Music can be a very personal and subjective thing. It is like a language that everyone can interpret, but these interpretations can be vastly different. Whether the music in question is instrumental, vocal, or something in between, it can be construed to be offensive to one person while another finds it encouraging or enlightening. (I'm not talking about a lot of the 'music' that is just an excuse to use a lot of obscene language or explicit material -- for the purposes of this discussion, we are not considering this to fit into the field of music).
Because music can demand a lot of interpretation and decoding from it's listeners, we should be wary of different ways that music could be seen as obscene. The last thing that we want to do is to listen to something without thinking about words or musical structure. If we don't actively participate in the musical experience, we are likely to become mesmerized, resulting in possible confusion for ourselves or others.
For example, let's say that Jim, a Christian, has just found this new musical entity that he can't stop listening to. After a few tracks on the CD, though, Jim begins letting himself go and not concentrating on what the singer is saying (or the music is implying). Once Jim has listened to the whole CD, he decides that he loves it because he really feels good after listening. He recommends it to his best friend, who listens and is offended by some inappropriate content on the disc. He confronts Jim, who is still oblivious to the fact that there even was anything out of line.
The previous scenario leads Jim into an uncomfortable position, and it's all because he wasn't guarding his ears. He did not take an active stance of vigilance, and ended up in hot water as a result. We should always make every effort we can to guard our minds. It would be far better to choose to listen to inappropriate music and understand that it is sinful, than for us to listen to it unawares, and be influenced by the lyrics or musical suggestions in a negative way without even realizing the hold that these things have on us.
I can think of several examples where I have been on both sides of a scenario which results from the unintentional lack of knowledge of a subject, whether that subject is musical or not. This isn't the place for me to write those down, however. The point is that these awkward situations are stuck in my mind. I can remember almost all of the recommendations made to me by others that resulted in offense on my part. I wish so badly that those things hadn't happened. Though I didn't yield to the perception that person who made the recommendation was not truly following Christ, most of the time the event adversely affected my idea of who that person was.
You may say that you have freedom in Christ; that you have been set free from these expectations. That is true, actually. The freedom that you have not been given is the freedom to hinder your fellow Christian's walk with the Lord. Please, feel free to use your freedom without hindering someone else's. (I think that this will make for an excellent new topic after I'm done with music ;) ).
In conclusion:
We should ask ourselves these questions before making musical choices
2. Am I actively guarding my ears from Unbiblical influences?
and
3. Am I causing offense to my brother or sister in Christ?
3 comments:
Very good, I can't wait for the conclusion!
I really have enjoyed both this post and the one before it.
At the moment I am studying rock music for school. Now, I personally don't think that all rock music is of the devil per se, though I am aware that rock music and evil lyrics often go hand in hand.
Now, I looked up a Christian death metal band, called 'With Blood Comes Cleansing'. The title song for their album Golgotha has these lyrics:
This is the place of the skull where terror reigned. A crucifixion of agony and pain. A crown of thorns pierced his skin. Bound by our wages of sin. Mercy so undeserved. We cursed our God. While he suffered. The skies grow
dark and the earth shakes and for a second your heart breaks. Eloi eloi lama sabacthani. Our souls lie in Golgotha. Prophecy fulfilled in Golgotha.
There is not much there to complain about. However, when I started to listen to the music, I was appalled. If you're interested you can do so at http://www.myspace.com/withbloodcomescleansing.
(I don't recommend it.)
I just did not like that music at all. I found it disgusting. In fact, in my own mind I labeled it evil. However, just because I personally dislike a certain style does not make it evil. However, is it possible for music to be inherently evil, regardless of what lyrics used, and if so how do we judge that? Going back to your first post, I would most definitely not play such music to God and His angels. However, some Christians would have no problem with it.
I have read about African Christians previously involved in satanic practices who say that it is evil to beat the drums in a particular way because it is 'Satan's drumbeat'. But is the distaste these Christians feel simply because they associate the particular drum beat with their past satanic practices, or is it because the drum beat is in and of itself satanic?
Please don't feel that you have to answer my questions or anything. They're mainly rhetorical...and it helps me to think things through to write it.
Wow, Anika ... you really wrote a lot! I will talk a little bit more about my thoughts on these things in my next blog post, which will (hopefully) be up soon.
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