© 1991 Jack Rogers
© 1991 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
MUSIC IN WORSHIP
This column addresses the concern for contemporary aids to worship. We welcome material which you may be inspired to write and share.
In the ongoing debate over the use of nonsexist language in hymnals a recently published article in a popular magazine has made the issue of gender prominent in our thinking. Is the discussion about inclusive language a basic theological issue or is it merely the symptom of a deeper change taking place in religion and culture? Upon reflection, I believe the basic issue is the reluctance of the rank and file in religious institutions to evolve with the expanding orientations of culture and society.
Many of our more conservative brethren would have us believe that it is inappropriate for the church to change with the “fashions of the time.” Certainly there is wisdom in such caution. But this tends to be an oversimplification of what is happening in the latter decades of this century.
Music has from the beginning of time been both a litmus test of important social changes and a catalyst facilitating those changes. It has often fallen to the artist to take a leadership role in the development of social attitudes. Any one living through the rock revolution of the 1960’s would attest to the powerful influence of an art on society. It is ironic that in many conservative churches, where rock and roll was actively condemned during the sixties, that same form of music is now used in worship services on a regular basis, complete with traps, guitars, P. A. systems, and applause! Is this an example of evolutionary change, theological modification, or simple social expediency?
In the face of our rapidly changing society we are not surprised that the pressures for change enter into our expressions of worship. But it is difficult to determine just how far or fast the church should accommodate social change. There are two significant contemporary examples of this dilemma.
First, the Holy Mass of the Roman Catholic Church has experienced centuries of musical development with contributions from thousands of fine composers. But an analysis of the musical developments since Vatican II has led many musicians to bemoan the fact that this fine musical heritage has lost out to a popular folk style that reduces the laity to observers, the musicians to guitar hacks, and the priests to coffee house singers. In contrast to that experience, there are many mainline churches that are unable to change their musical traditions and often find it difficult to raise a choir for regular Sunday morning worship. The issue at the heart of both of these examples is the ability of the church to change in a reasonable and organized manner.
In the light of these observations, it seems clear that inclusive language in our hymns is not the central problem. The more basic condition fueling this issue is the impact of changing cultural attitudes toward women. The underlying dynamic here is social evolution. This is a concept that has produced much fear and controversy in our churches. Perhaps the primary reason for this confusion is that the concept of social evolution is so entangled with those of the physical sciences that many lay people are confused as to its meaning for the church. The Christian message is, after all, a message of hope for the weak and downtrodden, and not of the “survival of the fittest.”
Every minister knows that one of the most difficult challenges of the ministry is to balance the forces of evolutionary change with the “traditions of the church.” At the center of this struggle is the attitude of many parishioners that we must keep that special “old” hymn, even if the hymn was written in the 1920’s while the “new” hymn may have been penned by Martin Luther. The issue is not one of old or new, but of familiar or unfamiliar. Because of this demand for familiarity, many of our finest traditions are lost and creative expressions of contemporary worship are never experienced.
…it seems clear that inclusive language in our hymns is not the central problem. The more basic condition fueling this issue is the impact of changing cultural attitudes toward women.
How do ministers deal with this phenomena? The Urantia Book advocates a unique perspective on the issue of evolution in spiritual matters. It declares that spiritual evolution is at the very heart of our eternal pilgrimage with God. We are sojourners on an eternal adventure and must constantly change and adapt to a multiplicity of environments. Eternal life will not be simpler, but ever more challenging and exciting as we grow in spiritual maturity.
The authors of The Urantia Book suggest that religious leaders cannot call present-day people to spiritual battle with “the trumpet blasts of the Middle Ages.” We need to discover relevant and stirring ideals that give rise to new forms in worship. Furthermore, The Urantia Book writers remind us that the church has a long history of social evolution. Jesus’ teachings have survived the mystery cults of the early church, “the superstition of the dark ages, and are even now slowly triumphing over the materialism, mechanism and secularism of the twentieth century.” In the final analysis, such great times of testing are times of great revelation and spiritual growth.
The spirit of God is active in the process of change, at the very heart of evolution in the church, through the participation of men and women in the work of God on earth. In fact, this is the very essence of the word “liturgy.” Through our effort to include nonsexist language in our music and liturgy we affirm what is gradually becoming universally accepted: the true spiritual and personal equality of men and women.
The authors of The Urantia Book suggest that religious leaders cannot call present-day people to spiritual battle with “the trumpet blasts of the Middle Ages.” We need to discover relevant and stirring ideals that give rise to new forms in worship.
Our hymns are undergoing a gradual change of text. We are using inclusive language, omitting outmoded theology, and addressing major spiritual and social issues of the day (the environment and poverty for example). Even more exciting is the introduction of new hymns from around the world and from different cultures. All of these changes, most of us would agree, will make a stronger and more sensitive church in the future.
But evolutionary growth usually takes place slowly in the church and in society. We need to be concerned about the pace of change so as not to destroy that which is good, beautiful, and of enduring value for reasons of social expediency. The modern world will simply refuse to accept any religion that is out of harmony with “its highest conceptions of truth, beauty, and goodness.” As the Psalmist reminds us, we need to “wait on the Lord” and “be of good courage” as we struggle with evolutionary change. Hopefully, we can find a middle ground which safeguards the truths and loyalties of the past while enlarging our understanding of their insights for the present and future.
Indeed, great truth resides in hymns of former generations. Let us not lose their message in our rush to endorse new trends. We should be careful not to throw out the spiritual baby with the sexist bath water!
The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. Jesus shattered tradition, destroyed dogma, and called mankind to the achievement of its highest ideals in time and eternity — to be perfect, even as the Father in heaven is perfect. (UB 99:5.3)