Naomi Heywood | The University of Birmingham (original) (raw)
I'm a doctorate student studying the Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology at The University of Birmingham. My research seeks to explore the proper use of music as a vehicle for congregational worship, with especial focus on the dividing line between using the power of music to enhance a worshipper's ability to engage with God and using it to manipulating responses.
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Papers by Naomi Heywood
This paper is based upon premise that, following the logic of Anselm’s perfect-being theology, a ... more This paper is based upon premise that, following the logic of Anselm’s perfect-being theology, a good God is the source of all things good. To this foundation is applied the theology of transformation as espoused by theologians such as David deSilva, Darryl Wooldridge and Lisa Beardsley, which argues from texts such as Gal 4:19 that accepting the gift of salvation is merely the start of a process of becoming like Christ, and that in itself through encounter with God (2 Cor 3:18). The paper therefore suggests that encounters with God are to be eagerly sought.
From Jeremy Begbie’s metaphysical framework, which establishes the place of music within God’s creation, insight can be drawn, both from Begbie and other scholars such as Brown, Lynch and Heaney, as to the ways in which music can facilitate encounter with and revelation of God. Begbie deals largely with music as an object. In line with the theology of ‘The Great Tradition’, Begbie offers that the orderliness of music is a revelation and reflection of the orderliness of God. With a focus more upon the experience of music, Brown, Lynch and Heaney explore how the somatic nature of music can evoke a liminality of experience in which the transcendence of God is revealed.
The possibilities for encountering God through music, with the anticipation that such encounters facilitate positive transformation, raise important questions as to how music is both selected and used within the context of congregational worship. The paper closes with suggestions as to what this might mean in practice when COVID restrictions are no longer in place.
Music is widely acknowledged as a tool of great power, but as the Peter Parker principle states, ... more Music is widely acknowledged as a tool of great power, but as the Peter Parker principle states, ‘With great power there must also come great responsibility’ (Ditko and Lee 1962). Musical practice in worship should not be governed by a fear of the consequences of misuse, because in doing so we do we simultaneously restrict its capacity to do us great good. In her article, Music in Worship: The Dark Side, Ann Morris expresses concerns regarding the power music has to manipulate the responses of its hearers and concludes that there is a need for ethical guidelines concerning the use of music in worship. Without such guidelines, those that fear the misuse use of music in worship may curtail its use, thereby resulting in congregational worshippers not gaining the full range of benefits that music as a vehicle for worship offers. This paper is based on the premise that ‘the church gathering if shaped by three paradigms: mission, formation and encounter’ (Lee 2020) and begins by outlining how the use of music in congregational worship can helps worshippers fulfil that which Jesus deemed the greatest commandment. Acknowledging that validity of Morris’s concerns, it then argues that the works of Jeremy Begbie already provide such a metaphysical framework as is needed as a foundation for the answer to Morris’s questions and guide the use of music in worship, offering practical interpretation of his “Christian ecology of music”. Having established guidelines forethical use of music in worship, the paper goes on to explore the part that music can play in facilitating formation and mission through transformational encounter with God.
This paper is based upon premise that, following the logic of Anselm’s perfect-being theology, a ... more This paper is based upon premise that, following the logic of Anselm’s perfect-being theology, a good God is the source of all things good. To this foundation is applied the theology of transformation as espoused by theologians such as David deSilva, Darryl Wooldridge and Lisa Beardsley, which argues from texts such as Gal 4:19 that accepting the gift of salvation is merely the start of a process of becoming like Christ, and that in itself through encounter with God (2 Cor 3:18). The paper therefore suggests that encounters with God are to be eagerly sought.
From Jeremy Begbie’s metaphysical framework, which establishes the place of music within God’s creation, insight can be drawn, both from Begbie and other scholars such as Brown, Lynch and Heaney, as to the ways in which music can facilitate encounter with and revelation of God. Begbie deals largely with music as an object. In line with the theology of ‘The Great Tradition’, Begbie offers that the orderliness of music is a revelation and reflection of the orderliness of God. With a focus more upon the experience of music, Brown, Lynch and Heaney explore how the somatic nature of music can evoke a liminality of experience in which the transcendence of God is revealed.
The possibilities for encountering God through music, with the anticipation that such encounters facilitate positive transformation, raise important questions as to how music is both selected and used within the context of congregational worship. The paper closes with suggestions as to what this might mean in practice when COVID restrictions are no longer in place.
Music is widely acknowledged as a tool of great power, but as the Peter Parker principle states, ... more Music is widely acknowledged as a tool of great power, but as the Peter Parker principle states, ‘With great power there must also come great responsibility’ (Ditko and Lee 1962). Musical practice in worship should not be governed by a fear of the consequences of misuse, because in doing so we do we simultaneously restrict its capacity to do us great good. In her article, Music in Worship: The Dark Side, Ann Morris expresses concerns regarding the power music has to manipulate the responses of its hearers and concludes that there is a need for ethical guidelines concerning the use of music in worship. Without such guidelines, those that fear the misuse use of music in worship may curtail its use, thereby resulting in congregational worshippers not gaining the full range of benefits that music as a vehicle for worship offers. This paper is based on the premise that ‘the church gathering if shaped by three paradigms: mission, formation and encounter’ (Lee 2020) and begins by outlining how the use of music in congregational worship can helps worshippers fulfil that which Jesus deemed the greatest commandment. Acknowledging that validity of Morris’s concerns, it then argues that the works of Jeremy Begbie already provide such a metaphysical framework as is needed as a foundation for the answer to Morris’s questions and guide the use of music in worship, offering practical interpretation of his “Christian ecology of music”. Having established guidelines forethical use of music in worship, the paper goes on to explore the part that music can play in facilitating formation and mission through transformational encounter with God.