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Music
Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best (HarperCollins, 1993).
Reviewed by Dr. Barry Liesch
Written for the thinking Christian musician or non-musician,
this remarkable book is one you will want to chew and reflect upon.
It's required reading for some of my university classes. In Music
Through the Eyes of Faith, Dr. Harold Best, formerly Dean of the
Wheaton Conservatory of Music, unpacks his philosophy of music and
worship, sometimes explaining his views propositionally, and other
times illustrating them with vivid stories and anecdotes. In my opinion, Best is one of the few Evangelical
intellectuals in the area of music today.
Though theologically conservative, he has the capacity to arouse
one's thinking. He's not timid and he doesn't "dumb down"
to his readers. Writing vigorously and at times complexly, his ideas
tumble forth rapidly. This is college level reading that is both engaging
and stimulating. No technical musical language, however, is employed For me, the main value of the book lies in the wide
variety of issues he tackles, the rationale behind his positions,
and his openness to all styles of music. Best is an avid musical pluralist--that
is, he welcomes and "revels" in all the music cultures of
the world. His enthusiasm for all music is contagious and his ideas
are relevant for Christian worship today. The issue of musical pluralism
has enormous implications, for our North American culture is becoming
increasingly pluralistic, both musically and ethnically. I found the first six chapters (there are 10 in all)
the most interesting. Chapter
one discusses the issue of revelation and God as a creative artist--Best
calls Him "the first abstract, non-representational imaginer."
He draws a number of useful implications for us today from the statement,
"God did not need to create." Chapter two (the hardest chapter to understand and maybe the most
important) asks questions like, "Is a painting ethical or a fugue
moral?"-- and it concludes that music without words is "morally
neutral." That's an important issue to resolve today. My university
students, though, have been most impacted by the concept of "common
grace," which is also discussed thoroughly. Chapters three and four are devoted to explaining
and developing the concept of musical pluralism.
He explains what it means to "live pentecostally"
(an interesting phrase!) from a musical perspective. He
helps readers think about their own musical center in new ways, and
encourages each of us to branch out to adjacent and distant pluralism.
Chapter four draws an analogy between aesthetic
laws and the concept of law in the Bible. Best asks questions like, "Can one music be better than another?"
These chapters are creatively written and share some wonderful
stories. Chapters five and six deal with the issue of music
quality. After reading these chapters, I've sensed that
my students have become greatly motivated to seek out quality, not
only in music, but all areas of life. That's
an enormous contribution the book tends to make on individuals. Best also includes a provocative discussion
on "single state" popular music and the use of technology
in worship services and music concerts. For several years, I've used Best's book in my Introduction to Music course (for non-music
majors) at Biola University. I've
discovered that it is excellent for prompting discussion. Senior pastors
and worship leaders interested in formulating a philosophy of music
and worship will find his thoughts both helpful and challenging. This
could also be a good book to discuss together. This is a book to keep in your library and to refer to again and again. It's original, and shares the results of a lifetime devoted to thinking about music and worship. Buy the Book Now from Amazon.com Worshipinfo gets a small payment from Amazon.com if you buy the book byclicking on our link. |