong numerical order underpins the world of music (or any sound for
that matter).6 For example, when you divide a string by a 1:2 ratio, the shorter part will sound an
octave higher than the longer part. A mathematical order like this can be found (in one form or
another) in the music of every culture.7 Our triune Creator built these physical laws into the universe.
He is a relational God who wants to be known by His creatures. His relational character is revealed in
the sonic relationships that construct music. Begbie writes: ‘Art has potential to help us grow in our
grasp and understanding of the world we inhabit.’8 We can take this a step further by saying that in
making music or listening to it we join the Psalmist who said: ‘Oh, how I love your law, I meditate on
it all day long’ (Ps. 119:97). It might be unconsciously (Rom. 1:20), but when we interact with music
we study God’s (physical) laws and therefore grow in our understanding of Him.

Singing God’s praise

While it is true that God created everything to glorify Him, this can be specifically said of music: “The
observation that music is developed out of and upon the basis of the sounding order of creation
suggests that God himself wanted to arrange his praise in this manner.”9 Human music joins in with the
music of creation: the rhythm of day and night (Ps. 19:2), the harmony (consonants and dissonants!) of
nature (Ps. 104), the melody of the birds (Ps. 104:12). Better still: ‘Human music joins in the praise of
the Creator, even when that is not the explicit intention [italics mine].’10

2 Pass, Music, 24
3 Begbie, Resounding, 40
4 Hone, ‘Music’, 239
5 Pass, Music, 26
6 Söhngen, ‘Music’, 2
7 Begbie, Resounding, 49
8 Begbie, Voicing, 257
9 Söhngen, ‘Music’, 7
10 Söhngen, ‘Music’, 8

4
 Music and our relationship with other humans

Cultivating society
“Music not only reflects and emerges out of our social-cultural world but up to a point it also constructs
it.... Music organizes its users, creating new forms of life.”11 In Genesis 4:21, Jubal is named as the first
musician. Even this far back in history music is regarded fundamental to culture, not unlike farming and
working iron.12 It is omnipresent in the Bible, by no means as an art form, but as an indispensable part
of daily life. In almost every book we find references to music, either to connect with God (e.g. 2 Kings
3:15), to communicate a message (e.g. 2 Sam. 15:10) or to instruct and inspire each other (e.g. Eph.
5:19). And indeed, there has never been a culture without music.13 It is not a luxury. With music God
gave us an expression and activity that is fundamental to cultivate human society.14

Conveying emotions
In thinking about music and theology, the connection with the Psalms is easily made. Both psalms and
music contain dissonances and resolutions. Psalms and music are strongly linked to metaphors: Psalms
contain metaphorical language, music functions in a metaphorical way.15 But there is yet another
connection: both help us explore, express and educate feelings.16 Within the Bible, even outside the
Psalms, this was a common used feature of music (for example 1 Samuel 16) and indeed also today it is
often used to change moods.17 Music conveys emotions and in such it has the potential of edifying each
other. Paul recognizes this when he writes “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God [italics mine]” (Col. 3:16). Music (even without lyrics) can educate and
shape emotions.18

Communicating the Gospel

Music is a means of communication. Not only is it strongly connected with the life of feeling, when
combined with words it is unsurpassed in imparting and inculcating a message.19 Psalm 78 is one of the
many beautiful examples of this principle put to use in Scripture. And like all things, music is made new
in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 1:20).20 Music is now given an additional purpose: to proclaim and
propagate the Gospel.21 This doesn’t mean its other uses are to be abandoned. We’re still (partly) in the

11 Begbie, Resounding, 44-45

12 Best, Music in Israelite Communities, 227
13 Begbie, Resounding, 15
14 Pass, Music, 29
15 Begbie, Resounding, 50
16 Witvliet, Psalms, 30 and Astley, ‘Music’, 222
17 Begbie, Resounding, 44
18 Begbie, Resounding, 302
19 Söhngen, ‘Music’, 14
20 Pass, Music, 36
21 Söhngen, ‘Music’, 14, c.f.: Pass, Music, 37

5
‘not yet,’ awaiting Christ’s final return. Until then we still have the task to steward sound, to use it to
learn more about God and to build relations. But music is now ‘an organ through which the name of
God is celebrated and doctrine about God is sung to humankind.’22 One only has to think of ‘Amazing
Grace’, a hymn loved by Christians and non-Christians the like, to understand the power of music in
this sense.

22 Sixt Dietrich as cited by Söhngen, ‘Music’, 14

6
 Conclusion

We have seen that music plays a vital role in God’s creation. Sound, and with it the potential for music,
was made by God and humans are called to steward it. Making music, or hearing it, causes us
(consciously or not) to study the physical laws by which God created this earth and, in that way, it
teaches us something about the Creator. Furthermore, music is created by God to sing His praise, to
reflect back to Him the praises of all of creation.

Music is also important in our relationship with other humans. It can be considered one of the
fundamental parts of every culture; it cultivates society. Music has the ability to convey emotions, it helps to
explore, express and educates feelings. Lastly, with the coming of Christ, music received an additional
purpose: to communicate the Gospel. We saw that it is unsurpassed in its ability to impart and inculcate a
message, the Message.

One subject has not been covered in this essay: the issue of style. Is there a particular style that we can
call Christian? Between the lines you could have read that there isn’t. Scripture doesn’t advocate a
certain kind of music. 23 Why not? Music, by nature, evolves over time, both within a musical piece
(dissonances and their resolution) and within societies. To prescribe a certain style of music would be
going against it nature. But there is another reason. Different people like different styles of music.
‘Music hugely appreciated in some circled leave some listeners cold. Music that leaves you cold doesn't
enhance the communication of the Gospel.’24 Instead of endorsing a style, God gave something better:
His Spirit to discern what’s appropriate or not. Again in the words of John Frame: ‘We should conclude
that in music...we must seek to love one another, honouring the diversity of the body.’25 That brings us
back to where we started: the great commandment.

Word count: 1499

Bibliography

23 Frame, Contemporary, 17
24 Frame, Contemporary, 19
25 Frame, Contemporary, 25

7
Astley J. and Savage M., ‘Music and Christian Learning,’ in J. Astley (ed.), Creative Chords, Leominster:
Gracewing, 2000, page 219-238

Begbie, J., Resounding Truth, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2007

Begbie, J., Voicing Creations Praise, Edinburgh: T&T Clark 1991

Best, H., Music Through The Eyes Of Faith, San Francisco: HarperOne 1993

Best, H, ‘Music in Israelite Worship,’ in R. Webber (ed.), The Biblical Foundations of Christian of Christian
Worship, The Complete Library Of Christian Worship, volume 1, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers 1993, page
227-230

Best, H., ‘Music in New Testament Worship,’ The Biblical Foundations of Christian of Christian Worship, The
Complete Library Of Christian Worship, volume 1, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers 1993, page 232-233

Burch Brown, F., Religious And Secular Music: What Is the Difference. Website (http://reformedtheology.org/
SiteFiles/PublicLectures/FBBRownPL.html)

Burgh, T.W., ‘Music,’ The New Interpreters Dictionary Of The Bible, volume 4, Nashville: Abingdon Press 2009,
page 166-175

Frame, J.F., Contemporary Worship Music – a biblical defense, Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing,1997

Hone T., Astley J. and Savage M., ‘Music and Theology,’ in J. Astley (ed.), Creative Chords, Leominster:
Gracewing, 2000, page 239-242

Matthews, V.H., ‘Music in the Bible,’ The Anchor Bible Dictionary, volume 4, New York: Doubleday 1992,
page 930-934

Pass, D. B., Music and the Church, second edition. Pinegowrie: Password International 2005

Seerveld, C.G., ‘How Christians Have Appropriated The Arts’, in R. Webber (ed.), Music And The Arts in
Christian Worship, Book 2, The Complete Library Of Christian Worship, volume 4. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers
1994, page 491-492

Söhngen, O, ‘Music and Theology: A Systematic Approach,’ in Joyce Irwin (ed.), Sacred Sound: Music in
Religious Thought and Practice. Journal of the American Academy of Religion Thematic Studies, Chico: Scholars Press 1983,
50, no.1, Page 1-19

Witvliet, J.D., The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship, Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007