Drugs… Unbridled Sex “and the Christian”
It cannot have escaped your notice that the new Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, was enthroned on 19th April this year. For the first time, modern Christian songs played by a group of guitars, a keyboard, a saxophone and drums were included in the order of service, apparently at the express wishes of Dr.Carey himself. This novelty was greeted with some interest, I noted with some amusement and a little impatience, not just by a phalanx of journalists and cartoonists reaching gleefully for their pens, but also throughout the church.
So what connection can there possibly be, I hear you ask, between Dr.Carey and the title of the article? A little explanation is in order…
Whilst many welcomed the inclusion of modern church music in the enthronement service, suggesting that it was jolly well about time the church brought itself up to date, many others had different views. No, the title does not hail a world exclusive on the scandalous private life of Dr.Carey, (if he had one the tabloid press would certainly have found out by now!) but is a quote from a certain organist who ventured that modern church music of the kind most clearly embodied in the charismatic evangelical movement had unsavoury associations with “drugs and unbridled sex”.
Dr. Carey replied, and I agree with him, that this man “obviously knows nothing about drugs and unbridled sex”, though it must be said that neither I, nor Dr.Carey I would have thought, have any personal experience of either. But instead of giving condemnation, this article seeks to reassure those who are suspicious or immediately dismissive of modern developments in church music that much of it is of great value and by no means subversive or necessarily un-Biblical. At the same time, charismatic evangelicals somewhat disparagingly and too generally often described as “happy-clappy”, should note that there is still very much a place in today’s world for more traditional styles of worship.
To lovers of old hymns and the like I would first of all point out that the appearance of new music is merely a product of the outworking of history. It is only natural for music to develop; society stagnates if it rests only on the laurels of past success. If our church music had not moved on from Bible times we would sing mostly Psalms and still play psaltries — in this day and age it is unlikely that many people even know what a psaltry is! Those suspicious of the use of drums and guitars in services should remember that that old faithful servant the church organ is itself a comparatively recent addition to the church; upon its appearance, it was greatly maligned by protestants as an instrument of satan! Indeed, using music groups to praise God has a considerably longer tradition. Most innovations meet with some hostility upon their arrival later to be accepted, and Christian songs are no exception. When Charles Wesley was alive his hymns were much maligned but today they are revered; few would bat an eyelid at their use.
I mentioned earlier the process by which new music develops throughout history. Looking back, we also see the survival of the best and/or most popular worship music. Thousands of hymns have been written; the producers of such epics as “Hymns Ancient and Modern” merely selected the best and most well-loved, which have generally survived. I think I can safely say that the great religious music that has been written should continue to survive simply because it is good music. The sacred music of Bach or Tallis is amongst the most expressive ever written and speaks volumes of God’s power, holiness and perfection. Sceptics should also recognise that traditional forms of worship are still valued by young people. Pay a visit to the supposedly “happy-clappy” Christian Union and see that hymn-singing is still alive and well or go along to a more traditional church like Heslington and count the number of students there.
Those concerned at the dearth of awful “choruses” as they are distastefully known by some need not fear either. As the bad hymns have been largely purged into non-existence over the years, the same will happen with modern Christian songs. Indeed, the “weeding-out” process for this generation of songs has begun already: the series of “Songs of Fellowship” books (including “New Songs” books) which are standard issue for modern Christian worship, have been condensed into one book of the most popular and, I must say, generally the best songs of the last decade or so. The not-so-great songs that still remain may no doubt undergo further purges in time.
So what of the “unsavoury influences” on modern church music? Doesn’t rock music come from the devil? Isn’t charismatic worship hypnnotic and sub-liminal? The answer is that it very much depends: doubtless some rock music has satanic undertones, but certainly not most of it. Some pop music does contain references to violence, “drugs and unbridled sex”, but doesn’t also the music of Richard Wagner, and who would deny him a place in the annals of musical history? As for “hypnotic”, yes, if you look through “Songs of Fellowship”, there are several very repetitive songs in which a worshipper could easily “get high” on atmosphere and begin to forget God. However, could this not also be the case with, say, Gregorian chants or Bach’s chorales? These are often equally repetitive and even more enshrouded in mysticism since they come from a bygone age and are often written in Latin.
The point of this argument is that any music can be used well or badly and so it is unfair to criticize modern church music on these grounds, especially as people are increasingly finding that it has much to offer. New developments must be made to parallel new developments in society; especially since, in the words of one Bishop, the church should be “the only organisation which exists primarily for the benefit of its non-members”. Having just watched part of the enthronement on television, I have to say that your average citizen would have been more shocked and un-nerved by some of the choral and organ music than by the modern worship songs. The church must show itself to be relevant to every section of today’s society, which also involves meeting the needs of those sections in music with which to give praise to God.
Quite apart from this, many of these new Christian songs are simply very good; the words can be sincere and quite often as deep as the words of hymns. More simple songs can also be useful as they are easily learnt, leaving the worshipper more individual scope for concentration on God. These songs, too, often encourage openness with God and come straight from the heart. Indeed, much good modern Christian music is also lively and enjoyable and can give the worshipper a freedom of expression that has generally been repressed over the last few hundred years, especially in the established church.
I have, of course not managed to cover every area of church music and generali zations are rife in this article. I could also have devoted pages to explaining to any over-zealous modernists and charismatics that traditional styles of worship still have their place, but that, I think, is another article (any volunteers?). It is important that we remove our prejudices and be willing to accomodate the cultures of others in our view of Christian worship, even though we ourselves may prefer to stick to our own tried and tested patterns. What is most important, however, is not “good” music and “bad” music, or “old” music and “new” music, or even “good” musicians and “bad” musicians, but the desire to worship with sincerity and love.
“SING TO THE LORD, PRAISE HIS NAME, PROCLAIM HIS SALVATION DAY AFTER DAY…” Psalm 96 v.2
Rave on, Archbishop George…