Christian and Secular Music

[intricatic]

Should there rightly be a divide between Christian and secular music? We call this in philosophy a dichotomy - a split within a category which places one thing at odds with the other.

The idea would be that God is Lord of all creation - that is, He is Lord even of the secular, which negates any such dichotomy from being necessary to begin with. One might say that 'secular music' is potentially damaging to the spiritual wellbeing of a Christian, but the opposite might be considered to say that such music can only be damaging if one is insecure in their faith and doesn't know how to handle complex problems when they are presented.

One must understand faith in order to understand this thesis - faith in Greek was most commonly the word pistis, which had a strong denotation of something that was solid and reliable. Strong's says: "conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it", and most importantly: "the character of one who can be relied on".

Now, if we can define faith as above, especially in terms of the reliability of God, the idea of confronting secular art as an expression of fallen man in a fallen world can be seen to actually assist in evangelism, provided it's understood to be what it is - a fallen example of fallen man's thoughts. Creativity is universally a reflection of God in man, regardless of whether it is twisted into a distorted image in such a fallen state, and as such, it always has an intrinsic value. The problem is, one must have a strong sense of reliance on God to confront such a thing without putting that faith in jeopardy.

[seeker]

I agree with you that all creativity is a gift from God. I think that we are all created in his image but until we are born again the fruit that we bare eg; music that we write is born from the flesh and not the spirit.
So that the things that a non Christian will rest their mind on will most often be matters of the flesh and the Christian tends to dwell on God and matters of the spirit.
So I beleive that is why so much secular music is about sex (because it is just about the strongest flesh urge there is in a non Christian) but once we become a Christian we discover a much more powerful motivatiation (dare I say stimulation) in the Holy Spirit.
And though I see nothing wrong in singing about flesh matters and the human experience and sharing that with one another through song I think we do need to be aware that words once you combine them with rythm can have a very powerful effect on us and music seems to touch us on a level that trancends verbal comunication. So I think if you are going to listen to secular music regularly, it is just wise to make sure that what you are listening to isn't flaring up the flesh in the wrong direction. eg sexually, hatefully, foolishly and so on.
I think that the fact that we listen to music for pleasure too makes us more receptive to the message/spirit that the music is conveying.
I don't want to sound like some kind of extremist using the term flesh all the time but it just accurately describes what I am saying. I have some fave secular music but I am aware of the influence that some music has on my mood and feelings. Some of it just out right rebels in the face of God. I don't see it as so much as a problem but more a language or influence that we need to be wise about engaging in.

seeker

[Pete Martinez]

I think this link explains in good detail, it's not necessarily anti-contemporary music but it does make you think quite a bit. Please do not read half of it and then say I don't agree, you must read it all because it does go into great detail.

Christian Rock - Blessing or Blasphemy?

[intricatic]

This is the only book I'd suggest for reading material on this topic: Link

It's actually a rather gnostic ideology to separate the spiritual and physical in such a way - the Bible need not be interpreted in such a way as to create a divide like that. God is still Lord over unbelievers, afterall, even if they do not follow after Him. If we're to reach out to a dying world, we can't do so unless we know the questions of the day and can rightly answer them. The only way to do so is through the art of the day. This is a good quote:

The ancients were afraid that if they went to the end of the earth, they would fall off and be consumed by dragons. But once we understand that Christianity is true to what is there, including true to the ultimate environment -- the infinite, personal God who is really there -- then our minds are freed. We can pursue any question and can be sure that we will not fall off the end of the earth. Such an attitude will give our Christianity a strength that it often does not seem to have at the present time.
(Francis A. Schaeffer, Art and the Bible, Ch. 1)

People are afraid of things. They enjoy being afraid of things, and they enjoy making devils out of shadows. The author of that website has absolutely no idea what the occult actually is, and it's glaringly obvious.

[Pete Martinez]

The author was a former satanist and vampire.

[intricatic]

I was too, but I have a more realistic perspective after becoming aware of the futility and total ineptitude of the occult in general. There is no power there. The only way these things have power is if you grant that to them by psychologically yielding to them. If my Lord is Jesus, what power does it leave for the occult? Fear is actually the aim of many occultic rituals and philosophies - make people afraid of you, and you gain leverage to manipulate that fear. This is the entire basis of Marilyn Manson's success as a rock star, but it's not mystical or magical, it's psychological.

Philosophically, that works on par with secular humanism and dialectic methodology - become the antithesis, and force people to make a shift from a position of safety into a higher paradigm. I propose removing the antithesis entirely and looking at God as the source of all creativity, no matter how distorted the image, which is the originally biblical concept behind creation, and the biblical concept behind man being God's image. That fear and contempt of the secular is a fear and contempt of something God created and allows to exist, and it destroys any understanding we might glean of the current cultural climate, and the questions that need to be answered for effective evangelism. It's not that the ideas expressed in secular music and art are good, wholesome, or in some way true, but that they should serve as no barrier for the Christian and do not represent something that needs to be feared if we have the God of the universe and His perfect revelation to guide us.

The only way the dichotomy between Christian and secular would make sense would be to suppose that Satan is the author of some parts of life, while God is the author of others. This is not a correct understanding of the thing. Satan can only twist and manipulate the things God has created, and he has no real power to do even that if such is redeemed by God.

[Pete Martinez]

I do agree that the occult has very little to no power over the Christian, however that rule does not apply to the unbeliever. The majority of the Lord Jesus's miracles were healing and casting out demons. The occult is not exactly impotent. It is believed in some instances that Hitler's madness was a result of demon possession, not because he was low on prozac.

[intricatic]

Originally Posted by Pete Martinez

I do agree that the occult has very little to no power over the Christian, however that rule does not apply to the unbeliever. The majority of the Lord Jesus's miracles were healing and casting out demons. The occult is not exactly impotent. It is believed in some instances that Hitler's madness was a result of demon possession, not because he was low on prozac.

I would say it's because he was taking too much crystal meth. The occult is impotent in anything but humanistic psychological trickery. It does that quite well if people refuse to see it for what it is.

[seeker]

Who is afraid of secular things? you keep talking about people being afraid of secular art or expression. All things are free to me but not all things are good for me.
I have met a few Christians who treat non Christian things like they are to fear but generally I don't know if it is very common.
I wouldn't want my small daughter watching some of the music videos and such .......not because I think they are going to catch a demon from them but because a majority of people in them have little to no respect for women and other issues in there too.

You do not have to know how to answer the questions of this generation to effectively share the Gospel. Which apostle was that said 'I preach Christ, Christ died for our sins and has defeated death so that we may have eternal life' something along those lines. but I certainly understand what he is saying. You only have to share Jesus that is it. You don't have to sort awaken every decieved person from deception presonally .....the Holy Spirit will do that.

And Demon posession is a real thing and demons do need an invite into you and I would imagine if you are worshipping Satan on any level that would be a pretty clear invite.

Jesus is the Truth, the Light and The Way. Nothing else really matters.

seeker

[seeker]

Ps This stuff could really confuse a new Christian.