Jul 15, 2009
In Life
In eras previous to our own, there was often concern about the effect of musical styles on our moral lives, from ancient Greece all the way to the mid-20th century. Christian philosopher Anicius Boethius, wrote in the 6th century: "Music can both establish and destroy morality. For no path is more open to the soul for the formation thereof than through the ears. Therefore when the rhythms and modes have penetrated even to the soul through these organs, it cannot be doubted that they affect the soul with their own character and conform it to themselves" (On Music Bk. 1, Ch. 1, quoted from. Rev. Basil Nortz, O.R.C. "The Moral Power of Music." The Homiletic & Pastoral Review (April 2002): 17-22). Today, however, such talk sounds embarrassingly outdated. Many people do understand the impact of the words of music, to the extent that rock and rap lyrics have at times become political controversies involving high court cases and the making of laws. This is certainly a valid concern, as no doubt the words of music do influence our thoughts and behaviors. But discussions on the power of the musical style itself, words aside, are easily dismissed. But the words generally flow from the style. It is the style itself that is often at the root of the problem.
In the 1950s, rock music sent shock waves through America. Parents, pastors, and concerned citizens spoke with abhorrence about this new style and made dire predictions about the negative moral impact it would have on the young and on society as a whole if it were not curbed. Modern people chuckle at these uptight and repressive "prophets of doom" who saw rock music as corrupting the young and disposing them to rebelliousness, sexual license, excess, and violence. But it seems that these so-called alarmists are vindicated by statistics. The ‘60s saw a sharp increase in sexual activity among the young, teen pregnancies, rebellious attitudes towards parents, drug-use, and violent crime. While there were certainly other contributing factors, the coincidence is simply too uncanny, especially when we consider that the powerful rock movement itself became synonymous precisely with drugs, free sex, and rebellion against parents and society.
To understand music’s effect on the human person, it will be useful to cover the components making up the human person. The Manichean heresy never seems to entirely leave cultures, and ours is not the exception. So it is worthwhile to reiterate here that one cannot divide the body from the soul as long as we are alive on this earth. We are body-soul composites. Whatever the body does our soul is closely engaged with. Hence, if someone uses his hand to point a gun at someone and uses his mouth to demand money, he cannot later claim that it was his body that did the evil, but his soul was uninvolved. This body-soul composite comprises an intimate intertwining between our body, our intellect, our emotions, and our will. These four components influence one another and form the disposition of our soul, that is, our relationship with God. It is important that we, with the help of God’s grace, form our intellects well, act as wise guardians of our emotions, and govern our bodily actions so as to bring our souls in conformity with our true dignity as images of God--the True, the Good, and the Beautiful One.