Mark Hijleh

The Music of Jesus: from Composition to Koinonia Mark Hijleh

This book examines four large questions: Do we need a theology of music? (And if so,why?) What is the place of art music ('classical' music) in a postmodern world? What arethe characteristics of 'the music of Jesus'? How can this music be manifested in theChristian community? Each question is addressed on the basis of building a consistentBiblical worldview which includes adequate respect for the powerful force of music. Although the book focuses on the role of composers, its aim is to encourage seriousmusical examination, support, and action from within the entire evangelical Christiancommunity, with an eye to affecting the culture at large. The author asserts that in thearea of music the Church has become a cultural follower rather than a leader, adoptingthe dangerous postmodern tendency to define musical choices as matters of merepersonal preference rather than seeking to define them on the basis of what God hasrevealed in the Word, by the Son, and through the Spirit. Specific suggestions are madeby which the contemporary Christian community may resist such a tendency, even whilebuilding a dynamic, new, Christ-centered musical practice which can flourish in ourpostmodern world.