Interesting discussion here 
As I’m typing this up, I’m listening to an album of ambient and mostly instrumental music on YouTube, by a composer named Hammock, the guy who did that video that I posted here earlier. If you want to check it out, you can find it here:
youtube.com/watch?v=6UlTJR9FY8Y
Lately I’ve been getting into dubstep and its variations a lot, mostly of the more reflective and contemplative variety, like what I’m listening to now.
It helps me to relax and focus a little better when I’m writing, or in this case typing, or when I’m working, which is when I most often listen to music, on my mp3, as I’m cleaning toilets or mopping floors, etc.
I work alone most of the time in the buildings I clean, so I have the freedom to do this, which I appreciate.
I do enjoy a little rock here, and a little pop there, some music that makes you want to bob your head or dance a little, but mostly I like music that is more melodic, or acoustic, that’s more thoughtful, or has some depth to it, that speaks to the heart and the soul, as it were.
For example, I like a lot of ambient music, like what I’m listening to now, and have since I was a kid.
I don’t know, maybe I’m drawn to it’s because I’m a poet at heart or something. 
Actually music has often helped me in my writing, inspiring me and helping me to focus. Not sure exactly why this is, but I’m grateful for it.
I think, at least in some ways, for a lot of people anyway, music can be like a language for the heart, much as mathematics and science can be like a language for the mind. It can be a way to express what’s going on inside of us.
Of course, like with anything else that human beings create and put out there in the world, and with any way in which they express what’s going on inside of them, it can be good or it can be bad, it can beautiful or ugly, or more likely and more often some combination thereof, or in between.
I think you’re right Stef that sometimes music can be become a kind of idol for us, and for a lot of people, and some of the content of some music out there can be negative and even psychologically unhealthy in any number of ways, but then I think Steve is right too, that there can be a lot of value in music, and not just in music that is overtly ‘Christian’.
Come to think of it, I think some ‘Christian’ music out there can itself become a kind of idol for some people, and some of it may drive people further from God rather than draw them closer to God, for example by alienating them with lyrics that are either overly sentimental or irrelevant to their own lives and experience, to their struggles or their hopes, or by subtle underlying threats, some good ol’ fashioned turn or burn theology, and the like, within the lyrics, etc.
That’s not to say that all Christian music is like that. There’s a lot of good stuff out there, I think, and no doubt much of it of which I am unaware.
I don’t listen to a lot of Christian music I admit, mainly because I have found a lot of it bland and uncreative, but there is some stuff I like, and maybe if I explore more I’ll find more stuff that I’ll enjoy.
I’m most drawn to Christian music that is honest and heartfelt about the struggle between faith and doubt, music that is full of longing and aching rather than a self-assured certainty, music that is more of an unabashed cry for help and for healing, interspersed with humble thanksgiving and praise, rather than music that is preachy or has a little too much ‘Christianese’ in it.
I like Christian music that is more real, I guess you could say, and more subtle rather than forceful, where there is a sense that people are expressing more of what they really feel, rather than what they think they ought to say.
Here’s a couple examples of some of the Christian stuff I’ve come across that I’ve liked:
We Go On - The Normals -
youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_jpaUovOI (this is a video I made myself awhile back actually )
The Violet Burning - Forty Weight -
youtube.com/watch?v=Ub3SwxnlII0
Jesus - Rich Mullins -
youtube.com/watch?v=dbjsfbfH_3I
But those are just a couple examples of some Christian songs that I’ve liked though, and I’m sure there are others that I haven’t thought of.
I even like some of the old hymns, like Abide With Me and It Is Well With My Soul and a few others, for example, and I know there are stories of deep devotion and faith and even in the midst of great suffering and loss, behind a lot of them, and I respect that.
But to be honest, I’ve always struggled with the whole worship thing, meaning singing during a church service and that sort of thing.
In the past, when I was at the Baptist church I used to be a member at, I would sing along most of the time… sometimes my heart would be in it, when I resonated with the lyrics, or some of them, or the underlying message of the song; or when I thought that the words weren’t totally true to how I felt at the time, like ‘I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you’, for example, I would sing it more as a prayer, wanting it to be true, or if it’s something that I wanted to be true of myself, that I wanted to mean; or, if it was something that I didn’t resonate at all with, or that I felt was irrelevant to where I was at nor even where I wanted to be, or was even threatening to me, I might not sing at all, and just sit quiet there in the pew, and think and pray.
There were times when I felt something stir within me, where I felt awakened by something bigger than myself, as I sung, other times I felt just dead inside, and everything in between… so I’ve struggled with it.
Nowadays, in the group that I’m in, the group will sing together, some songs I recognize, a lot of them I don’t (most of the group comes from more of a Pentecostal background, even though they’re all universalist, so their background in music is a little different too) and occasionally I’ll sing along with them, but most of the time I won’t, but will just listen and pray, or will write down poetry, or what I feel like I’m getting from God, that sort of thing, while everyone else is singing, and my pastor is totally cool with this, which I appreciate.
And anyway I wonder if worship isn’t so much about singing songs as it is simply about connecting with God on a deeper level, communing with Him in some meaningful way, whether that’s through singing or in some other way. I don’t think that God is egotistical or anything or needs our praise, but rather simply wants to make a deep connection with us, and if there be any praise or thanksgiving in that, I would imagine that He would want it to be real and from the heart, rather than forced or drawn out by manipulation.
For me this has come through everything from singing and writing to looking quietly up at the stars in the middle of the night.
Just to throw this out there, I think sometimes I have had this fear that God wanted us to conform to some kind of bland and lifeless order of things, lock and boot-step, everybody needs to get in line, everybody needs to live like this, or not live like that, read these books, or don’t read those books, watch these movies, or don’t watch those movies, listen to this music, or don’t listen to that music, be this way, or don’t be that way, do this, or don’t do that, etc, and I have sometimes got that impression from some Christians that I’ve run across, that when it comes down to it, they really have nothing to offer other than rules and regulations that take all the color and joy out of life, and they give the impression that God is all about forcing people to be exactly the same, to fit into a certain narrow mold, which take all of the uniqueness out of a person.
Sometimes I have felt that there is all this preaching and pressuring to got on board with a certain way of thinking and feeling about things, when what’s being offered is neither good news and even if it was some kind of truth, it wouldn’t be the kind that sets you free, like Jesus talked about…
I don’t believe that God is like this though, even if sometimes I’ve been afraid that He was.
I believe that God loves diversity and individuality, and all forms of creativity, and wants us to enjoy life and not feel as though we are in chains, boxed in claustrophobically, and though He does set some boundaries for our own good, and wants us to stay away from certain things because those things are destructive to us or those around us, I believe there is a lot more flexibility than we might think there is, and I believe God is at work within us and all around us in many ways, and when it come to things like what we’re talking about here, He can use just about any medium to speak to us and reach out to us, whether ‘Christian’ or secular, or anything in between.
I’m not sure how much of this relates to the topic at hand, but I just thought I’d put it out there, 'cuz it’s on my mind…
But back to the whole music thing, as far as instrumental stuff I like anything that I find beautiful, relaxing, moving, stirring, etc, and whether it’s performed by a Christian or otherwise. And a lot of instrumental music is kind of what you make of it I think. Without lyrics you can’t really pick apart its meaning or anything. You just take it for what it is, and whatever thoughts or feelings the music may evoke in the moment.
And if the sound of it resonates with you, then you can enjoy it and savor the flavor of it without too much analysis.
And as far as vocal music with lyrics goes, as I said concerning Christian music, I like stuff that is honest and heartfelt, but I find this in secular music just as much as in, if not more in, Christian music.
There is a lot of beautiful and meaningful music out there that isn’t overtly Christian, or at least isn’t done by musicians who are under Christian music labels.
For example, a couple of my favorite music acts are Mumford and Sons and Lights, neither of whom are under Christian music labels, but who both produce some very spiritual and prayerful music.
Mumford and Sons is very popular at the moment, have won awards and stuff, and their music can be pretty raw and emotional at times, but some of their songs have a lot of depth and heart in them. From what I’ve heard, one or two of their members, including their lead singer, are Christians, if struggling ones (and aren’t we all?).
Here’s a couple examples of their stuff:
youtube.com/watch?v=z3RP1VbUaaA
youtube.com/watch?v=R5HO-X_fR7o
youtube.com/watch?v=ZVVXGuurXbA
Lights is an independent Canadian artist, a spritely young lady who does both upbeat techno kind of stuff, as well as acoustic music.
I tend to be more drawn to her acoustic stuff, though I do enjoy some of her more techno music, but anyways I find her singing style and some of her songs to be really spiritual and meaningful, and I have read that she is a Christian too, although she is more subtle and not very outspoken about it, and doesn’t work under any Christian labels.
Here’s a couple examples of her acoustic stuff:
youtube.com/watch?v=PwRtVRQmYU4
youtube.com/watch?v=KTfaQxqqaPI
youtube.com/watch?v=u7-Oc9zDpgM (a lovely cover of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For here)
Now I know these folks, and all musicians, are just people like me, people who have their own struggles and their own wounds, have their own hope and dreams, their own stories to tell, and none of them are any more perfect than I am, and all of them need God’s grace and help as much as I do.
I don’t want to hold them up on pedestals or give them any more than my respect for their musical ability and appreciation for their gifts, and if I were to interact with them at all personally, just my love and support to them as a fellow human being.
There have been times that I’ve gone all fanboy I admit with some artists for a period of time, when they’re new and novel, but then reality soon kicks back in and I remember that they’re just regular people, broken people that God has gifted musically, and who are just expressing themselves creatively in the midst of their everyday up and down lives, much as I do through my writing.
So in short I think, though some music may have very little spiritual value, there is other music, whether Christian or otherwise, whether instrumental or vocal, that can be a very positive thing for people, and I believe that God can work through it to lead people into a place of prayer and even communion with Him, or at least lead them into a more spiritual and thoughtful mindset, where they are more receptive and open.
I admit I like headbanging to Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and the like every now and then, or foottapping to some upbeat dubstep and the like, but I do realize that most music like that doesn’t have a ton of spiritual benefit to it, even it I find it fun and exciting in the moment, and yet I think there’s a lot of music out there that helps me and others spiritually… sometimes when we don’t know how to pray and connect with God, there is music out there that gives our hearts a kind of language to work with, if that makes any sense.
I think God created music for a reason, and He has given us all of our creative abilities and outlets for a reason, and I think one of the big reasons for the existence of music and other kinds of artistic expression and creativity is for there to be a channel through which we can communicate with God, or with others, or even with our own souls, or in turn through which God can communicate with us, even if it is coming from others as well.
I believe that God has often spoken to me through something in a story, or something in a film, or, yes, something in a song… and the source has sometimes been not what everyone might expect… children’s fantasy stories, PG 13 or R rated movies, secular music…
He moves in mysterious ways, as they say.
Anyways, I think that should be enough for now, and this was probably longer than I intended. Me and all my rambling 
Blessings to all and peace
Matt
