我們還需要唱聖詩嗎？Whydon’t people sing in church anymore?
作者: Jonathan Aigner 譯者: 賈思婷
你只要上谷歌去查一下，就會發現這是個自2012年 就開始討論不完的題目，反對的理由都很正當：沒有人 會唱那些老詩歌、弟兄們都不開口、好像在表演一樣、 信徒不夠愛主。A quick trip down Google’s memory lane reveals that the internet has
been talking about this regularly since at least 2012. And everyone seems to
know why. Nobody knows the songs. Singing makes men uncomfortable. It’s just a
performance. We don’t love Jesus enough.
說真的，這些理由聽起來都很有道理。但我愈想 就愈覺得我們問錯了問題。與其問大家為什麼都不開口 唱，我們該問：「大家為什麼要唱聖詩？」真有必要嗎？There is truth to
some of these points, but the longer I think about this problem, the more I’m convinced we’re asking the wrong question. Instead of figuring out
why people aren’t singing, we need
to turn around, look at ourselves, and ask, “Why would they sing?”
論到教會集體敬拜時的唱詩，我們不能否認，時代 實在改變得太多了！See, when it comes to our
sacred discipline of congregational singing, a lot has changed in our recent
history.
首先，我們對集體敬拜的看法改變了，敬拜不是 為信徒，而是變成是為非信徒預備的。所以許多傳統敬 拜的儀式取消了─包括集體開聲禱告、認信、回應等 等，這些不再被視為是敬拜重要的項目，所謂的敬拜就 只要唱讚美短詩就可以了，甚至講道的時間也縮短了。We began by
changing our understanding of corporate worship. It’s not for the church, it’s for those who aren’t part of the church. The historic liturgy is out, and
the 19th-century revival model is in. Instead of the entire service being
filled with acts of worship – congregational prayers, affirmations, responses,
and, yes, singing – we’ve decided that the singing alone is the “worship,”
followed by preaching or teaching time (NOT worship), and then followed by a
little more singing (again, worship) for good measure.
敬拜時會眾不必參與，只有當樂器聲響起時，才需加入。So, while the
congregation once had a vital role in the entire service, we’ve decided they really only need to participate
during the music.
不僅如此，我們集體敬拜時所用的音樂也變得與 神的故事無關，而是為了引進某種感覺，讓我們能體會 自己與全能者間親密的關係。音樂被用來取代聖靈真正 的工作：如果某首歌能感動我，那一定就是聖靈在動工 （但滑稽的是聖靈往往都是在音樂變調時才動工）！
But
we didn’t stop there.
At
some point, we decided that corporate worship, especially the music, wasn’t
about disciplined, regular reenactment of God’s story. Instead, we decided that
the purpose of music was to usher in an emotional experience, a perceived
intimate connection with the Almighty. Musical appeal became a substitute for
the work of the Holy Spirit. If we felt something, it couldn’t just be the
music, it MUST be the Spirit. (Funny how the Spirit always seems to time its
biggest moves around the modulations.)
是 的，時代改變了，過去的敬拜是以述說一個神聖的故事 為主，音樂只是作為輔助，讓敬拜者更了解神聖故事的基督徒對今日文化的再思內容，但今天的敬拜似乎注重於音樂所帶來的情調，因 我們認為音樂能喚醒各人內心與神真正的連接。因此， 會眾在敬拜時不是要用詩歌來述說神的故事，而是希望 音樂響起時，能帶給我們歡樂的感受。So, while music was once
simply a way to add dimension to our sacred storytelling, we began to exploit
its emotional appeal, suggesting the feelings it could evoke to be authentic
spiritual connection. The congregation’s work was no longer to sing God’s
story, but to feel happy, jesusy feelings while music is played in their midst.
然而這還不是我們最大的問題，自從唱片流行以 來，人們創造音樂的能力似乎漸漸減退。但由歷史的角 度來看，教會仍然能夠藉著教導會眾唱詩和幫助信徒理 解音樂所要表達的意思，來抵制這種影響力。教會向 來有詩班，但現在教會似乎也向文化妥協，不再在教會 訓練音樂人才，而是儘可能找一些原本就有音樂天分的 人站在講台上領唱。過去我們可以在敬拜時聽到不同音 色、音階和音樂紋理的組合，信徒一同發聲將透過基督 所成就的工作歸榮耀與神，但如今我們只會聽到獨唱或 少數幾個人配合電子樂器組合對著我們獻唱。
But
we didn’t stop there.
Our
cultural ability to make music has decreased steadily since the dawn of
commercial recorded music. For many years, churches were able to counteract
this musical decline by training many in their congregations to sing and
understand the written language of music. We had choirs for all ages. Now, most
churches have given in to the cultural decline of music appreciation. Instead
of training many of our own, we hire a few to stand up and perform from the
chancel platform stage. We once heard the tapestry of vocal timbres, ranges,
and textures rising in united praise and thanksgiving for God’s mighty acts in
Jesus Christ, and welcoming all to join in. Now, we hear one voice, or perhaps
a small group of voices, electronically pushed toward us.
於是，我 們不再教導如何用聲音來歌頌神，教會集體開聲讚美神 的歌唱聲，似乎被擴音機傳出來的響聲給遮蓋住了。
So,
we’ve stopped teaching ourselves how to sing, and traded the collective voice
of the congregation for a few amplified tones.
不僅如此，我們基督教有數百年極豐富的聖樂傳 統，藉著和聲的框架，用美麗可唱出的旋律來表達；更 好的是，每個世代的信徒都可以在其上加上自己最好的 貢獻。但今天我們覺得沒有這個必要，聖樂的字句太難 懂，會影響我們內心的感受，於是我們用市面上為獨唱 者錄製的音樂來取代傳統的詩歌。
But
we didn’t stop there.
We
have a rich history of hymns and songs dating back centuries, set to beautiful,
singable melodies with a rich harmonic framework, a group to which each
generation added their best. Then we decided we didn’t need these anymore.
Their language was too difficult for us, we said, and it just got in the way of
our emotional experience, anyway. So we replaced our hymns with new songs,
written for solo commercial recordings. That’s right, we replaced songs created
for many voices with songs meant for one or a few.
是的，不錯，我們用 為一兩位歌唱者創作的讚美詩來取代我們可以合唱的聖 詩；我們也不再用詩本，認為一則太重，二則要印太多 紙版的歌本亦不合環保的觀念。不用詩本的缺點是能看 譜的人越來越少。而將歌詞打在螢幕上，往往因為轉換 得太快，歌詞一下就不見了，令不會唱的人走過整首 詩，尚未弄清歌詞的真正意思時，整首詩歌就已經唱完 了。另一個缺點則是，當大家伸長脖子望著打出來的字 幕時，大家並不知道，下一個音節該長還是該短，也 不知道下一節是高是低，只能跟著領唱者哼著唱完整首 歌。
But
we didn’t stop there.
We
used to give everyone the printed music, so that they could follow along. But
nobody reads music anymore, right? (Of course, many of us once did when we were
in the school choir or band, but, well, nevermind…) All those books are heavy.
And a waste of paper. So we started projecting words (no music) up on the wall.
They’re there one minute, and gone the next, kind of like the songs themselves.
People crane their necks and raise their chins to read them in their place on
high. They have no idea if the next syllable will be held long or released
short. They don’t know if a pitch rises or falls. They just hope to catch on by
the time it’s over.
在這種情況下，教會不再需要會看譜的信徒進一步 投入音樂事奉，而是鼓勵大家跟著領唱者唱就可以了， 或是多聽收音機中播放的讚美詩，聽久也就會唱了。
So,
we stopped empowering those among us who do read music to use those gifts. And
we stopped expecting anyone else to learn. Just sing along with Mitch, and see
how it goes. Maybe if you listened to more Christian radio, you’d know what to
do.
再說，在過去我們使用各種傳統樂器，樂器的組合 有如畫家的調色板，令會眾的合唱變得更有聲有色，充 滿活力。如今搖滾樂器和領唱者取代了會眾的齊唱，會 眾成了陪伴領唱者或領唱團隊的伴唱，與他們同唱他們 最喜愛的歌（卻不見得是會眾喜愛的）。有時領唱者若 在樂器上再加上一些變化，或變快或變慢，會眾就更難 跟得上了。
But
we didn’t stop there.
We
used to have these majestic and beautiful instruments, with infinite musical
palettes and soaring, sustained tones that gave them the ability to breathe
life into congregational singing. Now, we’ve dismissed those as passé, and
substituted a rock band, fronted by a lead singer worship leader. He (it’s
usually a he, for some reason) sings his song, and we try to sing along with
his cover of our jesusy hot 100 favorites. What’s more, few of these leaders it
seems are capable of just plainly, accurately singing the melody. Some of them
croon with a whiny, closed-mouthed tone, turning every vowel into an ee-ended
diphthong. Others wail in reckless abandon with primal, orgasmic strains, while
we sit and watch. They often embellish their performanced with ad libs, rubato,
rhythmic embellishments, and melodic freedom, while the congregation audience
struggles to keep up.
So,
we replaced an instrument uniquely adept at leading a congregation with a cover
band.
敬拜隨著時代的改變在改變：
我們在敬拜時將會眾可以參與的範圍變小了；
我們在敬拜時把傳統有紀律的教會音樂，用以觸動 會眾內心感受的音樂來取代；
我們不再鼓勵會眾在聖樂的學習上繼續長進；
我們唱的是多半為獨唱者創作的音樂；
我們選用的樂器不一定是會眾習慣的；
我們的音樂不是帶領會眾敬拜，許多時候倒是有點 像在表演。
Enough!
When will we stop?
We’ve
minimized the congregation’s role.
We’ve
changed our focus from disciplined, intentional music-making to creating
emotional responses.
We’ve
stopped training musicians.
We’ve
chosen songs written for solo performance.
We’ve
stopped giving the musicians among us the resources they need to apply their
abilities.
We’ve
chosen instrumentation that doesn’t support a congregation.
We’ve
stopped leading and started performing.
So
let’s stop asking why people aren’t singing anymore. It really shouldn’t be a
surprise, since we’ve done nearly everything we can to kill congregational
singing.
Maybe
it’s time to rethink our strategies. Here are a few suggestions for how to
encourage good congregational singing.
若果真是這樣，我們為何還要問會眾為何不開口 唱詩呢？也許我們更該想想該如何設計一些敬拜的策略 幫助信徒參與。第一要件就是應該設法提供一些會眾可 以齊聲唱的音樂，因為今天有許多讚美詩是用樂器來主 導，歌詞平白，可惜多半是為獨唱者設計的。其實今天 也有許多為會眾新創的聖詩，可惜在基督教電台中很少 播放，以致大家都不會唱。 其次，我們要知道，在敬拜時參與唱詩是一項神聖 的任務。開口唱詩非常重要，我們不能只是在敬拜時聽 別人演奏音樂而已，也不能只是期望領會者幫忙我們跑 到慈愛天父的膝上，享受被祂擁抱在懷裏的快樂。Recognize that singing is, in
and of itself, a sacred duty. Singing is important. Not just hearing the music
playing, not just being taken emotionally to a place where we enjoy cuddle time
in the lap of our nice daddy-god, but the actual act of singing. Most of us
believe and our churches confirm the ridiculous notion that worship is the
musical part of the service. And since most of us aren’t singing with any
intentionality or seriousness, the really worshipful part is letting the music
that other people are do create these happy, positive, weighty, Jesusy feelings
inside of us. Yes, we’ve decided that
music’s job in worship is to lead us into the presence of God. If we want our
churches to keep singing, and for that matter, to keep worshiping through song,
we’ve got to put this idea to rest.
當然，我們不可能一下就把教會中不合聖經的文化 改變過來，但如果一連幾個世代都定意要改，那麼教會 的唱詩方式必能改變，因為這是非常重要的部分。基督 教有句古語：禱告的原則也就是相信的原則（lex orandi, lex
credendi），如果這句話是對的，如果我們的敬拜能代 表我們相信神的程度，那麼我們就得好好唱詩，就如教 會必須好好講道，也要好好禱告一樣。
We
may not be able to turn the tide in the rest of our culture, but with
intentionality over the next generations, we can change the culture of singing in
the church. This is not a non-essential. This is important stuff. If the
ancient principal of lex orandi, lex credendi is true, if how we believe is
determined by how we worship, then we must learn to sing well, just as we must
learn to preach well and to pray well.
如果我們不這樣 做，那麼我們就會慢慢地停止歌唱，我們的信仰也就變 得很貧乏了！
If we don’t, we may just stop singing
altogether. And our faith will be all the poorer for it.