Judging Music: You Can and Should, Here's How

I wrote a book on music in 1996:  Sound Music or Sounding Brass.  Below is not an excerpt.

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The Academy of Awards announced it will no longer judge best actor or actress, because no one can know how to judge acting.  Furthermore, the Academy testified that there is no means to differentiate good acting from bad acting.  And no, that hasn't happened.  People do know in the important judgment of movies whether something is well acted.  People don't doubt that they know when they see something cheesy or what seems fake.  Good acting is good acting, but some is better or more difficult than other.  People, and especially Christians, can judge music too, especially compared to acting.

In many a discussion about or in commentary below posts about music, people question the criteria for and the ability to judge music.  Very often they either feign the throwing up of their hands or they really mean that they can't know.  They don't know how to judge what's good or bad.  They can't go any further than saying that musical style is personal taste or preference only, there is no objective means of judging between the good and the bad.

People say that they think there is good and bad music, exempt from the words, but they don't have an explanation for the standard.  They would say it's not like judging something that you might do, which comes with a clear standard.  Scripture never says that this or that particular music is bad.  This difficulty then moves music into the category -- to them -- of Christian liberty.  They may prefer a certain music, but they don't have the authority to say that some musical style is wrong.

Here are some quotes expressing the above in a recent discussion in the comment section:

I have yet to see something that makes very clear biblical judgment of the music itself possible.  And, I'm fairly convinced it's not a solvable problem (in general). . . . Absent a clear standard from scripture, that's the very definition of a Romans 14 issue. 

I too agree that music apart from lyrics has moral value. I  just want . . . someone to tell me how to determine that value in a subjective way and not by answering my question with more questions.   Please. Anyone?  I sincerely am looking for simple answers to apply to making music choices. I've been looking for a long time. . . . . I decided to walk away from the confusing admonitions of others and be content with having a good conscience before God until I get some clearer instruction. 

Personally, I'd never allow rap or rock in a worship service. But, I have no objective basis for that - it's my own subjective opinion. 

That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.  When you can offer a clear, objective standard to determine this, please let me know.  Otherwise, it pretty much boils down to whatever I say it is. 

Is all music of equal quality?  Not in my opinion.  Is all music helpful and edifying?  Not in my opinion.  I think we both agree in general that music itself, apart from the words, can be sinful, or at least come pretty close to that category.  But how to define that objectively?  I don't know.  How to define that Scripturally?  I don't know.  And because I can't do so, I shy away from imposing my opinions upon others. 

I'm not saying music doesn't communicate on its own, but I've yet to hear a plausible way to tell clear truth or error from notes and rhythms. 

I've yet to hear a good, scripturally-based objective reason for choosing not to use music. 

And then you've got comments like this:

Given that the Scripture says nothing about time signature, whether music is on or off beat, major or minor keys, or structure of music, I'm going to go out on a limb keep my feet firmly attached to the ground and suggest that no reasonable interpretation of Scripture could endorse, or reject, any genre of music, any particular instrument, or any particular singing technique.  The closest we can come to a Biblical description or prescription of music is found in Psalms 149 and 150, where Scripture clearly references and recommends percussive instruments and dance as something God wanted Israel to do.  

Not holding my breath for the cultural fundamentalists to interpret those Psalms as written, to put it mildly. 

These were made by five or six different people, but they are the same, most common argument for the amorality of music.  "Music isn't amoral, but I don't have an objective basis for saying it is moral, so I have to treat it like it is amoral."  They say uncertainty is the major basis for the amorality of music.  Another word for uncertainty is doubtful, as in doubtful disputations of Romans 14.  If it isn't certain, then it is a matter of liberty.

A corollary to above for amorality of music, and, therefore, not judging musical style is that there isn't a specific verse against any particular musical style.  If a person judges something with no scriptural basis, he's adding to scripture, which violates sola scriptura, someone might say.  In fact, not judging, using scripture, breaches sola scriptura.

What is the scriptural, objective, certain standard for judging music or musical style?  Can someone, so should someone, judge musical style?  Does scripture require judging music?

WISDOM, APPLICATION, OR SECOND TERM

I've talked about this before, but most application of scripture, which is called wisdom or prudence (Eph 1:8), to which God saves us, requires the utilization of a second term.  It works like the following:

First Term:  Scripture prohibits corrupt communication.
Second Term:  Four letter words are corrupt communication.
Conclusion (or application of first term):  Scripture prohibits four letter words.

What if I used a particular heinous four letter word through this post to spice it up, show anger or passion?  When you said that I used corrupt communication, I retorted with almost any of the above comments against scripture saying anything about music.  The four letter words are not supplied.  Some might say that the judgment against a particular four letter word then is subjective.  Someone saying, "it isn't objective," isn't objective.  What is subjective is deciding yourself what you want to be corrupt and what you don't want to be corrupt.  Just because you say it isn't corrupt, because there is no list of four letter words, doesn't mean it isn't corrupt.  You are still going to be judged by God.

A FIRST MOVER PROBLEM

The problem here one of fear on the part of those required to apply scripture.  I heard someone recently use the terminology, "first mover problem."  You've got a terrorist threatening a whole airplane with a knife.  You've got an evil dictator threatening a whole country.  A small number of people can intimidate a much larger group because of a "first mover problem."  The first mover might die, and he's got to be motivated by someone or something greater than himself to move.

In this case, the first move is saying that certain music is corrupt.  People will be upset if they lose their carnal, worldly, entertaining, pleasurable activity.  They often become angry, like a dog that has its food taken back.  The first mover sees himself excluded, looking silly or whatever temporal motive is there.  It's not just this issue where there are first mover problems, but many different applications of scripture, including what people have diminished by calling them "cultural issues."  They have deemed the cultural issues of either greater uncertainty or lesser importance to "doctrinal issues," like the Trinity, even though scripture doesn't treat non-doctrinal issues as uncertain or lesser.

The first mover problem has spread to many other cultural issues, including calling a boy a boy and a girl a girl, even using gender specific pronouns.  It also might by saying you think evolution is a lie.  You don't want to stand out by saying whatever it is that runs counter to convention.  It usually is accompanied by ridicule.  When most everyone who professed to be a Christian went the complete opposite direction, people joined the opposition to certain musical style and with complete certainty.  Someone didn't need to make the first move.  Now you will suffer for rising against what's easy to support, that is, unmitigated musical style.

PRINCIPLES OF APPLICATION

The strange woman wore the attire of a harlot (Proverbs 7:10).  If I said, don't dress like a prostitute, no verse tells us what a prostitute dresses like.  It requires a second term.  We know how a prostitute dresses.  More women now dress like prostitutes, including many professing Christian ones, because of the same unwillingness to apply scripture.

Let's say that  a parent said to his child, "Get that look off your face -- it's disrespectful."  The child answered, "What verse says my look is a bad look or disrespectful, because that just seems disrespectful?"  Can no one know what is the 'eye that mocks his father' is?  Scripture assumes we can judge disrespect.  When people ask if there's anything sacred any more, it relates to this subject matter.  A culture that will not put any difference between that which is common or profane and that which is sacred, can't love or respect or worship God.

Children learn A-B-C on a line of letters.  They can get it.  It takes recognition of meaning.  People know meaning.  They fit music to scenes based on an understanding of meaning.  It's basic like A-B-C.  Those who refuse to judge are willful.  They can say, "I didn't get it or understand it," and God won't excuse it.  It is first grade understanding. They are playing games.  Scripture and history show that people play these type of games, and call them arguments.  God is not mocked.

The Bible has a lot of verses that would prohibit certain musical style as worship and then some of the same verses prohibit for Christians musical styles on their musical play list.  For this post, I'm just introducing them.  Everything else in this post has been necessary.

THESE THINGS DISHONOR OR DISOBEY GOD

1. Fleshly Lust (1 Peter 2:11)
2. Worldly Lust (Titus 2:12)
3. Conformed to this World (Romans 12:2)
4. Provision for the Flesh (Romans 13:14)
5. Profaning the Name of God (Leviticus 18:21)
6. Fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts (1 Peter 1:14)
7. Ecstatic (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)
8. Sensual (James 3:15)

THESE THINGS HONOR OR OBEY GOD (GOD IS DISHONORED AND DISOBEYED WHEN THEY ARE NOT DONE)

1. Reverence (Leviticus 19:30, many others)
2. Solemnity (Leviticus 23:36, many others) [the opposite of reverent and solemn are superficial, foolish, thoughtless, vapid, flippant, trivial, etc.]
3. Holy (Romans 12:1)
4. Spiritual (John 4:23-24)
5. Lovely (Philippians 4:8) [the opposite is unlovely or ugly]
6. Gender Distinct (1 Corinthians 6:9)

All of these can be judged or they wouldn't be in scripture.  God will judge us for doing what He said, and He wouldn't judge us for something we could not be sure to understand.  I'm not saying that this list is an exhaustive list, but it is certainly enough to start with.  We should assume that we can know and know what these are.  In future posts, I will make brief application of them to music.