Tuesday, January 06, 2015
"Before P&W, Christians sang hymns about God. But P&W songs are mostly sung to God."
In a post asking if the Praise and Worship music movement is good for men, David Murrow makes the statement that is the title of this post. Murrow goes on:
Another point that is missing from this post is that singing to God is often about self-expression and not about God. That does not mean that genuine praise does not occur from time-to-time, it does, but more often than not we feel better because we told God what we were thinking instead of listening to God tell us what to do. That may be corollary to the point Murrow is making here, but it is very real. God is not our therapist, there to listen to us, He is our Lord and if He listens to us it is an act of unbelievable grace - only.
I think that by making this a gender thing, Murrow robs some very good arguments of a great deal of their power. All he does is add a gender element to an already hard fought battle. His points stand on their own merit and do not need gender differentiations to make them strong.
There is a time to talk to God and there is a time to be told about God. This should not be a either/or discussion.
gender worship music
P&W introduced a familiarity and intimacy with God that’s absent in many hymns. God used to be out there. He was big. Powerful. Dangerous. He was our leader. But with P&W, he’s at my side. He’s close. Intimate. Safe. He’s a lover. Most people assume this shift to greater intimacy in worship has been a good thing. On many levels, it has been. But it ignores a deep need in men to experience a God of power, a God of authority and might, a God to be feared as well as loved.I am not sure why this is about gender - women need to experience God as Lord as well.
Another point that is missing from this post is that singing to God is often about self-expression and not about God. That does not mean that genuine praise does not occur from time-to-time, it does, but more often than not we feel better because we told God what we were thinking instead of listening to God tell us what to do. That may be corollary to the point Murrow is making here, but it is very real. God is not our therapist, there to listen to us, He is our Lord and if He listens to us it is an act of unbelievable grace - only.
I think that by making this a gender thing, Murrow robs some very good arguments of a great deal of their power. All he does is add a gender element to an already hard fought battle. His points stand on their own merit and do not need gender differentiations to make them strong.
There is a time to talk to God and there is a time to be told about God. This should not be a either/or discussion.
gender worship music
