QUESTION

Lately, when I’m reading and studying Scripture, I’ve been listening to Gregorian chant playlists quietly in the background. I find it helps with concentration and gives a sense of reverence, almost connecting with the church’s long history.

My question is whether this is wise or potentially problematic. I’m not trying to manufacture emotions, but I do wonder if it subtly does that. I also don’t understand Latin, so I’m not always aware of the content—whether it’s doctrinally sound or not. Would you see this as harmless enrichment, or something I should be more cautious about?

ANSWER

Thanks for the question. We’ve had a similar question recently about breathing exercises and prayer, whether regulating one’s breath is a legitimate means of helping the mind to engage in prayer.

Scripture teaches us the goodness of seeking an environment that is conducive to prayer and study of Scripture. It is good to go into our “inner room” to pray, away from other people and from unhelpful distractions. Jesus sought seclusion in the wilderness for the purpose of prayer. And the engagement of our bodies along with our hearts is very important, as we see in Scripture how often the saints physically bow before God when praying to Him. So generally speaking, I think there are grounds for using physical disciplines to help our hearts and minds engage in spiritual disciplines. I would apply this both to listening to music and to breathing. The principle to keep in mind is that we want to engage in whatever promotes our knowing God better through His Word.

Music can be used in this way. It has the power to bind our hearts to that which is true, or that which is false. Insofar as your practice is helping bind your heart to the truth of God’s Word, and not overshadowing the Word, I say it sounds like a helpful practice. We might compare it to hanging a piece of artwork in our house that places the words of a cherished Bible verse over a beautifully painted background.

But I would caution against ascribing too much spiritual significance to the “background” itself. The music you’ve chosen to listen to while reading the Bible may, in a sense, connect you with the church’s history, but then again, who knows how much it actually even sounds like monks from hundreds of years ago? I don’t think it matters a whole lot whether it does, because it’s not really the music that ties you to church history. We share a real mystical communion with the saints who have gone before us, but that communion is not based on man-made art. Our spiritual fellowship with God’s people through the ages stems from our shared faith in Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13:8).

As you suggested, there is real danger in seeking religious experiences from images, sounds, and smells as a substitute for faith in Christ, the Word of God. For long centuries in the Roman Catholic church, smells and bells have eclipsed true spiritual experience of God through His Word. At the time of the Reformation, many of the priests did not even understand the words they were chanting in their services. The art was there, but the faith was not.

We may think we’ve moved beyond those dark days, but the same temptation is always before us, to turn our hearts away from God’s Word to the works of man’s hands, which can include any art form.

In the end, I’d say if listening to music is helping you focus on and love God’s Word, keep at it. Just make sure to keep the tool in its proper place, forever subordinate to the object of our faith, which is the immortal God Himself.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (Heb. 11:3–4)