# Measuring the Music



## heartoflesh (Feb 8, 2005)

*Another Look at the Contemporary Christian Music Debate

by John Makujina*


Has anyone read this book? If so, comments?

I found it here: 
http://www.oldpathspublications.org/newbooks.html#measuremusic

[Edited on 8-2-2005 by Rick Larson]


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## heartoflesh (Feb 8, 2005)

I found this with a google search which looks pretty interesting. It is a reply from Majukina to Rob Schlapfer about something or other regarding the book. 

http://www.centralseminary.edu/usermanaged/JMvsRS.pdf


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## Philip A (Feb 8, 2005)

I've read most of it. It was on our church book table, and after I read it I pulled it, it was that terrible. There are plenty of reasons against much of what passes for worship music these days, but he went about it the wrong way. It was full of logical fallacies and silly arguements. And, just so you know what my perspective is and where I'm coming from, I'm only a hair's bradth away from exclusive psalmody.


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## heartoflesh (Feb 8, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Philip A_
> I've read most of it. It was on our church book table, and after I read it I pulled it, it was that terrible. There are plenty of reasons against much of what passes for worship music these days, but he went about it the wrong way. It was full of logical fallacies and silly arguements. And, just so you know what my perspective is and where I'm coming from, I'm only a hair's bradth away from exclusive psalmody.



Thanks for your thoughts on this. Have you read anything on this subjecvt which you found particularly good? I've read John Frame's CCM book, but didn't think it was that great. He seems a bit biased toward CCM. By the way, I am a guitar player in my "contemporary" worship band, but have always wanted to become settled on this issue.


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## Philip A (Feb 10, 2005)

Sorry Rick, I had forgot about this thread!



> _Originally posted by Rick Larson_
> Thanks for your thoughts on this. Have you read anything on this subjecvt which you found particularly good?



On the subject of worship music in particular? Not really. I really liked Peter Masters' _Worship in the Melting Pot_ (which is available online here) for the most part. He does an excellent job of defining the aesthetic and exctatic worship styles, and explaining why they fall short of the biblical model. What keeps this from being a good book altogether though is that he eventually starts to get subjective, and asserts that certain styles of music are inherently immoral (rather than recognizing that he himself _associates_ immorality with those particular styles).

A lot of this kind of discussion of course is based on the regulative principle. Are you settled on that, or is that also a subject of study for you?



> I've read John Frame's CCM book, but didn't think it was that great. He seems a bit biased toward CCM.



That, and he also denies the regulative principle. In his other book on worship he claims to hod to it, but he radically redefines it to such an extent that it resembles the original in name only.



> By the way, I am a guitar player in my "contemporary" worship band, but have always wanted to become settled on this issue.



My background in similar, I used to be _heavily_ involved in the "contemporary" worship, not as a musician, but as the sound tech. My parents are still deeply involved in playing and singing.

[Edited on 10-2-2005 by Philip A]


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## heartoflesh (Feb 10, 2005)

Thanks for your reply, Philip.



> _Originally posted by Philip A_
> 
> A lot of this kind of discussion of course is based on the regulative principle. Are you settled on that, or is that also a subject of study for you?



Frankly, I haven't studied the subject as deeply as I should. Even if I found myself in agreement with it, there isn't much I could do about it-- besides dropping out of the worship band myself, among possibly many other things (which I have recently done anyway in order to teach children's Sunday school). Also, I don't know of any churches in my area that hold to it. None that are even Calvinistic. That's not an excuse not to study the subject, and maybe accept it. I guess it could be just one more thing I could disagree with everyone about.


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