The Bible and Music

Yesterday we talked about biblical allusions. As I begin my search for biblical allusions in popular, modern music, I’m realizing that many songs mention the bible, but do not reference specific passages or characters. Most of the biblical references are vague and to the most well-known sections of the bible. The artists or songwriters wouldn’t need to be familiar with the bible to know these passages and this makes me wonder if the mention of the bible is an artistic/personal expression or more of a selling point to improve the presentation of the song. Furthermore, the allusions are typically very general, which I’m not sure counts as an allusion as much as just mentioning religion as a whole. Ultimately, I am discovering that finding biblical allusions is much more difficult than I previously thought.

In class yesterday, we discussed how hymns use their words to reference the Bible. I did not have much to contribute to this conversation as the only hymns I know are those of Christmas music. However, it was interesting to hear everyone else’s excitement for the topic. Many of the hymns chosen as examples in class were ones that people remember from their childhood, either hearing them in church or hearing their parents sing it to them.

Often times, the allusions found in these hymns are so subtle that they could very easily go unnoticed. As children, I’m sure the people that were reminiscing on these hymns did not fully understand the allusions has children, but knew the basic gist of the song. I’m looking forward to the scavenger hunt that we are doing in class. I already have so many ideas that were flowing through my head as we discussed it in class.

After studying old musicians I appreciate the musical ton and work put behind each piece, especially comparing it to music in today’s world. While classical music still exists and is still very relevant, it is not nearly appreciated enough anymore.

Listening to these old classical religious songs really brings back memories from my childhood and growing up in the church.  When I was little I always found the hymns to be rather boring, but after studying them more closely in this course, a new love for them has sparked in me.  I now realize and appreciate the beauty behind the music instead of being bored by the old songs.

Today, we looked at how current Christian pop music has many allusions to the Bible. There are overall themes that relate to the Bible and direct connections to text from the Bible. I found it interesting, how you can just easily search on Bible sites for direction locations of texts in the Bible.

Something I have seen an increase in is, Christian music. Christian music is becoming very popular amongst the young generations. I think young adults are drawn to it, because it has a sense of peace and clarity that other music might not have. I know my friends listen to the music frequently and I have started to listen, to it a bit more to it. I enjoyed looking at music that relates more to current day.

For the majority of class today, we continued the discussion of biblical allusions in popular music and older hymns. One of the main topics that we talked about was actually diving into the allusions and knowing the meaning or connection with the song. Learning or understanding will not be present if you simply copy down another article about it or just confirm that there is an allusion. Intertextuality was a word that popped up when mentioning allusions. This is shaping the meaning of one text from another text and identifying the relationship between the two. This is what the music and songs are doing when we connect them back to The Bible. Another important feature that I noted when discussing the process of finding biblical allusions that are woven in contemporary songs is that it will not always be a direct reference or paint a perfect picture. Some songs may seem to have no meaning to The Bible, however there can be several references. With this, some songs may have allusions that are mistaken for another or could be both. An example of this is with “In the Garden.” This hymn for some may be a direct reference to The Garden of Eden or it could be to The Garden of Gethsemane. I enjoyed the process of finding contemporary songs and hymns that draw imagery from The Bible, which I will be doing more of soon.

I think it is interesting to explore how contemporary Christian music pairs pop styling with allusions to the bible. Often times it has a spin on whatever story they are using in terms of language. For example, “Resurrecting” by Elevation Worship phrases the Resurrection as “Our God has robbed the grave” which is a completely different way of posing the idea that Jesus rose from the dead. This kind of new look I think opens up the ideas being portrayed to younger or even more eclectic audiences because it is not specifically biblical language even though it is still and allusion to the text. The new take seems fresh and is a new way of interpreting the resurrection which can reach younger and more diverse audiences.

For tomorrow’s class, we were asked to find hymns and contemporary Christian songs that use specific words or imagery drawn from The Bible. The first step I took in this process was solely finding songs that I listen to frequently that draw from The Bible. One of my favorite Christian songs is written by Zach Williams and titled, “Chain Breaker.” This song mentions “prison-breaking Savior” and the breaking of chains through coming to Christ multiple times. I referenced this back to scripture in Mark 5:8 when Jesus restores a demon-possessed man that is physically in chains. Although Zach Williams intent to write this song was not directly correlated to this verse, I thought it was interesting to form a connection between the song and The Bible. Another song that I found a connection to was “How Great is Our God.” This work can be considered a hymn and even a contemporary song, but it has several biblical allusions. One of the references is to the Trinity, which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The song references this by saying, “The Godhead Three in One / Father Spirit Son.” Another image formed in this song is the lyrics, “The Lion and the Lamb.” This is going back to the verse in Isaiah 11:6 when talking about the joy that will come when the Lion and the Lamb lie down together. The last hymn that I chose to draw specific imagery from The Bible was “Great is thy Faithfulness.” This hymn is extremely familiar to me because I grew up in a Methodist church and this seemed to be a reoccurring hymn that we sang throughout different services. I never looked into the multiple meanings or connections with this song until now. One instance of the specific imagery revealed in this hymn can go back to God’s faithfulness with Abraham and Sarah when he gives them a baby song. This was seen with great trust in God because these married couple was nearly 100 years in age and doubted God’s work to do this deed. There is several other connection from this song to the bible like in Psalm 36:5 that reads, “God’s faithfulness is unlimited.” This hymn also was one of my favorites, however after further analyzing it I have a deeper connection to it.

Class got cancelled today and let me tell you, my tired self almost yelled out with happiness when reading the e-mail declaring it. I enjoy the material of this class, however, at that moment, I was on track to get 4 hours of sleep. I ended up going home on Sunday to spend the day with my mom and have dinner with her. This being said, I stayed a little later than I thought I would and had to stay up late to complete all of my homework.

While I was home, my mom and I decided to watch bits and pieces of Jesus Christ Superstar. After discussing the original version in class, I was eager to see how this newer version would play out. In my opinion, which doesn’t mean much considering I have no affiliation with Christianity, they did a good job framing the stories of the Bible. I read up on other people’s reviews and many claimed they thought the casting of John Legend was a mistake. However, I enjoyed that they provided the audience with a take on Jesus that we haven’t seen before. I personally do not think Jesus looked the way he is often times depicted, with long hair, olive skin, and abs. If you think about the fact that the jews had to flea Egypt to get salvation from slavery, it only makes sense that Jesus, as a jew, would have more of an African ethnicity, not white. The evidence is there as to how Jesus could be black, but it makes people uncomfortable, as it contradicts the traditional ideas of Jesus.

Overall, I feel the director did a good job of making Biblical stories more interesting, even to people who do not follow the religion. Their choice to use John Legend was bold, but paid off in the end.

In class on March 28, Rob Sailor (hopefully that is how you spell it, haha) and Nicholas Johnson came to our class to speak about these two central topics. The Eastern Orthodoxy had a view of salvation through the east and west. We also discussed atonement, along with soul healing. The SVOT speech brought up soul healing a lot. Universality and creation were two major topics in the Eastern Orthodoxy. This background that Rob described provided a really nice transition into what Nicholas Johnson taught us about Arvo Part. He was a major figure in b. 1935. Post modernism has 12 tones. The term credo refers to a biblical crisis. Arvo went through a 7 year silence in Austria and Germany. The Tintinnabuli had two voices, a divine voice and a human voice. It focused centrally on Orthodoxy, Christianity, and Secularism. There was a specific culture and rebellion of sorts, as well, because of the tension and disagreement between the east and the west. Arvo doesn’t try to convert anyone through music, he has it in hospice settings of sorts. In the 11th century, Christianity split between the east and the west. The west was guided by salvation by means of appeasement and acceptance. The east was guided by soul repair, and sin is a matter of soul sickness. The human soul and voice are the two most powerful instruments in the world, Part said. This was a very intriguing class for me on a personal level. I appreciate the fact that they took their time to explain this religious topic and figure to us.