Music Points to a Creator
This February marked the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ arrival in America. My article “Beatlemania Plus 50: Can Christians Appreciate the Fab Four?” explored these musicians’ religious views and how believers can navigate choices in popular entertainment.
The Beatles in particular and music in general have provided much food for thought both for me and other RTB staff members. Check out this roundup of resources for more on music points to the existence of a divine Creator who designed humans to worship Him.
- “Money, Fame, and Influence: HBO’s Documentary on Former Beatle George Harrison” (part 1, part 2, part 3) — Have you ever wanted something bad (real bad) but when you finally got it, you realized it wasn’t all you thought it was? That’s the question I ponder in this article series on George Harrison: Living in the Material World, a documentary by filmmaker Martin Scorsese on the life and times of Beatle George (1943–2001). Though Harrison achieved enormous material success, he later reflected that money, fame, and influence aren’t as fulfilling as one might think. I consider how one might deal with this issue from a Christian worldview.
- “All the Lonely Believers” (part 1 and part 2) —“Eleanor Rigby” ranks as one of my favorite Beatles songs for its poignant look at loneliness—a state that at least one scientific study credits with making people more likely to believe in the supernatural. Does this finding lend credence to the atheist claim that religious belief stems from purely psychological factors?
- “Manson Family: 40 Years Later, Part 1” — In this episode of the Straight Thinking podcast, I discuss the influence of The Beatles’ music, in particular Charles Manson’s claims of following hidden messages he detected in their songs.
- “Is Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ Coming True?” — RTB editor and podcast host Joe Aguirre contemplates how European governments’ attempts to gain more control over religious education reflect aspects of John Lennon’s famous song.
- “A Song for You” — RTB editor Sandra Dimas illustrates how music reflects the image of God in humans.
- “A Burst of Creativity” — Biochemist Fazale Rana points to cultural “big bangs”—including musical expression—that marked the arrival of modern humans and distinguished them from persistently unsophisticated hominids.
- “Bird Thinks It Can Dance—Soulish Animals Designed to Bring Joy” — RTB founder and animal lover Hugh Ross reports on scientific studies that demonstrate how a strong emotional bond with a human can inspire certain animals to dance to their owner’s favorite music—if only I could get my cats to groove to John, Paul, George, and Ringo.