Christian Hip-hop to Replace Hymns?

World Magazine had an interesting article yesterday. Over all, I was disappointed with the direction taken by the article.  Rather than trying to approach the issue fairly, the discussion was prejudiced from the first sentence:

If you are looking for theologically saturated Christian music that has the greatest potential for widespread appeal, your best option may be Christian hip-hop.

"Potential for widespread appeal" should never be our primary criterion.  Fidelity to what Scripture commands or teaches in principle must always come first, and rarely is that approach popular.

Oddly, the implied question "What music is most popular?" is paired with the question "What form of contemporary music today has the most theological content?"  Or, to put it another way, "Isn't a song that uses more Bible words better than a song that uses less?" The first question implies "CCM has failed [for evangelism/edification]; what will work better now?", which is rather blatantly pragmatic.  Admittedly, the second is an important question: is more Bible in our music better?  But perhaps a more basic question is "How does God expect me to use and receive music?"  Should my focus be on music I enjoy or listen to when alone, or on music in the context of my local church?  Or some combination of both?

One key factor in answering those questions is the relative uniqueness of our current situation.  With many people in our congregations possessing iPods, internet access everywhere, and enough extra money to buy recorded music (CDs, MP3s, and so on), accessibility and personalization of music is possible to an unprecedented degree.

Contrast that to the early church, where no recorded music was available for personal enjoyment or edification throughout the week; in all likelihood, the only Christian music they would have experienced or participated in was in the weekly worship service.  For that matter, consider the situation even in the past century; individuals having nearly immediate access to thousands of songs is a very recent phenomenon.

The author asserts:

It is important to keep in mind that Christian hip-hop, unlike other contemporary genres, generally is not intended for use during corporate worship, so rejecting its appropriateness for the liturgy is not relevant.

However, we cannot entirely divorce what we do at home or on our own time from what we do at church.  The two settings are different and our range of activities will be different, but I am still the same person, so what I do in the one setting will affect to some degree what I do in the other.

Does the Bible discuss specifically me listening to music at home?  Not really, as is to be expected if this is a recent development. But, the Bible has clear principles about the use of music by the church, which is a good starting point for informing the discussion.

The Scriptural precedent for using music to edify other Christians is primarily found in Ephesians 5:15-21 and Colossians 3:12-17.  While the text does not explicitly say that such edification is to only take place when the congregation is gathered, it does seem to be a direct verbal process between believers who are part of the same congregation.  This is implied from Paul writing these epistles to specific congregations, as well as the "one another" language Paul uses frequently in his epistles to describe person-to-person ministry in the church setting.

Since we live in an age of digital proximity and personal distance, what does application of those passages look like for us?

First, participating in congregational edification has priority.  The Bible does not forbid my being edified at home or outside of church by music produced by other Christians I will never meet, but I need to be participating in worship and mutual edification in the gathered assembly of my local congregation.

Second, supporting my local congregation has priority.  If I'm spending all my money on buying songs from other Christians or professing Christian musicians, and I fail to support the work of my local church, I am failing in responsibilities directly commanded by God (e.g. 1 Timothy 5:18; 2 Corinthians 9:7).  This holds true of other things as well - buying Christian books, attending seminars, and supporting parachurch ministries may be a legitimate use of my money, but not until my pastor and his family are provided for and my church is equipped financially to do their work well.

Returning to the article, here is a major premise the author is making:

Could Christian hip-hop simply be the “ugly” music of our era?

Earlier, he answered the question in a way that implies that what is "ugly" is completely relative to when and where you live. 

Dr. David Koyzis, in his book Political Visions and Illusions, highlights this ignorance by noting, “Many conservatives dislike ‘pop’ or ‘rock’ music and prefer, say, the baroque pieces of Bach or Telemann. . . . The very label ‘baroque’ was used in a derogatory fashion by conservatives of that day to describe what they felt to be ugly music.” Today many hail the “ugly” church music set to baroque as the height of Christian music and a form that should be normative today.

Or, he snidely implies that applying some form of the regulative principle is merely a personal preference:

For example, in Christian traditions that sing only the Psalms without instrumental accompaniment, the worst thing for them would be to sing praise to God using lyrics not directly from the Bible and to pollute music offered to God with instruments like a pipe organ.

As an aside, lumping all those who oppose the use of hip-hop into a category with people like David Stewart at Jesus-is-Savior.com is an easy out.

But even with the deep theological content found in much of Christian hip-hop, many evangelicals view it as an inappropriate medium for Christian music. This objection reveals some level of ignorance about the historical development of Christian music.

While it is true that perceptions of appropriate instruments and music styles have changed over the years, we should not then assume there are no objective or absolute standards of beauty.  Sometimes music is perceived as ugly because it is different.  Sometimes it is perceived as ugly because it is ugly, and time will not change that perception for the thoughtful Christian. 


Perhaps some biblical principles for determining objective beauty can be explored further at another time, with Philippians 4:8 as a starting point, as well as the question of whether using more Bible words equates to a better song.