Judge Posner Comments on Church Music

From Tom Kirkendall's Houston's Clear Thinkers blog, with a hat tip to Decision of the Day:  "Seventh Circuit judge and Clear Thinkers favorite Richard Posner (previous posts here) has some fun in this recent decision involving an age-discrimination claim by a church organist."   In the decision, Judge Posner commented:

At argument Tomic’s lawyer astonished us by arguing that music has in itself no religious significance—its only religious significance is in its words. The implication is that it is a matter of indifference to the Church and its flock whether the words of the Gospel are set to Handel’s Messiah or to “Three Blind Mice.” That obviously is false.  The religious music played at a wedding is not necessarily suitable for a funeral; and religious music written for Christmas is not necessarily suitable for Easter.

Even Mozart had to struggle over what was suitable church music with his first patron, Archbishop Colloredo, whom the Mozart family called the “arch-booby.”

(Emphasis and extra paragraphing added.)