Influences of Rock Music

[sweetycakes]

As to the first page:

Most of the "groups" listed on those pages are mass market, and they will sing anything they think will sell. Some of them like Manson actually are satanists. Some of them are just, well, people who sing about sin. Sin sells, so yeah, the lyrics are gonna eventually be sinful. In any case...

The lyrics of a song determine the usefulness of that song to me. If a song is blasphemous and there is no reason for it, then I'm not gonna listen to it.

And yes there may be a reason for it. If you take certain verses in Ecclesiastes out of the context of the whole bible they would be speaking lies. A while back there was a gothic group with a singer who became a Christian. She made a dual album set, I think it was called the black and white, I'm not sure. One represented her life before Christ, one represented her life after. It's been years since I listened to it, but the whole message of the set was a gospel message, however there was stuff in the first album which out of context said evil things. It was her life before she was saved and was not written from the point of view of looking back at it, but as she was living it. Both albums were created from a "now" standpoint. I'm not going to tell people to avoid the whole set, just as I'm not going to section off parts of Ecclesiastes. The album has a coherant message and the message is good.

Should a person listen to music which is produced or sung by people which sing about sin, even if the song in question is not singing about sin? I don't think you can make that rule and make it stick biblically. Even totally evil people speak the truth once in a while and when they do, there is nothing wrong with listening to them.

Should a person listen to music which discusses sin from the standpoint of a sinner (ie someone who is either doing it or likes to do it or wants to do it?). That is a debatable topic, and I don't think we can make a rule about that, otherwise you can't read part of Ecclesiastes either.

As to the second page: See comments above.

Also: I don't know of any Christian, or any CCM band who promotes the lifestyles of the secular bands which are involved in "rock" music, so you won't have any comments there I don't think.

Also: I can find nothing in scripture which indicates there is a beat or set of beats or sounds which is inherently evil. There is no music theory at all in the bible, there is no beat which is used by evil which could not also be used by good described in scripture. If we are to not sin, then we have to know that something is a sin. All sins are listed in scripture. Demonic beats are not. And if it's truly satanic I'm sure it would have been, God would not want us to sin by accident. The bible is sufficient, everything we need is in there. if certain music was evil, it would have been mentioned or the bible could not be sufficient for life and godliness.

Second, Satan does not create, he imitates. He did not create any kind of music, even if he influenced people who invented the music to put evil lyrics in the songs. The music style is a frame, the song is the picture. A picture frame can hold a picture of a family or an orgy. It's not the frame's fault if a sinful person stuffs a porno pic into the frame. If we are to take this arguement that because some rock music has evil lyrics all rock music is evil regardless of the lyrics...you have the same line of reasoning which says people don't kill people guns do and flies cause garbage. Therefore if CCM wants to use a structure of music which is common in society, there is nothing wrong with it. It's like putting a nice picture into a frame that used to hold a porno picture.

The critique of CCM was interesting (Christian or Satanic?). I could assent to some of the things said about what the content of a good Christian song should be. I do get really tired of choruses which repeat the same thing over and over again or songs which don't say who you are loving and adoring is so it could just as well be a spouse or boyfriend (I call them "Jesus is your boyfriend songs"). I don't think that a song which doesn't directly say is EVIL, but I know that most christian musicians are better lyric writers than this and could actually come up with songs with good doctrine. I don't think that Petra is evil, but they certainly don't compare to Steve Camp do they?

However the arguement had to degrade into the"well the devil used this venue so now we can't" nonsense. And they mentioned Martin Luther making his hymns to the tunes of German drinking songs...(I would like to know which one A mighty fortress was written to, I can't imagine slamming my beer mug to that)... but never addressed the crux of the issue. The issue is that a song had (potentially, I don't know if ALL German beer drinking songs are about being drunk but all the ones I learned in German class were) evil lyrics and Luther took the format and made consecrated music to it. It does not matter if, as the article says "But the thrust of the popular music of Luther's time and the thrust of our pop music is as different as night is from day. There was a systematic unity in the sixteenth century musical world which no longer exists in today's music.

[kat8585]

I was looking through this website about rock music and it's (often) satanic influences. Now, I like music as much as the next person, and I like some of the artists shown on this site, but things like this teach us to at least aware of what we are listening to sometimes. Is anyone else aware of these things?

Any comments?

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...anic_quotes.htm

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...c_no_effect.htm

Well, I didn't read all of both links, but David Bowie has it right at the top of the first one. This music is addicting as any drug. I know, I was addicted. One of the first things God told me when I became a Christian, in the 70's, when music wasn't near as bad as it is now, was to get rock music out of my life. I did, and started listening to Christian music. The contemporory Christian music of the 80's is the best, imo.

It's really scary to see kids today, and at younger and younger ages, listening to it constantly, and parents thinking it's no big deal--after all, THEY listened to it. But have they really listened to the words NOW? It really does impact kids and influences them, and in a negative way.

[RustyAngeL]

As for me personally I don't think anything good comes out of most of these groups. My best friend in AZ..her husband goes to a lot of these heavy metal concerts and has for years. Know what he's gotten out them over the last 20 years??? Nerve damage to his ears. He about to get hearing aids and Steve is only 54. I just don't think it's a thing that Christians should be listening to. Only my opinion.

[Floatingaxe]

As for me personally I don't think anything good comes out of most of these groups. My best friend in AZ..her husband goes to a lot of these heavy metal concerts and has for years. Know what he's gotten out them over the last 20 years??? Nerve damage to his ears. He about to get hearing aids and Steve is only 54. I just don't think it's a thing that Christians should be listening to. Only my opinion.

And a good opinion, at that! If God isn't honoured in it, He isn't in it!

[Blessed567]

I was looking through this website about rock music and it's (often) satanic influences. Now, I like music as much as the next person, and I like some of the artists shown on this site, but things like this teach us to at least aware of what we are listening to sometimes. Is anyone else aware of these things?

Any comments?

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...anic_quotes.htm

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...c_no_effect.htm

For the record, here's my comment. These websites slam the stable door shut after the horse has bolted. They're too little too late. They blame satanic rock music for something that's already a cancer in its advanced stages. Let's get things into real perspective as Christians, in other words, let's nip what we don't want to ever happen in the bud. This means a good stable upbringing, decent schooling and hands on parenting without any shirking of responsibilities! From personal experience, if this is done properly I can guarantee children won't be seeking out the spirit of destruction elsewhere because they have the opposite at home. How easy it is for us to blame disgusting characters like Manson, and how difficult it is by comparrison for us to realise he's just an opportunistic croupier in a busy casino which specialises in raking in those we couldn't help ourselves!?

Uncomfortable reading this may be but let's get it right, let's slam manson and his hordes of satan worshippers only when we're without a plank in our own eyes!

I abhor the likes of androgenous Manson and his disgusting inverted morality, but I have to accept that as a woman, as a mother, if my kids or if the kids of anyone I know end up there, I've failed them. Children are born innocent, they never choose satan, they're only ever victims, so shouldn't we be concentrating on preventing more victims to this occultic opportunisim by taking people away from the edge of the cliff before they have that choice put before them? It seems to me that blaming the vultures that circle that dark place for taking away our kids is a bit like us all pretending we never SAW our kids walk all the way to the edge of that cliff, lost, alone, disillusioned, and now they're there, it's Manson's fault, and we never knew, we just sat watching TV and never once realised our kids were in the grip of the occult because it meant we'd get to work the next day on time?????!!!!!!!

This is a total delusion. For one thing rock musicians are 100% committed to our kids, so if a quiet life here and there means we fail them by comparission, who on earth are we to judge? We're no better, in fact, we're worse, we just think we're better and blame those who are more committed to our kids (avowed satanists) for our own shortfallings. It's time to wake up, to commit ourselves to our children, to stop blaming other people to get ourselves out of it!!

Let's take responsibility for our actions. IN other words, before we condemn the music of despair, let's look a little closer to home and make sure we don't herd more innocents to that place. Satan doesn't care if he claims friend or foe. WE, on the other hand, as Christians care. Is retrospect the best way to look at people within rock culture? People who are esentially victims in part due to our own failings?

My daughter came to Christ a year ago from this background. I failed her, the church failed her, God alone saved her from a culture that provided counterfeit answers to my own failures.

Barbara

[reconditioned]

I agree with Lady Raven. Nobody listens to things they don't have within them.

[Floatingaxe]

I was looking through this website about rock music and it's (often) satanic influences. Now, I like music as much as the next person, and I like some of the artists shown on this site, but things like this teach us to at least aware of what we are listening to sometimes. Is anyone else aware of these things?

Any comments?

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...anic_quotes.htm

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...c_no_effect.htm

For the record, here's my comment. These websites slam the stable door shut after the horse has bolted. They're too little too late. They blame satanic rock music for something that's already a cancer in its advanced stages. Let's get things into real perspective as Christians, in other words, let's nip what we don't want to ever happen in the bud. This means a good stable upbringing, decent schooling and hands on parenting without any shirking of responsibilities! From personal experience, if this is done properly I can guarantee children won't be seeking out the spirit of destruction elsewhere because they have the opposite at home. How easy it is for us to blame disgusting characters like Manson, and how difficult it is by comparrison for us to realise he's just an opportunistic croupier in a busy casino which specialises in raking in those we couldn't help ourselves!?

Uncomfortable reading this may be but let's get it right, let's slam manson and his hordes of satan worshippers only when we're without a plank in our own eyes!

I abhor the likes of androgenous Manson and his disgusting inverted morality, but I have to accept that as a woman, as a mother, if my kids or if the kids of anyone I know end up there, I've failed them. Children are born innocent, they never choose satan, they're only ever victims, so shouldn't we be concentrating on preventing more victims to this occultic opportunisim by taking people away from the edge of the cliff before they have that choice put before them? It seems to me that blaming the vultures that circle that dark place for taking away our kids is a bit like us all pretending we never SAW our kids walk all the way to the edge of that cliff, lost, alone, disillusioned, and now they're there, it's Manson's fault, and we never knew, we just sat watching TV and never once realised our kids were in the grip of the occult because it meant we'd get to work the next day on time?????!!!!!!!

This is a total delusion. For one thing rock musicians are 100% committed to our kids, so if a quiet life here and there means we fail them by comparission, who on earth are we to judge? We're no better, in fact, we're worse, we just think we're better and blame those who are more committed to our kids (avowed satanists) for our own shortfallings. It's time to wake up, to commit ourselves to our children, to stop blaming other people to get ourselves out of it!!

Let's take responsibility for our actions. IN other words, before we condemn the music of despair, let's look a little closer to home and make sure we don't herd more innocents to that place. Satan doesn't care if he claims friend or foe. WE, on the other hand, as Christians care. Is retrospect the best way to look at people within rock culture? People who are esentially victims in part due to our own failings?

My daughter came to Christ a year ago from this background. I failed her, the church failed her, God alone saved her from a culture that provided counterfeit answers to my own failures.

Barbara

God bless you, Barbara.

[sweetycakes]

I also like rock music a lot. I simply like the drive and energy of this kind of music.

As I said, I like some of the people mentioned in the link in the original post, namely, David Bowie, etc. However, whatever we think of them, I also think it is important for us to know what they think about what they are doing, and their motives for doing so.

I managed to find a longer length video of 'They sold their souls for rock and roll' - a one hour version, in fact, which highlights how so many of these artists have expressed allegiance to Aleister Crowley, one of the foremost occultists in the world.

I just think it's important to be informed, that's all

See it here

(please note that I don't approve of the username of the person who uploaded this video)

[Axxman]

Okay...I realize this is an old topic, but I really wanna add my two-cents.

First... Nobody who claims to serve Christ should be purchasing music made by persons who are unbelievers. It is like sleeping with the enemy. You are financially supporting a person who writes music from a worldly perspective. Even if the lyrics are not "evil" they are still at odds with God. I encourage people to buy Christian music whenever they are tempted to buy secular music. We should be supporting our musical brothers and sisters in Christ. It is absolutely sickening to me that the "High School Musical" soundtrack sold more copies than the Top 8 Christian albums. It should be noted that the christian sales were boosted by Alan Jackson who put out a country hyms album this year...that album outsold "real" Christian artists by double. It is sad, at best, that so many Christians love music and insist on spending their money on worldly music. Even on this website, Christians have consistently talked about their fave secualr bands.

Second... In regards to the website that started this topic. We shouldn't need a website to tell us that worldly musicians (of any genre) are un-godly. However, I am most disappointed by the websites accusations against Christian musicians. He describes Toby Mac as a "street punk who needs Jesus." That is offensive to me. I have worked with Toby McKeehan and many other Christian artists, and it is shameful what is implied about Toby on that website. I have prayed with, broke bread with, and done street ministry with MANY mainstream Christian artists and to imply they are evil because of their musical style is disgusting. The sites author uses MANY quotes out of context...and he misrepresents lyrics (especially Toby's.) I am not naive. I have seen Christian artists stumble. I've heard them swear. I've seen them have impure thoughts and worldly conversations. They are real people. However... I've also seen them pray. I've seen them repent. I've seen them study God's word. They are Chrstians. That website is absolutlely beyond the pale in regards to condemning fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

[sweetycakes]

Grateful for your input, Axxman

That is what I wanted, to get various perspectives.

The original website, I have some problems with, myself. I know they speak quite a lot of truth.

I think also that maybe they are a little over zealous in some of their content.

But I would still recommend the video I referenced on my last post, namely 'They sold their soul for rock and roll', which deals not with Christian artists, but secular, and highlights dark allegiances which the general population may not be familiar with, or may not connect the dots regarding the dark side of rock music.