Assignments for this course take the form of written summaries, research, and analysis. They are designed to help us work through the course objectives, while keeping a focus on our spiritual growth through conceptual learning.

For each assignment, please develop a document and submit it to me in either Microsoft Word or HTML format (your word processing software should permit you to do a "save as" and choose either of those formats).

Each assignment can be completed by consulting Web-based materials listed on the course Resource page.

What is music through the eyes of faith? 

According to Dr. Calvin Johansson, the author of Music and Ministry, A Biblical Counterpoint, the Christian life is a wholly integrated existence where every facet of our life is experienced through Christ: 

“The regenerate should see all of life as a gift to be developed for glorifying the Creator.  The Christian faith puts together the fragmented pieces of life as the believer comes to know purpose and meaning.  With a perspective derived from Christ, all of life manifests the eternal and corroborates the central thesis that God is the Creator who loves us, has redeemed us, has promised us healing, and has given the world to us as a gift and a responsibility. The Christian’s life, then, is a wholly integrated existence.  There must be no barriers, no imbalances, no compartments.  All of life is lived in Christ and everything the Christian does is centered on this perspective.  For the Christian, nothing falls outside the unity of the life in faith.” 

Essentially, the notion that life is separated between ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ activities is artificial and therefore, unbiblical.  When we belong to Christ, everything is under His grace and authority for “we [you] are not our [your] own; we [you] were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV).  In fact, trying to put our life into compartments keeps us in bondage to the law (or legalism) and makes us strive in our own human effort, which is totally against God’s purpose of redemption.  Paul declared our freedom in Christ stating, “you, my brothers (and sisters) were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13, NIV).  Therefore, everything that is under redemption is under the complete authority of Jesus Christ, including the creative expression of music.

Assignment #1 

Text:  Read the Introduction, Chapter 1 (God’s Creation, Human Creativity, and Music Making) and Chapter 2 (What Does Music Mean?) 

Application:  Prayerfully consider these concept

God is the first abstract, nonrepresentational imaginer, because what He first imagined and crafted did not represent or imitate anything.  Each thing made was thought up, purely and simply, in and of itself and without prior reference.

The creation was not only originally imagined but continued.  Each created thing has been originally created and then re-presented, not imitated or copied.

Artistic style may be defined as the language of individuality and there can be as many different re-presentations of a given object as there are creative individuals.  Consequently, uniqueness of personal style is far more crucial than the artistic or musical procedures and systems we choose.

The Creator is not the creation and the music maker is not the music.

Consider the meaning of music from God’s perspective (What does music mean and how is it experienced and expressed from the perspective of a recreated spirit.

All true artists are, by nature, careful about the quality of their work.  Integrity is always of the essence.  But this integrity is not to be equated with moral and ethical integrity. 

Using your Bible (which you will cite scriptural passages from) and your text (which you will cite specific quotes and or paraphrases with page numbers) as primary sources, compose a 5-6 page commentary-analysis of the above concepts.  Explain your personal understanding and experience of these concepts and what they mean for your life.  You may want to think about these questions as you compose your commentary:  How is the gift of creativity expressed in you and through you?  How is creativity manifested in music making? 

Comments for Thought and Consideration:  Assignment #2 

When the subject of Pluralism is discussed from a Christian perspective, it is usually viewed as a group of philosophies or beliefs that lead to the idea of a one world political system, economy, and religion (the modern concept of the Tower of Babel—see Genesis 11:1-8).  Yes, it is true that we are living in the days where there are numerous counterfeit belief systems that entice us to accept anything and everything for the sake of ‘world unity.’  Indeed, the time has come when people will not want to accept the Truth—“Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4: 3-4, NIV).  However, we can rest assured that the Truth (the reality of Jesus and His redemptive work for us) has and always will prevail regardless of what people choose to believe.  God is truly the Creator of all things and what He has created is uniquely original and not copied or counterfeited.   

Generally, the reason Pluralism has a derogatory meaning for most Christians is that they equate it with the definition associated with secular humanism, which promotes an autonomous existence (an existence without God as the ultimate authority) and places ultimate authority with humanity alone.  God’s definition and concept of Pluralism originates from His own role as Creator, which emphasizes and encourages diversity and variety as a means of glorifying Him, not to spread human autonomy.

With an understanding of Pluralism in general, then we can grasp the concept of Musical Pluralism.  Since music accumulates historically as well as horizontally, musicians have the privilege of contributing to the constant evolution of music where musical styles expand and “are transformed and paraphrased.  This means an enormous multiplying of styles, fusions, and transmutations” (Best).  The justification of Musical Pluralism from a biblical perspective has validity in the model of creation and Pentecost (Acts 2).  God loves diversity and He imagines and creates with infinite variety.  Therefore, unity and diversity can be considered as aspects of each other.  In terms of evaluating music and its various elements, it is a learned experience that gradually evolves with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the development of musical discernment. 

Assignment #2 

Text:  Read Chapter 3 (Musical Pluralism and Diversity) and Chapter 4 (The Aesthetics of

Musical Pluralism) 

Application:  Prayerfully consider these concepts

Musical pluralism does not begin with aesthetics but with people.

Every pluralist needs a centered perspective which is unified in 3 ways:

(1)   There must be a practitional center

(2)   There must be a qualitative center

(3)   There must be a biblical center

·         What does it mean to be artistically unified?

·         Aesthetic laws must be lived from the inside out.  An understanding of aesthetic laws is a gradual process.  In our spiritual lives we do not immediately attain maturity.  We stumble, we fall, we confess.  We get up and continue to press on.  So with music and art, there is no immediate leap into aesthetic maturity.

Writing Assignment

For this assignment, write a 5-6 page paper on the chapters from your reading assignment

Comments for Thought and Consideration:  Assignment #3 

How does God define excellence?  According to Philippians 4:8 (NIV), God’s Word tells us, “Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  Without question, God’s concept of excellence does not agree with humanity’s notion of excellence.  Unfortunately, humanity’s idea of excellence is often associated with various ‘measurable’ criteria such as being number one, gaining prizes and awards, and being considered as one of the select few.  God’s standard of excellence, however, is best for us both on an absolute and relative level because it specifically deals with the condition of our heart and the growth of our character.  

Excellence involves the integrity of our life as well as the quality of our life.  Therefore, excellence is the process of becoming better than we once were.  This is truly being conformed to the likeness of Christ (see Romans 8:29-30 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  If excellence is God’s standard for our lives, then it is reasonable that considering issues

of musical quality will also follow God’s standard of excellence.  Experiencing excellence in all facets of life (including music) is lived from the inside out.  This is how we can experience and evaluate music from the highest caliber; in fact, “while good music is to be preferred over bad music, something precedes the judging of music, namely a quality of heart and mind that goes in to the making and choosing of music”

(Best).

 Assignment #3 

Text:  Read Chapter 5 (Personal Excellence, Success and Competition) and Chapter 6 (General Issues in Musical Quality) 

Application:  Prayerfully consider these suggestions:

 Be sure that you truly want to seek and find quality with all your heart.Don’t just think about quality; do quality.  Hunt it down. Don’t be afraid to pay close attention to history. Pay close attention to the experts in the field, the actual, on-the-spot music makers themselves. Be sure that music making becomes a matter of conscience. Keep comparing music to music, rather than comparing music to words and spiritualized, but not necessarily biblical, comments about music.Don’t make decisions about the quality of one kind of music while listening to another.Avoid musical opinions that are deemed ‘absolute’. 

Writing Assignment

Consider the meaning of excellence and your personal experience of it and compose a reflection essay of 5-6 pages in length of how living a life of excellence can help you determine the essence of quality in music.  Approach this assignment with prayer and ask the Lord to reveal to you His standard of excellence for your life and its application to musical quality.  Use your Bible and scriptural references as well as your text and your experience with music to support your views. 

Comments for Thought and Consideration:  Assignment #4 

As Christians, we believe and come to understand that God alone is worthy of worship.  Recognizing that God created us in His image, we have the ability to have a relationship with God in which we enjoy each other’s presence, love each other forever, and continually work together with God sovereignly creating, upholding what has been created and revealing Himself to us while we respond through worship, adoration, stewardship, and creativity.  Because of the Fall, we must talk of the worship of God in different ways because it is not natural for us to worship God, even though it is natural for us to worship.  The Fall did not take away our desire to worship, it just redirected it to other things.  Due to our rebirth in Christ, we now have the ability again to worship God with our whole being.  Worship is a lifestyle and not relegated to locations, systems, or particular times; therefore, the reality of worship is an ongoing state (see John 4: 23-24; Romans 12:1, Psalm 29:2)  

Much of contemporary society is overwhelmed by the power of the media.  Because of the presence of the media, people now live in a “generic world of contrived subjectivity and commercially driven pseudoreality.” (Best).  This climate makes it more feasible for the desire to worship to be redirected to self, other people, or other things; therefore, the use of music and its place in our lives must be carefully evaluated if we are to continually live in spirit and in truth. 

Assignment #4 

Text:  Read Chapter 7 (The Nature of Worship, Faith, Grace, and Music Making) and Chapter 8 (The World of Christian Popular Music)  

Application:  Prayerfully consider these concepts:

 Being emotionally moved by music is not the same as being spiritually or morally shaped by it.All true acts of worship are linked to, and supportive of, further acts of worship.

Aesthetic excitement, at whatever level and from whatever source is as much a part of being human as loving is.There is a dramatic difference between doing ‘secular’ things in a Christian way and becoming ‘secularized.’ 

Writing Assignment

For this assignment, write a 5-6 page paper on the chapters from your reading assignment

Comments for Thought and Consideration:  Assignment #5 

The main reason why musical appropriateness is such a heavy subject for the church is because it cannot be separated from central matters of faith and practice.  The results of music making regarding choice and appropriateness have eternal value; therefore, it can be said that all musical choices should be purposefully and functionally appropriate with excellence continually assumed.  As a reminder, music in and of itself is not a means to an end; however, it is the Holy Spirit who works through the church (the body of believers) in any way, any place, or any time regardless of the merit or size of the congregation.  Each congregation “has an obligation to discover for itself what appropriateness and authenticity are, realizing that it is but one carefully pruned and tended vine in the larger vineyard, depending upon God alone to determine its size.” (Best)  In other words, each local body must use wisdom in deciding its direction with sincerity and integrity. 

Assignment #5 

Text:  Read Chapter 9 (The Practice of Church Music I:  Music and the Worshipping

Church and Chapter 10 (The Practice of Church Music II:  Music and the Witnessing

Church) 

Application:  Prayerfully consider these concepts:

 The integration of mind and spirit makes for the best music.When all Scripture references to music making are combined, we learn that we are to make music in every conceivable condition:  joy, triumph, imprisonment, solitude, grief, peace, war, sickness, merriment, abundance, and deprivation

True artistic creativity should remind humanity that the Christian imagination is not satisfied with imitation, but seeks to be the confronter and reformer of cultural dissonance. 

Writing Assignment

In a short reflection response of at least 2 pages, why do you believe it is important or not important that the creation of music must be an integrated experience?  Consider the above concepts for your response and cite scriptural passages to support your viewpoint. 

Research:  During this course, you learned various aspects of understanding music from a Christian perspective.  In addition, you might have found a subject within this course that is of particular interest to you.  Therefore, choose a subject that you are interested in from this course and conduct research on your subject.  You may utilize any resources such as books, journal articles and periodicals.  Do not use information on websites since websites can provide erroneous information.  I would suggest you use Questia.com because it provides a numerous amount of information.  Also, if you have any college or university libraries close to your location, you may be able to get access to them as well.  Contact your local colleges or universities for more information about access to their libraries.   Questia.com  www.questia.com 

FINAL PAPER 

Develop a paper that addresses a particular issue or viewpoint that you want prove about your chosen subject and then support it with various sources from your research.  You want to make sure that you have a clear thesis as this is the main point that you want argue in your paper.  Along with support from your research sources, you also want to support your issue or viewpoint with scriptural references to show how your subject is evaluated from a biblical perspective. 

Your paper should be well documented and be 7-8 pages in length.