Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish contemporary of Jesus, wrote: “Music will charm away the unrhythmic by its rhythm, the disharmonic by its harmony, the out of tune and unmelodious by its melody and this bring concord out of discord.”  Concord out of discord? Ha! Philo had never been in some of the churches I know. Music could set church members against each other in pitched battle all because the particular style one person preferred was despised by someone else.

To be honest, it’s primarily a matter of the culture a person was raised in. My Lutheran church of the 50s and 60s never sang hymns like “How Great Thou Art” or “The Old Rugged Cross. Those felt strange to me. On the other hand, some people snap their hymnal shut if “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” is sung.

As I always say, there has to be a LOT of give and take in a church–and usually more give than take.

Church music has always been evolving. In the early middle-ages, Gregorian chant was widespread in Western Christian churches. In the 12th century a Benedictine abbess named Hildegard of Bingen took the basic elements of chant and exploded it in her own style. The result is exotic, haunting in character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9K9PfjRjxM  It’s hard to know what the other nuns thought about it, but they sang it.

In corporate worship we all have to compromise about musical styles. On your own you can sing or play or listen to what you wish. Whatever style, may it glorify God.

Read Psalm 104:33 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne