Interesting reformed church visit today, a report card.

[biscuit1953]

As I was saying...
I see I'm still batting .000.

“I'm only interested in heavy metal when it's me who's playing it. I suppose it's a bit like smelling your own farts.” John Entwistle

John Entwistle who was the bassist for The Guess Who and is widely considered to be one of the greatest rock bass players of all time, gave his honest assessment of heavy metal. This form of music is many times composed of death growls and musical tones that are very irritating to a large portion of the population. Can you imagine any Christian saying that playing Arise, My Soul, Arise or Wonderful Grace of Jesus or any other beloved hymn is like smelling their own farts when playing it?

Ephesians 5:19 tells us we are are to sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to the Lord, not listen to irritating sounds to bring down stress. The Enoch song Loner is as far away from a Christian spiritual song with a melody in it as one can get, and the very fact that you accused me of trying to make a song with pig like noises and words that need an interpreter to understand it “look bad” shows more of your discernment than anything else.

R.C. Sproul seems to have much more in common with Frank Garlock of Bob Jones University when it comes to Christian music than would seem possible. Any church whether Reformed or Independent Baptist and anything in between should not allow divisive Christians bands or singers in that is an irritation to many into the worship service any more than a church that does allow such music in cater to me or other new members who find their music offensive. In a church service let all things be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40).

 

[ALAYMAN]

"Irritating" is an opinion, not a moral quality.

But is it? The concept of doing thing everything decently and in order does come to my mind here. I don’t think that it could be said of that type of music that it has done, decorously, with nobility, and good form.

 

[biscuit1953]

"Irritating" is an opinion, not a moral quality.



I said no such thing, of course. "Discernment" at the very least should enable you to distinguish reality from fantasy, you know.

I said certain musical genres were unsuitable for corporate worship. I said nothing about intervals. And, like chords, I defy you to explain what moral distinction exists between a semitone and a perfect fifth.

That "irritating noise" in musical terms is called "dissonance," and if I were to ban it from a worship service, I'd have to fire even notable sacred music composers like Bach, whose most famous compositions make use of dissonant chords:

At the very beginning there's a loud C#dim7 chord played over a bass D, creating all sorts of acoustic anxiety, until it's resolved into a very satisfying Dmaj.

I suppose that according to my own opinion, as it is popularly (though wildly inaccurately) assumed, this "irritating sound," written by Bach to the glory of God alone, must now be banished from all church organs as unsuitable for divine worship.

LOL. I love it when people misrepresent my views so obviously poorly. Why don't they teach reading in these schools?

It is my understanding that Toccata and Fugue in D minor is generally not classified as sacred music, even though it was written for the pipe organ and composed by a devout Lutheran. Many even question whether Bach was the author of it. I have never heard it played in a church service, but nonetheless, I don’t see anything spiritual about it that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact Toccata and Fugue in D minor is considered dark, ominous and spooky music today.