SEX, DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL
by Larry Bubb

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I grew up listening to groups like BLACK SABBATH, ALICE COOPER and of course the really despicable JACKSON FIVE.. I know what your thinking . . . "That's disgusting! Cancel my subscription!" Well, just hold on SNOOP DOG BREATH. The following is a letter I received recently and my response (more or less). I thought it might be good to reprint it as I'm sure many of you have wondered similar things regarding various types of music.

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Dear Larry, I have written to you because I am very confused. Recently me and my cousin went up to the beach. We brought music to listen to that wasn't all together Christian. But the worst of it all was a song by NINE INCH NAILS. The lyrics went like so, "God is dead, and no one cares, and I'll see you in H***!" Now when I heard this, I asked to turn it off. But my cousin asked "Why?" and I said, "Because God doesn't like it.". Well, the whole conversation ended up in a big debate about how Trent Reznor (the lead singer of NINE INCH NAILS) was singing in anger against the church for controlling his life. Now, you see, I am very confused. My cousin told me to not let the church control you. I don't understand! He also said God didn't care if you sing such lyrics about him. We got home and he left me very confused. Can you help me?

Stephen Bricker

Steven, Thanks for the letter and the good question. There are a lot of thoughts on music and some revolve around the words and some on the music itself. I think all styles of music were created by God. I can't find anywhere in the Bible that credits the devil with the ability to create anything. The devil can, of course, take something and distort it for his purposes and try to destroy what God has created. As to the lyrics in the song you mentioned (entitled "Heresy" I believe), technically if God was dead, then Trent won't be seeing anyone in H***. Obviously these lyrics are not accurate and most importantly not pleasing to God! I'm reminded of a statement made by the Philosopher Voltaire in 1750. He wrote that in 100 years Christianity would be a thing of the past and the Bible would be dead and gone. Well, 50 years later Voltaire was dead and that very same room and printing press he used were being used to print Bibles!

How do we know if certain groups and lyrics are O.K. to listen to? Al Menconi uses a see-saw or teeter-totter as a good illustration. Let's say music on one side of the see-saw encourages us to love God and others more. It may also help us get to know Him better or worship Him. The other extreme is not just "devil" music. The #1 command in the SATANIC BIBLE is "Live for yourself - do whatever you want to." This is the opposite of Christianity which says die to yourself and live for God. This means music by someone like MADONNA may not say "worship the devil", but is it saying live for God or live for yourself?

The lyrics went . . . , "God is Dead and no one cares, and I'll see you in H***!"

Some music is neutral and in the middle and simply says, "The sky is blue and I like the monkeys in the zoo, etc." (one of my earlier hit songs.) The 1st thing is to determine which side of the see-saw a certain group or song falls on. Col. 2:8 says we can judge the world's principals and philosophies by whether it increases our joy and faith or not. Does a song help your faith in God or hinder it. Does a song give you joy or not. If you listen to lots of music that is Christian, then the balance will fall more to the good side of the teeter-totter. If you listen to lots of good Christian music and you hear a song on the other extreme, it will probably not hurt your faith (it probably won't do anything good for you either). However if you listen to mostly the world's philosophies it will make you more and more like the world. If you hang around people who cuss or talk with a southern accent or whatever, you are more likely to talk like them. If you listen to ungodly music that says "GO TIP OVER SOME COWS", you may not go right out and do it, but it puts the thought in your mind and little by little you lean in that direction. Romans 12:1-2 says not to be conformed (or to be like) this world but to be transformed by renewing our mind (through the Bible, church, Christian friends and music, etc.) so we are more like Jesus.

Now, to the specifics of NINE INCH NAILS . . . they are very anti-God and anti-Christian. If your cousin is not a Christian, then it is logical that he would listen to music like this because it reflects his belief system. Telling him he shouldn't listen to it will not convince him - he needs to know Jesus 1st. If he is a Christian, he is being deceived and tricked to think it is OK to hear a guy sing "God is dead and no one cares." For one, that is a lie. Secondly, he should want others to come to know God if he really knows God and loves Him. This means he should not want other people to hear lies about God

As for Trent, there are a couple reasons why he may be angry at the church for "controlling his life." He may have been hurt by people in the church. No one in a church is perfect, nor do we claim to be. We need to forgive others like Jesus did. People fall into a demonic trap of judging Christianity by looking at other people instead of looking to Jesus as our ultimate example. There are also cult groups that are bad and do deceive people and control their lives. Regardless of all that, Trent, along with all of us, has this "I" problem where we want to play God and control our lives instead of allowing God His rightful place on the throne. We should allow God to control our lives and not other people. God does not deceive people! He loves us and wants us to CHOOSE to follow Him, but He does not FORCE us to. Bible-teaching, Jesus-following churches are important to be part of as they can encourage us, help us grow closer to God and show us when we are blowing it. To your cousin I would say, "No true church should even want to control somebody. But following JESUS means we should want to follow Him and let Him take control of our lives more and more. God is love. Since He created us, He alone knows how we can get the best, fullest, joy filled life on this planet!" Pray for your cousin!

By the way, when I became a Christian I did not burn my records, nor do I believe that DEMONS JUMP OUT OF THE GROOVES when I play them. However, when I found out that there was Christian music in every style (and just as good as anything on the secular market), I wanted to listen to it rather than secular music. Not only do I enjoy the music, it has encouraged me and helped me grow closer to God. Dave Hart has just finished a new book entitled "IT'S ALL ROCK AND ROLL TO ME". Ask for it at your Christian Bookstore (like you own your very own store.) He has thoroughly researched bands and musicians giving profiles on the groups as well as Christian alternatives. For instance, if you do like Industrial music like 9 Inch Nails, go to the aforementioned bookstore and order Circle of Dust or music by a group called Propagation X. Another group they may be more likely to carry is Chatterbox. I've also compiled my own list of groups over the years, however it is mostly second hand from experts like Dave. I'd be happy to give you some suggestions if you want to write about a group or style of music. The Perihelion pick of the month, if you are into that new ALTERNATIVE-GOTH-RAP-COUNTRY-FUSION, is "Who Is Your Hero", coincidentally available by mail-order from this very publication.


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