This is going to be a series dealing with many variables within the musical controversy. Some say we should do away with hymns and some say we should do away with everything except hymns and so on. Were hymns the popular secular music of their time and then transformed into Christian music of that time, thus making it okay to transform rock and rap into Christian music? Were hymns made to reach people in bar rooms of long ago? Is it biblical to place an emphasis on entertainment and felt needs to reach the "unchurched"? These are some of the areas we want to cover with a biblical understanding.
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, [and] the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:11-12 )
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. (Ezekiel 28:13)
As we see in scripture it appears that Satan was a leader of the choir in Heaven before his fall. I say this because he was at one point the anointed Cherub/head of all the angels in heaven. It makes sense to say that he was the leader of the music up there. What better place to start trouble and confusion than in the music industry? Before we start, it's important to realize that music in the local church becomes unbiblical when the music program is the main focus of the church. Is your music program more important than Biblical teaching?
Basic history of music:
The first formal music in the west was that of the church. It was based off the psalms and chants of Hebrew music and partly on the music from Greece. The plainsong or plainchant was used in the early Catholic worship services. According to most Encyclopedias no one knows exactly when or how music itself started. If you believe in the Bible you know that it started in Heaven and transferred down here at some point. Music has played an important role in all cultures and is said by scholars to have been monophonic (one voiced, single melody) through out early history. In ancient Greece, music was linked with poetry and dance, followers of the false Gods like Apollo sang hymns to them, and only a few fragments of Greek music are still in existence today. I have come to the conclusion that music is for God and not our entertainment although, I am not saying you can't listen to entertaining music. I like classical/Baroque music the best which are secular. In the fourth century Saint Ambrose of Milan introduced hymns into the church service and he is accredited with introducing antiphonal singing (responsive singing by two choirs).
Little is known about secular music before the 10th century and songs more rhythmic than than the plainsongs were sung to instrumental accompaniment. Between the 10th and 14th century love and drinking songs by wondering students (Goliards) became very popular.
History of Hymns
According to the New Standard Encyclopedia a hymn is any song of praise to God and includes music as well as words. The word hymn comes from an ancient Greek word that referred to a song that praises God or a hero. The ancient Hebrews had many hymns and the early Christians used some Jewish Hymns but soon developed there own. Many of these hymns have been lost over time.
At the time of the Reformation - in the 16th Century - the reformers wanted the liturgy to be said in the vernacular. They also insisted upon hymns which could be understood and sung by the people, and they wished to get away from plainchant hymnody, most of which could only be performed by monks.
The reformers demanded that the new hymns should have a strictly scriptural basis and they therefore began to introduce metrical versions of the psalms - where the psalms were given a rhyme and rhythm and verse structure - making them easy to sing and understand. Take The Lord's my shepherd for example. In doing so they began the divide between metrical psalms and hymns which caused so much controversy in the Anglican church in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
The Reformation coincided with the world-shaking introduction of printing and this gave church-goers access to many vernacular hymns. Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) played a great role in the development of hymnody –Source
CCM and the Hymn vs CCM in church services Contorversey!
