Is Music Neutral?
Last week we took a ministry team to a local public school to present the Gospel during some
assemblies.
As we got ready to set up for the assembly there was classical music playing over the school’s loud speakers as children finished lunch and moved to classes. When I was a ‘boy’ it was always loud and piercing ‘bells’ that went off as we were herded around like cattle.
How interesting that the powers that be in the state education system chose classical music to settle and prepare students for the last couple of hours of school. There were many other styles that could have been chosen, such as jazz, rap, hard rock and heavy metal.
For some reason they chose classical instead.
Now obviously there were other music styles that could have fulfilled their objectives. And yes there are some classical pieces that are far from settling.
And no I am not advocating a ‘classical music only position’.
My point from this little anecdote is simply: If the world understands that music is not neutral, then why do some Christians persist promoting this fallacy?
As early as the days of Moses, particular music styles have been known for their violent and disturbing message. Note this passage:
And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.” So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Exodus 32:15-19
So let’s engage in discussions on this subject from the right starting point: music is not neutral, but like other mediums of communication made by God, music can be used for good or evil.
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I really enjoyed your post. Very true. Thanks for that! =D
Interesting post… I am still unsure of what to think of so called “Christian” Heavy Metal bands. The only difference is the lyrics….screamed or sung….but does that make them a good choice to listen to? hmm..It’s the style not just the lyrics that communicate feelings and ideas.
Interesting post and sorry for being controversial in my reply but..:)
Music can be used for good or evil purposes. However it doesn’t mean that music intrinsically is good or evil. It is like saying that the internet must be good or evil since it can be used for either purposes. Intrinsically it is morally neutral. What you have shown thus far is music is not emotionally neutral. It effects us emotionally this is quite obvious. Music though not emotionally neutral; I would argue it like many other things in this world (like the internet) in of itself is neutral morally.
If it is not I would think God has left us out of the loop on some important information like beat patters and so forth :)
Just to clarify since I forgot to include it in my reply: When I refer to music in the above I am talking about it without lyrical content. Lyrical content I believe is what changes the value of neutrality towards either good or evil.
Hey Alen, you can be controversial on infocus:) I believe music has a moral and emotional quality to it. any yes some music leaves the listener pretty indifferent. but surely it isn’t lyrical content only that changes the moral quality of the music. What if you put the words Amazing Grace to the ACDC music Dirty deeds? Would that alter the moral value of the music? that is an extreme example. What you your throughts?
trust you doing well in Sydney.
I’m very well, thanks for asking. I hope the same for you :) Now unto the discussion at hand :) :
Arguments from the point of association I would think be invalid due to Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 8 regarding food offered to idols. I don’t think that mere association is enough to credit a style of music or a piece of music itself as good or bad.
From what I know even Christian hymns developed from the style used within Greek paganism so they mustn’t of had an issue with borrowing from the musical styles around them.
Now this is not to say that conscience isn’t at play here as well, for some Christians they couldn’t eat the food offered to idols but some could, and those that could were not sinning. The same could be said with the type of music we listen to.
I would also say that our freedom may in of itself may be a stumbling block to others, just like the issue of pagan food offerings though. Despite this, the food itself was morally neutral. What changed its value was the conscience of those involved with it.
Therefore I would propose to you association in of itself is an invalid argument against musical neutrality. Though it is an excellent point for us to consider how far we take our freedoms in Christ especially with our brethren in mind around us.
Woohoo! First Fundamentalists, then music, what’s next……bible versions? Hang on to yer hats ladies and gentlemen!
Rob, Lumpy just commented on your post! You’ve hit the big time!!!
Music indeed can convey emotion on some cerebral level. That you can prove. However, your anecdote does not end the debate at all. Unfortunately the phrase “If the world understands” is used far too often as some kind of proof when in reality it is nothing of the kind it is just a red herring and that is assuming that what “the world understands” is the same thing you assert they understand. When someone argues that music is neutral what they are saying is morally it is neutral. This means that music, in and of itself, cannot be good or evil. What one does with it can be good or evil, but the notes themselves cannot be good or evil. This is true for every note in the scale and every form of use with each note and every instrument that can be used to convey those notes. Unfortunately this debate has lingered for decades with people talking past each other.
If a song is “evil” then it is because someone is using it for evil not because the music or any aspect of the music was intrinsically evil. So in the passage you quoted there is nothing to indicate that God or Moses thought the music itself was evil…and no inference can be made that this “singing” was anything like a genre we have now. Instead the focus is on what they were doing (ie having an orgy). The orgy is what is evil not the music. This also means that no particular style can be deemed evil. Just because one person uses a song deemed a particular style for “evil” doesn’t make any song that happens to fit under a loose association of style wrong by inference.
So yes lets have the discussion from the right starting point. Based upon your anecdote we can say music conveys vague emotions (such as ramping your up or quieting you down), but really doesn’t go much beyond that. What makes music evil is its usage not its inherent value. The world actually, understands this very well.
@Robert What if you put the words Amazing Grace to the ACDC music Dirty deeds? Since I don’t know that song it wouldn’t be a moral conundrum for me at all. In fact, I’d be none the wiser. What makes “Dirty Deeds” bad? Is it ACDC? the music? the words? If you heard that music with no words would it still be bad? If you heard it without the knowledge of ACDC would it be bad? I find no place in the Bible where we could make an assertion that the music, in and of itself, of ACDC is wrong. So I say sing to it…why not?