The acceptance of the fact that Christian existence is based on and permeated with God’s forgiveness in Christ through the Holy Spirit strikes simultaneous deathblows to attitudes which can be described as musical legalism and musical lawlessness.
Musical legalism can be defined as the attempt to gain the approval of God by striving for musical perfection, or attempting to coerce others into doing the same thing for the same reasons (i.e., gaining God’s approval)…
The other side of the coin can be described as musical lawlessness. This would be the reverse of musical legalism and is an attitude which believes that God’s unconditional forgiveness provides an excuse for irresponsible and slovenly music making, either inside or outside the church…
A Christian musician who practices and advocates musical lawlessness is a person who wears his musical mediocrity every bit as self-righteously as the musical legalist wears his aesthetic perfectionism.
from Music and the Church
————————————
Gender-inclusive version:
The acceptance of the fact that Christian existence is based on and permeated with God’s forgiveness in Christ through the Holy Spirit strikes simultaneous deathblows to attitudes which can be described as musical legalism and musical lawlessness.
Musical legalism can be defined as the attempt to gain the approval of God by striving for musical perfection, or attempting to coerce others into doing the same thing for the same reasons (i.e., gaining God’s approval)…
The other side of the coin can be described as musical lawlessness. This would be the reverse of musical legalism and is an attitude which believes that God’s unconditional forgiveness provides an excuse for irresponsible and slovenly music making, either inside or outside the church…
A Christian musician who practices and advocates musical lawlessness is a person who wears his or her musical mediocrity every bit as self-righteously as the musical legalist wears his or her aesthetic perfectionism.
from Music and the Church