Why Should the Devil have all the Good Music?<\/p>\n
These were familiar lyrics when I was a youth.\u00a0 <\/span>Larry Norman had begun a revolution in Christian music.\u00a0 <\/span>Loosely translated, it meant that we, as Christians, could still have fun!<\/p>\n But in \u201cThe Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism\u201d by Max Weber, we\u2019re shown that it wasn\u2019t always that way and in many cases, still isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Although his writings are about capitalism and how pietistic faith and especially Calvinistic dogma aided in Capitalistic development, it\u2019s also about Christians not having fun.<\/p>\n Religious devotion, Weber argues, is usually accompanied by a rejection of worldly affairs \u2013 except wealth for investment<\/p>\n I was brought up in a denomination which believed that that \u201cdisenchantment of the world<\/em> \u201cis a goal to work toward.\u00a0 <\/span>That the solid \u201dChristian work ethic\u201d is enviable and that seriousness and soberness is important.\u00a0 <\/span>Fortunately, my parents didn\u2019t buy into this philosophy completely.<\/p>\n I laughed with my Brother when he and his family visited our home this summer.\u00a0 <\/span>We were driving through a beautiful and wealthy neighborhood, looking at the homes when my niece (who had been brought up within the same denomination) said \u201cbut surely they\u2019re not happy!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n That was and is the mantra for many.\u00a0 <\/span>Work, responsibility and a stubborn faith (not money or enjoyment of life) bring joy, \u2013 but it\u2019s a \u201cjoy\u201d that many times doesn\u2019t seem too joyful to others!<\/p>\n Weber also attributed the success of mass production in part, because of the Protestant Work Ethic. Only after expensive luxuries were disdained, could individuals accept the uniform products, such as clothes and furniture, that industrialization offered.\u00a0 <\/span>Again, doesn\u2019t sound too fun!<\/p>\n I now live in the \u201chot-bed\u201d of Calvinistic thought.\u00a0 <\/span>Most last names begin with \u201cVan\u201d and the Dutch Reformed and Christian Reformed headquarters are located in town, as well as Calvin Seminary.\u00a0 <\/span>So Weber\u2019s writings rang true with me as I see it exemplified in daily attitudes.<\/p>\n