We Are Children of The Reformation

The Reformation was the most important cultural catalyst for evangelical Christianity. Far too often it becomes relegated to the dust heap of technically interesting, yet unimportant events in history. Yet we forget exactly how far reaching its effects truly were, especially or anyone who claims the banner of Christian. Possibly the best way to illustrate these profound effects is by looking at the most famous composer of the Renaissance. JS Bach.

First, some background. JS Bach was unlike any other composer during the Renaissance. While men like Vivaldi and Beethoven tended to be aristocratic, Bach did not come from a well connected family, nor did he enjoy the privileged education of his contemporaries. In fact, if it were not for the Reformation, then the world might never have heard the music of Bach. To the surprise of many, Bach actually owed his career to a fiery preacher from Wittenberg. Martin Luther.

Martin Luther probably never intended to ignite a revolution. In fact, if anyone reads his infamous ’95 Theses’, you would be surprised at the heavily Roman Catholic bent. This was because for many years, Martin Luther truly believed that if he could demonstrate the errors of the Roman Catholic Church, then the clerics, an even the Pope himself would listen and change their errors. None were more surprised by the Roman Catholic resistance than Luther himself. In some ways, it seemed that Luther himself really never anticipated the resistance he received from the Church. As he experienced rejection and persecution, eventually Luther became the Church’s bitterest enemy.

Bach, God and Music

JS Bach was profoundly influenced by Martin Luther. He owned a copy of Luther’s German translation of the Bible and made frequent notes throughout. A favorite verse of his was 1 Corinthians 10:13; “whatever we eat or drink, do it to the glory of God and not to men.” Bach truly believed that his music was an act of worship to God, a dramatically different philosophy than most had at the time.

For Bach, he believed that the very structure of music itself should reflect the glory of God. His music is famous for its intricate structuring, the way he could build themes into a powerful crescendo. At a time when composers like Vivaldi were experimenting with abandoning the traditional methods of writing. Bach believed that since God was a God of order, so his music should reflect this characteristic. Bach would often tell his students that they could never play or write great music without God. He believed that God was the source of all beauty, poetry and thus music. For Bach, the reason that music so uplifts our souls is because it was God such created such things. Therefore, the very existence of music, proved the existence of God.

Layman Theology

Theology in today’s time has changed drastically. It was barely two centuries ago that the only people who seriously considered such issues were the stereotypical ‘academics in ivory towers’. People who for the most part essentially didn’t have to deal much with real world issues. For centuries it was Catholic monks who had the largest impact on Christian theology. When the Reformation occurred there was a shift, but not as large as it could have been. Despite the positive change, there was still a heavy Roman Catholic influence. Even Martin Luther recommended prayer to Mary, as well as participating in the Eucharist. It has taken a long time to get to the point where the average layman (in other words, you and me) was free to read, study and discuss theology openly. We ought to be grateful to be living in such times.

Christian Art and Influencing a Secular Culture

In our modern time, there has been yet another revolution we take for granted. One that is as large and important as The Reformation itself. The explosion of Christian art. For decades there have been Christians involved in art, whether it was movies or music. That’s not what I’m talking about. Remember that legendary projects like ‘The Ten Commandments’ were produced by secular companies. There were Christians involved with such major media companies, but this had very little to do with faith.

Then in recent decades there was a shift. All of the sudden there was an explosion of art made by Christians, for the express purpose of proclaiming their faith. This is a radical cultural revolution as far reaching as The Reformation itself. Whether it was Tim Lahaye using ‘Left Behind’ to discuss Biblical prophecy, Frank Peretti both terrifying and thrilling audiences with his novels of supernatural warfare, Alex Kendrick and Roma Downey creating films explicitly dealing with the Bible, or major Christian musicians being featured in major films, Christian art is now an unstoppable cultural force, and for once, this is a good thing.

Using terms like Christian art almost sounds cheesy. I get that. But when I use this term, I’m not trying to throw out yet another meaningless catchphrase. To most, Christian art simply refers to ‘clean movies or music’, usually with a strong moral message. This is all well and good, but at the same time is entirely too simple of an explanation. Shouldn’t Christians be at the forefront of the culture.

Are We Preaching God or Good Morals?

Often we malign people for rejecting faith and turning to atheism, but maybe this is more of a misunderstanding on our part. Maybe we have failed to understand what is really going on. Too many churches are full of stale teaching, and shallow thinking. This has unfortunately affected Christian art as well. We forget that God calls us to a higher way of living, not merely better morals. We can go anywhere and get better morality, there isn’t much of a gospel there

We have used science to no end attempting to prove there must be a Creator. We have endlessly attempted to unify history theologically. Attempting to reach people with the head, forgetting we have hearts and souls as well. Maybe our biggest issue isn’t what we think it is. Maybe when people reject faith, they are really rejecting a God that doesn’t go beyond the Church doors. We reach of God who parts the waters of the Red Sea, rains thunder and fire from the heavens, speaks with a voice like many waters, and then tell them not to smoke, drink or cuss, and not to forget tithing. Any reasonable person would think there must be more to this, and you can’t really blame them.

I conclusion I believe the mission field isn’t politics, or the myriads of issues we get caught up with. Our mission field is touching the hearts and souls of others. Reminding them that God is real, and it is He who created the desire for something higher.