Music and the Generosity of God

148 Pages·2017·1.838 MB·English

by  Gerald C. Liu

RADICAL THEOLOGIES
AND PHILOSOPHIES
Series Editors: Mike Grimshaw,
Michael Zbaraschuk and Joshua Ramey
MUSIC AND THE
GENEROSITY
OF GOD
Gerald C. Liu
Radical Theologies and Philosophies
Series editors
Mike Grimshaw
Department of Sociology
University of Canterbury
Christchurch, New Zealand
Michael Zbaraschuk
University of Washington
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Joshua Ramey
Haverford College
Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA
Radical Theologies and Philosophies is a call for transformational theolo-
gies that break out of traditional locations and approaches. The rhizomic
ethos of radical theologies enable the series to engage with an ever-
expanding radical expression and critique of theologies that have entered
or seek to enter the public sphere, arising from the continued turn to
religion and especially radical theology in politics, social sciences, philoso-
phy, theory, cultural, and literary studies. The post-theistic theology both
driving and arising from these intersections is the focus of this series.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/series/14521
Gerald C. Liu
Music and the
Generosity of God
Gerald C. Liu
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Radical Theologies and Philosophies
ISBN 978-3-319-69492-4 ISBN 978-3-319-69493-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-69493-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958864
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To 公 公, 婆婆, and 阿嬤
any sounds we shared
always gave way to the generosity of God.
A
cknowledgments
Around the age of 11, I converted to Christianity. First, my friend David
invited me to hear an ensemble called “Truth” at what was then a small
Southern Baptist sanctuary in Clinton, Mississippi. The concert concluded
with an “altar call.” I followed my friend into the crowd after thinking,
“Shoot! There goes my ride home!” Down in the sanctuary’s basement
we received tracts with “Sinful Man” represented by a cliff’s edge on one
side. Across a chasm was another ledge identified as “Heaven.” Jesus
formed a bridge between both with his outstretched arms. As bizarre as
that image may seem now, it led me to see things differently. A couple of
weeks later, my friend Aaron invited me to another Southern Baptist
church, this one much larger and this time, I had the privilege of attending
a Sunday morning service. The preacher delivered a classic line that I
would never teach, “If you died tonight, are you going to go to heaven or
hell?!” I was too young to burn forever. So, I prayed a three-step prayer
and began to believe things differently, for better or for worse.
Many voices since then have helped me mature into a theological edu-
cator and pastor still transfixed and transformed by what music and God
give to our lives. The current manuscript honors them by formalizing the
strange and sensationalized faith given to me as a child. Any missteps are
my own doing. But one thing that I want to try and get right at the outset
is a round of thanks.
My gratitude goes out to the Vanderbilt University Graduate
Department of Religion, the Lilly-funded Program in Theology and
Practice, the faculty of Homiletics and Liturgics, the United Methodist
Dempster Graduate Fellowship, the Fund for Theological Education (now
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Forum for Theological Exploration), Andover Newton Theological
Seminary, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Belmont
University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Drew Theological School, and
Princeton Theological Seminary for manna that has kept me alive, intel-
lectually, practically, and spiritually.
I am indebted to Robin Jensen for guiding me flawlessly at every cru-
cial turn. What would I have done without her? To Ted Smith, thank you
for grounding my theological argument about music and for pushing me
toward ever clearer thought and prose. Thank you, John McClure, one of
the most musical and inventive homileticians I know (and certainly the
hippest), for making a way for research like mine. His enthusiasm for my
wild ideas and his unvarnished advice have made me better in just the
right ways. Greg Barz introduced me to the world of ethnomusicology
(in Uganda!) and publication. I also thank Paul DeHart, Jim Hudnut-
Beumler, Jimmy Byrd, and Marie McEntire who believed I could do what
intellectuals do, and do those things well.
Jeremy Begbie’s thoughts motivate much of my argument. He offered
his blessing to my project years ago, and I still have a copy of Resonant
Witness he gave to me after a 2011 lecture at Belmont University in
Nashville, Tennessee. I am grateful for his encouragement and his confi-
dence. The language and thoughts of Marion have made my parable pos-
sible, and I have never met a gentler genius. His finesse and intellect have
set standards for which I strive.
I also give thanks to the Lewis household (Jodee, Chad, Grace, Lila,
Owen, Caleb Collins, and Simon) for giving me a place to lay my head
when I was in the thick of phenomenological research. Phone calls, e-mails,
coffee, drinks, and meals with Brad Braxton, Chris and Yuh-Fen Benda,
Manuel Cruz, Sean Hayden, Carl Holladay, Catherine Keller, Ben Looker,
Joy McDougall, Heather McMurray, and Don Saliers fortified my resolve
to finish and brought definition to inchoate hunches. My research and
editorial assistants, Chris Jorgensen, Sharon Hausman, and Jeff Chu, have
swept and swept writing that was seemingly always under construction.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Patty Park, thanks for insider tips on
library access and writing rooms in the big and bad metropolis I now call
home—New York City. Thank you to the John Cage Trust, the Estate of
Ben Shahn, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the New  York
University Library, and the Shoichi Noma Reading Room of the New York
Public Library for oases of stillness and books in a frenetic downtown.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT S ix
Without Bill Lenihan, Delores Pesce, Rich O’Donnell, Roland Jordan,
and Sue Taylor, I would have had no idea about the marvel of Boulez,
Cage, and musics beyond them. Nor would I have ever had the opportu-
nity, much less the courage, to conjoin my sonic and theological passions.
My parents Mei Mei and An-Yen Liu, and my brothers Gilbert and Geofrey
Liu and their families have dedicated themselves to my thriving as a human
being as well as an academic. For their love and support, I can’t say thanks
enough...in Mandarin or English. Roxanna Chitwood has shared the
greatest gift by abiding with me from introduction to conclusion. And
finally, to the One who summoned me in two Southern Baptist sanctuaries
through fallible song and sermon, I surrender the good, the bad, and the
ugly. Thank you, for everyone and for everything. May God be glorified.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 A Silent Prayer 15
3 Theological Stocktaking with Pierre Boulez 37
4 The Epistle of 4'33" 53
5 The Ubiquity of Music and Sacramental Life 69
6 The Spook of Modern Technology and the Generosity
of Music 93
7 Conclusion 121
Index 135
xi