Volume 30, No. 37                                               
September 18 2005

Sound Spirituality

   When the compact disc was introduced, it put a whole new spin on the music industry.

   Opponents tried hard to stop the innovation but, in the end, even they saw the light.  Lasers were the hot new way of the future and those who clung to vinyl soon saw their market share melt.

   It all started in 1974 when engineers at Philips Electronics in Holland invented the laser video disc, which used technology developed at MIT to harness light into an intense beam.  But the LaserVision product had “poor error detection and correction” which meant the discs had inconsistent sound and picture quality.  Then the Japanese giant, Sony, teamed with Philips to try and fix the problem.

   By that time, Sony had already built the world’s first digital sound recorder.  It used magnetic tape, was as big as a fridge, and weighed several hundred pounds.  A few visionaries in the company believed digital recording would revolutionize music so the pioneers persisted.

   In 1976 they unveiled the first audio CD.  It was the same size as a vinyl album but could hold thirteen hours of music.  Trouble was, the big CDs would cost too much to make, so engineers refined the technology until they came up with a 12-centimetre disc capable of playing 75 minutes of music — enough for most major symphonies.

   By 1980, JVC of Japan was also marketing a disc system, but it never caught on.  That’s because the Sony/Philips technology used only a laser light to read information on each disc, meaning the CDs could last forever. That was great for consumers, but record companies were not impressed, especially since they already had millions of dollars invested in record technology that would become useless if CDs ever took off.  Worse, every compact disc would be a virtual “master” recording, so bootleggers could use them to make perfect copies.

  Unfazed, Sony unveiled the world’s first CD player in October 1982.t cost $1,000 and played discs that went for about $17, double the
price of LPs.  Critics said music lovers would never replace their stacks of albums but — as the superior sound gained new respect —CDs climbed to sales of 400 million by 1992, making them the fastest-growing electronics product ever introduced.  Even now, as digital downloading threatens to run circles around CDs, it’s the disc’s underlying technology that led to that innovation.

   So, too, Christians are always a work in progress, constantly under development in the ever-elusive pursuit of perfection.  Like the first discs, our hearts have poor error detection and correction, resulting in character and conduct that’s maddeningly inconsistent   Thankfully, our Father and his Son have teamed up to correct the problem.  “The human heart is most deceitful...” says God.  “I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.” (Jeremiah. 17:9)

   When we’re exposed to the Light, we come to know the truth about ourselves, the first step in improving the quality of our performance as human beings as we let the love and power of God define and then refine us.  With the Psalmist we can say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart... Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23,24)

   It’s our Designer who gives us the capacity to hold and share the music of life in all its fullness.  Though the style of that music varies, depending on our individuality and spirituality, we each reflect the creativity of God.  The extent to which that happens depends on us.  It’s not the size of our faith that counts, but the exercise of it.

   In our increasingly segmented society, there are competing views of how the symphonies of the soul should be played.  But if the Bible is to be believed, those of us whose lives are touched by the Light will last forever.  Through God’s grace and forgiveness, He’ll reach beyond our imperfection to make us Master copies who communicate the love of Christ to a world in desperate need of harmony.    

   Challenge those who find power and status in the status quo and there’s bound to be ferocious opposition.  But sound spirituality earns respect and does entice others to trade in their old ways for the New, even when it costs them more.  But that will only happen when people see that we’re not in a rut, but in the groove.  

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca