Music
by Richard Blackford
We don’t limit “Set for the Defense” (Philippians 1:7,17) to responding to arguments made against God and the Bible (often in blasphemous attacks), but also in presenting positive affirmations for believing there is a highly Intelligent Designer who is the cause of all creation. Many things in our universe argue for such a Being. Here, we present just one – music.
Music: vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. According to Spotify, there are over 1300 genres of music, the oldest being oral singing.
Researchers have mapped 13 key emotions triggered when we listen to music. There are songs for every one of them. From patriotic, inspirational, joyful, comforting, sad, melancholy, nostalgic, etc. “Music is God's gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven.” (Walter Savage Landor). True, singing is the only form of worship that we do on earth that is specifically mentioned as being in heaven (Revelation 15:3). Internet research says, “No one knows who invented music” and ”No one knows where.” Since macro-evolution can only deal with the material world, there must be a better explanation. Music shows a high degree of intelligence that could only have come from a highly intelligent source. Something cannot give that which it does not have.
Charles Darwin had a rather “interesting” view on the origin of music. True to his belief that man is an evolved animal, He related music as a form of sexual attraction (Perhaps a “mating call?”). That still wouldn’t explain the development of different pitches and musical scales, which is evidence of an Intelligent Designer rather than random chance.
But let’s go back further. Before we could have music, we had to have the musical scale. Here, we bring in the Intelligent Designer. There are 12 different pitches, known as the chromatic scale. Each can become a “key” in which a song may be sung or played. A musical scale is a series of notes in a consecutive order. Major and minor scales are the two most common, and they have the following attributes: They're eight notes long. The top and bottom notes are an octave apart, so they have the same name.
Pathagoras ((565-500 BC) has been called “the father of music” and mathematics. They’re related. Go figure! But Pathagoras didn’t invent music, sound, or pitch. He helped explain it. Remember, the shepherd boy, David, had soothed King Saul with his music 500 years earlier (I Samuel 16). It has been said that “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast” [The Mourning Bride, William Congreve, 1697]. It worked that way on King Saul.
Music could only have come from a highly Intelligent Designer, whom we call “God.” It makes sense that highly intelligent people, like Pathagoras, Bach, and other geniuses, were needed to explain what was given to us by a highly Intelligent Designer. God didn’t have to give us the different pitches that make up the musical scales. He could have made all sounds on the same pitch. There would have been only one note for everything 😖. We would be living in a monotone world. If He had done that, we would never have known some of the most beautiful musical compositions known to humankind, many of which are heard at this time of year. Musical creativity would not have been possible. There’s not much one can do musically with only one note. There are four things: You can make it LOUD or soft. Or, you can make it L O N G or short. That’s it! What a boring and miserable world it would be if suddenly we all spoke, sang, and played in monotone! If music were taken away, there would be a huge missing dimension in our lives!!
It has been said that “The experience of music can be mapped within at least 13 overarching feelings. It can strike fire from the heart and bring tears from the eyes.” Music helps with memory. It also reminds us of memories associated with different songs. It has many psychological and sociological benefits, and there is no way to estimate the number of jobs created by the many aspects of the music industry.
“I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water” (Ray Charles).
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness” (Maya Angelou).
“For me, singing sad songs often has a way of healing a situation. It gets the hurt out in the open into the light, out of the darkness” (Reba McEntire).
Music was not essential for God’s purpose. He didn’t need it for Himself, and He certainly didn’t have to share it! Plus, there are other sounds – like a waterfall, waves on the ocean, children laughing, or a baby’s giggle. God’s purpose required none of these. He did it for us!
So, we present music as evidence for two things.
- There is an Intelligent Designer whom we call “God.”
- That God is good.
I am so thankful that He was mindful of us. That should end us on a high note!