Where did the phrase, “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” actually come from? Legend has it that John or Charles Wesley used melodies from some of the bar tunes to use as their hymns. Others contribute this practice to reformer, Martin Luther. Recently I found some pretty convincing evidence that although Luther occasionally adopted melodies from folk songs for his services, the Wesleys never used secular melodies for their hymns.
This misquote was actually taken from a message Reverend Rowland Hill, pastor of Surrey Chapel in London, preached in 1844. Reverend Hill did not say, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” What he actually said was, “The devil should not have all the best tunes.” Reverend Hill’s message was not a call to copy the devil’s music for the church. During the time Reverend Hill preached his message, in England, church music had fallen in both quantity and quality, which is pretty much the case today. His message was a call for Christians to write, compose and produce quality Christian music.
Although Luther and the Wesleys may not have used parodies, other famous hymn writers did: Fanny Crosby was one of the best hymn writers ever, having penned the lyrics to 9,000 hymns, including many that are still favorites today including “Blessed Assurance”, and “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.” By the early 1870s, she was well on her way to becoming one of the most prolific hymn writers of her time. She often matched her poems to familiar tunes.
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, an evangelical organization that did much to help the poor and the drunks in the streets, often used the music of popular tunes for hymns. According to the biography, William and Catherine Booth: Founders of the Salvation Army, by Helen K. Hosier, he said: “Satan would have to be battled within his own strongholds, and any means was justifiable, and if it would attract sinners to listen to the message of salvation, let us rescue this precious instrument from the clutches of the devil, and make it, as it may be made, a bright and lively power for good!” If a secular song is given a set of sacred words it could serve as sacred music, and vice versa.
Religious Music Prejudice
Although John Newton had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer a ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us!” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and God’s grace had begun to work in him. For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to God. He decided to become a minister and in 1767 the poet William Cowper and John Newton became good friends. So much so that Cowper helped Newton with his religious services and regular weekly church services. Their goal was to write a new hymn for each service. ‘Amazing Grace’ was one of the hymns written for one of those services. Most hymnals attribute ‘Amazing Grace’ to an early American folk melody. While others speculate that it may have originated as the tune of a song the slaves sang.
The Birth of Christian Rock
Larry Norman, the father of Christian Rock, wrote a song which coined the phrase, ‘Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?’ and since then many in the church have labeled contemporary Christian artists like Larry Norman as wicked, evil, perverted and rebellious. But is this really the case?
Larry rejected a role in the Rock Musical, Hair because of its glorification of drugs and free sex as the answers to today’s problems. He decided, “I couldn’t do it when I found out what it was about. I just didn’t agree with what it had to say. So I turned it down.” Larry, who was broke, went home to his apartment, locked his guitar in the closet, and cried. Years later he would recall that, “It was a beautiful time of my life because it was just me and Jesus. And I had to depend on him, which I wanted to, because nothing else was happening. I wasn’t performing; I’d given up music because I wanted to be pure.” In 2006 Larry Norman recalled: “I continued to live a spartan existence, slept on the floor, got my teeth fixed without a shot of Novocain, chose to have no car and walked everywhere. I was busy getting ready for the end of the world.” About this time he wrote his most covered song, ‘I Wish We’d All Been Ready’ “Soon after that I gave up music completely so I could talk to people on the streets.” He said. “I felt that rock music and love and peace was all a big lie.” In a 2001 interview, Larry indicated: “The Bible says we should go into prisons and hospitals and witness to people and also bring them encouragement. I wanted to go out into the streets and witness to the people on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard; whether they were prostitutes or homosexuals or drug users and bring them into the kingdom.” After an extended illness, Larry Norman died at 2:45 AM on February 24, 2008, at age 60, at his home in Salem, Oregon with family and friends present. Does this sound like someone who was wicked, evil, perverted and rebellious?
My Own Prejudices
Before I was saved I had the impression that all Christians wore suits and listened to only classic hymns on the radio. Being a musician, that was one of the excuses I used for not becoming a Christian. Fortunately, in spite of my own musical prejudices, God was still able to woo me to Himself. Soon after I surrendered myself to God I began writing songs to express my gratitude to Him for saving me. The songs I wrote were naturally a more upbeat, rock style. This was before I had heard of Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, or any of the other Christian artists that became popular during the revival in the ’70s. I thought that I was the only one who was writing songs like this:
The turning point in my Christian walk was when I was introduced to the music of Keith Green, an American Contemporary Christian Music artist from Brooklyn, New York.
Beyond his music, Keith was best known for his strong devotion to Christian evangelism and challenging others to the same. Often considered controversial for his outspoken messages and confrontational lyrics, some notable songs written by Green and/or his wife, Melody Green, include “Your Love Broke Through,” “You Put This Love In My Heart,” and “Asleep In The Light.” In 1975, Keith and his wife, Melody began an outreach program in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. They purchased the home next door to their own and rented an additional five homes in the same neighborhood and provided an environment of Christian teaching for a group of young adults, the majority of whom were of college age. Much to the consternation of neighbors, those living in the Green’s homes included former drug addicts, the homeless, and even some prostitutes who had been referred to the Greens by other ministries and shelters.
In 1978, Last Days Ministries (LDM) began publishing the Last Days Newsletter. Originally printed on a few pages of loose paper, the newsletter grew in content to eventually become a small, colorful magazine and was renamed ‘The Last Days Magazine.’ The magazine featured articles by Keith and Melody as well as contemporary Christian authors such as, David Wilkerson, Leonard Ravenhill, and Winkie Pratney, all of whom lived in the area. The publication also later included the reprinted works of classic Christian authors such as Charles Finney, John Wesley, and William Booth, and his wife Catherine. Most of the articles were reprinted as tracts. By the mid-1980s, the Last Days Magazine was sent out to over 500,000 people worldwide.
Keith came under much criticism from the Christian Music Industry for making his music available to people for ‘whatever they could afford.’ He was quoted as saying, “I repent of ever having recorded one single song, and ever having performed one concert, if my music, and more importantly, my life has not provoked you into Godly jealousy or to sell out more completely to Jesus!” Does this sound like someone who was wicked, evil, perverted and rebellious?
Musical bigotry is nothing new. John Calvin, a French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, did not want any of the songs used in church services to be associated with dancing or secular practices. This was in contrast to Luther who adopted folk songs into his services. Calvin believed that the New Testament only permitted the use of psalms as Christian songs to be used as worship. For that reason, the only songs he allowed to be used were out of the approved or “canonical” songbooks. Calvin is quoted as saying, “Simple and pure singing of the divine praises, forasmuch as where there is no meaning there is no edification.” Calvin also believed that instrumental music was only tolerated in the time of the Old Testament because of the people’s infancy. Therefore, harmonic singing and accompanied singing was forbidden in Calvin’s churches.
Martin Luther defending his stance on music in the church said, “The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits. A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.”
Now, as a musician,I know music well. There is a great difference between musicians and singers who use their talent to glorify God and those who use their talent to glorify themselves. The latter should not be playing in the church. I’ve attended church services where the ‘worship team’ seemed to draw so much attention to themselves that there was no way that I could worship.
Let me make myself clear; I am in no way condoning or suggesting that we should allow all types of contemporary music into the worship service. Nor do I believe that only traditional hymns be used. As Christians, we should have the discernment and common sense to know what music is to be accepted by the Church and in what circumstances. The scripture teaches us that, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecc. 3:1)
There are types of music I do not personally care for: Hip- Hop, Rap, Heavy Metal, and Country Western. But that is not to say that God cannot use those types of music to reach people. Even though I don’t particularly like country or rap music, God has used that type of music to minister to me on several occasions.
Yes, there are musicians, (both famous and unknown) who promote themselves as Christian artists who are really only interested in promoting themselves and selling their CDs, but the Apostle Paul had to deal with people like this in his day when he wrote, “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”(Phil. 1:15-18 NIV)
I believe that before we go off on tangents about how Contemporary Christian Music is the tool of the devil we should consider: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:18) and test the music by the fruit that it bears.
