Music, the Gift of God

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Music, Gift of God, Based on Faith I wish to see all arts, principally music, in the service of Him who gave and created them. Music is a fair and glorious gift of God. I would not for the world forego my humble share of music. Singers are never sorrowful, but are merry, and smile through their troubles in song. Music makes people kinder, gentler, more staid and reasonable. I am strongly persuaded that after theology there is no art that can be placed on a level with music; for besides theology, music is the only art capable of affording peace and joy to the heart….. the devil flees before the sound of music, almost as much as before the Word of God (Hymns for the Family of God, x). Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Germany to a musical family. As a child he belonged to a boy’s choir and also played the flute. He later became a monk but struggled to meet the demands of a holy God. After many struggles and hours of confessions he came to realize that man could not, even at his best, be completely clean and satisfy an almighty God (McKim 1-7). Luther spent his earlier years as a scholar. Through his study of the Bible, he found that a person can only be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ; not through the purchase of indulgences, which were widely sold in the Catholic Church of his day. In 1517 Luther composed a document attacking the Catholic Church's corrupt practice of selling indulgences to absolve sin. His 95 Theses promoted the two central beliefs noted above and sparked the Protestant Reformation. Luther was not the first to present these ideas, however, he organized them at just the right moment when people were ready for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther's ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West (McKim 8).
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