Jesus is My Girlfriend: On Imbalanced Worship, Part 2

In the last post, we looked at the fact that contemporary Evangelical worship music very frequently is modeled on romantic, experiential, emotional, sensual musical expressions, a model that is increasingly becoming the dominant perceived norm in modern worship musical practices.

We saw also that this is such a perceived dominant worship norm that, even back in 2003, the writers of South Park (who are not Christians) could base an extremely popular episode ("Christian Rock Hard") on this perception, expecting even their (largely pagan) audience to relate to the humor involved, as it satirized the lyrics of contemporary Evangelical worship music.

We turn now to begin to attempt to answer the question of why this change has occurred. A change has occurred, indeed. In the first couple of centuries following the Reformation, the Protestants followed the Church's ancient practice of singing the Psalms (which they did in the vernacular languages and in the musical styles contemporary to their time) and instituted the congregational singing of hymns suited for the purpose (of which Lutheran chorales were some of the earliest examples).

The Psalms, of course, as well as many of the phrases and quotes within the congregational hymns, were from Scripture itself, and, as we'll eventually see, a good portion of the Bible, especially the Psalter, is expressed in experiential, subjective language (and some of the Bible's language is even romantic and sensual, of which the Song of Solomon is a prime example). Thus, a strain of the worship music of the Church from its inception (inherited in many ways as it was from Old Covenant Israel) includes an experiential, sensual, subjective aspect within the larger worship tradition of the People of God.

However, though this experiential, subjective, emotional strand was an aspect of the Biblical worship music tradition, that strand was in balance with other emphases of Biblical worship instruction, and the music of the Church, and of post-Reformation hymnody amply reflected this.

For instance, this strand, though present, was in balance with more objective doctrinal content describing and lauding God such as in the lyrics of Isaac Watts' "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun":

Jesus shall reign where'er

Does his successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

Where He displays His healing power,

Death and the curse are known no more:

In Him the tribes of Adam boast

More blessings than their fathers lost.

With power He vindicates the just,

And treads th' oppressor in the dust:

His worship and His fear shall last

Till hours, and years, and time be past.

The saints shall flourish in His days

Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;

Peace, like a river, from His throne

Shall flow to nations yet unknown.

This can profitably be compared and contrasted with some lyrics from popular contemporary worship songs like "How He Loves":

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss

And my heart burns violently within my chest

And from "Draw Me Close To You":

Oh Jesus,

Draw me close to you

Never let me go

Cause nothing else could take your place

To feel the warmth of your embrace

You are my desire

No one else will do

Bad songs? Not necessarily. Too sensual? Not necessarily. However, the shift to experiential, subjective, romantic, sensual lyrics from more objective, balanced, doctrinal lyrics is obvious, and the contemporary lyrics quoted above increasingly dominate modern Evangelical worship. How and why did this change happen? Is the change justified Biblically? We will, Lord willingly, take up those questions next week.