Most Recent... Thing...

Music - I love it. I love multiple genres, from classical to soundtracks to hymns. I love listening to it in multiple capacities, from school, to fun, to worship.

But is all music good? What I don't want to come across as is a "conservative nut" that simply brands certain music as bad; there needs to be reason for everything. That said, I think that certain types of music are bad, and generally this music can be summed up in one genre - Rock.

I know this is an age-old argument, which is one reason I've been interested to study it some more. The reasons I have for cleaning up my playlists are as follows:

1) Origins

True, simply because something started as bad does not necessarily guarantee that it is in and of itself bad, or that it cannot be used for good. But rock music, in America, began as a form of rebellion. It was not acceptable to the older generation, the authorities, and hence listening to such a genre was simply a form of rebellion. Note that "...Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as the iniquity of idolatry." (I Samuel 15:23) So... I would steer clear of this personally... who wants anything to do with something that began on the same magnitude of "badness" as witchcraft?

2) Spiritual Implications

When rock music starts blaring, you feel different. Invigorated, yes. In a Godly way? I doubt it. One interesting thing to do when a song starts playing is to see how a little child will respond. They can't hear/understand the words, so they will only react to the music. I was listening to some "Christian Rock", that was actually pretty calm. Little sister walks in, and starts "dancing like she's at a party"... and for a six-year-old, that's certainly what she was doing. Our bodies react negatively to rock music, because music is spiritual - it will either effect us for good, or bad.

In addition, the spiritual world is not immune to music's influence either. A missionary story I once heard told about a recently converted witch doctor, who upon hearing "Christian Rock" being played asked the Christians why they were calling up the evil spirits. But we listen to this in our churches?

3) Cultural Implications

What music is played at a rave? I can assure you, its not hymns, folk, or even classical. What music is most heavily associated with drugs, immoral behaviors, and rebellion? Again, we find rock music as the culprit. When people hear rock music, this is automatically the implications that come to mind. Also, this is not just the words; lyrics are another discussion. I am talking purely about the music. No lyrics are necessary to carry meaning.

So what does this mean? One common excuse for the use of rock music is to get non-believers in the church. In other words, "Let's play this worldly, rebellious [witchcraft-related] music that affects people in a negative way and may even have impact on the spiritual world around us. Oh, but we'll change the words and call it good." Wake up call modern-Christian America! Who are you fooling? Will modern culture accept it? Sure, but so what? Our modern culture is one that hates God... but we got their acceptance, so it must be good, right?

Wrong.