hi...I am a huge christian metal, hardcore, & punk fan...A lot of religious people feel that rock music is the devils and that all christian hard rock is bad...I have news for them, God created music, not the devil, who also has created the lie that christian rock is evil...my favorite groups are Demon Hunter, Fasedown, Call to Preserve, War of Ages, Decyfer Down, Disciple, Still Remains, As I lay Dying, Underoath, Flyleaf, Seventh Star, Alove for Enemies, Living Sacrifice, Day of Fire, Switchfoot, Reliant k , Pillar, Kutless, Jesus Wept & of course, the mighty P.O.D. There are many others but I want to get this posted. I assure you that coming out of secular music (slipknot,slayer,S.O.D.,hatebreed etc.)before I became a christian, I have to watch what I listen to...I assure you that all the afore mentioned groups have a message of God and about God and Fasedown and Disciple even have scriptures look up that go with the song..I pay very close attention and read lyrics and if the messge isn't there, I will not listen to it....anyone who would like to comment positive or negative, I invite you to comment on this forum because I am interested in how the rest of the church feels about my post...God bless you all Christian Warriors and believers in His eternal truths..
I think something needs to be said here. Whenever i hear this discussion i always see it go into a good vs evil direction that i think is straight up false. I produce music on a professional level for a living so i think i may have a unique perspective to add to the conversation.
First thing i see happen is that certain music gets referred to as godly while other gets referred to as not. Rock music is usually the one that gets talked about but let me throw something into your brain and make you think for a second. If there is a such thing as ungodly music then anything that is blues related whether it be rock and roll or r&b should be thrown into that catagory. The history of blues music is as follows. When slaves came over from the carribean they brought their culture with them which included voodoo. The voodoo rhythm which translates musicly into straight syncopation is used to call in spirits. This forms the rhythmic basis of all rock and roll and blues. The blues variation on this rhythm is about one thing and the blues great Robert Johnson said it best "Blues is about one thing, a man and a woman" so in other words sex. You see it's not the words that makes something rock and roll it's the rhythm and the music therefore anything that is build on this platform by mostly all christian standards can in no way be called godly. It is pagan in it's very hertitage and nature.
I think the whole argument of good vs evil music is false at the very core. Music is nothing more than a person expressing themselves and their view on the world. The very best of the best music are the ones that do this the most effectively. If music is nothing more than expression the same way speech is then if all of you that believe in this false godly vs ungodly music must believe the same thing when it refers to free speech in general. However if you were to turn off your ability to listen to anybody that had a different view on the universe than you do how will you be able to fulfil your duty as a christian and be able to know who needs to see a good christian example for their life and needs to be introduced to the true message of God. Don't be fooled by the "Christian" music buisness because make no mistake about it, at the end of the day they are a buisness. I'm not saying that the musicians are bad because most of them in my opinion may be mislead into thinking that what they do is for the greater good but i know first hand that the christian music buisness has almost nothing to do with music and has everything to do with buisness and YOU are their target demographic.
I am going to tick off some of the people in this thread when i say this but i am about to tell you the real truth and this reality is very stark and jarring. The music buisness is a buisness of smoke and mirrors. I know this will make some people mad but this is the truth, Christian music songwriters are just frankly not as skilled at writing music as the ones in the rest of the industry. Christian music is written based upon a formula. My life would be a whole lot easier if all i did was write music about one subject. This music at it's very core is not completely emotionally honest and people can tell, it may not be consciously but they can tell and this is why the music is not popular. Nobody that i have ever met in my entire life has sat there living a non christian life and then hears a Michael W. Smith song then said "hey you know what everything i was thinking was wrong, i think i should go to church now!". That's because this music is not made to minister to the non believer it is made with the exact purpose to get the money from YOU.
It is your job as a God fearing person to seek truth in everything in order to know in the end times how not to take the "mark" and not wander through life in a daze. In the bible it says "they perished for lack of knowledge" i beg of you be smart and logical in the way you make your arguments and recognize the false ones when you hear them. People that introduce anything into the world based upon a corporate model in order to make a profit upon good Christian people are doing the exact thing the money changers did at the temple in the time of Jesus and Jesus knew exactly what to do about them. All music is a gift from God along with everything else in this world. Everything is a test and the only way to pass the test is to keep your faith in the face of anything you see or hear in front of you and as in real life. You do not get a passing grade if you choose to not look at the question and not answer it. True faith is not blind.
I know some of you will not agree with me and that's fine because i don't say any of this to seek approval. I am relating to you the truth from the inside of the business. I'm not telling you to throw away all your christian music because i believe that you should listen to whatever you wish but you should know it's purpose before making an argument for good and evil as it relates to music.
I was realy sad when Chevelle's new one produced several curse words. I had a feeling it was a matter of time before they went mainstream, but I didn't know their fourth and most-anticipated album (from me, at least) would have a few four-letter blunders in there.
The whole reason I buy "Christian" bands is because they don't cuss, and there's nothing questionable in their material. In addition, of course, it's the constant lyrical reminder of God's presence, and knowing that if John Doe and his five under-12 baseball players got in my car before the game, I'd not have to turn the radio off before I started the car.
Just wanted to say that I'm with you one that one. I really admire the bands who can go into the secular scene and be unapologetically Christian. I just went to a show in Atlanta where RED, Flyleaf, and Seether were playing. Both RED and Flyleaf are Christian bands, but most of the crowd was there for Seether. I was extremely impressed with Flyleaf because they tastefully mixed in some parts of popular worship songs into there set/songs. Then near the end of their set they took time to talk to the crowd about their struggles and the things that Jesus has done for them. It was amazing that the crowd listened and was even receptive to what they had to say. So I have a deep respect for Flyleaf and echo that God uses all types of music to reach people. Christain bands are cool and there is definitely ministry that goes on in the Christian music scene, but to reach the lost we have to go outside of our Christian world. So when a Christian band is able to successfully be themselves and minister in the secular world we should support them any way we can. Thanks for the post man.
Obviously, this is a passionate topic of mine as well. I too grew up on punk, metal, etc. When i came to know Christ, I was willing to throw out decades of secular music (even though I love the style) to follow Him, because i knew what most of it said.
And i believe that that is the key point...what is the message in the music...
Like all things God created, the enemy has perverted & twisted how we view music as well. After all there is no such thing as a satanic or godly note/beat, it's the message that determines that.
Thank God He has opened up venues to reach people of every tribe, tongue, & nation with the gospel!!
www.radiou.com
is a listener supported christian rock station reaching the youth in a way that our church hasn't been able too...
God loves each & every one of these kids & so should we
interesting statements...some i agree & some i dont. but i think its cool we can chat about this topic and not divide the Body of Christ over "2ndary" issues.
out here in L.A we have a station called "the Fish" and boy oh boy is it so obvious as to the "business" side of christian artist. most of them just remake the same worship songs & repackage it to sell believers -- never gonna get any secular kids listening to that station.
www.radiou.com is different, they play a variety of styles (yet mostly rock) but by bands who claim to be believers & they write about real life yet use it to point the audience to Christ and kids do call in sharing how the musics touched their lives & gave them hope
as far as rock rythms being hypnotic, well i tend to disagree even in light of the history...acid house & hip hop seem to fit that catagory a lil better
I like just about any kind of music except twangy bluegrass. I don't feel I can stand in judgement of people who like Christian bluegrass. It really shouldn't matter what style of music speaks to you as long as it's the voice of the Lord you hear. The Bible says that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost and He was always "breaking the rules!(that is...according to some church people ie...Pharisees, Sadducees, etc...) Bottom line...God's word will not return void and if the heart is in the right place, the music will follow, regardless of the style. Oh...by the way...I love Switchfoot!
Sorry guys but i have a different view than the "normal" christian one represented by most of you here. I believe all art ultimatly has the hand of God in it. Maybe not always through the artist consciously. Think of it this way, God created us and everything and what we produce is an extension of his plan so in short God is creator of all art. For somebody just to sit back as an artist and say " i'm only going to write about this one subject and nothing more" i think they are completely missing the point. Everybody should be allowed to express themselves. The same right that protects self expression also protects your right to worship in the manner you choose. Something like music could never be a complete work of art, it's only merely an extension of how the artist lives their life out before God and all of us. Life is God true artform and i think it's equally important for everybody to see all sides. The main problem i have when it comes down to it with christian music in general is that after seeing how the music buisness works from the inside i have a hard time believing that the artist is being completely honest. This pseudo pop white christian music out there today is possibly the most boring and uncreative music ever invented (to me at least). You can go ahead and like it if you want but personally i think the old school hymns that i grew up on in church are 10x more creative and inspiring. Handing somebody one of these newer style psudo christian pop cds to minister to them could possibly be the worst thing i could think of to hook them in. I'm a techno dj and i'll sit there in the club cranking out techno for an hour or two and then go into some gospel house music and watch the people come up to the decks asking me what that was i just dropped on there. However if i was to sit there and play a whole set of it i would clear the floor in a half hour. This kind of music is much more effective in moderation. Humans go through a huge range of emotions in their life and to just sit there and throw only one at them is so completely dishonest. There isn't one person here that thinks what these songs are saying every minute of everyday and if you say you are, you are either lying or completely insane.
To All Christian Heavy Mental Fans and Dealth Metal Fans And Alternative Fans And Rock Fans InGeneral:
Well I believe Jesus does have a sense of humor when it comes to The Screaming and shouting and guitar and drum and hard core rock beats thump and pump and have a good time with Music...I think some music is ment for fun and enjoyment and make us think about our walk with Christ in a fun and brand new way and some Christian Rock Bands can do this!!! Everone style is different and some feel this music verse this music helps and other Christian Rock Bands like Dealth Mental Bands Really doesn't speak to them and it hard for them to get into!!! I really wouldn't judge anyone for listening to dealth mental I know it get some people pumped for The Day or good Exersize Music or driving in your car!!! I think we should have a blance about music and Praise And Worship Music should always been in our hearts and mind and we should grow closer to him and that kind of music always enters us into a new prespective of Him And Who Jesus is as a person!!!
Christian/secular music, compilation of words set to melody. Inspired by thoughts, feelings, situations, and lifestyles. But how many so called secular songs out there have really been written because the artist was actually moved by the Holy Spirit.
I was listening to a Christian station one Sunday when I heard Elton John's "Beautiful In My Eyes".
You're my peace of mind in this crazy world.
You're everything I've tried to find, your love is a pearl.
You're my Mona Lisa, you're my rainbow skies,
and my only prayer is that you realize
you'll always be beautiful in my eyes.
The world will turn and the seasons will change,
and all the lessons we will learn will be beautiful and strange.
We'll have our fill of tears, our share of sighs.
My only prayer is that you realize
you'll always be beautiful in my eyes.
You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
that you will always grow more beautiful in my eyes.
When there are lines upon my face form a lifetime of smiles,
and when the time comes to embrace for one long last while,
we can laugh about how time really flies.
We won't say goodbye 'cause true love never dies.
You'll always be beautiful in my eyes.
You will always be beautiful in my eyes.
And the passing years will show
that you will always grow more beautiful in my eyes.
The passing years will show that you will always grow
ever more beautiful in my eyes.
So, what do you think? Isn't it wonderful how the Holy Spirit moves?
