Christian Music Conundrum - an Introduction

 

Music is central to much of American culture, and it is no different amongst Christians. We use music to for entertainment, socializing, and worship. It is so engrained in our lives that we seldom stop to consider anything about it. Sure, there are some old-school people that think that some music is “bad”, even so much as demonic, but this discussion often appears to be a fringe argument of the young against the old; boring dead Puritan ideals against a “living fire”; legalistic against “livin’ for Jesus”.

Many of us were raised in a home where, in music, a beat was bad. Mom and dad muted the musical interludes during movies, we weren’t “allowed” certain CDs in our house, and we all stood somewhat awkwardly during worship services when we visited friends’ more modern churches. We understood that some people just had it wrong, and we would obstinately push through life without electric guitars or drum sets.

Then… things would start to happen. A good, trusted, Christian-ly solid, friend would begin to listen to, horror of horrors, Casting Crowns. Or perhaps you began to listen more closely to some music that your family listens to and recognize, “Wait a second… this is actually just as rocky as some artists out there… even more than the Gettys!” Or maybe you finally heard a pop Christian song you could understand the words to, and thought “Wow; that’s a very poignantly stated Biblical truth. You could preach a sermon from that!” We started to ask “What’s wrong with it?”

Then we started seeing inconsistencies – the music was bad in some cases, but other songs that sounded the same to us were ok to our spiritual authorities. We would be told “We don’t listen to that artist because they’re immoral.”, yet Mozart was prominently played and even performed by members of our household. A few oldies songs with absolutely no spiritual value might be played by our parents, but our Christian songs that were just as musically subdued would be “off limits”. We started to ask “Why can’t I listen to it?”

Then… more things would start to happen. Some of our friends that had blazed this trail of listening to “modern music” would start making blatantly un-biblical decisions. You would look up one day and in shock say “What AM I listening to?” We would start looking more into the lives of these “amazing Christian artists” and questioning their real motives…

It is in this state that I begin to ask these questions:

·         What music can Christians listen to?

·         What music should Christians listen to?

·         What do I do about the people who condemn my choices?”

I will ask these questions with the following pre-suppositions; if you do not agree with these, please do not continue to follow these posts:

·         There are authorities in my life I must respect; even if they’re wrong, as long as they aren’t telling me to disobey God, I ought to honor them (Exodus 20:12, 1 Timothy 5:17)

·         God has an opinion about music – He is the author of it, and His principles that guide everything about life (including music) are in His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

·         Satan can twist anything and even deceive believers who have not imposed God’s truth on the situation (2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-14)

·         I COULD BE WRONG! I am going into this study with a certain view, but I am willing to be proven wrong; my own understanding could be incomplete. (Proverbs 3:5-7)