After publishing the article on rap, reggae and ragas I received a rather scathing reply from a church man. Here's my response:

I am not saying the rap, reggae and ragas should become standard fare in our churches. However, that’s not to say that we might not be able to learn from a service featuring these styles of musics.

Purpose of music is to carry words meaningfully according to content.

What is worship?
Musically, is the Gospel represented, does the music establish who we are in Christ, intimacy and renewal.

John Calvin, "God is not truly glorified by us, unless the hearts of all agree in
giving him praise, and their tongues also join in harmony … for the unity of his servants
is so much esteemed by God, that he will not have his glory sounded forth amidst
discords and contentions."

Roff, "It is common to hear criticisms of new musical styles being introduced in churches today ... Unfortunately, we often become attached to the musical style we grew up with and resist anything new. But our study of hymnody has shown that, with each new age in church history, fresh musical forms have arisen spontaneously to give expression to the reviving work of the Holy Spirit in the church. No one style has been, or ever can be, sufficient to serve effectively as the sole and permanent church style."

Rao, Sundara R.R.. (1983). Bhakti Theology in the Telegu Hymnal. Confessing the faith in India series, no. 16. Madras: The Christian Literature Society. "Protestant Christians in India, if the South is included, have been singing bhajans for at least two centuries. In fact, Christians have adopted bhajan singing almost simultaneously with some of the great Hindu poet saints. For example, when Tyagaraja
(1767-1847), the great poet saint of Tanjore in Tamil Nadu, was composing his bhajans and kirtans (a type of bhajan) in the early nineteenth century, Purushottam Choudhury, a Christian convert from Andhra Pradesh, began composing bhajans for the Teluguspeaking church.”

Psalm 22
Song of all Nations: Jewish (23) and Gentile (27-28)
Song of all Classes: Rich (29a) and Poor (26)
Song of all Generations: Dead (29b) and Yet to be Born (30-31)

Reggie Kidd in "Singing with the Singing Savior" says "We will despise no voice He is pleased to employ, expanding our own music palette when we can, & exercising heroic forbearance when we must."

“Ours is a singing faith. At every turn, on every occasion, and in every age the Christian church has been marked by a prolific love of music. Wherever the gospel has been preached, it has simultaneously been sung. Wherever the praises of our God have been expressed in words, they have simultaneously been expressed in melodies. As a result, some of the most glorious music ever produced has been the fruit of faithful worship ... According to Martin Luther, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in this world.’”- George Grant in World 11/22/97

“Music is closely related to the spoken word. Human speech has a kind of natural music about it: rhythm, timbre, and pitch play important roles in verbal communication, and not only in tonal languages. In one sense, then, all language is musical. When we enhance that natural music with well-crafted melodies, harmonies, and instruments, our words often take on a new kind of vitality.” John Frame in Worship in Spirit & Truth - page 111

John Calvin, ““The psalms could incite us to raise our hearts to God and to move us with such ardor that we exalt through praises the glory of his name … And truly, we know through experience that song has great force and vigor to move and enflame hearts to invoke and to praise God with a more lively and ardent zeal.”

"Music makes its own distinctive contribution to Christian life and worship. Whatever support music may offer words, however it may highlight, reinforce or enhance the text, music itself - the music of music - is used in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit." - Steven Guthrie.

There is no church, large or small, rich or poor, ethnically diverse or homogeneous, that will not face one, two or all three of these dilemmas. But it usually works out that the high-culture/high-taste artists face the first idol (quality); the church-growth/seeker-sensitivity leadership, the second (effectiveness); and the traditionalists, the third (stasis)." Harold Best, Unceasing Worship, page 169

John Frame: "Unless it can be shown to be inappropriate for worship, everyone’s music should be heard: old people’s and young people’s music; European, African American, and other ethnic music; complex music and simple music. This is how we defer to one another--serve one another--in the body of Christ."

Paul Westermeyer in his book Te Deum talks about how early church typically adopted music styles of the cultures they were in.

I do not disagree that instrumental music cannot be used to praise the Lord. I also still would raise up these musical forms, minus lyrics, as being reverent towards worship.

What differentiates Mary Had A Little Lamb from Merrily We Roll Along?
Twinkle Twinkle from Baa Baa Blacksheep?
The Lyric.

What differentiates Jars of Clay from Janes Addiction?
Again, the lyric.

What differentiates Bob Marley from Christafari?
The lyric.

What differentiates Gangster Rap from Christian Rap?
The lyric.

What differentiates Hindi Bhajan from Yeshu Bhajan?
The lyric.

Music in the early church was representative of that of the culture from which you were worshipping in. It was the text, the lyric that made it Christian.

This is not to say that music isn’t important. This is not to say that the musical setting does not impact the message.

Certainly rap, reggae, ragas – which are very different musical settings – convey totally different emotive contexts. Rap is message music, more conducive to the delivery of a sermon; reggae tends to be celebratory or joyful music which we can use to praise God; Indian raga (bhajans) are more contemplative and thus provide wonderful settings for prayer and meditation.

In all three examples the particular musicians have spent lots of time studying their craft. When Dishon Knox crafts lyrics for a Christ-centered rap he prepares as a preacher prepares a sermon; diving into scripture, doctrinal texts and drawing upon various theologians for support. When Mark Mohr crafts a reggae song he too draws from scriptures and does his homework. Musically, Christafari tours with some of the best Christian musicians that L.A. and Nashville have to offer. With Chris Hale he has studied music here in America as well as Master Musicians in India. His Doctoral Thesis was on Krista Bhajan, I would say musically, historically, theologically he has done his homework.

Rap – high emph lyric, lo emph of music
Reggae – highly trained musian, highly researched lyric
Raga – highly trained musicians, poetic lyric

According to Westermeyer Te Deum p 20 first came singing then came instruments historically. In worship, singing words and the verbal forms they imply also take priority over instruments and instrumental forms – naturally and systematically. Early on instruments were used related to their surrounding countries – world music.

Music can modify texts content and context. Which is a caution as we approach worship with given musical styles.

In the article "Rap, Reggae, and Ragas" Matthew Hundley attempts to convince that "all this music" can be worshipful. What I find glaringly missing is any discussion on what the music itself (separate from the lyrics) is communicating.

I detect a bit of Western musical snobbery here. Maybe the first distinction I need to make is in acknowledging that rap, reggae and ragas are indeed musical styles which can require a high degree of training and musical skill. It may be that you are only familiar with these styles in a secular context which may preclude them, in your mind, from use in worship. If I only know classical from the context of its many secular forms I may question the use of classical music in the context of worship. Certainly even our standard hymnal is loaded with secular tunes appropriated for religious worship (the Wesley’s, Luther, Calvin were all known for borrowing from secular music).

He includes a quote by Mohr that says that "music is neutral and that what counts is the message."

The lyric is certainly a distinguishing factor as it would be in any form of worship music. There are plenty of secular melodies in our hymnals that without the Christian lyric attached are not celebrating faith in Christ. Reggae music can be used to praise Jah or Jesus. The difference is in the message. Ragas may be Hindi or Christian – again the lyric is the key.

As a musician and composer, I am astonished that he appears to be unaware that the music contributes far more to the "message" than the lyrics. Music has the power to communicate that the lyrics are a joke, are trivial, are important, are about the gratification of our lower nature, are about something profound, are erotic, are painful, are comfortable, etc.

As a musician and composer I am not unaware that music contributes to the message. In fact the music is the premise of this article. Reggae music performed by Christafari can exude joy, celebration, beauty at times, but can also express anger, militancy, stern warning at others. The bhajans of Aradhna tend to be more contemplative and certainly the music shows this. The rap of Born2Di can also express excitement, joy, seriousness, anger, and rebuke. The lyrics serve to strengthen the emotional impact and drive home a Christ-centered message.

The combination of the message of the music and the message of the lyrics is what is communicated by the song, --and if it is a good song it will be more powerful than the sum of the parts. Only by considering both can we determine if the music is true, and thus appropriate for worship. A somewhat new book "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel Levitin makes a powerful case that, as human beings we react to music in a basic way. (They don't change the sound track when they put sub-titles in a movie) It is not subject to culture.

I am in agreement. I think we need to celebrate the music of many cultures. And I am excited to see Christians on other continents praising God through other strands of music.

We have thus even a greater responsibility to consider what the music is communicating than to consider what the lyrics are communicating, even though the lyrics are important. If the music does not supplement, or at least retain, the truth of the lyrics, the song does not belong in worship.

Rap, Reggae and Indian Raga styles of music can be used to the glory of God and they can be worshipful. When paired with lyrics that are rooted in the truth they pack a lot of power. The fact that Mark Mohr of Christafari is an ordained pastor and that rapper Dishon Knox is pursuing seminary training attest to their desire to present the truth in their lyrics should not be lost in this conversation.

This article copyright ©2008 Matthew Edward Hundley. Used with permission.

First Published: Critique Magazine