Worship and Music

J. S. Bach's B Minor Mass with its great chorale fugues, elaborately ornamented arias, and orchestral accompaniment, may very well be the greatest chorale work ever composed; however, liturgical music is ill conceived as a great art form. Accessibility is paramount and, at its finest, liturgical music remains natural, unpretentious, and

These different mindsets concerning the music caused a division to occur in the church. This example ties in with another point addressed in the Declaration and Address. And that is the point concerning what to do with doctrinal differences that are not based on clear and exact teachings in the New Testament and how that leads to division. There are a lot of things that come about in life that we can clearly read in the Bible is right or is wrong. With that being said it is simple to make definite rules and it is also simple to clear up arguments and disagreements when the answer is clearly seen in the Bible, because it is really hard to argue with a clear answer in the Bible when you are trying to use the Bible to back you up. However, what happens when there is not a clear teaching in the Bible? That is what happened with the

From the beginning of times, music has played an important role in everyone’s life. At first, it started with drum-based and percussion instruments made out of what was available as rocks and sticks. Our ancestors proved that human beings have an innate need of music. Nowadays, no one teaches a baby to follow the beat of a song, he just naturally lets his body get involved with the rhythm. Since the prehistoric era to Christian times, several forms of music have developed leaving a trail to new genres of music. For Christianity, hymns and plainchants were the first forms of music considered as a worship to God. As time passed by, Christian music has evolved giving way to new and fresh sounds.

Music is an everyday occurrence for most people. In some way, shape and form, people listen to music. For Christians, specially those at bible college, this can be in chapel day to day. For others it may be in a car or even in the workplace, which can be the case for Christians also. Music for me is an everyday occurrence, not only in chapel but also in other places such as my dorm room and when I get ready for sports.

Music has always played a vigorous role in religious celebrations throughout history. Religions across the world have shaped our nations through music. There are various types of music in diverse religions across the world. Music is used to worship in many religions and it is spread across communities of the same religion. Music helps spread the gospel that is being preached.

The role of music to Paul Brandt was to share his religion with others; similar to Scott who says it’s to provide understanding to a culture’s experience. William James believes the strength of the musical experience is through the religion, which parallels with Brandts belief of phenomena of the positive health benefits to singing and sharing praise to God. By involving religion into his music, Brandt doesn’t only invite others to explore Christianity, Rudolph Otto could say Brandt invites God to join his praise. James Frazer explores doxology bay including music is the most affective of the arts, Dietterich adds on that the praise to god through music is a form of theology as doxology, and Paul Brandt said that music is what he uses to create relationships with people and invite them to experience

1. Discuss the use of music in Catholic and Protestant worship practice, from the development of polyphony, through the music of J.S. Bach. In so doing, discuss the shift in responsibility for musical development from the Catholic Church to the Lutheran Church.

One of the largest forms of music a Bible college student comes into contact with is worship music. Worship music is a large part of Christianity itself. Some denominations focus a great deal on worship, making it a central part of their faith. The philosophy of worship is something that every Christian must come in contact with at some point in their walk. Worship

Despite my experience at St Christopher's, I still dreamed of being allowed to implement just one music program based on apostolic principles in just one Anglican parish in the Diocese. Somehow I knew God would reward my persistence with yet another chance. The call came sooner than I had expected; this time from the Reverend Fran Willis, rector of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church.

Early on a misty Mother’s Day, I attended the Mount Zion Baptist Church’s 7:30 AM worship service to better understand how churches use Gospel music is used. Located in the middle of Seattle’s Capitol Hill, the church is a spacious, multi-story building with distinct African-style architecture, murals, and tapestries. After parking in the parking lot, I entered the building and climbed the stairs to the nave. There, a small, friendly woman greeted me, and I gave her my information, because it was my first time at the church. In the nave were rows of seats. To the right of the stage was the combined choir, accompanied by a pianist and drummer.

The entire shift in Christian music began in America and gradually branched out to revolutionise the globe. Before the 1960s set hymns or gospel pieces were the only way to preach to Jesus through music. In the beginning years of the 1960s the nation’s mood altered dramatically to this notion of free spirit. The youth of America were a collective group who had become influenced largely by this change more than older generations. Often these individuals were referred to as ‘hippies’ and the culture partook in drugs, addictions and violence. By 1967 various Christian Leaders and religious members of the community recognised the youth could be saved by God through the new concept of ‘Jesus Music’. John Higgins, a leader at one of Calvary Chapel’s,

As said by Miller above about communicating with God through song. This can be seen through the way it is broken down, and the big focus on thanks and for what has been on and the realisation of what that means. So for anyone who might believe that it can be seen how much that might impact them on an emotional level. On a level above such assumptions, music is known to have qualities that show emotion-specific physiological changes (Schoen 1927 and Krumhansl 1997). Along with this, it is suggested (Proudfoot, 1985) that this physiological experience in a church environment the congregation’s cognitive appraisal (Strongman, 1996) lead to experiences of emotion or in some cases religious experience (Proudfoot, 1985). From such ideas, there is a thought that gathering together in worship will add to the experience and the ‘presence of the Holy Spirit’ (Miller, 2002 p. 9). This can mean several things as there are varied levels and opinions of this presence or experience, as in a Pentecostal church the idea of this presence or experience is very important and it is a very personal thing, as is the idea of gifts as they are seen as spiritual power (Williams, 1988). But within the church primarily discussed, this experience is not seen as such a big thing, and would be talked about more as a whole congregation than an individual’s experience as this worship is meant to be done as the whole congregation, and it is not about who is more gifted than the

This means that we must welcome the varying movements “of the Holy Spirit through non-traditional, non-classical, non-European musical expressions while retaining and passing on faithfully, the depth and richness of that sacred music tradition” (class lecture week four, pg 2). This calls for one to be committed to examining the traditions, practices, and musical tendencies of the faithful who are in the community as well as those who have gone before us. Liturgical tradition has within it countless avenues for variety, accommodating itself to differing situations, themes, cultures, ages and concerns. This means that those called to lead and facilitate worship must go about the business of appropriately selecting themes, styles of music, and incorporate practices that reflect the larger community. This is to say that we are to go beyond our own musical preferences or what we may be tempted to call “legitimate” or “illegitimate” music, and opt for a liturgy that is rich with hospitality and holds within it deep connections. (Music and Vital Congregationas, pg 46-63). It is also important to ask the question “who is worship for?” Within the Lutheran understanding, in genuine worship God is the subject. This means that we are not. True worship emerges because God calls us. As a response, our worship directed to God is a gift in response to God’s

In this video, Ben Stuart discusses Psalm 1; he touches on a few different aspects of spirituality, using metaphors, stories, and examples to aid him in getting his point across. To begin the presentation, he brings up music: how it is a powerful force, how it can cause individuals to think, and how it is able to invoke emotion. He continues on, claiming that music is the “most natural medium to give expression to even the most profound human emotions”. After explaining why the book of Psalm is written as music--it allows us to properly display and share our feelings with God--he discusses that music is influential to our thoughts, therefore shaping what we care about, furthermore affecting what we chase. He later directly addresses Psalm

In chapter one of McGowan’s book, we see a compare and contrast given with how the early church worshiped more communally as opposed to how we worship today; which is more aesthetic and internal. McGowan reiterates numerously that worship in the New Testament is a subject of service, reverence and ethics. “They were not merely one sacramental part of a community or worship life but the central act around or within which others— reading and preaching, prayer and prophecy— were arranged.” The New Testament was in the setting of a very communal culture. And