AccScience Publishing / AC / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ac.3830
PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE

When the morning stars sang together: Considering theodicy and music during suffering

Susan Quindag1*
Show Less
1 School of Education, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, United States of America
Submitted: 4 June 2024 | Accepted: 15 August 2024 | Published: 14 October 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

A sobering reality is that suffering is part of our human experience. The innumerable forms of suffering include physical pain, mental or emotional anguish, social injustice, economic setbacks, and profound loss. There is also suffering that is self-imposed, instructional, or sacrificial. Remarkably, music is indispensable during suffering and varies from individual to individual, even among those who believe in a higher power or God. This perspective paper explores how we choose the music to engage with while suffering in the context of theodicy: the study of why suffering occurs under the purview of a loving, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. The paper begins with describing the narrative in the Book of Job from the Tanakh and Bible as the foundation of theodicy. It then expounds on the definition of theodicy, reviews the literature on the relationship between theodicy and music, and presents four classifications for viewing God in relation to theodicy and music: no God-view, internal God-view, external/authoritarian God-view, and transcending/transformational God-view. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research on theodicy and music, including comparing compositional devices to represent suffering from non-Western and Western music, exploring the relationship between truth and suffering, and challenging the four classifications of God-views discussed in this paper.

Keywords
Music
Theodicy
Suffering
God-view
Job
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that she has no competing interests.
References
  1. One for Israel Ministry. Isaiah 61: Prayer Song to Set the Captives Free. Available from: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=s7i77rcmhfa&list=rds7i77rcmhfa&start_ radio=1&ab_channel=oneforisraelministry [Last accessed on 2024 Jul 13].

 

  1. Bonde LO. Healing and music. In: Jacobsen SL, Pedersen IN, Bonde, LO, Odell-Miller H, editors. A Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2019. p. 216-222.

 

  1. Pratt A. Hymns and the nature of evil toward a sung theodicy: A hymnwriter’s musings. Hymn. 2013;64(7):7-13.

 

  1. Mercer C. Prefacing the Theodicy. In: Jorgensen LM, Newlands S, Adams RM, editors. New Essays on Leibniz’s Theodicy. New York: Oxford University Press; 2014, p. 12-14.

 

  1. MacArthur J. Job: Trusting God in Suffering. Nashville: Thomas Nelson; 2020.

 

  1. Farkas NZ. Martin Buber, the Book of Job, and the Shoah. Conserv Jud. 2010;61(4):43-53. doi: 101353/coj.2010.0003

 

  1. Henry M. Commentary on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House; 1960.

 

  1. Weber, M. Fischoff E, Translator. The Sociology of Religion. London: Metheun; 1971.

 

  1. Bowker, JW. Social suffering. Religion, society, and suffering. In: Kleinman A, Das V, Lock M, editors. Social Suffering. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1997. p. 359-381.

 

  1. Ooi D. Theodicy on trial. Philosophia. 2022;50:2015-2034. doi: 10.1007/s11406-022-00493-0

 

  1. Ciocyte D. Literature and christianity; the aspect of theodicy. Soc Stud. 2018;10(1):23-31. doi: 10.13165/SMS-18-10-1-02

 

  1. Hess CL. “Come here Jesus … wonder what God had in mind:” Toni Morrison and F. Scott Fitzgerald as narrators of (anti-) theodicy. Relig Educ. 2009;104(4):354-376. doi: 10.1080/00344080903041348

 

  1. Spencer JM. God in secular music culture: The theodicy of the blues as the paradigm of proof. Black Sacred Music. 1989;3(2):8.

 

  1. Arnold J. Music, sacred sound, and suffering. In: Grebe J, Grössel J, editors. T and T Clark Handbook of Suffering and Problem of Evil. London: Bloomsbury Collection; 2023. p. 654-666.

 

  1. Bertoglio C. Dissonant harmonies: Tolkien’s musical theodicy. Tolkien Stud. 2018;15:93-114. doi: 10.1353/tks.2018.0007

 

  1. Sansom DL. Christian theodicy: A critique of William Gass’s anti-theology. Religions. 2022;14(2):2. doi: 103390/rel14010002

 

  1. Sterba JP. An ethics without God that is compatible with Darwinian evolution. Religions. 2024;15:781. doi: 10.3390/rel15070781

 

  1. Worley P. Considering where is god in a coronavirus world? An exercise in critical thinking. Think. 2021;57(20):135-151. doi: 10.1017/S1477175620000408

 

  1. Huhtala H. Anti-theodicies-an Adornian approach. Hum Aff. 2021;3:223-235. doi: 10.1515/humaff-2021-0018

 

  1. Green B. The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry. New York: Broadway Books; 2003.

 

  1. Lauzon P. Music and spirituality: Explanations and implications for music therapy. Br J Music Therapy. 2020;34(1):30-38. doi: 10.1177/1359457520908263

 

  1. Lennox J. Where is God in a Coronavirus World? United Kingdom: The Good Book Company; 2020.

 

  1. Hwang MH. Integrative perspectives on mindfulness, music and music therapy: A literature review. Approaches Interdiscip J Music Therapy. 2003;15(1):96-112. doi: 10.56883/aijmt.2023.90

 

  1. Schneck DJ, Berger DS. The Music Effect. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2006.

 

  1. Buswell RE. The origins of good and evil and the challenge of theodicy in the Buddhist tradition. ACTA Koreana. 2019;22(2):215-230. doi: 109.18399/acta.2019.22.2.001

 

  1. Morgan TL. People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture. London: Oxford University Press; 2007.

 

  1. Garvey BJ. Warfare and welcome: Practicality and Qu’ranic hierarchy in Ibadi Muslims’jurisprudential rulings on music. Yale J Music Relig. 2020;6(1):2. doi: 10.17132/2377-231X.1167

 

  1. Zosim O. Popular music in contemporary church chants. J Hist Cult Art Res. 2020;9(2):227-235. doi: 10.7596/taksad.v9i2.2508
Share
Back to top
Arts & Communication, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4090 Published by AccScience Publishing