RTB Apologist
What is music to man? Music is manifold beauty. It expresses emotions of love, anger, joy, celebration, sadness and compassion. Music richly communicates information that has structure, meaning, plan and purpose as elaborate as in any advanced science, technology or philosophy.[1] Its purpose is given action through creative expression[2] and can be awesome in its majesty and power. It is composed with rules of order that assign specificity and pattern to complexity also found in such disciplines as mathematics, physics and molecular biology.[3] Its expression demands justice to the rules of the score. Willful departure from the rules results in disharmony and chaos and becomes mere noise. In man music stimulates special interactive networks of synaptic transmission through neural codes. These codes ascribe unique patterns of melody and theme to assemblies of perceived and conceived frequencies, tempos, rhythms and harmonies, drawing upon an immense reservoir of informational entropy not by a process of blind chance but by the creative choice of human intelligence.[4] Music is a language that is expressed only by man, distinguishing the uniqueness of human beings from all other creations.[5] It links man's physical being with the soul and spirit.[6] It is more ancient than man, preexisting and transcending man's physical temporal existence in the Mind of God.[7]
The character of God is outlined by Lee Strobel in his book The Case for a Creator.[8] The portrait of God that emerges from scientific data is consistent with the description of God in the Bible. He is Creator, unique, uncaused, timeless, immaterial, caring and personal. He expresses will, is the Source of all intelligence, information and wisdom, and He is rational. The creations of God manifest His design, plan, meaning and purpose, and He is enormously powerful in His actions. Through Him we have identity and purpose, and He has provided for us to receive the hope of everlasting life.[9]
Music also expresses the character of God with the precision of science. The Christian musician Steve Camp has described the character of God in music. He states in "The Character of Christian Music"[10] that it is He who has given us music, (1 Chron. 16:7-36) and its ultimate aim is to glorify Him (Ps. 18:1-6; 105:3). It encourages council, warns, corrects, comforts and teaches truth (1 Chron. 25:1-5). It describes God’s glorious deeds, His inscrutable ways, His attributes and character. It describes His preeminence as the only true God and His eternal reign as Sovereign Lord and King (1 Chron. 16:8-36). Music flows from a life where His Word richly dwells and out of the life that is filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit (Col. 3:16-17; Eph. 5:17-20). Life in the Spirit and life in the Word are identical, bearing the fruit of music that honors the Lord (1 Tim. 1:18-19). It gives expression to the Gospel and is identified with Jesus Christ who is our strength and our song (Exod. 15:2). Music of the redeemed through Jesus Christ is new, distinctive, glorious, pure, true and beautiful (Ps. 33:3; 96:1; 149:1; Rev. 5:9-10). Music is creative and redemptive (Ps. 96:1-13). It expresses worship and praise to the One Triune God (1 Chron. 25:1-8). The angels sing, the elect sing, and the day will come when we will hear Jesus Christ "sing praise in the midst of the assembly" (Heb. 2:12; Rev. 15:3-4). It is the only art that has a place in heaven and will endure for eternity.[11]
David Bailey has beautifully said, "Like God, music is invisible and intangible, but undeniably powerful. Like God, music moves [one] emotionally, though often [we] do not understand why. Like God, music does not yield to [our] efforts at logical analysis, although it is infused with logic, order and beauty. And when [we] want to praise God, and words utterly fail [us], [we] can play a joyful bluegrass riff on [our] mandolin and trust that He knows exactly what [we] are trying to say."[12]
In his book No Free Lunch, William A. Dembski relates that certain Church Fathers as Gregory of Nazianzus have compared God's created universe to a musical instrument. Dembski states the following:
But what if the universe is like a musical instrument?...Then it is entirely appropriate for God to interact with the universe by introducing design (or in this analogy, by skillfully playing a musical instrument).So long as there are consummate pianists and composers, player-pianos will always remain inferior to real pianos. The incompleteness of the real piano taken by itself is therefore irrelevant here. Musical instruments require a musician to complete them. Thus, if the universe is more like a musical instrument, it is appropriate for a designer to interact with it in ways that affect its physical state. On this view, for the designer to refuse to interact with the world is to withhold gifts.[13]
When we sing or play music on instruments, we should "feel His pleasure,"[14] acknowledging God's immanence and providence and design. We are giving witness to our Creator and Savior and King who indwells us and has given us reasons to believe through music.