Blake's goal for this project was to use music to capture and convey the grace of God in the life of St. Augustine. During his first masters degree at seminary, he was assigned to read The Confessions of St. Augustine for a course in church history. From the outset, he was less than enthused. Largely unfamiliar with the theological writings of the early church, Blake had yet to see the value in reading such an antiquated work, especially one originally written in Latin. The whole thing just seemed sort of disconnected.
Then he read it.
What Blake found in reading that book was phenomenal. He saw the beauty of the gospel on display through a very genuine, very personal testimony. He saw the wonder of the grace of God in triumph over the power of sin through superior joy. While he did not embrace all of Augustine's theological positions (especially on matters like the sacraments) he did very much identify with Augustine's description of the bondage of the will. And even more so, he marveled at the description of sin's dismay in light of the supreme joy of knowing God. So much so that he began writing songs about it. With a tight schedule and an even tighter budget, Blake began to record those songs in his apartment. The result of that is on his newly released album, "Songs of a Pious Heart: A Tribute to the Confessions of St. Augustine."
Blake's hope for every listener is three-fold. First, he hopes to offer musical interaction with the grace of God set forth in the life of Augustine. Second, he hopes to assure them that the same grace that set Augustine free from his sin can set them free from theirs. Third, he hopes to spark some interest in (or maybe rekindle interest in) reading sound works in historical theology.
In short, Blake's prayer is that you be amazed by the grace of God, intrigued by the life of this 4th-century saint, and pleasantly surprised by an indy-scrub's attempt not to wreck the ship.
It's true, reading human works in theology should never trump or replace reading the divinely inspired scriptures, but it can certainly nourish and strengthen the believer to a greater devotion to the biblical gospel. That's what Blake himself has found. And that's what he's trying to spread.
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:)| Posted December 25, 2009
Blake Hicks took a unique idea in making this cd about the grace of God shown in St. Augustine and I think it worked quite well. Not only do the songs have a good message, but they have a good sound too. You can get a free download of this album at noisetrade.com. Check it out!
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