Musicians. Sometimes I don't get them - even though I AM one.
Read Spin, Rolling Stone, or an interview with a musician in any publication and you will see that people in my profession have a very "morally relative" bent. "Anything is acceptable so long as you're not hurting anyone," they will say. "Don't impose your arbitrary moralities on others," they will demand. "It's all relative - what's truth for you may not be truth for me," they will enlighten. Without a doubt musicians are mostly post-modern in their ideologies. In other words - "Who is to say what is right or wrong?"
Okay. That comes with the territory, right? The open-mindedness, the relativism, the lassez-faire attitude toward values, the moral flip-flopping and vacillating from one belief to another depending on the mood of the day - that's just the way musicians are.
But not so when the subject is music itself. Listen to how so many liberal folk musicians become self-righteouss and indignant when someone plays the "wrong" sort of guitar - like Bob Dylan did in the sixties and was booed off the stage. Listen to hard-edged metal guys totally decimate anything that sounds pretty. Hear jazz musicians opine on how jazz music should and should not be played. To hear one of my biggest heroes, Pat Metheny, explain it - Kenny G is musically immoral and evil for playing along with Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." Really? Who is to say what is right or wrong? Don't impose your arbitrary morality upon me. It's all relative - what may be musically right for you may not be so for me.
It amazes me how musicians will assume a posture of self-righteoussness over other art forms they deem "lesser." Seriously - if there's anything that should be left open and free of judgement - it's music (lyrics aside). There really and truly IS NO basis for any concept of right and wrong when all you're doing is creating sound purely for creative expression! Of course, lyrics are a different story - they can be judged by a moral standard - but music itself? Sounds, pitches, rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbres, textures? Those things can be deemed good or evil, right or wrong? ***By people who believe there are no real moral truths except those we invent?***
My Christian brothers and sisters and I believe there can be a spirit attached to music, which can be transferred upon the listener. Maybe secular musicians have a sense of this, too. But I doubt it. I think, for them, their music is actually an extension of themselves, an anthem of their own culture, a statement of affirmation of who they are as opposed to everyone else. When they demonize certain music, they're actually demonizing the people that music represents to them. When they say "that music is bad music," they're really saying "those people are bad people," which is a sideways way of saying "I am good." To me - that makes them the opposite of what they claim to be. It makes them closed-minded, musically speaking.
The truth is this: If you truly believe in anything at all - you instantly become sort-of closed-minded to whatever contradicts that belief. If you believe anything at all to NOT be true, you have by definition closed your mind to the possibility of it being true - and for all you logically know, it MAY BE true.
So I don't mind being accused of closed-mindedness, it just means I believe something to be true or untrue. I just wonder if my musical colleagues are self-aware enough to admit this for themselves.
That's enough ranting for today.
Blessings in Jesus Christ.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Defending Religion in General
I am a Christian. Let me make that clear. I believe the Bible is the very word of the very God of the universe – given to us so the we might have a guide, a reference throughout the ages to keep us in the proper know of who He is. Sometimes, though, I find myself defending religion in general to people who believe it is some sort of scourge on the earth – a roadblock to the intellectual progress of mankind from the blindness of the past to the enlightenment of the future.
My Christian brothers and sisters and I know that Jesus, not religion, is the way to truth. We all know that Christians have done horrible things in the name of Christ. We point to a spirit of religion that shifts our allegiance from the God of our faith to its institutions. This shift allows us to commit selfish and ungodly acts while laboring under the delusion that we are serving God. And so, Christians have perpetrated misery, pain, war, persecution and other manifestations of man’s sinful nature – all in the name of God.
But was it our faith? Did our “religion” (as the world sees it) actually inspire us to do evil? Is “religion” to blame? Many Christians would say yes to the latter. After all, the spirit of religion is not of God, so why shouldn’t it lead to sin. I maintain that a belief in a higher power, even one we Christians would label as “false,” is a direct result of our being created in the image of a higher power (God the Father) that we, mankind, are ever struggling to connect with. Unfortunately man has set off in the wrong direction, even Christians, and evil ensues. It is this selfish, self-reliant, self-serving, self-esteeming, self-defending tendency, not our faith in something better, that pushes us toward sin.
Consider these questions. Did the “bad” crusaders really act on a Word from God? Or did they act out of vengeance, love of war-making, greed, then justify their desires with religious reasoning. Prior to 1948 (the establishment of Israel as a state), did Muslim terrorists blow themselves up for Allah? Or was it only after outsiders moved in and ignited the very human flames of outrage, eye-for-an-eye justice and racial intolerance? Did early Americans really go to the Word in earnest meditation and hear God direct them that they should extend America’s borders all the way to the Pacific? Or did they simply covet the land and its resources for themselves until they found a religious way, Manifest Destiny, to accommodate their greed?
Now consider this question. If there had been no religion at all, just pure humanism and naturalism without any concept of a spiritual reality, would people still want to take what belongs to others? Would they flock together with their own kind and exclude others who are different? Would they lash out in fear or anger against their neighbors? Now here’s the big question: Without religion would the human race still find some sort of justification for every evil and selfish deed they desired to commit?
ABSOLUTELY!
In fact, without a belief in a higher power (outside of man himself), misery and oppression would be far greater than we have ever seen. Terror doesn’t come because of religion – it comes IN SPITE of religion, greed IN SPITE of religion, racial hatred IN SPITE of religion. Religion teaches us no turn the other cheek, deprive ourselves of things so that others may be blessed, love all mankind, treat others at least as well as we want to be treated – and so on and so on and so on. How can people blame a faith in these principals, and a God who established them, for behavior that is exactly the opposite of their aim? Well, we know how, of course, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Knowing what I now know and seeing what I now see – I think that if I were to totally lose my faith in God and become an atheist or agnostic, I would nevertheless be glad that most of the rest of humanity believes there is a real reason to resist evil and do good.
Let us not forget all the evil that has been done in the name of self. In the name of revenge. In the name of security. In the name of greed. In the name of fear. Let us not forget that environmental zeal has produced the violent and destructive Earth Liberation Front, that Darwinism fueled the Nazis and their concept of a master race, that the anti-war movement of the sixties produced the Weathermen (read about them from a reliable internet source), that the human-rights-violating murderous regimes within communism were atheistic and sought to foster an irreligious society.
Perhaps some would criticize the references I have just given and indicate that I am misguided, have incorrect information, and making flawed assumption and drawing weak parallels. As a Christian – I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY FEEL!
So to those who believe religion (and in America their favorite target is of course Christianity) is somehow the cause of all wars and oppression, and must become obsolete in order for man to move forward – I challenge you to reconsider. And I challenge you to remember the old Chinese proverb: Choose your enemy well, for he is who you will become. Be tolerant and accepting of people of faith, otherwise you will be intolerant and divisive like religious people have been. Be open-minded to the notion of a God, otherwise you will be narrow-minded and afraid of what the truth might really be - like religious people have been. Don’t speak of how “certain people” and their beliefs are dangerous, or you could become reactionary and eventually perhaps genocidal as religious people have been. Separate ideas from the people who espouse them, or you could become ignorant and judgmental as religious people have been.
My Christian brothers and sisters, Let’s not permit our sinful nature to rule our hearts. Let’s not try to mold God into our own selfish image. Let’s not try to get Him on OUR side. Let us cast off all our me-focused desires, worries, fears, anger, self-righteousness, pride, and lay them down at the cross. Let us endeavor in Christ to show the world that He who saved us from sin is loving, patient, righteous, caring, unafraid, wise, free from anger – by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us in His ways and exemplifying the behavior He modeled for us on this Earth.
Grace and Peace to you all,
Stephen
My Christian brothers and sisters and I know that Jesus, not religion, is the way to truth. We all know that Christians have done horrible things in the name of Christ. We point to a spirit of religion that shifts our allegiance from the God of our faith to its institutions. This shift allows us to commit selfish and ungodly acts while laboring under the delusion that we are serving God. And so, Christians have perpetrated misery, pain, war, persecution and other manifestations of man’s sinful nature – all in the name of God.
But was it our faith? Did our “religion” (as the world sees it) actually inspire us to do evil? Is “religion” to blame? Many Christians would say yes to the latter. After all, the spirit of religion is not of God, so why shouldn’t it lead to sin. I maintain that a belief in a higher power, even one we Christians would label as “false,” is a direct result of our being created in the image of a higher power (God the Father) that we, mankind, are ever struggling to connect with. Unfortunately man has set off in the wrong direction, even Christians, and evil ensues. It is this selfish, self-reliant, self-serving, self-esteeming, self-defending tendency, not our faith in something better, that pushes us toward sin.
Consider these questions. Did the “bad” crusaders really act on a Word from God? Or did they act out of vengeance, love of war-making, greed, then justify their desires with religious reasoning. Prior to 1948 (the establishment of Israel as a state), did Muslim terrorists blow themselves up for Allah? Or was it only after outsiders moved in and ignited the very human flames of outrage, eye-for-an-eye justice and racial intolerance? Did early Americans really go to the Word in earnest meditation and hear God direct them that they should extend America’s borders all the way to the Pacific? Or did they simply covet the land and its resources for themselves until they found a religious way, Manifest Destiny, to accommodate their greed?
Now consider this question. If there had been no religion at all, just pure humanism and naturalism without any concept of a spiritual reality, would people still want to take what belongs to others? Would they flock together with their own kind and exclude others who are different? Would they lash out in fear or anger against their neighbors? Now here’s the big question: Without religion would the human race still find some sort of justification for every evil and selfish deed they desired to commit?
ABSOLUTELY!
In fact, without a belief in a higher power (outside of man himself), misery and oppression would be far greater than we have ever seen. Terror doesn’t come because of religion – it comes IN SPITE of religion, greed IN SPITE of religion, racial hatred IN SPITE of religion. Religion teaches us no turn the other cheek, deprive ourselves of things so that others may be blessed, love all mankind, treat others at least as well as we want to be treated – and so on and so on and so on. How can people blame a faith in these principals, and a God who established them, for behavior that is exactly the opposite of their aim? Well, we know how, of course, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Knowing what I now know and seeing what I now see – I think that if I were to totally lose my faith in God and become an atheist or agnostic, I would nevertheless be glad that most of the rest of humanity believes there is a real reason to resist evil and do good.
Let us not forget all the evil that has been done in the name of self. In the name of revenge. In the name of security. In the name of greed. In the name of fear. Let us not forget that environmental zeal has produced the violent and destructive Earth Liberation Front, that Darwinism fueled the Nazis and their concept of a master race, that the anti-war movement of the sixties produced the Weathermen (read about them from a reliable internet source), that the human-rights-violating murderous regimes within communism were atheistic and sought to foster an irreligious society.
Perhaps some would criticize the references I have just given and indicate that I am misguided, have incorrect information, and making flawed assumption and drawing weak parallels. As a Christian – I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY FEEL!
So to those who believe religion (and in America their favorite target is of course Christianity) is somehow the cause of all wars and oppression, and must become obsolete in order for man to move forward – I challenge you to reconsider. And I challenge you to remember the old Chinese proverb: Choose your enemy well, for he is who you will become. Be tolerant and accepting of people of faith, otherwise you will be intolerant and divisive like religious people have been. Be open-minded to the notion of a God, otherwise you will be narrow-minded and afraid of what the truth might really be - like religious people have been. Don’t speak of how “certain people” and their beliefs are dangerous, or you could become reactionary and eventually perhaps genocidal as religious people have been. Separate ideas from the people who espouse them, or you could become ignorant and judgmental as religious people have been.
My Christian brothers and sisters, Let’s not permit our sinful nature to rule our hearts. Let’s not try to mold God into our own selfish image. Let’s not try to get Him on OUR side. Let us cast off all our me-focused desires, worries, fears, anger, self-righteousness, pride, and lay them down at the cross. Let us endeavor in Christ to show the world that He who saved us from sin is loving, patient, righteous, caring, unafraid, wise, free from anger – by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us in His ways and exemplifying the behavior He modeled for us on this Earth.
Grace and Peace to you all,
Stephen
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Introduction
Hello out there, fellow bloggers.
My name is Stephen Brannen. I'm a musician living in Colorado Springs with my beautiful wife and two adoreable daughters, plus a couple of furry feline beasts. By day (and sometimes night) I am a guitarist with The United States Air Force Academy Band. Music has always been my passion and occupation, but the Creator who gave me the gift is a pearl of much greater price. Nevertheless, I want you to hear my music and be blessed by it. That's part of the reason I started this blog.
The other reason I'm here is to bring to fruition my hidden life-long desire to communicate through words, in this case - to write. It's my father's fault - he's a preacher. Now he's blogging. Since I didn't follow in his footsteps to the pulpit, I'll try to make up fot it by following him onto blogspot. If you're reading this daddy - I love you!
I will try to keep everyone posted on my musical endeavors, while bringing what I hope to be enlightening prose to this corner of the web. Thank you for joining with me.
My name is Stephen Brannen. I'm a musician living in Colorado Springs with my beautiful wife and two adoreable daughters, plus a couple of furry feline beasts. By day (and sometimes night) I am a guitarist with The United States Air Force Academy Band. Music has always been my passion and occupation, but the Creator who gave me the gift is a pearl of much greater price. Nevertheless, I want you to hear my music and be blessed by it. That's part of the reason I started this blog.
The other reason I'm here is to bring to fruition my hidden life-long desire to communicate through words, in this case - to write. It's my father's fault - he's a preacher. Now he's blogging. Since I didn't follow in his footsteps to the pulpit, I'll try to make up fot it by following him onto blogspot. If you're reading this daddy - I love you!
I will try to keep everyone posted on my musical endeavors, while bringing what I hope to be enlightening prose to this corner of the web. Thank you for joining with me.
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