music - Christian Report

Being a True Christian
In a World of Biblical Compromise
Edited by
Steven James Barry
Chapter 13
MUSIC
This is a very difficult area, music.
Music is what kept me in sin and rejecting Jesus over and over again. I lived for rock n roll all
through High School. Wicked groups like Led Zepplin, Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, etc. I
had no idea how satanic it was and how it opened doors to demons that kept me away from God.
When I made a quick prayerism alter call at Calvary Chapel in 1991, I became a false Christian
for 8 years. In 1998 I got rid of all my secular music and ventured into Christian music. I didn't
know any better then. And the christian music rocked out like secular music even though it had
Jesus words sprinkled though out. But I found myself still rocking out but justifying it because it
was called Christian. I wasn't a Christian though, I was just trying to be a good guy and I would
go to church and even teach Sunday school. But rocking out to bands like Third Day, Creed, etc.
etc.
When I truly became saved in 1999, I started reading and studying the word. I got plugged in to
a great church and a bunch of great believers who taught me a lot.
We sang hymns and psalms at church, but I justified CCM during all my other activities during
the week. I started noticing the difference between the lyrics of the hymns and the CCM. The
hymns worship God and call for strength in our spiritual battle of not only fighting satan from
the flesh but also battle songs for Christians to engage in war for the Great Commission. Then I
listened to CCM songs and the lyrics sounded like love songs you would sing to a female secular
lover, and songs that dealt with your problems in the world and just a lot of psychobabble stuff.
I never heard those lyrics of the gospel of repentance and turning from sin like in the hymns.
Even though I knew that God hated that worldly music that we try to justify as worship music, I
figured that I would never use that in worship to Him but I justified using that music during the
day by saying the CCM stuff is better than listening to the radio with secular music. Wrong.
Then when I met Larry He was involved with SoulFest booking 100's of Christian rockers for a 4
day concert, well the lust and idol worship of that situation got the better of me. I just couldn’t
shake it. Here I was preaching solid year round and reading the Word hours on end each day but
I kept on justifying that sin, mostly because most of the Christians I preached with loved that
music too.
When I started seeing these supposed godly Christian people do and say the things off stage and
camera that looked like the world, I started waking up. Some were wicked people doing alcohol
and drugs and others were into adultery, at the christian concerts backstage! And others I talked
to weren't born again as they claimed, they were new agers accepting multiple ways to heaven.
Then I started a very serious study on their lyrics and trying to understand a little about beats and
rhythms. I know very little about musical notes, but I learned from people who were musicians
and then got saved and renounced CCM music as being identical to secular music. There are
some great DVD seminars that I can give you to teach you about this stuff.
This is very difficult area for Christians to come out of. I know, I took me years. But through
massive prayer, education both in the Word and touching the surface of music composition, I
was able to come out of it through only the Power of the Holy Spirit.
If God says the world is wicked, then why the music wouldn’t be wicked also? It's a question
those who are deceived into the CCM refuse to ask themselves. God's music in the Bible was
perfect.
I know you may immediately disagree with me, but it is the Truth if you have a learning spirit. I
refused that learning spirit for YEARS because that music controlled my emotions when it
played. CCM is addictive and of the devil. Only when you come out of it can you truly
understand that! What you have to do is trust in the Lord that the people He sent to teach you all
about CCM are speaking the truth. If I was your husband you would know that my only interest
is for you to become more holy, thus you would listen... I never wanted anything else but to be
your husband and to lead you to more Truth. And that position remains unchanged today. Next
to God, you are everything to me.
Now that you have heard my experiences I will attempt to teach you from the Word and from
brothers who came out of that sin...
DIDN’T GOD CREATE ALL MUSIC?
Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California says: “God loves all kinds of music because he
invented it all--fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don’t like it all, but God
does!” (Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, p. 65).
ANSWER:
God did create music and created man with a capability to create and enjoy it, but the world is no
longer in the pristine spiritual condition it was when God made it. Man has sinned against God
and has created a world in rebellion against Him and against His laws. The Devil is called “the
god of this world” (2 Cor. 11:4) and “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). Music is one of the powerful influences in
modern society, and there can be no doubts that the god of this world is intimately involved in
helping wicked men create music that will satisfy their illicit lusts. The apostle John taught,
“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 Jn. 5:19). If
the whole world lieth in wickedness, what does that say about the world’s music? Obviously
man’s wickedness has corrupted the field of music as it has every other field.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD MUSIC
Alan Ives is a man of God and a Christian musician. Together with his wife Ellen he has
produced some excellent music albums for God's people. Alan knows music. He is highly trained
both in secular and Christian styles of music. Before conversion he played in a rock and roll
band. The Ives spends much of their time traveling to churches, preaching the Word of God and
ministering in music. They are in the Wyldewood Baptist Church of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The following message was transcribed from an audio cassette. You can get in touch with the
Ives directly by writing Concord & Harmony, 328 Rosalia Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901.
Their home phone is (414) 231-4807. Now to the message by Brother Ives:
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD MUSIC
By Alan Ives
We are going to try and nail down how to tell the difference between good and bad music,
especially if the words are O.K. How can I tell if something is sensual or not, if something is
spiritual or carnal?
I think of a fellow that didn't know anything about music, and he said to me: "When I read my
Bible, when I pray, when I listen to preaching, the Holy Spirit teaches and ministers to me and
comforts me, rebukes, instructs, corrects me--whatever it is that I need. But I can tell that the
Holy Spirit of God is working in me." And he said, "When somebody sings a song, I expect the
Holy Spirit to do the same thing through that song."
I had sung a blues arrangement of "No One Ever Cares For Me Like Jesus," and he said, "Never
sing that one in church again." This was years ago. This man could hardly play "She'll Be
Coming 'round the Mountain" on the harmonica, but he told me that, and I promised him that I
would never sing that song that way again.
This young man is responsible for his whole family coming to Christ. And the entire time that I
have known him, he has spent time alone with the Lord and has put the Lord ahead of any
friendship that he has with another man.
When we're all done with this thing, if too much is scrambled--I will try to make it simple--but if
it is scrambled, you can always just ask the Lord. Say, "Holy Spirit, teach me; is this song good
or bad?" If you have a question, ask the Lord. "Try the spirits" is what 1 John 4 says, "whether
they be of God." You'll be able to tell. Some songs are so bad you'll know immediately you
ought not to listen to them. Others are more difficult to tell. I still have questions about certain
songs I listen to. There are some songs that seem to have a good message, but something doesn't
seem right. We want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and if there is something wrong in the
song, we don't want to sing it.
BE CAREFUL
Let's look at 1 Peter 5:8-9. "Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the
same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." This is a message to
Christians. We must be careful, because, though Satan cannot take a child of God to Hell--and
praise God for that--he can take a child of God just about everywhere else, if we let him. I'll
never forget something that great preacher R.G. Lee said in the middle of a message in which he
was preaching on the crazy devil-possessed man of the Gadarenes. He talked of how Christ cast
the devils out and sent them into the swine. I remember him preaching very fervently: "The devil
will live in me if I let him; the devil will live in you if you let him; but if you kick him out, he'll
go and snook up to some dirty, lousy hog and feel in good company. And that shows you that the
devil's second choice is a hog." I never forgot that. I thought, if I let my body, my spirit, and my
thoughts be a place that harbor things that side with Satan, what a mess I would be. I don't like
the thought of that.
This book says that my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and I want that. God says I am to
be holy, and I want my body to be holy. I long to be that way, and the Holy Spirit within me
longs to have me be that way, longs to have you be that way.
It's a troublesome thought. When I think of devils filling up a hog and how dirty that is, I think,
why would I ever want to be close to anything that would be comfortable in a hog? I thank God
someday we will be delivered from the body of this death, and we won't be near anything that's
dirty or unclean. You say, is that your own righteousness? No, that's the Holy Spirit within us
that tells us so that we want things to be holy and pure. I never had those desires at all before I
got saved, but I do now. In the area of music, I am careful, because at one time it swallowed me
up. The devil had my testimony so that no one thought I was saved. For two years they couldn't
even tell. Through sin, the devil can swallow up our testimonies. So we are to be sober and
vigilant; mark it down. Someone might say, "But that sounds like a tiring thing." Well, maybe it
is, but what it produces in the end is some liberty in Christ and a lot of joy. It's worth it to look
out for trouble, and music is a trouble area.
MARCH MUSIC VERSUS DANCE MUSIC
The devil is our adversary. He is against us, because he is against God. This is the basis of march
music. God has given us wonderful march music, so the devil says, "If that is what God is for,
then I'm against it," and the devil puts the accent on a beat opposite from that of march music.
Dance music and march music are direct opposites, because their basic beat is the opposite. Now
there are other things involved, which we will look at, but the devil is an opponent of everything
that God is for. If God is for good, the devil is for evil. If God says go to church and listen to the
Bible, the devil says go somewhere else and listen to something else. I think that's obvious to
folks who have gone to church for a long enough time.
There's a basic difference. A march has the beat on one and three. ONE, two, THREE, four,
ONE, two, THREE, four. Dance music is one, TWO, three, FOUR, one, TWO, three, FOUR.
You can hear that old snare drum playing this difference.
The march type music is the soldier's music. We're going to depict something military if we use
the march rhythm. If we use the dance rhythm, we're going to depict something that is opposed
to marching, something sensual. This is a basic element of music.
We are to prove all things and hold fast that which is good (1 Thess. 5:21). Once we find good
music, we need to hang on to it, and we ought to abhor that which is evil. Ephesians 5:10 tells us
to prove that which is acceptable to the Lord. I want my music to be acceptable to the Lord. I
want Him to be pleased with it.
We are spirit, soul, and body, and God has given us music to bless us spirit, soul, and body.
Here's how it fits together: There are only three parts to music, because God made music, and He
made music to be a blessing to man. 1 Thessalonians 5:23--"...and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." All that we
are is affected by music.
How does this work? The spirit deals with our thoughts, and particularly our thoughts toward
God. If you're not saved, your spirit is dead; and you're not thinking about God. It will take
someone else to talk to you about the Lord to get you even to think about Him. Jesus said to His
disciples, "...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jn. 6:63). In the
words of God are life. That's how we get eternal life; we are born again through the incorruptible
seed. That has to do with spiritual things.
MELODY, HARMONY, AND RHYTHM
How does that apply to music? Take melody, one of the parts of music. Melody is for our spirit.
It is to enable us to commune with God. If I softly hum "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,"
without any particular rhythm or harmony, I make praise to the Lord. That song is a prayer. I can
help my spirit by humming a melody. Any piece of music that has a decent melody, though it
have no harmony or rhythm, may be used to commune with God. You can think upon the Lord in
your spirit. That is what melody is for.
Let's take our soul. That's where our feelings, emotions, and affections are. In our soul we have
attitudes and feelings about the things we think about in our spirit. You say, "What is that?" For
instance, if I say "Mom," along with that thought that's spiritual, you have a soulish feeling. You
go, "Oh, Mom, that fuddy duddy thing," or you go, "Oh, Mom, that's the best thing that ever
was," or something in between those two, maybe. If I say, "spinach!" or "barley green," that
evokes a feeling, a taste even. "Green peas." "Circus." You have a feeling that goes along with
the thought. That's what the soul is. Your ability to like or dislike things is harbored in your soul.
That's what gives you your personality, basically--what you like and dislike, and how you react
to all those things.
Harmony, on the other hand, is for the soul. A lot of Gospel tunes are written in major keys; they
are bright and happy. As young children in grade school we are often taught that major chords
are happy, and minor chords are sad. If I play a whole series of minor chords on the piano, you
will soon be very weighted down and sorrowful. The minor chords depict sadness. There is
nothing wrong with minor chords in and of themselves, but they must be balanced. If we are
going to talk about how our Savior was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, we might
want to use some minor chords--but not a steady diet of them. You need to mix and balance them
with other types of chords.
If I sing "There Is A Land That Is Fairer Than Day" in a major key, Heaven sounds like a
wonderful place. But if I change that to a minor key--keeping the same rhythm and melody--all
the sudden Heaven doesn't sound like such a happy, wonderful place. The only thing I have to
change to effect this different mood is the harmony.
TEXT PAINTING
My grandfather had a cousin who played piano in the theater. All he did was watch the silent
films and try to match the piano or organ music with what was happening on the film. There
were no words; all that was going to be expressed had to be expressed from the keyboard. Sure
enough, there was a guy with the moustache who wanted to marry the pretty young lady with the
long, blond hair. She didn't want anything to do with him, though, so he wanted to get rid of her;
and at that point along came the hero, who was the man the pretty lady was in love with anyway.
The hero was big and strong, and he was a good guy. He was going to deliver the pretty lady
from Oil Can Harry. Before the movie was done the bad guy always figures out what to do--if he
can't have her, the train's going to get her, so he ties her up to the railroad track. The hero can't
rescue the heroine until he catches the bad guy, because the bad guy is keeping him from saving
the girl.
All of this went on without words. Everything was built up by the accompaniment on the piano.
Somewhere in the middle the bad guy is chasing after the good guy to try to throw him over the
cliff, and you have the chase music. It is in a minor key because it's not a happy thing, and it
moves along rapidly and grows increasingly furious as the scene progresses. Then they show you
the railroad track and the train is coming closer and closer, and the accompanist plays something
called a fully diminished seventh chord; and he keeps raising the chord a half step to raise the
tension. It's a scary type of chord, and it, too, is played increasingly furious. Then suddenly it's
back to the chase, and the chase music starts; then back to the railroad track, and the music is
higher this time and more furious; then back to the chase; then back to the railroad track. The
pace of the music increases each time, building the drama in the hearts of the audience.
What this is called among musicians is text painting. It is painting a picture with melodies,
harmonies, and rhythms, on purpose, to affect the way people respond to something. There are a
lot of people that make money watching television shows and writing music behind them.
When I was a boy, I would turn the sound down when I watched scary movies on television; and
lo, and behold, they were no longer scary. Think of some guy minding his own business and
walking down a dark alley (No one ever explains why he is walking down a dark alley, probably
because he is stupid!) all alone at night. In the background you hear a minor chord building in
intensity, and you know something is going to happen any minute because of the music. If you
turn the sound off, the effect is ruined. It is the music that builds the drama, that paints the
picture. These musicians are painting a picture behind that film, and that's big business.
They manipulate people's feelings through chords, melodies, and rhythms.
With all pieces of music the composer, with his palate of sounds, paints pictures. He may even
look at a painting and write a song. He may look at the sea and the clouds and write a song about
these. He may look at a person and write "The Maid With the Flaxen Hair." He may look at the
stars and write about all of the planets. The composer paints a musical picture from something he
sees or feels.
The most noble thing that can be done is to take the Scriptures and set them properly in music,
painting a correct and suitable picture.
THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS
We want to look at the Psalms for a moment. Psalm 29:1-2--"Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship
the Lord in the beauty of holiness." It says to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Part of
worship is praise and singing. What, then, does this Psalm mean?
I heard that even when I was back in the Methodist church, long before I was saved, and I
thought, "What is that?" First of all, our God is holy, and He said that the definition of beauty is
something that is holy.
No young lady, no matter how beautiful she may be thought of in her face, is beautiful if she is
not holy. No thing that man ever created, no matter how skillfully it was crafted, is a beautiful
work of art if it wasn't made to be holy. Beauty and holiness go together.
Now this is true when it comes to music and the playing of instruments. Every instrument was
made to be played beautifully. God gave the Jews music. God gave King David the ability to
make instruments, and the Jewish community today, though they are the enemies of the Gospel,
still have a shred of what King David had. Many of the classical musicians are Jewish. If you
want to hear how a violin should be played, listen to a Jewish man play it. If you want to hear
what an oboe should sound like, listen to a Jewish man play that oboe.
The classical musicians strive to play with the most beautiful tones they can on their
instruments. Now, sad to say, some of the music that is written for them is not holy music; and
no matter how well they play, it comes out rather strange. But if you want to find out what a
trumpet should sound like, listen to the first chair solo player in an orchestra. Those people are so
picky that they are fired if they miss a note in a concert recording, and there are fifteen, twenty,
seventy, seventy-five, one hundred people waiting in line to try out for that place. They dare not
miss a note. As a matter of fact, some of them are fired at practices if they don't play well
enough.
I wish that I could say that we could find that standard of excellence among Christians and say,
"This is what a voice should sound like; this is what a baritone horn should sound like; this is
what a bass clarinet should sound like; this is what a flute should sound like." I'm not sure that
we can find it. Sometimes Christians forget that David was "cunning in playing," and we forget
to put in the practice that David did.
Today we scarcely hear a saxophone played right. We scarcely hear people sing right. How
come? Because people don't appreciate things that are holy. All appreciation for beauty goes
right out the door with it. So if someone sings with a poor tone, nobody seems to care.
Things that are made beautiful are a picture of holy things. Now everything that man tries to
make beautiful is not holy, but it is at least a picture of holy things. We are to praise the Lord in
the beauty of holiness.
We are told that the Holy Spirit that dwells in us is holy, so this is a picture of beauty. The Holy
Spirit, God, dwelling with man--that is beauty to the Lord.
The Holy Scripture, God's perfect Word, is a perfect picture of beauty. What this Book does for
my soul, for my thoughts, for my life, and for all around me is amazing and wonderful. It is holy,
and it is beautiful.
Holy matrimony, as we call it, is supposed to be holy. Hebrews 13:4 says "Marriage is
honourable in all, and the bed undefiled..." Marriage is a beautiful thing. It is a picture of
holiness. The Bible says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25). The Bible tells me that I am to be faithful to her no matter
what. The Bible tells me to love, care for, and cherish her, knowing that she is the weaker vessel.
And if she ever lets me down, that is just what the church does to Jesus Christ anyway; but if I
love her yet, that is a beautiful picture of how Christ loves us as His bride. Also, she may be a
picture of a church that is obedient to Christ, if she is obedient to her husband, and if she
reverences him. That's what God intends to take place in a marriage, so that it is a beautiful
picture of something far greater than just the two of us becoming one flesh--of Christ and His
church. Matrimony ought to be holy.
This says something about the way we are to worship the Lord. There ought to be some beauty in
our singing, in the depths of our spirit and soul, that what comes out might be pleasing unto the
Lord and a beautiful picture of holy things. It is to remind us of the Lord's holiness.
I went to Pittsburgh, Michigan, (to play in an orchestra), and I was amazed at how slack I was
when it came to music. They did not allow a young person to blat one bad note on an
instrument. They could not pick it up and go "blah," even just for fun. They did not allow it.
Every note that came out was supposed to be pure. Of course there were mistakes that we made,
but Brother Rick Town send would never let a sour note be played on purpose or in jest. He said,
"No, they have to come out in praise of the Lord." He was seeking to achieve some beauty in the
playing to show forth the Lord's holiness.
That's part of text painting--putting the right sound in the voice or instrument to make a picture
of the Lord's holiness.
Turn to Psalm 66:1-2. "Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honour of his
name: make his praise glorious." Our music should be joyful. That means we can put joy into the
music. We can paint a picture of joy. "Sing forth the honour of his name." The music should be
honorable. Somehow we can put the Lord's honor into the music. "Make his praise glorious." It
doesn't say that this is text painting, but this is what God is talking about. It is saying that when
we praise God, it can be a glorious praise. It should come from the heart, first of all; and if it
does, when we raise our voices and when we play our instruments, it should be our very best
effort to bring glory to the Lord's name. We can paint a picture of a glorious Savior if we sing
and play right. This tells us something else. Music can be dishonorable; music can be inglorious,
and that's what is going on today, largely.
GOOD RHYTHMS AND BAD RHYTHMS
I said we would talk about rhythm. There are good rhythms and bad rhythms.
I want to show you a few more things about text painting. Think of "How Firm A Foundation."
"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your Faith in His excellent Word." If I
play that song with a twinkly, light, "Jingle Bell" touch, with a lot of high notes and a carefree
delivery, the mood is wrong for the words. It doesn't fit. The traditional music for this song, on
the other hand, is deep, heavy, forceful, and it paints the proper picture of a solid foundation.
That is text painting. That is why the song is played with a full, rich, loud, undergirded type of
arrangement. It is talking about His excellent Word, about unshakable things from God, so it is
played with great majesty and power.
Consider "It Is Well With My Soul": "And Lord haste the day when the faith shall be sight, the
clouds be rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound..." This is talking about trumpets and
the coming of the Lord, and at that point in the song there is actually a fanfare played with the
keyboard. That's text painting. All the notes that the pianist plays have a meaning. The timing,
the notes, the rhythm--all have meaning. You wouldn't want to put the fanfare at the point in the
song which says, "Though Satan should buffet..."! No one wants to herald the coming of the
devil. No, the fanfare is for the Lord.
We could think of so many songs to illustrate this. Consider "Crown Him With Many Crowns,"
which is played with a very royal, court-type, march manner because we are speaking of the
Lord's kingliness. Likewise, "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" is always sung with a full, deep,
stirring sound.
What if I'm going to speak of the peace of God? Consider, for instance, "Peace, Peace,
Wonderful Peace." You will notice that the keys are played lightly and softly, in a restful, gentle
manner. Why? To depict the peace that the Lord gives. You wouldn't play that with a heavy beat;
you wouldn't jazz that up; it would ruin the picture!
If you know the words to any song--if it is peace, if it is meditation, if it is joy, if it is the Lord's
greatness--then look for that being painted with the music.
What happens when people take the old hymns and add something to them that doesn't belong?
The picture is ruined. Consider "Who can cheer the heart like Jesus ... All that thrills my soul is
Jesus; He is more than life to me." The traditional music paints the picture of quiet, spiritual joy,
of the lovely abiding relationship between the saint and his Savior. On the other hand, when that
beautiful song is put to a modern beat the picture is ruined.
The holy relationship between the Christian and Christ cannot be depicted with the world's
sensual love music. Today they are trying to put the sixties sex music into "All That Thrills My
Soul Is Jesus," and it doesn't work! Somebody is painting a different picture underneath that
beautiful picture of the Lord who only can cheer the soul of a man. They are thereby making
light of it.
Let's face it. The things that those sixties bands sang about was having girlfriends that usually
didn't last for more than a couple of weeks or months. (There is nothing in the Bible about
having a girlfriend, or dating, or going steady; that's just an American fad.) By using sixties
music with that grand old hymn, they put all that fickle, sensual, love-sicky, puppy-dog, worldly
stuff underneath "All That Thrills My Soul Is Jesus." His love is not fickle; His love is not
sensual; it's not that way! And those rhythms, as harmless as some people seem to think they are,
are not harmless.
Consider the boogie, and the blues, which is just the boogie slowed down. These are very
similar rhythms; only the speed is different. The blues rhythm is found in the old ballads.
Hundreds of songs have been written to this "eight to the bar" rhythm. Have you ever heard "I
Am Weak But Thou Art Strong" played with a boogie beat? It is the jazzy, Southern gospel style.
It is the boogie. It is a dance rhythm. Southern gospel musicians have destroyed a lot of the
hymns of the faith by using that jazzy rhythm.
When you put the accent on the wrong beat, it is dance music, and it appeals to your flesh; and
somebody can sell more records to you because your flesh likes it! The rhythms appeal to your
flesh, and the people that make the records know that. They don't want to appeal to the spiritual
Christians who are walking with the Lord; they want to appeal to people that don't walk with the
Lord; because they know that more people don't than do, and they want to sell more records.
They make their living studying what people are doing, and if there is one thing they know, it is
that most Christians are not walking with the Lord.
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT
Sooner or later Christians must get rid of the wrong kind of music, or it will take them the
wrong way. There are good Christians who listen to the wrong music sometimes; but after they
are instructed, if they keep on listening to that and liking it, I know something is not right. It's
one way of finding out where they are at. You cannot feed yourself on carnal music, and take it
into yourself, without getting carnal.
Those who try to witness to folk understand the power of rock and roll music, or the television
blaring, or something else going on in the background that draws you away from that spirit of
being concerned for someone's soul. It's because the appeal is to the flesh, to get you out of the
Spirit and into the flesh. The Bible says, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the
flesh" (Galatians 5:16). If you don't walk in the Spirit, you will fulfill the lusts of the flesh; and
the Bible says that "when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death" (James 1:15).
I wouldn't care about any of these things if it didn't cause harm to me and to you, but it does. It
does. It always does. It's just that it appears to be harmless when the sensual rhythms are
disguised somewhat. It leads you on to desiring more sensual rhythms, just like anything else. It
creates sensual appetites.
It's in every area of life. If you take one sip of beer, you will take two, three. You start drinking
the wines, then the hard liquors. In the drug scene you go from the marijuana and the hash to the
hard drugs. It's a progression. "Earthly, sensual, devilish." A little bit of evil to a lot more evil.
The Bible warns the Christian to stay away from vain babblings because "they will increase unto
more ungodliness" (2 Timothy 2:16). They increase. It's the snowball effect. You put a little
snowball at the top of the hill and roll it awhile, and soon it will gather more snow and more
snow, and pretty soon you have a whole snowman, or an avalanche, or something else much
bigger than the snowball you started with. It's a snowball effect when it comes to your body
liking certain rhythms that are meant to stir up your passions.
The devil uses a progression to draw people away from God and holiness. There was almost
nobody from my sixties generation that would sing a song about devil worship. As a matter of
fact, at the end of my rock and roll years, even though I was not saved, it was a difficult thing for
me to even sing about songs that mentioned the devil. I could not understand what the Rolling
Stones were doing singing about the devil. I thought, "What does that have to do with
hamburgers and French fries and girls and beaches and Coca Cola and surfing and Woodies?" It
did not compute, until after I got saved and read the Bible and found that the devil has been
trying to get everybody to worship him. And he takes every generation as far as he can.
When you change the rhythm, you tend to change the style that a person sings in. If you play "I
Was Sinking Deep In Sin" with a boogie blues background, you feel like singing with an Elvis
Presley style. It is hard to play carnal rhythms and sing spiritually.
Of the three aspects of music, it is the rhythm that should be the least important. It is the spirit
which is the most important. Dance music is primarily for the body. It's not something that
appeals to the thoughts and spirit. It's not something, really, that appeals to the feelings.
SYNCOPATION
Another type of rhythm is syncopation. This is Rumba-type music with the accent just off the
beat, so it swings. And when the music constantly swings and puts the accent off the beat, it is
sensual. Elvis Presley used to do this in all his songs. Peter, Paul, and Mary also used the Rumba,
but they played it slower and quieter. It is the same syncopated, eight-to-the- bar, boogie rhythm.
It appeals to people because it is sensual. The west- coast surfing groups in the sixties used the
same rhythms, only they played them louder and faster. It was the same type of syncopated
dance music, and it enhanced the sexual appeal of the music. As the years have passed, the music
has gotten louder, faster, and more complex in some instances; but it is the same basic type of
beat.
If one has ever listened to an African drum group play, he will understand that American rock
musicians are just catching up to the African rhythms.
In Africa, the heathen are able to play "poly rhythms." Poly, of course, means many. They have
all these drums and other percussion instruments, rhythm instruments, that all make different
sounds, and they can hear them. They can make one rhythm with their feet, another with their
torso, some more with their arms, and some more with their fingers and wrists, some more in
their heads; and they can dance six or seven different rhythms at one time. It is an amazing thing;
however, it is all sensual; it's all for the body; and it's all created by their ability to hear and put
into their bodies those dance rhythms that were created specifically to make their bodies move in
ways that are not polite. They make the body move to draw attention to parts of the body in a
way that is improper.
That is all that is happening in the rock scene today. They are catching up to some of these
African rhythms. And, of course, the Satan worshipers have just turned the amplifiers up to the
fullest degree, and many of them do not know, musically, what they are doing anymore. They are
just making a lot of noise. Some of them are not even really playing chords; there is not even any
harmony or melody there, just a lot of noise. There is nothing for the spirit, nothing for the soul;
it is all for the body. Now we have Rap music. What happened to the melody? It is gone. What
you don't know is that they have been doing this type of thing in Africa for thousands of years,
and there are recordings of that. They will go on sometimes for hours. You talk about dance
marathons! They dance until they drop over and are possessed by devils, and then they get back
up and they dance again. What we have in America is a bunch of young people that are so
controlled by the devil that when you try to talk with them about the Lord, they can't hear or
understand you because of the music which is raging within them. They are so controlled by an
evil music that they can't think about their soul and their spirit.
The gospel rock groups today are not all noisy. There are variations because the devil knows
what kind of music you like and he attempts to reach you with your type of music. There is some
really noisy music for those who like that kind, and there is some not so noisy music for those
who like it quieter.
Think of it like this: On one side you have God, and on the extreme opposite side you have the
devil. The devil is opposed to everything that has to do with God and wants to draw people away
from God and holiness. How does he do this? He works by degrees, by a progression. Here's
what happens. Ideally, everybody would be over on God's side, singing and praising Him,
seeking Him, fearing Him, finding favor with Him, pleasing and serving Him. That's where
everybody ought to be. On this side we have music which is holy and pure, music which deals
with man's spiritual nature.
Now let's say we add just a little bit of sensual rhythm to a song. We make it just one
degreeaway from truly spiritual, holy music. It will appeal to a lot of Christians. Then we have
some other music that really is boogie, but we call it Southern gospel; and that will appeal to a
lot of Christians. They excuse it by saying it is just "down home" music. No, it isn't. It's boogie
woogie, but some Christians still think it is O.K. Then there is the Contemporary Christian
Music, which sounds like it is being sung in a nightclub. Of course it is big business today, and it
is farther still away from painting a proper picture of our Lord.
REACH THE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THEIR OWN MUSIC?
Then there are those who use "Christian rock" music. They say, "I believe we can reach the
young people if we just play their kind of music." I don't buy that, because before I was ever
saved I went to hear a rock and roll group singing dirty rock and roll songs and telling me about
the Lord Jesus in the songs. You know what I said? As a rock and roll musician I said, "What are
they doing playing my music? They are Christians." I had better sense than to believe that they
were doing any good. Yes, I went to the concert, but I did not like it. And they all had long
greasy hair. There was one fellow, a big, tall fellow, who stood up with a Bible at the end of the
concert and preached. His hair was cut above his ears, and you know what? I listened to him.
Afterwards I didn't want to talk to the grubby band members. I felt they were worse off than I
was. I just looked at them and thought, "I don't want to be like that." I talked to the tall fellow;
and though I did not get saved that night, I was impressed somewhat and I went home that night
and told my mother about it. It was only a year or two later that I got saved.
I don't buy that idea that we have to look like and play our music like the world in order to reach
them. If you are trying to bring somebody to Christ, you have to show them that the Lord is
different than the world; and He is. He is holy, and this world is unholy. Christian rock music
does not paint a proper picture of the Savior. Even that fellow, by his short hair and dress,
painted a more proper picture of the Lord; and I was willing, at least, to talk with him.
Then you have music that is sung and played by supposed Christians, but it is not Christian
music. Amy Grant has done some of that. They call it "cross over" music. She sang a song with
one of the singers from the rock group Chicago.
Then you've got your regular country western, and rock and roll, and big band music, and
boogie woogie, and rag time, and all the rest. It gets worse and worse and worse, and finally it's
heavy metal music; and, lo and behold, all the sudden we are worshiping the devil. Nobody got
over there with one hop. No, it is a progression. The devil wants us to plug in anywhere along
that line, and the flow always moves away from God and holiness.
Where does the devil have you plugged in today?
I'll listen to anything that God will allow; but if God doesn't allow it, I don't want it. I know that
if I plug into music that is even one degree off, the devil will try to get me two degrees off, then
three, then four, then five. The devil does not rest; he just keeps on. "Why don't you just move
over here a little."
A pastor once told me, "You know, those black folks really have it; why don't you stick some of
those rhythms into your music. With your voice and your talent..." I thought, "Get thee behind
me." I didn't say that, but I just shook my head. The evangelist that was there said, "Brother Ives,
don't change your music."
I look at my music, and sometimes I wonder, "Am I a degree off? Am I two degrees off? Am I
just fooling myself, Lord?" I want to be on the button.
Some people say, "Why do you make the beat the deciding factor?" Because it controls the rest,
the harmony and melody; and that's the only place I can find, in or out of the Bible, to draw the
line. If someone says the beat is not the place to decide, then there is no place.
Some say, "I don't like the volume." Well, the Bible says to make a loud noise unto the Lord.
You cannot use volume to decide whether the song is good or not. Some people say, "I don't like
the speed of the song." There is nothing in the Bible that indicates how fast or how slow to sing a
song, as long as you sing it slow enough to understand the words and be able to think what you
are saying. Some say, "I don't like any drums." There are drums in a marching band.
There are high cymbals and loud sounding cymbals in Psalm 150. There are timbrels in the
Bible.
You can't rule out percussion instruments just because wrong rhythms can be played on them.
Wrong rhythms can be played on a piano, too. It is a semi- percussion instrument, and so is the
guitar, because it is struck; so is a harpsichord; so are bells. The only place to draw the line is
with the rhythm.
You say, "I don't like the style that they are using." It is the rhythm that causes that style. You
say, "I don't like the chords they are playing." They are playing those chords because it matches
the rhythm. You say, "I don't think the people ought to clap their hands." The Bible says, "Clap
your hands, all ye people." It depends on how you clap your hands--on beats one and three, or
two and four!
It goes without saying, of course, that the words of a song must be right.
Those we check up with the Bible. But beyond that, it is the rhythm in the song that determines if
it is right or wrong.
I hope you understand this. When you hear sensual, worldly rhythms in a song, just cut it off. It's
not going to help.
MUSIC IS A VOICE AND SHOULD GIVE A CERTAIN SOUND
In 1 Corinthians 14 the Apostle Paul makes reference to music while explaining what is right and
wrong about the way we talk, and whether or not we speak in tongues.
"And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction
in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an
uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the
tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak
into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is
without signification" (1 Cor. 14:7-10).
Verse 7 says even a pipe or a harp must be played distinctly. The more wrong notes you make,
the less you can tell what the song is. If I play "Jesus Loves Me" and start missing notes, you
might not be able to tell what I am playing. The voice is no longer distinct. We want to hit the
right note at the right time, or no one will know what we are trying to say with the music.
Verse 8 mentions the uncertain sound. If you are not sure of the right note, if you don't sing or
play with the right spirit, nobody is really sure what kind of a sound you are making; and they
will not rally to your cause. They will not believe what you have sung or played. They must
know what you are really trying to say. When it comes to God's soldier music, nobody will rally
to the cause of Christ and go win souls if you are singing a song with a soul-saving message and
music underneath that says "do your own thing." Doing your own thing is the natural way of the
sinner. You cannot have a mixed message. Who would want to waste their time singing music
that wouldn't rally anyone to the cause of Christ? Why sing gospel music at all if it won't count
for Heaven. The only other motives are money, popularity, and fame--not good motives. God
will say, "Wood, hay, and stubble, Christian."
Verse 9 says the message should be "easy to be understood." If my music gets so complicated
with so many voices, pretty soon nobody will know what I am saying. If I drown out the singing,
nobody will know what I am trying to say. If I play a piano arrangement and change so many
notes that the hearers cannot tell what song I am playing, what good am I doing? We need to be
careful that what we are trying to say is easy to be understood.
Everybody is not a musical genius. A Christian needs to be sure, first of all, that the message gets
across so that people will easily understand that you are exalting the Lord Jesus and speaking of
His sacrifice on Calvary being available to all that all might be saved. It needs to be plain.
Verse 10 says every voice has signification. This is true for music. Every group or band is
trying to say something. Some people say, "Music doesn't say anything; it just exists by itself."
The word "signification" means to signify something with signs or symbols. Every song that you
hear is trying to say something. When music plays, it is indeed symbolizing something. It paints
a picture. People that play the music the way they play it are saying, "This statement is what I
agree with." The song always tells you to do something. It will excite you to action, either good
or bad. Music will signify something; it will imply something. It doesn't come out and say, "Do
bad; do evil." It will imply it. "Feel this way about it; think about it this way." It leads you a
certain way without coming right out and saying it. Music is significant; it has meaning.
Don't ever let anyone tell you, "Well, it's just music." That's what all the gospel rockers say.
That's what Stryper says about their music. "It's just music; it doesn't mean anything." Yes, it
does. They are a voice in this world, and they are not without signification. They certainly do
mean something. What they mean, if you can put it plainly, is that you can be a Christian and
live just as dirty as you want. That's about as plain as you can put it. If you know the lives of
these people, you would not imitate them; you would not follow them, and you will never get
any spiritual help from them if you ever could find them or meet them. They are out there
making money, taking your bucks and fooling you because you think there is something there
that is Christian--but there isn't.
If I sang gospel rock, I would be ashamed before my university professors who taught me better
than that. They knew the difference between the voices that are in the world. They knew that
sounds are supposed to be pure, and that music was supposed to contain beauty. The classical
composers, even the ones that were not saved, said that music was for the refreshment of the soul
and to portray the ennobling things of life. Our Christian music should be understandable to the
folks who hear it. The melody should be clear, and the harmony and the rhythm should paint a
picture of Christ.
If we use dirty rhythms, dirty harmonies, and dirty melodies, we are not painting a proper
picture of Christ. If we use the sensual rhythms and harmonies that the world uses today,
instead of painting a picture of the pure, spotless Lamb of God, we will paint a perverted,
fornicating Christ. What we do with our music is very important.
Let me read you a poem, and I'm done. What kind of a Christ is portrayed by the music that you
hear? How and what do you think of God when you listen to the music that you listen to?
Men's portraits of Jesus are many, I've heard,
But none can compare with that found in God's Word.
My Savior, no artist hath justly portrayed,
But great are God's verses, God's truth there displayed.
'Tis there I see Jesus on Calvary's tree,
The Lamb of God once for all slaughtered for me.
His stripes for my healing, His wounds for my sin,
The blood there He spilled for my cleansing within.
The agony born in His body that day
Was the weight of iniquities taken away.
And taken away were transgressions of mine;
There He made me pure by God's perfect design.
God's Son without spot, without sin, without blame
On Golgotha's hill He bore the curse and the shame.
There He Who was righteous in my place was slain
To freely give righteousness I could not gain.
In paintings no cleansing for sin can I find;
No rest for my spirit, nor peace for my mind,
But there on the canvas of Scripture I see
My Savior, my Ransom, who died to save me.
May we strive to have our music to be as pure as the words of God and paint a picture of a
wonderful, saving Christ who shed His blood that our awful sins could be forgiven. I love the
Lord. He has completely changed me; and I want my music, and the music of all Christians, to
let others know of a Christ who is very pure, very wonderful.
Allen Ives, Concord & Harmony, 328 Rosalia Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901. Their home
phone is (414) 231-4807.
Here is another article....
DOES JESUS GROOVE TO ROCK MUSIC?
The July issue of Charisma, the very influential Charismatic publication,
has an article exhorting the readers to “Get in the Groove.” The author, J.
Lee Grady, mocks traditional Christian music as “dirge-like” and “lilywhite”
and something only for “grandmothers.” He goes on to make the
pretentious claim that worship music in Heaven will feature “a dozen
Hammond-B3 organs and a procession of hip-hop [rap] dancers.” Not
content with this brazen claim, Grady tells us that Jesus Christ “loves all
music--even the funkiest” and that Jesus Christ enjoys dancing with the
angels and “grooving to the sound of Christian R&B [rhythm and blues]
pumped out of a boom box.”
How does Grady know this? The simple and frightful fact is that he knows
no such thing. He is preaching a false christ, and the Contemporary
Christian Music movement in general is preaching much the same thing.
They tell us that Jesus Christ is not separated from the world, that He
loves every sort of music in this wicked world, that He boogies to rock
and roll, that He is pleased when His people hip hop around on a stage
after the fashion of modern rappers.
I challenge any CCM supporter to show me where the Bible says Jesus
Christ dances to rock music. Show us even one instance where Jesus
Christ shakes His body or jives to the beat of rock music. Show us even
one little hint that the saints in Heaven are dancing around to anything
like rock or rhythm & blues or rap music. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus
Christ we see in the book of Revelation following the Resurrection and
Ascension is not a grooving Jesus; He is a fearfully holy Jesus. When John
saw the resurrection Christ, he did not join Jesus in a boogie dance but
fell at His feet as dead. The 24 elders are not dancing around with Jesus
to some groovy rock beat; they are falling down before Him (Rev. 4:10;
5:8). They are not banging on drums; they are playing harps (Rev. 5:8).
There is not the slightest hint of a modern rock dance going on in
Heaven.
Grady thinks that Psalm 150 depicts a rock concert, but that is absolute
nonsense. The Jews of old observed Psalm 150 in their worship, but they
didn’t use rock-type music or anything remotely like rock music. When
someone like Grady thinks of drums and loud cymbals, they automatically
think of their beloved rock music; but drums and loud cymbals are also
components of an orchestra and a marching band. Drums can be used to
make all sorts of music other than rock music. Grady says that dancing
requires a rock-type drum beat, but that is pure foolishness. I know of no
other way to describe it. There are all sorts of dances that do not require
a modern dance beat. The Jews and other groups of people have long had
traditional dances that were nothing whatsoever like the licentious
modern dances associated with rock and rhythm & blues.
At the heart of the battle about music in the churches is the very
character of God. Our concept of God will determine what kind of
music we use to worship Him and the manner in which we worship
Him. If we think that God is a cool dude who hip hops to modern rock
music, we will worship him with such music and our lifestyle and very
appearance will reflect this concept of God. If, on the other hand, we
believe that God is a fearfully holy God before whom the hosts of Heaven
fall in awe and reverence, our worship music and our very lifestyle and
appearance will reflect holiness and separation from the world.
THE FALSE CHRIST OF CONTEMPORARY
CHRISTIAN MUSIC
Contemporary Christian Music is filled with blasphemous depictions of God and Christ. Carman
has a song entitled the “Holy Ghost Hop.” He sings about “jamming with the Lamb” on his song
“Come into This House.” His Live...Radically Saved video depicts Jesus and John the Baptist
as hip-hop street kids. Carman says “Jesus is always cool; He’s got his thing together.” He
blasphemously depicts the Lord Jesus walking along in a hip-jive manner, doing “the Messiah
walk.” Carman’s Resurrection Rap video portrays Jesus Christ as a street hippie. The crucifixion
takes place in a back alley gang fight, and Jesus’ body is tossed in a garbage dumpster. On
Carman’s The Standard album Jesus Christ is blasphemously referred to as “J.C.”
“You take Him high/ You take Him low/ You take J.C. wherever you go/ Now tell me,
who...who...who...who...who...who?/ Tell me who’s in the house? J.C./ Tell me who’s in the
house? J.C./ Tell me who’s in the house? J.C./ Tell me who’s in the house? J.C.” Carman is not
the only CCM musician who uses the blasphemous term J.C. to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The group called J.C. and Friends explains that their name can stand either for Jesus Christ and
his followers or for J.C. Meyers and his pals (MusicLine Magazine, October 1985, p. 27).
The following song by Daniel Band further demonstrates the blasphemous and worldly
philosophy of many CCM groups: “There’s a party in Heaven/ The bread is unleaven/ The tree
of life is growin’ fine/ It’s way past eleven/ My number is seven/ The Lamb and I are drinkin’
new wine” (“Party in Heaven”). These words are sung to hard rock music. This CCM group
seems to think Heaven will be a worldly booze party, at least that is the idea that many worldly
people would get from the lyrics. Consider the following blasphemous statement by Mark Stuart
of Audio Adrenaline:
“... the only difference [between rock and Christian rock] is the lyrics and then the difference is
sometimes subtle ... at the basic root, there’s no difference. ... Christianity is about rebellion.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE BIGGEST REBEL TO EVER WALK THE FACE OF THE EARTH ...
he was crucified for his rebellion. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL IS ABOUT THE SAME THING-REBELLION ... TO ME ROCK AND THE CHURCH GO HAND IN HAND” (Mark Stuart of
Audio Adrenaline, Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola, Florida, March 1, 1998, pp. 1,6E).
That is absolute blasphemy. Jesus Christ was not a rebel. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a
rebel is “one who revolts from the government to which he owes allegiance, or one who willfully
violates a law.” The Lord Jesus Christ was not a rebel in any sense. He did not revolt; he did not
violate the law. To the contrary, Christ was the law giver, and He came to earth to fulfill the
requirements of His own law (Matt. 5:17-19). Christ was not crucified for rebellion. Pilate, the
chief political authority who judged Jesus, said he could find absolutely no fault in him. Christ
was not crucified for rebellion but for testifying that He was God (John 10:33).
Mark Stuart was referring to a false christ.
Petra promotes the blasphemous idea that God is the “God of Rock and Roll”:
“God gave rock and roll to you/ Put it in the soul of every one/ If you love the sound/ Then don’t
forget the source/ You can turn around/ You can change your course/ You can love the Rock/
And let him free your soul” (“God Gave Rock and Roll,” Petra).
This song was first sung by secular rock groups Argent and KISS. It is on KISS’s Revenge
album. Petra changed some of the words, but the overall message is the same, that God is the
author of rock music. To say that the Holy God of Scripture is the author of filthy rock & roll in
any sense whatsoever is blasphemy. The father of rock & roll is a god, yet not the God of
Scripture but the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). I know from experience that the true and
living God did not put rock & roll into my soul. It was the Devil who did that to foster my
rebellion and licentiousness. The very term “rock & roll,” which is commonly shortened to
“rock,” refers specifically to illicit sexual relations. Most music dictionaries and histories of rock
music admit this. The term was popularized in the early 1950s by Alan Freed, one of the first
white diskjockeys to play rhythm & blues. Noting the sexual connotation of the new music,
Freed decided to name it after a ghetto term used by blacks for premarital sex in the back seat of
a car. (Freed died young of alcoholism.) To try to connect this morally dirty music with a holy
God is blasphemous.
Robert Sweet, of the now disbanded Christian rock group Stryper, had the following saying
painted on the back of his drummer chair: “JESUS CHRIST ROCKS.” This is blasphemy. Jesus
Christ is the Rock of Ages, but He does not rock & roll. He does not love to boogie-woogie to
sensual music. He does not love to watch girls dance licentiously. He does not enjoy stirring
up rebellious impulses. He does not love anything connected to wicked rock music. He “loved
righteousness, and HATED iniquity” (Hebrews 1:9). He is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26).
Phil Driscoll thinks God is the King of Soul Music. He says, “God is the King of Soul; He’s the
King of all rhythm” (Phil Driscoll, quoted by Tim Fisher, Battle for Christian Music, p. 82). We
believe this is a blasphemous portrayal of God. The God of the Bible is not the author of rhythms
which enhance demonic possession, such as the poly-rhythms used by certain African tribes. The
God of the Bible is also not the author of rhythms which stir up illicit passions in men and
women, and there are certain rhythms which do exactly that. As we have noted, the very term
“rock & roll” itself describes immoral activity; and the musical rhythms associated with rock
were designed to encourage this activity. Messiah Prophet Band goes even further, calling Jesus
Christ the “Master of Metal” –
“You hear a loud guitar/ You wonder what we are/ You say we’re all the same/ You see us
dressed in black/ Preparing to attack/ You say it’s such a shame/ But do you really know/ The
force behind our show/ Our one way ticket home/ WE’RE ROCKIN’ FOR THE ROCK/ And we
will never stop/ And this you’ve got to know/ Jesus said upon this Rock my church will stand/ ...
HE’S THE MASTER/ THE MASTER OF METAL...” (“Master of Metal,” Messiah Prophet
Band).
To say that the high and holy Lord Jesus Christ is the Master of rebellious heavy metal rock
music is outrageous blasphemy.
The “Christian” rock group Barren Cross says Jesus Christ is better than marijuana and invites
their followers to smoke on His love! “Give it a chance, freedom at last/ Yours for free, take and
receive/ Better than pot, Jesus rocks/ Come and believe/ You will find out joy will come to you/
Take it, drink it, no fee, come and believe/ Smoke on His love -- believe/ Smoke on His love and
you will see the rock -- roll/ Believe” (Barren Cross, “Believe”).
We are convinced that this is blasphemy. We could give many other illustrations, but this should
suffice.
WHAT ROCK MUSICIANS SAY ABOUT ROCK MUSIC
Consider the following testimonies of rock musicians themselves as to the nature of rock & roll:
“Rock ‘n’ roll is 99% sex.” . . . “The main purpose of rock and roll is celebration of the self”
(John Oates of the rock duo Hall & Oates, Circus, Jan. 31, 1976; interview with Timothy White,
1987, Rock Lives, p. 594).
“Rock music is sex. The big beat matches the body’s rhythms” (Frank Zappa of the Mothers of
Invention, Life, June 28, 1968).
“Rock ‘n’ roll is pagan and primitive, and very jungle, and that’s how it should be! The moment
it stops being those things, it’s dead … the true meaning of rock … is sex, subversion and style”
(Malcolm McLaren, punk rock manager, Rock, August 1983, p. 60).
“Rock is the perfect primal method of releasing our violent instincts” (Ted Nugent, rock
musician, Circus, May 13, 1976).
“When you’re in a certain frame of mind, particularly sexually-oriented, there’s nothing better
than rock and roll … because that’s where most of the performers are at” (Aerosmith’s manager,
USA Today, Dec. 22, 1983, p. D5).
“Rock music is sex and you have to hit them [teenagers] in the face with it” (Andrew Oldham,
manager of the Rolling Stones, Time, April 28, 1967, p. 54).
“Rock ‘n’ roll is sex. Real rock ‘n’ roll isn’t based on cerebral thoughts. It’s based on one’s
lower nature” (Paul Stanley, cited by John Muncy, The Role of Rock, p. 44).
“Pop music revolves around sexuality. I believe that if there is anarchy, let’s make it sexual
anarchy rather than political” (Adam Ant, From Rock to Rock, p. 93).
“Rockabilly was the face of Dionysus, full of febrile sexuality and senselessness; it flushed the
skin of new housewives and made pink teenage boys reinvent themselves as flaming creatures”
(Nick Tosches, Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll, p. 58).
“Rock and roll is the darkness that enshrouds secret desires unfulfilled, and the appetite that
shoves you forward to disrobe them” (Timothy White, Rock Lives, p. xvi).
“Rock and roll aims for liberation and transcendence, eroticizing the spiritual and spiritualizing
the erotic, because that is its ecumenical birthright” (Robert Palmer, Rock & Roll an Unruly
History, p. 72).
“Rock and roll is fun, it’s full of energy, it’s full of laughter. It’s naughty” (Tina Turner, cited in
Rock Facts, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, p. 12).
“Mystery and mischief are the two most important ingredients in rock and roll” (Bono, cited in
Rock Facts, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, p. 12).
“Rock and roll was something that’s hardcore, rough and wild and sweaty and wet and just
loose” (Patti Labelle, cited in Rock Facts, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, p. 17).
“An incessant beat does erode a sense of responsibility in much the same way as alcohol
does. ... You feel in the grip of a relentless stream of sound to which something very basic and
primitive in the human nature responds” (David Winter, New Singer, New Song).
“Rock 'n' roll is all sex. One hundred percent sex” (Debbie Harry of the rock band Blondie, cited
by Carl Belz, “Television Shows and Rock Music,” as it appeared in The Age of Communication,
William Lutz, 1974, p. 398).
“That's what rock is all about--sex with a 100 megaton bomb, the beat!” (Gene Simmons of the
rock group Kiss, interview, Entertainment Tonight, ABC, Dec. 10, 1987).
“The main ingredients in rock are … sex and sass” (Debra Harry, Hit Parader, Sept. 1979, p.
31).
“Rock is the total celebration of the physical” (Ted Nugent, rock star, Rolling Stone, Aug. 25,
1977, pp. 11-13).
To take a form of music which was created to encourage and accompany immoral behavior, a
music that has literally created an immoral revolution, and to attempt to glorify God with it is a
great confusion. It is to confuse the holy God of the Bible with the unholy god of this world.
Those who claim that Jesus Christ grooves to rock music are worshipping a false christ, and that
is an extremely serious matter.
“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am
jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For
if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive
another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye
might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).
Another article...
FROM GLORIOUS HYMNS TO MANIPULATIVE
MUSIC
By Alan Morrison
Whereas at one time hymns would be expressing the worshipful hearts of the congregation
towards a glorious and awesome God -- the whole thing has been turned around so that songs are
chosen in order to induce feelings in the worshippers. In other words, music is being used to alter
the feelings of the person rather than the person simply expressing his or her worshipful feelings
in song. In fact, there has been a movement from the centrality of the worshipping mind (cf. Mk.
12:30) to the inducement of an altered state of consciousness by flagrant manipulation.
It is important to realize that the bulk of the New Style of Worship songs have been written by
people who are ardent advocates of Charismatic teachings which previous generations of
believers rejected as “fanaticism” and “enthusiasm”. These songs have been composed for the
deliberate purpose of seeding their teachings in churches. In other words, the New Style of
Worship is promotional and what it seeks to promote is another gospel and a form of Christianity
which is very far removed from the Bible, although the majority of professing Christians today
are unable to recognize that.
The New Style of Worship songbooks have been deliberately published in order to effect a
change in churches to this new form of Christianity. One only has to read the books written by
the major advocates and composers of the New Style of Worship to be convinced of that -- as we
shall show in the final section.
In their misplaced attempt to be “relevant” to today’s culture, churches which buy into these new
songbooks are importing heresy into the heart of the fellowship. People need to realize that this
isn’t about a cozy debate concerning which songs to use in your church, on which we can agree
to differ. This is warfare! This is why resistance to the New Style of Worship and the trivial
choruses associated with it is not merely an option, but it is vital, if we are to avoid having the
Church plunge even further into the theological crisis which has largely been promoted through
hymnodic changes in recent decades.
As a graphic illustration of the kind of “Christianity” which lies behind the new hymnody,
consider the following interview with that veteran of the New Style of Worship, Graham
Kendrick, conducted by the supremo of the cult-like Jesus Army Fellowship, Noel Stanton:
NS: “What are the landmarks in your life?”
GK: “I remember when I was about five years old my mother reading us a bedtime story which
included a simple explanation of the gospel and asking us if we wanted to invite Jesus to forgive
our sins. I remember kneeling down by myself and praying. I felt an excitement deep inside me
that surprised me. During teenage years I began to examine if it was first hand or second hand”.
NS: “You were a rebel?”
GK: “It was the 60s and I tended towards the cynicism of the time. Certainly I was determined to
discover more”.
NS: “Did that lead to Baptism in the Spirit?”
GK: “I’ve never been a crisis person but I came out of one particularly drab Christian Union
meeting at college thinking ‘There must be more than this’. So I set out to seek for more of God.
I had met one or two people who seemed to have been profoundly affected by the Holy Spirit. I
tracked down a housegroup and knocked on the door, not knowing anybody there, and asked
people to pray for me afterwards. It was later that night when I was cleaning my teeth ready to go
to bed that I was filled with the Holy Spirit! That was a real watershed in my Christian
experience”.
NS: “When was this?”
GK: “It was about 1971, when the charismatic renewal movement was in its early days and was
quite controversial. Lots of people would warn you off and say it was of the devil! Tongues were
as controversial then as the current manifestations of shaking and falling are now” (Jesus Life
Magazine, from the Jesus Army Fellowship website at http://www.jesus.org.uk/kendrick.html.
This interview was also reproduced on “The Graham Kendrick Website” under the link
“Graham’s Christianity”).
This brief testimony displays all the inadequacies and dead-ends of the modern understanding of
what it means to become a Christian. While we are aware that such interviews do not necessarily
contain every facet of a person’s conversion, the fact remains that -- having been asked to
identify the landmarks in his Christian life, Mr. Kendrick places the emphasis not on the holiness
of God, the demands of the Gospel or the atonement of Christ but on his own feelings and
experiences. This is symptomatic of a grave crisis in the modern evangelical scene, and one
which has worked its way into churches through the New Style of Worship songs which they
sing today. We have no desire to enter into ad hominem contentions, but it is surely valid for us
to highlight what we believe to be unhealthy and even dangerous ideas in the testimony of a
keynote composer in the New Style of Worship scene, who plainly wields considerable influence
over gullible and vulnerable young people.
Firstly, while there is a verbal mention of sin and forgiveness in this interview with Kendrick,
there is not the slightest indication of true repentance and an understanding of what sin is all
about. Surely this is the most important aspect of a conversion experience, as shown in those
examples in the Early Church, when folk were “cut to the heart” (e.g. Acts 2:37). While we do
not at all deny that small children can be regenerated and converted -- recognizing that their
understanding of the Gospel will not be identical to that of a university professor -- there must
surely be a real awareness first of the need for forgiveness and a subsequent desire for
repentance, otherwise conversion becomes a mere mental assent.
(It should be pointed out here that there are two equal and opposite errors into which we can fall
on the experience of conversion. One is what is known as ‘Sandemanianism’ -- named after
Robert Sandeman, 1718-1771, the Scottish minister who first publicly propounded this doctrine - which involves the idea that a person merely needs to give verbal assent to the propositions
contained in the Gospel in order to be saved, without any evidence of a heart change or
regeneration. The other is what we can call ‘Preparationism’ -- whereby a person is persuaded of
the need to enter into a massively over-prolonged (or even indefinite) period of intense
preparation for conversion, during which he must go through the most oppressive heartsearching rigours, without which he cannot be saved. We must always be sure that our
evangelism does not encourage either “easy-believism” or its opposite: bondage-making
preparationism. They lie at contrary ends of the spectrum, but both are deadly, conversionstifling errors.)
Secondly, a child who is genuinely regenerated will surely not subsequently become an
adolescent rebel, with a tendency to partake in “the cynicism of the time”, as Kendrick puts it. It
seems to be taken for granted in so many evangelical churches today that even youngsters who
profess Christianity will still go on to be teenage rebels who need to express themselves in rock
music, foppish clothes, and the raucous multi-media experiences of the world. But such out-andout rebellion belongs to the fallen nature and should not be a feature in a believer’s life of any
age.
Thirdly, in this testimony, there is that typical feature of neo-evangelicalism: the desire for
increasingly exciting experiences. Regardless of what Mr. Kendrick says here, he was indeed a
“crisis person” who was seeking a “crisis experience”. Is there not a link here back to that early
prayer of his which engendered “an excitement deep inside me” but which apparently failed to
kindle godly sorrow and contrition? The Christian Union meeting, he believed, was not good
enough for him. But instead of seeking out some orthodox Christians who promote sound
doctrine to point him in the right direction, like so many immature, misguided seekers he goes in
search of sensational “pyrotechnics”.
From the present writer’s experience of this kind of complaint, that “particularly drab
Christian Union meeting at college” could easily have been made up of godly youngsters singing
hymns in the old-style and bowing quietly in prayer before the Lord (without the almost
mandatory trance-induced arm-waving and gibberish kind of “tonguesspeaking” one finds
among most university and college Christian Unions today). This is considered dull and boring
in the kind of circles where CCM is extolled, and especially among carnal youngsters who have
been processed on the easy-believes conveyor belt of evangelism.
The housegroup scene has always been a pastoral minefield, and if you go down that pathway
you are far more likely to wind up in a cult rather than a sound assembly!
Fourthly, the account of being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is decidedly suspect. Christians are
certainly instructed to “go on being filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) throughout their Christian
lives; but it is so typical of the sensation-seeking, crisisloving evangelicals of today to highlight
one incident as their supposed “baptism in the Spirit”. And is it not strange that what Kendrick
describes as “a real watershed” in his Christian experience should occur entirely as an incidental
experience while he happened to be “brushing his teeth”? Frankly, we find it hard to credit the
fact that in a serious interview, designed to display the testimony of the work of God in his life
and his faith in the Son of God, we should read such a flippant narrative. This is entirely in
keeping with the superficial nature of the New Style of Worship as a whole; and the question
must be asked here: Is it right for churches to worship God from a hymnbook of which almost
10% of the songs were written by a man whose testimony would not even obtain membership for
him in our churches? (Mission Praise contains 8.5% of Graham Kendrick songs. Songs of
Fellowship contains 10%.)
Surely there is a clear connection between the truncated “Christianity” of this “conversion”
experience, and that which the New Style of Worship is promoting in churches today. This is a
plain example of “easy believism”, with a subsequent psychoreligious catharsis masquerading as
an “infilling of the Spirit”. Such phenomena form the undergirding theology which governs the
style and content of the New Style of Worship songs, which are deliberately manipulative of a
bogus spiritual experience. A person who has had a superficial “conversion” experience will
always spend his or her time seeking a more profound “second blessing”. Consequently, in place
of the simple desire for reverential praise of the Triune God, we find that the search for an ever
greater “high” also becomes the goal of worship. Hence, these songs are often used to bring a
person into what is known as an “altered state of consciousness”.
In fact, the modern idea of going to church to worship on a Sunday is that one must enter an
altered state of consciousness (or ASC) in order for worship to have occurred at all! In his pro”Toronto Blessing” book, “Signs of Revival”, charismatic church elder Dr. Patrick Dixon claims
that ASCs “seem to be a normal, common part of Christian prayer and worship” (Patrick Dixon,
Signs of Revival, Kingsway, 1994, p. 275) and that unbelievers will be more open to a personal
relationship with God if they can be put into an ASC (ibid., p. 266). Dr. Dixon, who also
describes the modern charismatic “tongues” experience as “emptying the mind of logical,
language-related thought, and helping to induce a trance-like state” (ibid., p. 275) is a leading
medical writer in the Christian scene, and a vigorous advocate of the use of ASCs in Christian
life and worship. In an article in a major U.K. newspaper, he wrote:
“The human brain has three states: waking, sleeping and somewhere in between. It is in this third
state that we usually have our most profound spiritual experiences, when awareness fades of the
immediate and we become sensitised to another dimension” (The Independent, Saturday 18th
February 1995, p. 14; an article entitled “It is not Insanity when MPs Bark or Roar”).
Elsewhere, Dr. Dixon states that although altered states of consciousness do not actually bring us
into God’s presence, they can “make us aware of a presence to be brought into” (Patrick Dixon,
Signs of Revival, p. 277.). The advocation of the use of altered states of consciousness for
Christian life and worship is a serious departure from the orthodox historic Christian faith, and
has far more in common with the occult and the New Age.
Entering an altered state of consciousness induces an “Alpha-wave brain state”, and the
production of euphoria-inducing endorphins in the body. Normally, during the focused
consciousness of wakeful existence, the brain-wave pattern registered on an
electroencephalograph is described as ‘Beta’, which is between thirteen and twenty-six cycles
per second. However, another brain-state has been identified in which there is a more diffuse
awareness, registering between eight and thirteen cycles per second. This is what the yogi and
the mystic seek to attain through meditation. This Alpha-wave brainstate is, in fact, a prehypnotic state in which a person is extremely open to suggestion - human or otherwise; and it has
nothing to do with “coming into the presence of God”.
One New Age meditation manual describes this altered state of consciousness as “floating,
pleasant blankness, or shifting consciousness, peaceful meditation” (Ray Van Over, Total
Meditation: Mind Control Techniques for a Small Planet in Space, Collier Macmillan, 1978, p.
107).
In keeping with the mantra-chanting mysticism of both East and West, Dr. Dixon says that
“Repetitive praying or liturgy can also settle brain activity, bringing tranquillity or spiritual
openness” (The Independent, Saturday 18th February 1995, p. 14). All this has nothing
whatsoever to do with true spirituality. Such a state can easily be induced with a biofeedback
machine, cannabis or occult meditation. It is the “Alpha-wave” feeling of well-being induced by
these rhythmic breathing and mantric exercises which the person experiences, and then imagines
to be the “presence of the Lord”, which, if such was really the case, would be more awesome
than can be imagined!
We are drawing attention to these views about ASCs because they have largely conditioned the
direction of Charismatic worship in many evangelical churches today.
And the use of the New Style of Worship songs has played a major part in this. With this in
mind, it is interesting to note that Graham Kendrick speaks with approval of the benefits of the
increasingly-popular use of repetitive Taizé chants in worship (Jesus Life Magazine interview
with Graham Kendrick, taken from the Jesus Army Fellowship website which can be found at
http://www.jesus.org.uk/kendrick.html).
In a CNN news item entitled “New Religion Uses Chants and Meditation for Worship”, it
was reported: “A hunger for spirituality is leading people to a new type of worship that focuses
on chanting and meditation... ‘There seems to be a hunger for this kind of spirituality,’ says
Sister Suzanne Toolan, who offers Taizé services at the Mercy Center, a Catholic church in the
San Francisco Bay area where hundreds come to participate in Taizé services each month... ‘You
repeat it over and over again and it becomes more and more relaxing’, says Toolan. ‘And you go
from whatever your state of consciousness is to a much more relaxed state of consciousness”
(CNN correspondent Susan Reed, writing in a CNN Web News posting on May 20, 1996. Dr.
George Carey is also into Taizé).
So the Taizé New Age chants which so appeal to monks in France and trendy Catholics in San
Francisco are also approved by the man who is the most popular New Style of Worship
songwriter in the U.K. today. This should not surprise us, given that so much of this style of
worship is highly manipulative of the human mind, which its exponents are using to induce
altered states of consciousness in Christian congregations.
Surely, if you have an entire congregation indulging in the current fashion for waving their arms
about above their heads with their eyes closed, plainly in some kind of trance, it is most unlikely
that any real worship is taking place. Although many may regard such congregational armwaving as a secondary issue, the fact is that to lead an assembly into trance represents an assault
on the centrality of God in worship.
To encourage a congregation to get lost in a mystical fog and then pretend it is an act of worship
before God is, at the very least, what Scripture refers to in the Greek as ethelothreskeia, rightly
translated as “will-worship” in the A.V. (Col. 2:23) and defined in one Greek lexicon as
“worship which one prescribes and devises for himself, contrary to the contents and nature of
faith which ought to be directed to Christ”.
The irony is that if one’s relationship with God was truly God-centered rather than self oriented,
one would not have to resort to any humanistic techniques of ASC-inducement via repetitive or
soporific songs in order to approach the Throne of Grace. The reason that the modern
Charismatic needs to enter an ASC is because of a failure to rest on the simple promises of the
Bible to those who wish to approach the Lord in prayer or worship (Rom. 5:1-2; 8:15; Heb. 4:16;
10:19; Eph.2:18). Christian prayer is primarily discursive, a conversation between a creature and
his Creator (cf. Acts 16:25). It is not bodily relaxedness which determines the quality of the
believer’s prayer-life but, rather, total dependence on God and an awareness of His cosmic
transcendent power. The substitution of the seductive inducement of Alpha-waves for the saving
power of the true Alpha (and Omega) is an entirely self-centered and Spirit-less exercise.
Such is the movement which has taken place in recent years, using the New Style of Worship for
manipulative ends.
THE FRUIT OF ROCK MUSIC REVISITED
Dear Brother
The story you told sounds an awful lot like a young lady who was in our church. She didn't
realize that she had gotten pregnant before she left to go to Pensacola Christian College, but
ended up coming home because of it. I'm not sure how she could go six months to college and
not realize that she was pregnant. I do know that rock music and contemporary Christian music
was a very large part of her life despite the warnings from her pastor and myself.
I counseled with a church member years ago who was having a terrible time controlling the
thought life. This individual told me of an intense desire to listen to the music of certain
contemporary Christian artists. I said that it wasn't just the words of rock music that were bad but
the music itself. Even though the songs had wonderful Christian messages, the music was
straight out of hell. My counsel was to get rid of the contemporary Christian music and see if the
problems with the thought life ceased. I let this person know that while the words were preaching
Jesus, the music was preaching immorality.
Praise the Lord, this individual handed me a bag of broken contemporary music tapes along with
a letter which, among many things, asked for my prayers over such a big decision. Did it work?
According to this person's testimony, just a short time after contemporary Christian music was
given up, the thought life returned to that which is good, Godly, and decent.
Just thought you might want to know that you're not the only nut out there that believes this way.
This nut believes it also.
THE HERESY OF CLAIMING THAT MUSIC IS
NEUTRAL
Contemporary Christian Music is built upon the premise that music itself is a neutral force and
that only a song’s words determine its morality. CCM therefore incorporates the full spectrum of
modern rock/folk/jazz/country music, believing that any style of music is acceptable to carry the
Christian message and to glorify Jesus Christ. The following is the Christian Rocker’s Creed as it
was published in the popular CCM Magazine:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all music was created equal, that no instrument or
style of music is in itself evil--that the diversity of musical expression which flows forth from
man is but one evidence of the boundless creativity of our Heavenly Father” (CCM Magazine,
November 1988, p. 12).
Note the following statements from the CCM crowd:
“. . . we have to remember that, strictly speaking, music is amoral” (William J. Peterson, “O,
What a Fantastic New Day for Christian Music,” Eternity, April 1971).
“There is no such thing as ‘gospel music.’ Every style and form of music can become gospel,
whether it’s jazz, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, or rap” (Don Butler, Gospel Music Association, Inhouse
Music, March/April 1991, p. 27).
“There’s no such thing as Christian music. That’s because all kinds of music are capable of
expressing Christian thought. It’s not the music that’s Christian, it’s the lyrics” (John Styll,
“What Makes Music Christian,” CCM Magazine, June 1991, p. 22; reprinted from the April 1987
issue; Styll [1952- ] is the Founder and Executive Editor of CCM Magazine and President of the
Gospel Music Association).
“I believe music, in itself, is a neutral force” (Keith Green, Can God Use Rock Music?).
“Music per se … can be considered morally neutral--it is neither sinful nor holy. Its morality is
determined by the use to which it is put” (David Scheer, PG: A Parental Guide to Rock, p. 167).
“We take the music of the street and apply Christian lyrics to it” (Billy Ray Hearn, owner of
Sparrow Records and creator of ABC’s Myrrh label, cited by Ric Llewellyn, “Christian Rock,”
Foundation, Vol. VI, Issue 2, 1985, p. 16).
“We need to know rock ‘n’ roll. We need to know the gentleness of a folk tune. We need to
know the majesty of Handel’s Messiah. We need to know the awesome reverence of the
Gregorian chant” (John Michael Talbot, CCM Magazine, July 1998, p. 28).
“We’re like Billy Graham with guitars, basically ... rock and roll is neutral. It depends on the
spirit” (Michael Bloodgood, Duluth News Tribune, October 9, 1987, p. 1C).
“Music is not good or evil because of the formation of the notes or the structure of the beat.
Music is good because the heart of the person playing it is innocently and sincerely giving praise
to our God” (Mylon LeFevre, cited by Jeff Godwin, What’s Wrong with Christian Rock?, p.
122).
“…music is just music. It’s the message that’s important” (Mylon LeFevre, Seattle PostIntelligencer, Seattle, Washington, Oct. 11, 1984).
“God is the King of Soul; He’s the King of all rhythm” (Phil Driscoll, cited by Tim Fisher, Battle
for Christian Music, p. 82).
“There’s no such thing as Christian music. Music is generic” (Chris Christian, cited by Kit
Frieden, “Christian Music Guru Says There’s ‘No Such Thing,’” The Patriot, Harrisburg, Penn.,
Nov. 29, 1986).
“God gave rock and roll to you/ Put it in the soul of every one/ If you love the sound/ Then don’t
forget the source” (“God Gave Rock and Roll,” Petra).
“All music was His to begin with and He’ll use any medium necessary to convey this
message” (Editorial in the Christian rock magazine Take a Stand, July 1987).
“... rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t have a conscience of its own. It was the people who were playing it”
(Randy Stonehill, cited by Chris Willman, “Randy Stonehill: Turning Twenty,” CCM Magazine,
August 1990).
“The problem, essentially, is there is no such thing as ‘Christian music.’ There is only music and
what it’s about. ... Every genre, every style, every media needs to be claimed--or reclaimed--to
glorify God” (Chris Well, 7Ball, July-August 1998, p. 66; Well is Editor in Chief of 7Ball, a
bimonthly publication which reports on alternative rock Christian music, such as metal, punk,
rap, and ska).
“We believe all music comes from God, and that liberates us to express ourselves in a wider
range of artistic expression than some others” (Bebe Winans, CCM Magazine, Feb. 1989, p. 21).
“There is nothing un- or anti-Christian about any kind of music” (Best, Music Through the Eyes
of Faith, p. 52; Best is dean of the conservatory of music at Wheaton College).
“Using WHAT IS NEUTRAL in a society as a vehicle for the gospel is not only acceptable; it is
sound missionary strategy” (Steve Miller, The Contemporary Christian Music Debate, p. 49).
“I believe that music, particularly instrumental music, is absolutely void of moral qualities for
eithergood or evil” (Dana Key, Don’t Stop the Music).
______________________
Even the CCM musicians who do not perform hard rock music hold this strange philosophy
about the neutrality of music. Speaking at Word of Life in New York in the 1980s, Jerry Falwell
said: “Other than Heavy Metal and vulgar lyrics, it’s all a matter of taste and has nothing to do
with Christianity.” During a concert tour in New England in 1986, Bill Gaither admitted that he
had changed his musical styles due to the influence of the “world’s culture.” He said he believed
there was a place for Christian rock, and he expressed his philosophy of music in these words:
“God speaks through all different kinds of art forms and musical styles and musical forms” and
the “format itself is not necessarily spiritual or non-spiritual”
IS MUSIC A NEUTRAL FORCE?
The following are the reasons why I reject the idea that music is neutral and communicates no
message in and of itself:
1. Ask common sense.
Common sense tells us that music is not neutral, that all music is not the same. Such an idea is
strictly contrary to our experiences in life. There is sensual music and spiritual music, music for
partying and music for worship, music for marching and music for dancing, music for romance
and music for warfare. The notes and components of music are neutral, but when these are
arranged into a pattern, that piece of music no longer is neutral but becomes a voice, a language.
“Just as vowels and consonants can become blasphemy and pen and paper in the hand of an artist
can become pornography, so notes and rhythm, in the hands of a composer or artist, can
become sensual” (Frank Garlock, Music in the Balance, p. 100).
This truth is seen in the alphabet. Individual letters of the alphabet are “neutral,” in that, standing
alone, they do not communicate a message; but as soon as those letters are combined to form
words and sentences, a message is communicated and those letters so formed are no longer
neutral. Take the letter “E,” for example. It can spell hatE or it can spell lovE; it can spell jEsus
or it can spell dEvil. Likewise, musical components are neutral as long as they remain by
themselves, but as soon as they are arranged into a piece of music, that piece of music
communicates a message which can be sensual or spiritual, godly or satanic. The idea that music
is neutral is contrary to common sense and observation.
2. Ask knowledgeable men from centuries past.
Knowledgeable men of all ages, even secular men, have recognized the power of music for good
or evil. In fact, the strange idea that music is neutral is only a few years old.
Plato, B.C. 428-348, “Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because
rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul” (Plato, Fourth Book of the
Republic).
Aristotle, B.C. 384-322, “Music directly represents the passions or states of the soul-- gentleness,
anger, courage, temperance … If a person habitually listens to the kind of music that rouses
ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form. In short, if one listens to
the wrong kind of music he will become the wrong kind of person; but conversely, if he listens to
the right kind of music he will tend to become the right kind of person” (Aristotle, Republic,
Politics, 8, 1340, quoted in Donald J.
Grout, A History of Western Music, 1980, p. 8).
Boethius, A.D. 480-524, Greek philosopher and statesman - “Music is part of our human nature,
it has the power either to improve or debase our character” (Boethius, DeInstitutione Musica,
cited in Paul Hindemith, A Composer’s World, Cambridge, 1952, p.7).
John Calvin, A.D. 1509-1564 - “We know by experience that music has a secret and almost
incredible power to move hearts” (John Calvin, Works, Vol. VI).
Martin Luther, A.D. 1483-1546 - “For whether you wish to comfort the sad, to terrify the happy,
to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full
of hate--and who could number all these masters of the human heart, namely, the emotions,
inclinations, and affections that impel men to evil or good?--what more effective means than
music could you find?” (Martin Luther, quoted from Friedrich Blume, Protestant Church Music,
p. 10)
3. Ask professionally trained musicians.
Max Schoen, 1940 - “Music is the most powerful stimulus known among the perceptive senses.
The medical, psychiatric and other evidence for the non-neutrality of music is so overwhelming
that it frankly amazes me that anyone should seriously say otherwise” (Dr.
Max Schoen, The Psychology of Music, 1940).
Howard Hanson, 1942 - “Music is a curiously subtle art with innumerable, varying emotional
connotations. It is made up of many ingredients and, according to the proportions of these
components, it can be soothing or invigorating, ennobling or vulgarizing, philosophical or
orgiastic. It has powers for evil as well as for good” (Dr. Howard Hanson, American composer,
conductor, and teacher, Director of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester,
American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 99, p. 317; the quotation is from an address entitled “A
Musician’s Point of View Toward Emotional Expression,” delivered by Dr. Hanson at the 98th
annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association).
Dimitri Tiomkin, 1965 - “The fact that music can both excite and incite has been known from
time immemorial. … Now in our popular music, at least, we seem to be reverting to savagery …
and youngsters who listen constantly to this sort of sound are thrust into turmoil. They are no
longer relaxed, normal kids” (Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Aug. 8, 1965; Dr. Tiomkin is a
famous composer and conductor).
William J. Shafer, 1972 - “Rock is communication without words, regardless of what ideology is
inserted into the music” (Dr. William J. Shafer, Rock Music, 1972).
Richard M. Taylor, 1973 - “We cannot change the basic effect of certain kinds of rhythm and
beat simply by attaching to them a few religious or semi-religious words. The beat will still get
through to the blood of the participants and the listeners. Words are timid things. Decibels and
beat are bold things, which can so easily bury the words under an avalanche of sound. … There
are music forms, whether secular or sacred, which create moods of pensiveness, of idealism, of
awareness of beauty, of aspiration, and of holy joyousness. There are other forms of music which
create moods of recklessness and sensual excitement. Surely it doesn’t take much judgment to
know which forms are most appropriate for religious functions” (Dr. Richard M. Taylor, The
Disciplined Lifestyle, 1973, pp. 86, 87).
Steven Halpern, 1978 - “Words are incidental at best, or monotonous and moronic as usual. But
the points is, that they don’t matter. What you dance to is the beat, the bass and drums. And with
this mix and volume, not only is the beat sensed, but literally felt, as this aspect of the rhythm
section takes precedence over melody and harmony” (Dr. Steven Halpern, Tuning the Human
Instrument, 1978, p. 14).
Leonard Seidel, 1980 - “There is a certain type of music around which demons feel very
uncomfortable. Check the other side of the coin. There is a type of music under which evil spirits
find it quite easy to progress with their work and influence” (Leonard Seidel, concert pianist,
lecturer, God’s New Song, 1980, p. 9).
Simon Frith, 1981 - “Most rock records make their impact musically rather than lyrically. The
words, if they are noticed at all, are absorbed after the music has made its mark” (Simon Frith,
sociology professor at University of Warwick in England, Sound Effects, 1981, p. 14).
Mike Coyle, 1983 - “Since music is an emotional language, and since some emotions are wrong
for the child of God, then some music is wrong for the Christian” (Mike Coyle, former worldclass professional French horn virtuoso, “Music: Is There an Absolute?” Baptist Bulletin, April
1983, p. 10).
David Tame, 1984 - “Music is a form of language ... music is more than a language. It is the
language of languages. … Like human nature itself, music cannot possibly be neutral in its
spiritual direction” (David Tame, musical researcher, The Secret Power of Music, 1984, pp. 151,
187).
Carol Merle-Fishman and Shelley Katsh, 1985 - “Music is a form of non-verbal communication”
(Carol Merle-Fishman and Shelley Katsh, music therapists and instructors at New York
University, The Music Within You, 1985, p. 206).
Gilbert Rouget, 1985 - “… what we need to remember is that music has a physical impact upon
the listener and that it produces a sensorial modification in his awareness of being. This physical
impact, of course, is what pop music is consciously striving for” (Gilbert Rouget, Music and
Trance, 1985, p. 120).
Leonard Bernstein, 1990 - “Music is something terribly special … it doesn’t have to pass through
the censor of the brain before it can reach the heart … An F-sharp doesn’t have to be considered
in the mind; it is a direct hit, and, therefore, all the more powerful” (Leonard Bernstein, cited in
Katrine Ames, “An Affair to Remember,” Newsweek, Oct. 29, 1990, p. 79).
Tim Fisher, 1992 - “Music is not neutral. It has the capability of communicating imbalance and
sensuality, and it can confuse the spiritual effectiveness of the message. Therefore, I as a
Christian must draw a line. Any music that cannot appropriately communicate the message is
unfit to use to worship the Lord” (Tim Fisher, musician, teacher, The Battle for Christian Music,
1992, p. 56).
Robert Shaw, 1998 - “I believe all the arts are moral. I can’t see how any of the arts can be
neutral” (Kurt Woetzel, “Is Music Neutral? An Interview with Robert Shaw,” distinguished
choral music director, FrontLine, September-October 1998, p. 11).
Philip Merriam - “There is probably no other cultural activity which is so all-pervasive and
which reaches into, shapes and often controls so much of human behavior” (Philip Merriam, The
Anthropology of Music).
4. Ask the movie maker. This is the area that really woke me up. Like I said, I don't know
much about music, but I know cinematography, and when I bought the music scoring software
for my movie production work I learned quickly how all these rhythms add beats to paint the
picture. With the software I had 100's of choices for rhythm and beat and tempo, not knowing
anything I just kept clicking away until I got the sound that painted the picture that I was filming.
This is when I really woke up to see how music manipulates the mind through our emotions.
Then I began my research into rock n roll, CCM, and eventually YWAM. I then studied the
Word and learned that God's music was 180's AWAY from the world's music. I was emotionally
tied to the CCM music and I had to be brutally honest with myself and realized I was justifying
the music by placing self over my King. Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
Music paints a mental and emotional picture, creates a mood. The television/movie industry
understands this and they spend millions upon millions of dollars annually to create just the right
musical effect for each scene. Tension and danger calls for tense music. Romance calls for
romantic music. The musical score must precisely match the script. How foolish, then, for CCM
musicians to claim that the rhythms of a song do not have to match the words because the
rhythms are “neutral.”
There is no such thing.
5. Ask the advertiser.
Businesses understand that music is not a neutral force. They know that certain kinds music can
increase sales while other kinds of music can actually reduce sales. The Muzak Corporation,
which distributes music for businesses, describes their philosophy of music: “The Science of
Stimulus Progression -- employs THE INHERENT POWER OF MUSIC IN A CONTROLLED
PATTERN TO ACHIEVE PREDETERMINED PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL
EFFECTS ON PEOPLE. Leading companies and commercial establishments now employ the
Muzak concept to improve environment, attitudes and performance” (Muzak ad). Muzak knows
that music is not neutral, because certain kinds of music produce certain kinds of responses in the
hearers, and other kinds of music produce entirely different responses.
6. Ask the tavern owner.
Why does the owner of a tavern or a night club choose a certain kind of music? Because that
type of music creates the right atmosphere to promote the fleshly activities of that establishment.
If a tavern owner attempted to play traditional hymns, he would create an entirely different
atmosphere which would not be conducive for the type of recreation his patrons are engaged in.
Every tavern owner
knows that music is not neutral.
7. Ask the band or orchestra director.
A band or orchestra director understands the power of music to move people in different ways,
and he carefully selects the type of music desired to create whatever mood or effect is required
by the situation.
Music was never randomly selected. If our high school band was rallying the crowd for a
football game, they did not play a waltz or a lullaby!
8. Ask the rock band.
The rock band strives to create a certain reaction in its hearers, and it uses exactly the type of
music required to produce that reaction. Rock star Jimi Hendrix understood this:
“Atmospheres are going to come through music, because the music is a spiritual thing of its
own. ... You can hypnotize people ... and when you get them at their weakest point you can
preach into the subconscious what you want to say” (Life, Oct. 3, 1969, p. 74).
Hendrix was right. “Atmospheres” do come through music. Consider the godly atmosphere of
peace and blessing and conviction which comes through truly spiritual church music, and
contrast this with the atmosphere which comes through rock music.
Rock star Frank Zappa of the Mothers of Invention said: “Rock music is sex. The big beat
matches the body’s rhythms” (Life, June 28, 1968).
Rock star Ted Nugent says, “Rock is the total celebration of the physical” (Rolling Stone,
Aug. 25, 1977, pp. 11-13).
Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS agrees: “That's what rock is all about--sex with a
100 megaton bomb, the beat!” (Entertainment Tonight, ABC, Dec. 10, 1987).
Debbie Harry of the rock band Blondie says amen to this: “Rock 'n' roll is all sex. One
hundred percent sex” (cited by Steve Peters, The Truth about Rock, p. 30).
John Oates of the rock duo Hall & Oates says, “Rock ‘n’ roll is 99% sex” (Circus, Jan. 31,
1976).
Rock drummer King Coffey observes: “...the whole idea of rock 'n' roll is to offend your
parents” (The Truth about Rock, p. 30).
Lita Ford of heavy metal group The Runaways says, “Listen, rock ‘n’ roll AIN'T
CHURCH. It's nasty business” (Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1988).
Malcolm McLaren, punk rock manager, describes rock music as “pagan and primitive,
and very jungle, and that's how it should be!” (Rock, August 1983).
Time magazine notes: “In a sense all rock is revolutionary. By its very beat and sound it has
always implicitly rejected restraints and has celebrated freedom and sexuality” (Time, Jan.
3, 1969).
Allan Bloom observes: "... rock music has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal to sexual
desire--not love, not eros, but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored” (The Closing of the
American Mind, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987, p. 73).
Rolling Stone magazine says that “...rock and roll is more than just music; it is the energy
center of the new culture and your revolution” (cited by John Blanchard, Pop Goes the
Gospel, p. 12).
Michael Ross, in his treatise on rock music, observes that the music of licentious rock groups
like the Rolling Stones “REFLECTS THEIR WAY OF LIVING” (Rock Beyond Woodstock, p.
13).
Concert pianist and musical researcher Leonard Seidel wisely notes: “Rock and roll’s corrupt
degenerate lifestyle is fueled by the language of a certain kind of music” (Leonard Seidel,
Face the Music).
9. Ask the rock music lover.
If music is a neutral thing in and of itself, it would be a simple matter for a rock music lover to
give it up. That is not the case, though!
“Any ‘Christian’ rock star/fan who thinks music is neutral should face up to one simple
fact: nobody gets hooked on neutral music. Why don’t you do a little experiment? Spend
the next 30 days without listening to or playing ANY rock music & CCM.
Try it, C-Rock fans. You’ll quickly find yourself going through withdrawal. Rock music is
a drug! Don’t believe it? Go 30 days without it” (Jeff Godwin, What’s Wrong with Christian
Rock?, p. 38).
The same cannot be said for many other types of music. This is irrefutable evidence that all
music is not the same.
10. Ask the Bible.
The Bible plainly states that music is not neutral. Christians are instructed to use a certain kind of
music to worship God and to build up the Christian life.
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in
your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one
another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”
(Colossians
3:16).
Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs do not describe the world’s music. God’s Word is reminding
us that there is a music which is fitting to the Christian life and there is a music which is not, and
it is the Christian’s task in every generation to glorify God only with the type of music which is
fitting for that exalted task. The music is to be spiritual as opposed to carnal.
The philosophy that music is neutral and that apart from the words it has no influence or voice of
its own is the Devil’s lie, and this false philosophy is being used to build the ecumenical endtimes apostate religion.
The fact that music IS NOT neutral is a loud warning to Christians that we must be very careful
about what type of music we listen to and what type of music we allow in our homes and
churches. Some music encourages the flesh, while some music encourages the spiritual. Some is
demonic and some is Spirit-inspired.
Cindy it took me lot to come out of CCM, I didn't have any brothers or sisters who did the
research like I have done and now give to you. Please my love, do the research, PRAY, and you
will see that I am right. It will be tough, because CCM/rock music is a drug and satan will be
fighting you all the way with the LIE that you are free to do what you want and that music is
neutral. It's a LIE. Trust in the Lord and His WORD!
HIGH ON PRAISE MUSIC
This is a letter from a brother and his experience...
On Feb. 8, 2003, I visited the largest church in Singapore, City Harvest Church, to observe their
doctrine and practice, and I am thankful to the three Singaporean friends from independent
Baptist churches who accompanied me on my little tour.
On Saturdays, City Harvest has two services, one at 4:30 p.m. and one at 7:30. I attended the
7:30 session. The music was pull-out-the-stops rock & roll and was the loudest I have ever heard
in a charismatic church or conference, even though I have attended many of them. The music
featured TWO drummers, electric guitars, a keyboard, and a powerful brass section. Several
worship leaders, both male and female, swayed and pranced on the front of the stage.
The several-thousand-seat auditorium was almost full and the people were very, very exuberant.
As best as I could tell from my vantage point, almost every person joined in enthusiastically
during the worship time, singing, clapping, jumping, swaying to the potent music.
When I walked out of the auditorium and got away from the sound of the music, I actually felt
light headed from not being accustomed to such loud music. It has been three decades since I last
heard music that loud, and that was at a rock concert before I was saved. It was such a relief to
get away from the relentless pounding.
I am convinced that if you took away the rock music, the church would lose its large crowds
almost instantly. Rock music is a drug in itself. Timothy Leary, the ‘60s LSD guru, knew a lot
about rock music and he testified: “Don’t listen to the words, it’s the music that has its own
message. ... I’ve been stoned on the music many times.” And Steven Tyler of Aerosmith says,
“[Rock music] is the strongest drug in the world” (Rock Beat, Spring 1987, p. 23).
Leary and Tyler are right about the drug-like power of rock, and Charismatic worshippers who
think they are high on God might very well, in reality, be high on music.
The City Harvest magazine for July-December 2002 contained a section on questions and
answers. One question by a new member to City Harvest is instructive.
“I just started attending church a few months back and really felt drawn to the presence of God,
ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE TIMES OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP. Yet, each time when I
try to meet God in the same way during my personal quiet time AND ‘FEEL’ THE TANGIBLE
PRESENCE that I always sense during church services, I always fail. Is this because there’s
something that I’m not doing right? Am I not worshipping in the correct way?”
The answer to the person’s question is that he or she is looking for the wrong thing and is
confused about the nature of true worship of God. Worship has nothing to do with my feelings or
with a “tangible presence.” Those things are easily counterfeited by the flesh and the devil. True
worship is to give thanks to God and to serve Him obediently NO MATTER HOW I FEEL AND
NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCE.
Abraham doubtless did not feel very good and had no tangible presence when he trudged toward
the mountain with his most beloved son in tow with the purpose of sacrificing him in obedience
to God’s command, but he was performing a most supreme act of worship. Job did not feel
tingly, wonderful emotions when he was sitting in the ash heap scrapping his boils with pieces of
clay pots and contemplating the loss of his children and wealth and rebutting his wife’s
complaints, but he was worshipping God acceptably and fruitfully when he endured that terrible
condition and did not curse God, but trusted Him in spite of how miserable he felt. In that
horrible condition, Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine
own ways before him.” That is true worship. It has nothing to do with being under the sway of
powerful music or stirring up high emotions and pursuing a perception of God’s “tangible
presence.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 describes true worship: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to
communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Note the attributes of true
worship: thanksgiving to God in all circumstances, doing good works or obedience to God’s
commands, and communicating to those who have needs.
One does not need rock music to accomplish any of these things. I challenge those committed to
the contemporary philosophy to give up rock music for one month and serve the Lord without it.
If you need rock music in order to enjoy and serve the Lord, you have a serious problem. If rock
music is necessary or even important for the service and worship of Christ, what did God’s
people do in A.D. 65 or 1240 or
1530 or 1850 or 1945?
HIP-HOPPING FOR JESUS
MG the Visionary is one of the many rappers who are riding the new wave of popularity for
“Christian” hip-hop music. CCM Magazine notes: “After nearly 20 years lobbying for position in
the Christian scene, rap and hip-hop may be digging their way out of the underground. With the
evolving success of the genre in the general market, a handful of Christian labels have turned
attention to the music
hoping to ride the wave of popularity” (CCM Magazine, May 2000, p. 11).
Other Christian rap groups are Tonex, KJ-52, Out of Eden, Grits, Knowdaverbs, L.A.
Symphony, and Dj Maj. Rap music emphasizes the beat to an extreme degree. It is
overwhelmingly sensual. It’s goal is to move the body.
MG the Visionary explains why young people like hip-hop: “Now-a-days people want to shake
their booties. You can’t deny it. Yes, it sounds funny, but it’s the truth. You can mosh, you can
slam and rock out. But what music just lets you, and actually calls you, to groove and feel the
soul, feel the natural rhythm God has given us?”
Without knowing it, MG the Visionary, in his trashy language, has explained exactly what is
wrong with hip-hop from a biblical perspective.
It is true that there are “natural rhythms” within men, but those rhythms and impulses have been
corrupted through the fall. The Bible says there is within man a carnal nature that loves evil and
that is at enmity against God. Just because something is “natural” does not make it right. It is
natural to be naked, but God clothed the man and the woman after they sinned, because their
hearts had become darkened with evil thoughts.
That is why the Bible forbids nakedness and immodesty. The Lord Jesus warned that for a man
even to look upon a woman lustfully is adultery.
The Bible says there is a conflict between the Spirit and the flesh. They are not friends, and they
are not to be syncretized. The lust of the flesh is part of the world, and God’s Word commands
Christian to love not the world. When young people are shaking their bodies to the beat of
hiphop, they are not consumed with the glory of Jesus Christ and the holiness of God. They are
consumed with carnal things, with the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes. Girls who love
to dance to hip-hop do not dress modestly, and the fellows who dance to hip-hop to not want
them to dress modestly.
Unsaved people look at the lust of the flesh as a wonderful thing, a natural thing which should be
enjoyed to the fullest. “If it feels good, do it,” is the world’s philosophy. “Hey, what could be
wrong with looking at a woman shaking herself to the beat?” the worldly man says. “Didn’t God
make me like that? What’s wrong with dancing? What’s wrong with showing a little flesh? It’s
natural, isn’t it?” God looks at the lust of the flesh, though, as a wicked thing which has
corrupted His world. The Lord Jesus Christ died to save people from “the corruption that is in the
world through lust” (1 Peter 1:4).
Christianity that is syncretized with the world is apostate Christianity, and that is precisely what
we find on every hand today. That is how the Roman Catholic Church was formed in the fourth
century. It was a yoking together of churches with the world. Contemporary Christian Music
attempts to do the same thing. Peter described false Christians as those who “walk after the flesh
in the lust of uncleanness” (2 Peter 2:10).
Further, we are told that false Christians “allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much
wantonness” (2 Peter 2:18). That sounds exactly like CCM to me.
Spiritual music does not feed the flesh, and fleshly music does not edify the Spirit.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the
one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17).
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof” (Romans 13:14).
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after
the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:12-14).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
THE HOLY GHOST HOP
Another letter from a brother...
Many people write to us to justify their love for Contemporary Christian Music. They criticize
me for painting the Contemporary Christian Music scene with a broad brush. They claim that
though it is true that much of the CCM world can rightly be described by terms such as sensuous,
worldly, charismatic, ecumenical, and covetous, that is not the whole picture. I have been
examining the CCM movement now for almost twenty-five years, and I could not disagree more.
Though I do believe there are some sincere born again Christian people involved with CCM, I
believe they are the scant exceptions. I cannot pick up any issue of Contemporary Christian
Music magazine or one of the other magazines which cover the CCM movement without
thinking, "How worldly, how sensuous, how dangerous, how unscriptural CCM is!"
If you defend Contemporary Christian Music, you are definitely tuned in to a different
wavelength
than I am.
What about Carman? He is alleged to be a serious Christian musician. Consider the following
words to his song "HOLY GHOST HOP."
Everybody used to do the twist
The mashed potato and it goes like this
The funky chicken, monkey too
There wasn't nothing' they would not do
But there's a new dance no one can stop
A leap for joy we call the Holy Ghost Hop.
Now get ready, hold steady
Don't deny it, just try it
Be bold now, let it go now
Give the Holy Ghost control now.
Chorus
Rejoice with a grateful heart
Rejoice to the Holy One
Rejoice, let your praises fill the air
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice
Everybody praise Him and rejoice.
Hey all you brothers and you sisters too
Don't let tradition tell you what to do
Release your worries and your fears
'Cause we've been hopping in the church for years
If King David was here I know that he
Would do the Holy Ghost Hop with me.
Steven, I do not believe Carman knows who the Holy Spirit is. If he thinks the Holy Spirit
motivates people to dance in a worldly fashion, he is dead wrong. Show me in Scripture where
the Lord Jesus Christ did a Holy Ghost hop. Show me where the Apostles did such a thing. It is
unscriptural nonsense. It is a demonic delusion. This type of thing is accepted by people who
operate in the realm of the flesh, people who are controlled by the sensual. King David danced
before the Lord, but he would definitely not accept the "Holy Ghost hop" of this present biblicalweak, ecumenical Contemporary Christian Music generation. David was not dancing to rock
music!
Show me a Contemporary Christian Music "artist" who has the testimony of godly David of old:
"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false
way" (Psalm 119:128).
The truly godly person not only loves the truth, but he hates that which is contrary to the truth.
This is not the testimony of the Contemporary Christian music crowd. They are positive, neutral,
ecumenical, all embracing, tolerant. There is no such thing in the Bible as a positive-only
Christianity. Show me a Contemporary Christian Music "artist" who practices biblical
separation, who exposes Charismatic error, for example, and refuses to have anything to do with
the ecumenical crowd. Show me a Contemporary Christian Music "artist" who exposes the error
of his own movement and names the names of those who are promoting a worldly Christianity
under the banner of Christian artistry. For every one of these you can show me (and I am not sure
there is even one who fits the entire description), I can show you 500 who are sensual, worldly,
charismatic, ecumenical, non-judgmental, positive-only, all of which is condemned in the Word
of God.
It is impossible to listen to music without being influenced by it, either for good or for evil. It is
one of the most powerful influences of life.
If you are thinking that you need to write to me and straighten me out about my views of
Contemporary Christian Music, you are absolutely wasting your time. I have heard all of the
arguments, and they don't stand up before the Word of God. Rock and mood music was my life
before I was saved. I know the nature of that music. I know it cannot be sanctified for the Holy
Master's use. Billy Sunday said he hated the devil and his evil works so much that he was going
to fight him until he had no more strength, then he was going to bite him until he had no more
teeth, then he was going to gum him until he died. That is the way I feel about Contemporary
Christian Music. It is destroying the spiritual discernment and power of God's people; it is
breaking down the walls between truth and error; it is stirring up the sensual and
the worldly. I hate it, and I am going to continue to fight it by God's grace as long as I have
breath in me.
"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of
darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that
sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are
of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope
of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8).
Steven, I have 4 DVD course in music concerning history and understanding of music, Holy
music, and CCM. I would like to bless you with that course if you promise to prayerfully watch
them with a learning spirit. Let me know.
BEWARE OF CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC’S
ECUMENICAL
PHILOSOPHY
Contemporary Christian Music is one of the glues holding together the end-times ecumenical
movement, and it represents a great danger to Bible-believing churches. In a recent interview
with Christianity Today, Don Moen of Integrity Music said: “I've discovered that worship
[music] is transdenominational, transcultural. It bridges any denomination. Twenty years ago
there were many huge divisions between denominations. Today I think the walls are coming
down. In any concert that I do, I will have 30-50 different churches represented.”
Ecumenical terms which permeate the CCM scene include “anointed,” “the body,” “united,”
“John 17,” “tolerance,” “non-critical love,” “judge not,” “no finger pointing,” etc. These are
terms that identify the philosophy of the end-times ecumenical movement described in 2
Timothy 4:3-4 and other passages. The end-times apostasy is characterized by a rejection of
strong biblical absolutes and reproof and doctrine and by teachers who pamper instead of preach,
who generalize instead of being specific, who are positive rather than “negative,” who build self
esteem rather than call for repentance.
Contemporary Christian Music is at home in the most ecumenical of contexts. The same music
will be perfectly at home in a Roman Catholic retreat or a World Council of Churches
conference or a charismatic Laughing Revival.
CCM is the music of ecumenical evangelism, as epitomized by Billy Graham and Luis Palau
crusades. The following is a description of Billy Graham’s 1997 crusade in San Antonio, Texas.
“More than 700 San Antonio churches representing over 50 denominations have joined together
for the Graham crusade, which hopes to attract South Texas youth with big-name
Christian rock acts [Amy Grant, dc Talk, Charlie Daniels Band, Michael W. Smith, Steve
Green, and Jaci Velasquez] and a Saturday service just for kids” (Houston Chronicle, April 2,
1997).
CCM was the music of the massive “Key ‘73” evangelistic program which was promoted by
Billy Graham and many other key Christian leaders. The program brought together Baptists,
Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Roman
Catholics. To create such a broad ecumenical unity requires that doctrinal issues be ignored. The
message must be limited when the fellowship is enlarged. This ecumenical philosophy controlled
the type of music which was used:
“An extensive invitation was sent out for new music to be written that promoted the
message of ‘Key ‘73’ with several stipulations: the words righteousness, judgment, holiness,
repentance, and several other biblical terms were not allowed to be used, and
THE LYRICS WERE TO BE OF A POSITIVE NATURE. There was an intentional effort
made to write NON-OFFENSIVE songs” (H.T. Spence, Confronting Contemporary
Christian Music, p. 142).
The intimate charismatic connection within Contemporary Christian Music guarantees that it will
be ecumenical. For example the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, in its
earlier days, popularized a song which proclaimed, “I don’t care what church you belong to.”
That was dropped and replaced with a Catholic song, “We Are One in the Spirit,” which
proclaims, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord .... and we pray that all unity may
one day be restored...” (Michael Harper, Three Sisters: A Provocative Look at Evangelicals,
Charismatics, & Catholic Charismatics and Their Relationship to One Another, pp. 28,29). When
the Roman Catholic Church sings about Christian unity, of course, it is singing about nonCatholics being united with Rome!
The 1996 CCM hit “Gather at the River” promotes the ecumenical theme:
“Sometimes we don’t see eye to eye/ WE DON’T AGREE; WE DON’T KNOW WHY/ BUT
JESUS PRAYED THAT WE’D BE ONE/ For the sake of God’s own Son/ CAN WE PUT
AWAY OUR DIFFERENCES/ LAY DOWN OUR PRIDE/ It’s time we start turning the
tide” (Joel Lindsey and Regie Hamm, “Gather at the River,” 20 Contemporary Christian
Hits, Vol. 2, Benson Music Group, 1996).
This song is built upon the false ecumenical interpretation of John 17:21, which claims that the
unity for which Christ prayed is an ecumenical unity of professing Christians which disregards
biblical doctrine. The context of John 17 destroys this myth. In John 17 the Lord plainly
emphasizes that the unity He desires is one based on salvation and Truth. It is not a unity of true
Christians with false. It is not a unity that ignores doctrinal differences for the sake of an
enlarged fellowship.
(1) The unity of John17 is a God-created unity (John 17:11).
There is nothing in Christ's prayer to indicate that men are to do something to create the unity for
which He prayed. John 17 is a prayer addressed to God the Father, not to men. It is not
something man needs to do; it is something God has already done.
The prayer was answered almost 2,000 years ago. It is a spiritual reality which was created by
God among genuine believers who are committed to the Scriptures, not a possibility which must
be organized by man.
(2) The unity of John 17 is a unity in truth (vv. 17,19,6,8,14). Christ emphasized that He was
praying for those who love and obey the Word of God. This is certainly not a prayer which
envisions the modern ecumenical crowd which downplays and ignores the Word of God for the
sake of a broad, lowest-common-denominator unity. Note, too, that this ecumenical CCM song
pretends that the doctrinal divisions between Christians are the result of pride (“lay down our
pride”) and ignorance (“we don’t agree; we don’t know why”). This conveniently overlooks the
Bible’s commands about defending the faith and separating from error. Christians who take these
commands seriously refuse to be ecumenical, not because they are proud or ignorant, but because
they desire to please the Lord. This ecumenical song slanders Bible-believing Christians who
practice biblical separation. CCM’s influence toward ecumenism is well stated by a man who at
one time preached against it--BOB LARSON.
“Have you ever seen a bunch of young people (be they Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Baptist,
charismatic or evangelical) setting aside their religious idiosyncrasies to jump and shout
when Petra walks on stage?... The shared experience will send them back to their own
churches less theologically exclusive. From that moment on, they are ‘not of this world’
with all of its petty ecclesiastical divisions.” (Bob Larson, Contemporary Christian Music
Magazine, December 1985).
This statement by Larson is extremely sad. There was a time when he preached against Christian
rock, yet he refused to separate from charismatics and others who were walking a path of
disobedience and error. He held meetings under charismatic and ecumenical sponsorship, as well
as the sponsorship of other groups and churches which were not scriptural. Now we see the fruit
of this disobedience and reckless disregard for biblical separation. Has God not warned that evil
communications corrupt good manners?
Again, God is proven true. Men set aside God’s commands for separation to their own spiritual
detriment. Once Larson preached against Christian rock; now he is ensnared by it and promotes
the Devil’s grand worldwide ecumenical schemes. (Not only has Larson abandoned his former
position on music, but he divorced the wife of his youth and married another woman.)
THE GAITHERS are very ecumenical and have a close, non-critical relationship with the
Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. They provided the music one evening at Indianapolis ‘90,
another large ecumenical charismatic gathering. One-half of the 25,000 participants were
Roman Catholics and the other half represented roughly 40 different denominations. A Catholic
mass was held each morning during this conference, and a Catholic priest brought the closing
message. The Gaithers were at home in this unscriptural gathering and entertained the mixed
multitude with their jazzy music. The Gaithers frequently perform and record songs which
present an ecumenical philosophy. “Songs that Answer Questions” from their Back Home in
Indiana album has the following lyrics:
“Don’t want to spend my life a preachin’ sermons/ that give answers to the questions no
one’s asking anywhere/ When there’s so much pain and hurting/ there’s no time to be
searching/ for the needles in the haystacks that aren’t there/ I wanna spend my time a
wearin’ myself out for Jesus/ with the news a cure’s been found to heal our land/ Stead of
making lists, inventing creeds/ that aren’t concerned with people’s needs/ I’ll show ‘em how
to touch the nail scarred hand/ Don’t wanna spend my time prayin’ prayers/ Bombarding
heaven with requests to rain down fire on saints who care [unclear]/ In our methods we
may differ, but if Christ the Lord we live for/ May we not forget the enemy is OUT THERE.”
This song contains half-truths and subtle errors, which are more dangerous than plain and
obvious errors. While it is true that God’s people are to be concerned about suffering and are to
be showing people how to “touch the nail scarred hand,” it is not true that preaching is to be
limited merely to answering questions people have. The preacher is instructed to preach the
whole counsel of God and the whole Word of God (Acts 20:27; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:1-2). The
Bible warns that it is apostate people who will desire teachers who teach merely what they want
to hear, what they feel a need for (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This sounds very much like what the
Gaithers are singing about. It is also not true that “a cure’s been found to heal our land.” The
cure provided by the Gospel is the cure for personal salvation, not national
salvation. The Apostles did not try to “heal the land,” they preached the Gospel and discipled
believers. It is also not true that it is wrong to “make lists” or “invent creeds” that aren’t
concerned with people’s needs. The lists and creeds mentioned in this song refer to doctrinal
studies and statements of faith. Doctrinal studies must, first of all, faithfully represent Bible truth,
regardless of whether or not it meets “people’s needs.” Sound Bible doctrine does meet man’s
deepest needs, of course, but that does not mean that Bible doctrine meets the felt needs of
unsaved or carnal people. The unsaved or carnal man does not feel he has a need to be told he is
a sinner or that he is has no righteousness before God or that he is to repent or that he is to die to
self or that he is to separate from the world or that there is an eternal hell, etc., but sound Bible
doctrine tells him all of these things. The unsaved crowd does not believe it needs any of the
Bible, really! This song encourages the hearers to despise doctrinal studies and research and
teaching and statements of faith, which is the attitude typically found in the ecumenical
movement.
It is also not true that the divisions among Christians are merely about differing methods or that
differing methods are not important. Take baptism, for example. Some denominations “baptize”
infants. That is their “method.” Some baptize only those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their
Savior. Some sprinkle; others immerse. These are differing methods, but they are not
insignificant and cannot be ignored. It is also not true that the “enemy” is limited to things
outside of the churches. The Bible warns of false teachers, false christs, false spirits, false
gospels, deluding spirits, doctrines of devils--all of which will be found within churches and
among professing Christians.
It is also not true that fundamentalists like me and all the brothers and sisters I know and
fellowship with, are praying for fire to fall on those with whom they disagree doctrinally. That is
a nonsensical--in fact, a vicious--slander.
The unscriptural and very dangerous message of this song is put across by the effective means of
pleasant country-rock music and by the use of repetition.
Another ecumenical Gaither song is “Jesus Built This Church on Love” from their Back Home in
Indiana album. The lead on the song is performed by Candy “Hemphill” Christmas, who travels
with the Gaithers. The song is sung at many of the Gaither concerts. It is done in the style of a
mid-tempo, jazzy black spiritual with heavy drums and bass guitar.
“Do you ever just get to wonderin’/ ‘bout the way things are today?/ So many on board this
gospel ship/ Trying to row in a different way/ If we’d all pull together/ Like a family me and
you/ We’d come a lot closer to doin’/ what the Lord called us to do.
Chorus: “Jesus built this church on love/ and that’s what it’s all about/ Trying to get
everybody saved/ not to keep anybody out...”
This song implies that the divisions within Christianity are largely if not entirely man-made and
unnecessary, that if professing Christians would merely “pull together” and exercise love the
divisions would be healed. It is a feel-good sentiment, a nice fairy tale which has wide appeal,
but it is unreasonable and unscriptural. The Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles warned
repeatedly that false teachers would lead many astray, that there would be false christs, false
spirits, false gospels, false churches, doctrines of devils (Matt. 7:15-23; 24:3-5,11,24; Acts
20:28-30; 2 Cor. 1:1-4; Galatians 1; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:13; 4:3-4; 2 Pet. 2; 1 John 4:1;
Jude; etc.). The book of Revelation predicts a one-world end-time harlot Christian religion (Rev.
17). Those who preach an ecumenical unity rarely even mention these Bible warnings and never
focus on them. They do not tell us where these false christs, false gospels, false spirits, false
teachers, and false churches are in Christianity today. They imply, rather, that the
denominational divisions are largely unnecessary and petty which could be overcome by a little
ecumenical love. There are many problems among Christians which can be healed through love,
but it simply is not true that love will heal the major divisions within Christianity. The
differences between denominations involve serious doctrinal issues which cannot be ignored and
cannot be solved through sentimental songs. This Gaither song also says the churches are “not to
keep anybody out.” That is openly contrary to the Bible’s command to separate from error and to
exercise church discipline (Rom. 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim.
2:16-21; 3:5; 2 John 8-11; Rev. 18:4).
Another ecumenical Gaither song is “Loving God, Living Each Other” from the album by that
name.
“They pushed back from the table/ To listen to his words/ His secret plan before he had to
go/ It’s not complicated/ Don’t need a lot of rules/ This is all you need to know/ We tend to
make it harder/ Build steeples out of stone/ Fill books with explanations of the way/ But if
we’d stop and listen/ And break a little bread/ We would hear the Master say/ It’s Loving
God, loving each other/ Making music with my friends/ Loving God, loving each other/ And
the story never ends.”
The song contains more half truths and subtle errors. Love is a very important part of the
Christian life, but true Christian love is obeying God’s Word (John 14:23; 1 John 5:3). To
say that we “don’t need a lot of rules” ignores the fact that the New Testament is literally filled
with commandments! To say that we don’t need to “fill books with explanations of the way”
ignores the fact that the Bible instructs us to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It
ignores the fact that the Bible is given for “doctrine” (teaching) (2 Tim. 3:16) and that preachers
are instructed to teach other men (2 Tim. 2:2), that older women are instructed to teach younger
women (Titus 2:3-5), etc. Bible teaching certainly involves “filling books with explanations of
the way.” That is precisely what the Apostles did in the Epistles. The Bible itself contains 66
books with explanations of the way! This Gaither song presents a sentimental, ecumenical
approach to the Christian life and ministry which is simplistic and appealing to a modern
crowd but which is patently contrary to the Scriptures. Beware of Contemporary Christian
Music. Not only is it worldly; it promotes false doctrine.
CCM MUSICIANS LOVE SECULAR ROCK
One of the problems with Contemporary Christian Music is its refusal to separate from the
world. God’s Word is very plain about this matter. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Separation from the world is not an option; it is a
solemn obligation.
Most CCM musicians ignore this warning and remain intimately connected to the world by their
love for ungodly secular music.
Some parents and church leaders are of the opinion that Christian rock is safe for kids because at
least they are not listening to secular rock or rap or whatever. This argument makes no sense in
light of the fact that most CCM musicians are themselves not separated from secular rock. Not
only do most CCM musicians listen to secular rock, but they perform secular rock on their
albums and in their concerts. Thus young people who are hooked into CCM remain associated
with the secular music scene.
While some defenders of Contemporary Christian Music warn about the evil in secular rock,
they turn right around and say that it is fine to listen to Christian rock. Steve Peters does this in
his 1998 book Truth about Rock. This is a strange position because the Christian rock musicians
themselves are certainly listening to every form of secular rock.
Consider some examples of this:
“FOURTH WATCH cites groups like U2, the Police, Genesis, Pete Townshend, and the Alarm
as major influences. MEMBERS LISTEN TO A GREAT DEAL OF MAINSTREAM MUSIC,
MAKING NO APOLOGIES FOR IT, and they express a desire to play clubs and other nonchurch settings” (CCM Magazine, April 1987, p. 19).
RANDY STONEHILL “listens to all kinds of music,” including hard secular rock (Devlin
Donaldson, “Rockin’ Randy,” CCM Magazine, August 1983).
PHIL KEAGGY also has no separation from the world in his music. He performs an unholy
combination of secular rock and Christian rock/folk, and those who listen to his music are drawn
toward worldly rock & roll. On his 1993 Crimson and Blue album, for example, he pays
“homage to The Beatles” with several of the songs.
When asked by an interviewer who has influenced her music, CCM singer ASHLEY
CLEVELAND replied: “There are at least thirty artists I could name from the late sixties and
early seventies that influenced me: Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Elton John, Steely
Dan, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Little Feat...and rock-and-roll bands that capitalized on the
acoustic guitar's percussive qualities. I really think the acoustic guitar is the ultimate rock-androll instrument” (Chris Parks, “Interview with AshleyCleveland,” Feb. 21, 1998,
http://www.tollbooth.org/features/cleve.html). When asked
what music was currently on her stereo, she replied, “Living With Ghosts, Patty Griffin; What's
The Story Morning Glory, Oasis; Exile On Main Street, Rolling Stones”
(http://www.ashleycleveland.com/acfacts.htm). In her concerts, Ashley Cleveland performs a
very gritty rendition of the Rolling Stones hit “Gimme Shelter.”
The GALACTIC COWBOYS singer admits that their biggest influence is the Beatles: “I’d have
to say that The Beatles are still the biggest influence on us, all the way around — except for
maybe the guitar tones. They were great songwriters and vocalists” (Ben Huggins, cited by Dan
Macintosh, HM magazine, September-October 1998).
The CCM group 77’s says their musical influences are “Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys, Pearl
Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots” (“Biography of the 77’s,”
http://www.cmo.com/cmo/cmo/data/77.htm). 77’s performs the Led Zeppelin’s song “Nobody’s
Fault But Mine” on their Drowning With Land in Sight album. Led Zeppelin’s famous guitarist,
Jimmy Page, is a follower of Satanist Aleister Crowley and purchased Crowley’s mansion. The
Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven,” the most popular rock song of all time, has an ode to
Satan in back masking. Led Zeppelin’s song “Houses of the Holy” is sung to Satan. (The title
song to one of 77’s albums is “Pray Naked.”)
In an interview with TLEM (Lighthouse Electronic Magazine), the members of CAEDMON’S
CALL said their greatest love in music is secular rock. They mentioned Indigo Girls, Shawn
Colvin, David Wilcox, The Police, Fishbone, 10,000 Maniacs. The group often performs Beatles
music. Cliff Young said one of his favorites is the foulmouthed Alanis Morrisette. He mocked a
preacher who warns that Christian musicians should not listen to secular rock, and said that he
listens to secular rock & rollers because “they are being honest [about] struggles that they go
through.”
The members of STRYPER love secular rock music. In a 1995 interview, Michael Sweet, who
was the lead singer for Stryper, said: “I’m a fan of all that stuff from the ‘80s. Groups like Bon
Jovi, Van Halen, and Aerosmith. Musically, I like a lot of that stuff, but back when I was a kid
what I grew up listening to ranged from Elvis Presley, Jerry LeeLewis, Fats Domino all the way
to groups like Three Dog Night. Credence [Clearwater Revival] was one of my favorite bands
and a group called Bad Company. I just loved them and Elvis, of course” (CCM Magazine,
November 1995).
STEPHEN CURTIS CHAPMAN recorded some of the songs on his Greatest Hits album live at
Abbey Road Studios in London, the studio where the Beatles recorded their albums. No music
group has had a more ungodly and spiritually destructive influence than the Beatles. It is beyond
me to understand why CCM musicians by the dozens continue to listen to and glorify this wicked
rock group.
The hard rock band COMMON CHILDREN admits that they were influenced by Nirvana. “We
listened to Nirvana when they came out and thought they were cool and everything, but our main
influences have been Pink Floyd and groups like that” (ChadBenham, interview with Common
Children, RIM magazine, 1998, http://www.ricochetmusic.com/rim_new/com_children/cc1.htm).
Common Children’s lead vocalist, Marc Byrd, says: “The thing about Nirvana is they rock, yeah,
but Kurt Cobain wrote incredible melodies” (Ibid.). Nirvana, lead by Kurt Cobain, was a very
dark and occultic band. Cobain, an antichrist blasphemer, killed himself with a shotgun.
AUDIO ADRENALINE’S Bloom album includes the song “Free Ride” from the Edgar Winter
Group’s They Only Come Out at Night album. Rock star Edgar Winter was featured on the cover
of this wicked album dressed as a homosexual “drag queen.” The lyrics to “Free Ride” claim that
“all of the answers, are come from within.” This is rank heresy, because we know that the
answers do not come from within man’s fallen heart,but from God’s revelation in the Bible.
STEVE CAMP says, “I’ll have a Foreigner 4 album going in my car.” He also says: “I am
dedicated to good music whether it’s pop, Christian, gospel, R&B, blues, jazz, classical, rock or
whatever. I just love good music” (Steve Camp, MusicLine magazine, Feb. 1986,p. 22).
Joey Belville of THE ECHOING GREEN “proudly lists Duran Duran among his biggest
influences” (CCM Magazine, August 1998, p. 20).
KERRY LIVGREN, formerly the lead guitarist and songwriter for the secular rock group
Kansas, left Kansas in 1983 because he wanted to work with those who were like-minded with
his new-found Christianity. Since then he has pursued a solo career and recorded Christian
albums, but he has also reunited with Kansas (1990-91) on a tour and performed with them on
the 1992 Live at the Whiskey album.
Some of DC TALK’S musical role models are the Beatles, David Bowie, and The Police, all of
which are wicked secular rock groups. dc Talk’s album “Free at Last” contains a song titled
“Jesus Is Just Alright,” which was first sung by the Byrds (the song was later covered by the
Doobie Brothers; a “doobie” is a marijuana joint). dc Talk’s Kevin Smith admits that he listens
to mostly secular rock music (Flint Michigan Journal, March 15, 1996, B19). dc Talk opened its
“Jesus Freak” concerts with the Beatles’ song “Help.” They also perform Jimi Hendrix’s Purple
Haze. Hendrix was a drug-crazed New Age occultist. Toward the end of their concerts dc Talk
plays the rock song “All Apologies” by the wicked secular rock group Nirvana, formerly led by
Kurt Cobain. Terry Watkins notes: “Kurt Cobain is one of the worst Antichrist, blasphemers
since John Lennon. Kurt Cobain decorated his home with blood-splattered baby dolls hanging by
their necks! The inside of Nirvana’s album In Utero, which is the album dc Talk got ‘All
Apologies’ from, has pictures of chopped up babies! Cobain ran around his neighborhood spraypainting, ‘ABORT CHRIST’ and ‘GOD IS GAY.’ Cobain’s first band was called ‘Fecal Matter.’
Cobain killed himself a couple of years ago” (Watkins, Christian Rock: Blessing or
Blasphemy?)
JARS OF CLAY names Jimmy Hendrix and the Beatles as their inspiration (Dann Denny,
“Christian Rock,” Sunday Herald Times, Bloomington, Ind., Feb. 8, 1998). The lead guitarist for
Jars of Clay is said to be a “Beatles fanatic” (Christian News, Dec. 8, 1997). When asked by
Christianity Today to list their musical influences, Jars of Clay members “listed no Christian
artists” (Christianity Today, Nov. 15, 1999). Jars of Clay performs Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy
Train” during their concerts. Osbourne is the filthy-mouthed former lead singer for the occultic
rock group Black Sabbath. Though members of Black
Sabbath today claim it was all done in innocence and “fun,” they promoted occultic themes
through their music and concerts, including upside down crosses and altar calls for Satan. They
blasphemed Jesus Christ and railed against the authority of the God of the Bible. Osbourne has
almost died several times because of his outrageous drug abuse and alcoholism. He has dressed
in women’s clothing and stripped off most of his clothes during concerts. At one point he
attempted to kill his wife and had to be jailed. He is deeply scarred by his savage lifestyle and
maintains a semblance of normalcy today through the drug Prozac.
JON GIBSON says: “I consider it an honor to tour with Stevie Wonder. I’m thrilled.”
AMY GRANT says, “I love to hear Billy Joel, Kenny Loggins and the Doobie Brothers” (Time,
March 11, 1985). Amy’s album House of Love includes the environmental-mother-earth song,
“Big Yellow Taxi,” by new-age-priestess Joni Mitchell (Ibid.). Mitchell is infamous for her open
relationship with a spirit she calls “Art.” Obviously she is communing with demons, and it is
unconscionable for Amy Grant to be promoting Mitchell’s music to Christian young people.
DALLAS HOLM claims: “My all-time favorite group was the Byrds.” Dana Key (of
DEGARMO AND KEY) notes that he has been influenced most by B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix,
and Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top) (CCM Magazine, January 1989, p. 30).
Bob Hartman of PETRA admits that the influences upon their music were the 1970s b“guitar
heroes” like Hendrix, Clapton, Page and Walsh (CCM Magazine, January 1989, p. 31). Petra
plays songs by secular rock groups Argent and Kiss.
HOLY SOLDIER plays songs by the Rolling Stones.
The group IN REACH are said to be influenced by secular rock groups like Rush, Deep Purple,
and former Beatle Paul McCartney.
The late RICH MULLINS, popular CCM song writer, said, “John Lennon was a big hero of
mine.”
POINT OF GRACE, on their Life, Love and Other Mysteries album, recorded “Sing a Song” by
the occultic, antichrist secular group Earth, Wind and Fire.
RACHEL, RACHEL plays songs by Kansas.
REZ BAND sings songs by Jefferson Airplane and the Who, very wicked and openly
blasphemous rock groups. Jefferson Airplane’s song “The Son of Jesus” says Jesus had a sexual
relationship with Mary Magdalene and they produced an illegitimate daughter.
The group DELIVERANCE performs songs by secular rock groups. Their What a Joke album
has the song “After Forever” by the vile, blasphemous, pagan rock group Black Sabbath.
BOB ROTH, music critic for the magazine Youth!, displays his love for secular rock in his
articles: “Cloud Nine demonstrates why George Harrison is still having fun. It is a work of love
and compassion and hope and silliness. All the stuff the Holy Spirit uses to give us inner
power...” (Youth!, April 1988). Roth tells his young readers that former Beatle Harrison, a
Hindu, is doing the work of love, and he claims that the Holy Spirit produces silliness! Roth even
promotes the wicked rock singer Sting of the Police. Roth says, “Sting sings these profound
songs in his usual mellow, grainy voice” (Roth, Youth!,
March 1988). This is what Sting thinks about marriage: “I don’t see the point [of being married].
One can procreate without the dreaded ritual ... I am terribly good in bed and I want people to
know that...” (Jeff Godwin, What’s Wrong with Christian Rock?, p. 199). Sting sang “Murder by
Numbers,” about killing your family or anybody else you “find a bore” (Ibid.). Roth even says it
is all right to worship filthy rock stars: “If you are into Bruce [Springsteen] worship, don’t feel
guilty about buying this disc. (Just admit your addiction!)...” (Roth, Youth!, February 1988).
If you allow yourself to be influenced by the Contemporary Christian Music world, this is
the type of foolish and unscriptural advice you will hear.
MICHAEL W. SMITH admits that his music is influenced by Alan Parsons, one of the most
Satanic of rock musicians. One of Parsons songs is titled “Lucifer.”
Joel Taylor of UNDERCOVER testifies: “I’m not connected to Christian music at all. I can’t
stand Christian radio stations.”
The worldliness of DELIRIOUS is evident in their choice of “musical heroes,” which include
“U2, Radiohead, Blur and other big British modern rockers” (CCM magazine, July 1999, p. 39).
One issue of HM magazine (formerly Heaven’s Metal Magazine) (May- June 1998) and
discovered the following worldly connection: LETHAL MOB noted that they are influenced by
gangsta rap. MORTIFICATION testified that they are into Death/ Grind, Black Metal; they play
in Melbourne’s Hell Club. MAYFAIR LAUNDRY, a group that got its name from a scene in a
Beatle’s movie, cites influences from the Beatles to Red Hot Chilli Peppers. ZAO says they
listen to a lot of Neurosis, Bark Market, Portishead, and Deftones.
THE HUNTINGTONS new album pays homage to their favorite band, The Ramones. The
producer of this album is Mass Giorgini who also produced albums for The Queers and
Screeching Weasel.
THE DINGEES told HM magazine that their major influences are the Clash, the Specials, and
“movies where everything is blowing up.” D’GRUVE, which has a “heavy, dark sound,” got its
name
from an early 90s dance hit and cites influences as diverse as the Beatles and Saigon
Kick.
DALLAS EMBODYMENT, which plays concerts in secular clubs, is described this way: “truly
heavy, metal/punk, Kevin peering over his bass ominously and Andrew banging his head full of
hair like a true metalhead, shrill close-to-the-mouth hardcore screeching.” ULTIMATUM’S new
album was described as their most brutal extreme metal onslaught.
Contemporary Christian Music is big business today, a half billion dollar a year industry.
The CCM industry sold nearly 50 million albums in 2001, raking in more money than the
jazz and classical segments of the music business. As of 1995, there were 250 radio
stations that carried CCM as their primary music format. Revenues from sales of CCM
have tripled since the mid-80s. One-quarter of the sales in Christian bookstores are from
music. This caught the attention of the world, and most of the major CCM producers and
distributors are now owned by secular corporations.
WORD ENTERTAINMENT, a secular corporation, is the home of such CCM heavy
weights as 4Him, Phil Keaggy, Amy Grant, Mary Mary, Cindy Morgan, Erin O’Donnell,
Point of Grace, Sandi Patty, Mark Schulz, Jaci Velasquez, Wes King, Nicole Mullen, and
Anointed. (Word purchased MYRRH RECORDS some years back.) Word Entertainment
also publishes Veggie Tales and Veggie Tunes for children. Word recently changed hands
from one secular corporation to another. Warner Music Group paid Gaylord Hotels and
the Grand Ole Opry $84.1 million for Word. Warner, a division of AOL Time Warner,
also owns Atlantic, Elektra, London-Sire, Reprise, and Warner Bros. Records, and has on
its roster such vile secular rock artists as Green Day, Madonna, and Red Hot Chili
Peppers.
INTEGRITY MUSIC, which owns Hosanna Music, Fairhope Records, and Vertical
Music, and which had $58.1 million in sales in 2000, has intimate partnerships with
secular corporations such as Sony and Time Life. In March 2002, it signed a distribution
agreement with Epic Records and Sony Music Entertainment. Under this new deal,
Integrity will also distribute Sony “Christian music products.” Epic and Sony publish and
distribute some very immoral music groups, such as B2K, Tenacious D, Babyface, Bone
thugs, Incubus, Michael Jackson, Rage Against the Machine. They also publish some of
the vile old rock groups like Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, and Pearl Jam. In its 2000
financial statement, Integrity Music boasts of these partnerships and speaks of its work
almost exclusively in business terms. Integrity controls more than 50% of the “praise and
worship market” and co-publishes the popular WOW worship series and the Songs 4
Worship series. In January 2006, Sony Music announced that it was launching the first
major music label “dedicated to nurturing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
artists” (“Sony Launches Gay Music Label,” ABC News, Jan. 11, 2006). The label, called
Music with a Twist, is a joint venture with Wilderness Media, a company led by Matt
Farber, the founder of MTV’s new homosexual channel LOGO.
In 1992, SPARROW RECORDS (Avalon, Ce Ce Winons, Carman, Delirious, Margaret
Becker, Newsboys, Phillips Craig and Dean, Steve Green, Steven Curtis Chapman, Twila
Paris, Zoe Girl) sold out to EMI Christian Music Group, which in turn is owned by the
secular corporation, EMI Group. EMI owns 70 music companies (Virgin, Capitol,
Mosaic, Narada, Astralwerks, etc.) representing some 1,500 artists, including a wide
variety of very immoral secular music acts, such as Janet Jackson, Smashing Pumpkin,
Mariah Carey, Geto Boys, Spice Girls, Blind Melon, and the Beastie Boys. EMI also
owns the music of old groups such as Pink Floyd, Grand Funk Railroad, Radiohead, Iggy
Pop, Sex Pistols, Badfinger, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Billy Idol, Blondie, and
Poison.
The EMI Group also owns CHORDANT DISTRIBUTION GROUP (Big Tent Revival,
Gaithers Gospel Quartet, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Jennifer Knapp, John Michael
Talbot, Mark Lowry, Susan Ashton, Supertones, The Ws) and FOREFRONT Records
(Audio Adrenaline, dc talk, Rebecca St. James, Pax217, Extreme Days, Soundtrack,
Geoff Moore) and EMI GOSPEL (Lamar Campbell, Beverly Crawford, T.D. Jakes,
Sharon Riley, Tri City Singers) and STAR SONG RECORDS (Whiteheart, Bride, Don
Francisco, Mylon LeFevre, Imperials, Gaither Vocal Band). Star Song, which was
founded in 1977 and had a long list of recordings by the 1980s, was purchased by EMI in
1994 and was folded into Sparrow Records; by 1998, Star Song ceased to be an active record
label.
In May 2002, EMI signed a letter of intent to acquire a twenty-five percent interest in
GOTEE RECORDS, which represents Jennifer Knapp, Out of Eden, Relient K, the
Katinas, John Reuben, and other CCM musicians. The CEO of Gotee is Toby McKeehan
of dc Talk.
In 1995, the secular Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) purchased REUNION RECORDS
(home of Kathy Trocolli, Michael W. Smith, Jake, Joy Williams, La Rue, Mat Brouwer,
ShineMK, NewSong; former home to Rich Mullins, Billy Sprague, Kim Hill, Michael
Omartian, Gary Chapman, Take 6, Morgan Cryar, Ashley Cleveland, Clay Crosse, and
Third Day). BMG is the home for many immoral secular rock groups such as P. Diddy,
Girl Thing, Alicia Keys, Run DMC, Santana, Foo Fighters, Jaguares, and O-Town. In
1996, BMG sold Reunion Records to another secular company, Provident Music Group, a
subsidiary of British-based Zomba Music. Zomba owns such sensual acts as Britney
Spears, ‘N Sync, and the Backstreet Boys, and others whose names alone are too vile to
mention.
BRENTWOOD MUSIC was purchased in 1994 by Zomba Music. Three years later, the
secular-owned Brentwood purchased BENSON MUSIC and the aforementioned Reunion
Records. The newly expanded corporation was called the Provident Music Group.
Benson publishes the following CCM groups: 4HIM, NewSong, Forty Days, Celebrate
Freedom, Whisper Loud, and Kyle Matthews. Brentwood publishes the Smoky Mountain
Series, the Hymnworks series, the America’s 25 series, and the Acoustic Worship Series.
Brentwood also has a children’s division, featuring Kids Sing Praise, Mother Goose
Gospel, Sing Me To Sleep, Daddy; Sing Me To Sleep, Mommy; Big Songs For Little
Kids, and America’s 25 Favorite Praise & Worship Choruses for Kids.
With over 50,000 copyrights, the secular-owned Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing
has amassed the world’s largest Christian music publishing catalog as well as the second
largest “evangelically styled” choral music catalog. This same publishing group also
publishes choral music, hymnals, and songbooks for churches. Thus, a large percentage
of the money paid to license Christian music today goes into the coffers of a large secular
corporation.
The secular Provident Music Group also owns DIADEM RECORDS, which features
CCM artists Bob Carlisle, Bryan Duncan, and Helen Baylor.
In 1993, the Zomba-owned Provident Music Group purchased ESSENTIAL RECORDS.
This is the home of CCM groups such as Jars of Clay, Caedmon’s Call, and Third Day.
The secular-owned Provident Music Group also distributes Tommy Boy Gospel, Here To
Him Music, Praise Hymn Soundtracks, New Haven Records, Spirit-Led & Fervent
Records, Galilee of the Nations Music, and One Voice Music.
Zomba also owns VERITY RECORDS, which has become “the world’s number one
gospel label” featuring Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, John P. Kee, Tonex, Virtue,
Commissioned, Richard Smallwood and Hezekiah Walker.
Provident Music Group also owns CEDARMONT KIDS, the number one selling line of
Christian children’s recordings and videos with sales in excess of 12 million units.
I don’t see much evidence that CCM is influencing the world, but there is considerable
evidence that the world is influencing CCM.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And then world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
CCM GROUPS WELCOME THE POPE
When Pope John Paul II visited the States in January 1999, well-known
Contemporary Christian musicians joined hands with hundreds of thousands of Catholics
to welcome him. Featured at a Catholic youth rally connected with the Pope’s visit, were dc
Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Rebecca St. James, and Jars of Clay (Music and Entertainment
News, http://www.theenews.com/news/slug-12599_ dctalk-pope.html).
CCM AGAINST PREACHING
Not surprisingly, perhaps, in light of their blatant worldliness, Contemporary Christian musicians
often express their dislike for preaching. This is a powerful warning to strong Bible-believing
churches. It is not only the worldly music that is a danger with CCM, it also the
unscriptural message and the dangerous ecumenical associations. When fundamentalist
churches bring CCM into their midst, they are associating with people who are their avowed
enemies and who will undermine a strong Bible-believing position.
Consider a few of the many quotes which could be given to demonstrate this:
Steven Curtis Chapman says he tries to communicate a Biblical world view in a way
that WILL NOT BE “ABRASIVELY PREACHY” (Huntsville Times, Oct. 30, 1994). He
says his quest for relevance has shown that the best way to communicate his faith is “not to
preach fire and brimstone.”
An ad for “Fuel on the Fire” by Morgan Cryar says the song is “a good pop/rock sound
for the teenage audience” because the “songs deal with youth issues and situations
WITHOUT BEING PREACHY.”
The lyrics to Donna Summer’s music is described as being “UNPREACHILY AS
POSSIBLE, the approach most likely to win the attention of an intelligent non-Christian
audience” (Contemporary Christian Music Magazine, Oct. 1984, p. 40).
Randy Stonehill says: “I DON’T WANT TO PREACH AT PEOPLE. What I want to do
is communicate the truth in the most compelling, fresh, and challenging way I can. I just
want to be the best songwriter and performer, unto God, that I can be. That’s the main
thing” (“Kicking Around with Uncle Rand,” Christian Music Review, April 1991).
Michael W. Smith, one of the most popular Contemporary Christian Musicians, plainly
admits that he is not preachy. “MY SONGS ARE NOT PREACHY -- at all . . .” (Michael
McCall, Contemporary Christian, June 1986, p. 19). Smith described his non-judgmental
philosophy in an interview in the May 1998 issue of CCM Magazine.
In reviewing Steve Taylor’s music, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted that “THERE IS
LITTLE PREACHING IN HIS SONGS. Most of them are metaphoric story-songs
written from a Christian perspective” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 11, 1984). Taylor
admits that people like his concerts because there is no preaching: “Our concerts attract
people because THEY KNOW THEY WON'T BE PREACHY or insult their intelligence”
(Peters Brothers, What About Christian Rock, p. 138). Taylor was quoted as saying: “I DON’T
THINK PEOPLE REALLY LIKE TO BE PREACHED AT. One of the reasons Jesus was so
effective is because he told parables. I THINK IT’S INSULTING TO PEOPLE’S
INTELLIGENCE TO PREACH AT THEM. No one likes to be told what to believe” (Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 11, 1984).
Cindy, this unscriptural statement ignores two facts:
(1) Jesus Christ was a preacher. At least 30 times the Gospels mention that Christ preached.
Christ’s ministry began with preaching (Matt. 4:17), and He preached some of the hardest
sermons recorded in the Bible (i.e., Mark 9; Matthew 23).
(2) Christ’s parables were not given for the purpose of not preaching but for the purpose of
hiding truth from the willfully blind (Matthew13:10-11).
CCM writer/performer Wayne Watson says: “I won’t write a song that says, ‘You better get
right with God.’ From my own experience I find that way sometimes makes people defensive”
(Wayne Watson, Christian Activities Calendar, Spring/Summer 1989, p. 11).
Cindy, this guy is what you and your friends have been deceived into believing from the
NE/MG church. This is not how the Apostles and early Christians looked at things. They
did not appear to mind making people defensive, because they preached boldly against sin
and called upon people to repent. Preaching about God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness has
always made people defensive. By the way , this is why the faithful Christians through the
centuries have been hated, scorned, persecuted, and martyred. The Word of God has
always been offensive and divisive. The only person who can avoid making people defensive
and offending people is the person who refuses to obey God’s command to preach the truth
to a crooked and perverse generation (Luke 24:46-48; Ephesians 5:11; Philippians 2:15,16).
P.O.D. (Payable on Death), a hard rock group from California, also subscribes to the positiveonly philosophy: An interviewer with Pollstar observed: “While THEY DON’T PREACH or
try to ram their spirituality down anyone’s throat, they hope that their positive message will have
an influence on rock fans” (Pollstar, March 20, 2000).
In a 1987 interview with CCM Magazine, the late Rich Mullins, popular CCM writer/ performer,
said that he was “really sick of all this heavy-handed Christianity,” that MUSICIANS
“SHOULD STOP PREACHING unless that’s what God has called them to” (CCM Magazine,
April 1987, p. 12). Yet every Christian has a responsibility before God to proclaim the
Word of God to this lost world.
The Chinese CCM group For You advertises their music as “SPIRITUAL BUT NOT
PREACHY” (The Straits Times, Singapore, May 18, 2001).
Cliff Young, leader of Caedmon’s Call and founder of Watershed Records, in a 2001 interview
with Echo magazine, condemned “Christian-cultural-Bible-Belt-legalism”which says, “Stay
away from this and stay away from that.”
Jason Wade of Lifehouse says, “I think we have a positive message of hope. WE’RE NOT
TRYING TO BLATANTLY PREACH. It all comes down to love” (David Wild, “The Rock
& Roll Gospel according to Lifehouse,” Rolling Stone magazine, June 7, 2001,
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=13983&cf=13773270).
Cindy, all of this is rebellion against the Word of God, because preaching is God’s ordained
way
of proclaiming the truth. The words “preach” and “preaching” are mentioned 141 times in
the New Testament. Jesus Christ was a preacher. John the Baptist was a preacher. The
Apostles were preachers. A chief characteristic of the apostasy of the end times is to turn
away one’s ears from the preaching of God’s Word (2 Timothy 4:1-4).
Beware of Contemporary Christian Music.
“LOVE NOT THE WORLD, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And
the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for
ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD IS
ENMITY WITH GOD? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of
God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to
envy?” (James 4:4,5)
“And BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God” (Romans 12:2).
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD” (Galatians 6:14).
“And HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, but
rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).
“Teaching us that, DENYING ungodliness and WORLDLY LUSTS, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and TO KEEP HIMSELF UNSPOTTED FROM THE
WORLD” (James 1:27).
“And we know that we are of God, and THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN
WICKEDNESS” (1 John 5:19).
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, IN THE
MIDST OF A CROOKED AND PERVERSE NATION, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world” (Philippians 2:15).
“And that ye may PUT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOLY AND UNHOLY, AND BETWEEN
UNCLEAN AND CLEAN” (Lev. 10:10).
“Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: THEY HAVE PUT
NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOLY AND PROFANE, NEITHER HAVE THEY
SHOWED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UNCLEAN AND THE CLEAN, and have hid
their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them” (Ezek. 22:26).
Some articles to read...
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSICIANS AND
THEIR BLASPHEMOUS
ROCK OPERA HERO
Some of the best-known contemporary Christian musicians have banded together to
produce a rock opera about Jesus Christ entitled !Hero.
Written by Eddie DeGarmo and Bob Farrell, the opera has been called “Jesus Christ
Superstar for the MTV generation,” and it depicts Christ transplanted to New York City
and facing issues such as gang warfare, HIV, and dirty cops.
Not surprisingly, it is decidedly unscriptural and blasphemous. The Last Supper is a
barbeque party and “Jesus” is crucified on a city street sign.
The Christ figure is played by Michael Tait, of dc Talk, a black man who demonstrates
his spiritual ignorance when he says, “Jesus had to be born somewhere; he had to be a
color; it doesn’t matter” (Star-Telegraph, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 20). It makes all of the
difference in the world where Jesus was born and what “color” or race He was. Had he
been born into any family other one tracing a direct lineage to Abraham and David, He
would not have been the Messiah. Does DeGarmo, Tait, and company think that the
genealogies of the Bible are there just for filler?
Jesus Christ was not an African or an Asian or a European; He was Jewish! It does
matter, unless you care nothing whatsoever for the Word of God and have gone so far
down the “contemporary” road that you are apostate!
Jesus Christ is not merely some man who could have been born anywhere. He is the
eternal Son of God and His birth, life, preaching, miracles, rejection, death, and
resurrection were the precise fulfillment of Bible prophecy. We do not have the right to
change one iota of it.
In one scene, Tait sings the song “Take My Hand” to an AIDS patient: “I’m not here to
condemn you/ I’d never want to damn you...” The fact is that though the Lord Jesus came
into the world to save sinners and He has great compassion for the lost, He preached
often on eternal Hell and divine judgment.
It is Jesus Christ who said twice in one sermon, “... except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish” (Lk. 13:3, 5) and thrice warned in another sermon that hell is “where their worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mk. 9:44, 46, 48).
If men do not acknowledge their wickedness before God, they cannot be saved. Thus the
Lord Jesus used the Law of God to show men their sin in order to prepare them for
salvation (Matthew 5-7). Consider this little selection from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount
in Matthew 5:27-30:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But
I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and
cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and
not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it
off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
The Christ that preached this is not the Christ depicted in rock operas.
Of course, it goes without saying that the opera is filled with heavy rock and rap music,
which is “earthly, sensual, devilish” (Jam. 3:15).
BUT IT IS FOR EVANGELISM
The standard rebuttal by those who defend CCM and rock operas and such is that it is
contemporarized for the same of evangelism. DeGarmo and company claim that they are
retelling the gospel to the MTV generation in a language that they can understand. A
review of !Hero by Todd Hertz, Associate Editor, Campus Life magazine, exposes the
fallacy of this attempted defense. Hertz loved the rock opera but he says in passing:
“Unfortunately, the storytelling is more conceptual and abstract than a clearly-plotted out
drama. Someone unfamiliar with the Gospels may not be able to follow along or
understand what's so great about this Hero. Thus, the show may not successfully reach
the unchurched” (Christianitytoday.com !Hero interviews).
It may not reach the unchurched? But we have been told that reaching the unchurched is
its chief purpose!
Furthermore, you can’t “reach the MTV generation” for Jesus Christ with a twisted
message and a confused gospel. The Bible warns repeatedly of false gospels, and that is
what we have in !Hero.
In addition to Michael Tait, those who are involved with !Hero include Rebecca St.
James, John Cooper of Skillet, Grits, Nirva, rapper T-Bone, Matt Hammitt of Sanctus
Real, and Mark Stuart of Audio Adrenaline. (Audio Adrenaline’s book “Dirty Faith” is
advertised on the Internet with this foolish slogan: “Is your faith too pretty? Well, get
dirty!”) The rock opera recently completed a 19-city tour, and novels and comic books
are also being published in conjunction.
The Jesus depicted in !Hero is a false christ, which means that those who are involved
with it are false Christians. Friends, I warn you in the strongest of terms to beware of
Contemporary Christian Music.
COUNTRY MUSIC
How many Christians do you know who left rock and went to country music because they
thought it was as wicked? ...
The following is from the book Music in the Balance, by Frank Garlock and Kurt Woetzel,
copyright 1992 by Majesty Music, P.O. Box 6524, Greenville, SC 29606. Used by permission.
This is an appropriate time to comment on a disturbing tendency in some Christian circles.
Rock music is frequently rejected by Christian adults in what would be considered good
churches. However, there is another sound which is welcomed in many of those same churches.
The country sound, considered to be harmless and mild by adults who cannot bear that "noise,"
has gained in popularity and acceptance as an appropriate vehicle to sing praises unto the Lord.
THE THEME
Country music is contemporary music which is designed to entertain, satisfy, and please the
world. An entire city exists on this industry. Nashville has become synonymous with country
music. The discussion of the previous lessons has focused on the proven fact that all music, by
its very nature, preaches a message. What is the message of country music? The titles of the
songs give a reasonably accurate indication of the theme of the music:
"Loving Up a Storm"
"You'd Make an Angel Want to Cheat"
"That Lovin' You Feelin' Again"
"You Make Me Want to Be a Mother"
"Behind Closed Doors"
"Something to Brag About"
"She's Pullin' Me Back Again"
"Making Love from Memory"
"Let's Get It While the Gettin's Good"
"She's Not Really Cheatin,' She's Just Gettin' Even"
"Heavenly Bodies"
"Makin' Love Don't Always Make Love Grow"
"First Time Around"
"When I Get My Hands on You"
"I Feel Like Lovin' You Again"
"Why Don't You Spend the Night?"
"War Is Hell on the Home Front Too"
"I May Be Used, but Baby I Ain't Used Up"
"To All the Girls I've Loved Before"
"When We Make Love"
"Let's Stop Talkin' about It"
"I Drearn of Women Like You"
"Just Give Me One More Night"
"Now I Lay Me Down to Cheat"
(Jacob Aranza, More Rock Country & Backward Masking Unmasked, Shreveport, La.:
Huntington House, 1985, pp. 30-31).
The overwhelming theme of country music is triangle relationships. In addition, lost loves,
broken homes, and the glorification of liquor frequently pervade the lyrics of the songs. IS
THIS MUSIC WHOLESOME LISTENING FOR THE CHRISTIAN? IS IT WISE FOR THE
CHILD OF GOD TO FILL HIS MIND WITH THESE THEMES? DOES THIS MUSIC
BUILD THE CHRISTIAN IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE, OR DOES IT TEAR DOWN? DOES
IT FOSTER CONTENTMENT OR DOES IT NOURISH RESTLESSNESS?
The Sounds of Social Change, written by two men who have studied the impact of this music,
draws the following conclusion:
"There is a suggestive correspondence between the lyrical themes in country music and the life
situation experienced by most of its fans. Taking the data already reported and framing a
composite, country music fans are urban-living, white adults with rural roots who are
established in home, family, and job, but are content with none of these. There is some evidence
for the assertion that country music fans are discontented" (R. Serge Denisoff and Richard A.
Peterson, The Sounds of Social Change, Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1972, p. 50).
Paul gave the Christian a worthy example to follow in Philippians 4:11: "for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Country music does not add to the believer's
contentment. Furthermore, it is contributing to the gradual erosion of the moral fiber of
individuals and families. A popular country music celebrity said:
"As a country artist, I'm not proud of a lot of things in my field. There is no doubt in my mind
that we are contributing to the moral decline in America" (Jacob Aranza, More Rock Country,
p. 29, quoted in F. Deford).
One of the most popular stars in country music appeared on "The Barbara Walters Special."
During the ABC interview he explained how he gave up smoking cigarettes and smoked only
"pot" before and during most performances until he suffered a collapsed lung. He made the
following statements: "I am against authority; I am anti-establishment; I despise seeing a
policeman" (Willie Nelson, "The Barbara Walters Special," ABC, June 15, 1982).
After this performer boasted of his life, which included three marriages and affairs during all
three, Barbara Walters asked, "Do you realize the tremendous influence you have over the
youth and adults of America.... does it not bother you that you could cause them to go in the
same direction?" He responded, "They would do it anyway" (Ibid.).
The world recognizes the consequences of filling the mind with this kind of music while
idolizing these performers. Why is it that Christians do not recognize it? Many bring this sound
into their churches and pretend it is something which will please a holy and righteous God.
Some would describe this kind of music as garbage. It is not garbage; it's poison. (Read Psalm1.)
THE SOUND
The characteristics of the country sound have become very similar to those of rock. Since
extensive time has been spent in discussing the rock sound, it will suffice to hear the remarks of
an authority who concurs with this position. Schafer, author of Rock Music, writes:
"Many rock performers grew up with country and western music, and its characteristic forms
and sounds are close to the ensemble sound of rock-instrumental combinations and techniques
are closely parallel.... The division between country-and-western and urban pop has now
blurred almost to vanishing" (William J. Schafer, Rock Music, Minneapolis: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1972, p. 92).
Other secular authors go even further in showing the connection between rock and country
music. Peter Wicke is head of the center for popular music research at the Music Faculty of
Berlin's Humboldt University. In his penetrating, scholarly book, Rock Music, Dr. Wicke states
that rock performers not only copy "Afro-American music with all it's characteristic features,"
but that "the traditions of Afro-American music and country music" are "rock's musical roots."
Anyone desiring to understand the culture, aesthetics and sociology of rock would do well to
study this enlightening treatise by a German scholar (Peter Wicke, Rock Music, Cambridge,
England: Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 16,48).
Here's a great letter from a brother...
I received the following question recently:
“I am a 14-year-old born-again Christian (proud of being born again) with a question about
secular music. I do not approve of the rock lifestyle, but I like rock music. I have about 40%
secular music and 60% Christian music on my iPod. I am very picky about the secular music on
my iPod. I do not approve of music about sex, drugs, or alcohol. I also will not tolerate curse
words and blasphemy. But throughout the Rock 'n' Roll scene, there are songs without any of
this. I have found that it is hard to find one secular group that has none of this in any of their
songs, but my philosophy has always been that I should judge the song instead of the singer. For
example, John Lennon, one of the pill-popping adulterous Beatles who stated that he was more
famous then Jesus, wrote a song entitled ‘Beautiful Boy’ for his son. I have always found this
song sweet and enjoyed it, but the song ‘Imagine’ starts off with ‘Imagine there’s not heaven, it’s
easy if you try.’ And I don't approve of that song. So this leads me to my question: In your
opinion, should I not listen to any of the clean secular songs, because they are written by vulgar
Rock 'n' Roll stars. I stress that I do not admire them, but I do love music a lot.”
Response:
That is an excellent question, and I will give five reasons why I believe this is an unscriptural
and spiritually dangerous practice.
1. A major problem with rock music is the sensual back beat that appeals to the flesh; this
is a serious issue regardless of the lyrics.
Certain kinds of rhythms produce certain effects on people. Dr. David Elkind, Chairman,
Department of Child Study, Tufts University, warned: “There is a great deal of powerful sexual
stimulation in THE RHYTHM of rock music.”
Blues, jazz, rock, reggae, rap, and other forms of modern dance music have an intimate and
inextricable association with immorality, drunkenness, drug abuse, gambling, prostitution, and
other evils. It is impossible to disconnect the music from this association. “Sex, drugs, and rock
& roll” is not just a popular saying; it is a true saying because “sex, drugs, and rock & roll” go
together like peas in a pod.
The chief component of this type of music is the heavy back beat. It is called the anapestic beat.
This is a poetic term that describes poetry using three syllables with the emphasis on the third -da-da-DA, da-da-DA. In music, the anapestic or back beat emphasizes the off beat. The anapestic
rock beat goes one-TWO-three-FOUR or one-two-THREE, one-two-THREE. This is in contrast
with a “straight” or march beat, which has the emphasis on the first beat or on each beat equally
-- one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four, or ONE-two-three-four, ONE-two-three-four.
This backbeat has been the chief characteristic of rock music from its inception. Consider these
quotes:
“I felt that if I could take a ... tune and drop the first and third beats and accentuate the second
and fourth, and add a beat the listeners could clap to as well as dance this would be what they
were after” (Bill Haley, cited by Charlie Gillett, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and
Roll, p. 14).
Chuck Berry sang, “I dig that rock and roll music; it has a back beat; you can't lose it.”
Huey Lewis and the News sang, “When they play their music, ooh that modern music, they like
it with a lot of style; but it's still that same old backbeat rhythm that really, really drives 'em
wild” (“The Heart of Rock & Roll”).
Elvis Presley testified: “It’s the beat that gets to you. If you like it and you feel it, you can’t help
but move to it. That’s what happens to me. I can’t help it” (cited by Steve Turner, Hungry for
Heaven, p. 35).
In his history of party music in Memphis, Tennessee, author Larry Nager observed that “…the
forbidden pleasures of Beale Street had always come wrapped in the PULSING RHYTHMS of
the blues” (Larry Nager, Memphis Beat). He is describing the back beat that is the basic element
of rock & roll. That part of Beale Street near the river was infamous for its bars, gambling dens,
and houses of prostitution. Those are the “forbidden pleasures” referred to by Nager. It is not
happenstance that those wicked activities were accompanied by certain types of pulsing rhythms.
And those old blues and boogie woogie rhythms were not always loud and boisterous. Like rock
music, there were soft blues as well as hard.
Famous bluesman Robert Johnson knew that his guitar music had a licentious affect on women.
He said, “This sound [the blues] affected most women in a way that I could never understand.”
B.B. King, one of the most famous of the bluesmen, made the same observation in his
autobiography: “The women reacted with their bodies flowing to a rhythm coming out of my
guitar…” (B.B. King, Blues All Around Me).
These blues musicians admit that their rhythms produce a sexual reaction.
Consider some other testimonies from secular social scientists, music experts, and from rock
musicians themselves:
Graham Cray, former chairman of the Greenbelt Festival said: “In all pop music lyrics are
secondary. POP IS MUSIC OF FEELING, SPOKEN PRIMARILY TO THE BODY and only
secondarily to the intellect.”
Dr. Simon Frith said, “We respond to the materiality of rock’s sounds, and THE ROCK
EXPERIENCE IS ESSENTIALLY EROTIC” (Sound Effects, p. 164).
Gene Simmons of Kiss said, “That’s what rock is all about--SEX WITH A 100 MEGATON
BOMB, THE BEAT!” (Entertainment Tonight, ABC, Dec. 10, 1987).
Irwin Sibler said, “The great strength of rock & roll lies in its beat. It is a music which is
BASICALLY SEXUAL, unpuritan...” (Sing Out, May 1965, p. 63).
Frank Zappa of the Mothers of Invention said, “ROCK MUSIC IS SEX. The big beat matches
the body’s rhythms” (Life, June 28, 1968).
Robert Palmer said: “I believe in the transformative power of rock and roll … this transformative
power inheres not so much in the words of songs or the stances of the stars, but in the music
itself--in the SOUND, and above all, in the BEAT” (Rock & Roll an Unruly History, p. 12).
John Lennon said: “Because it is PRIMITIVE enough and has no bull, really, the best stuff, and
it GETS THROUGH TO YOU BY ITS BEAT” (Rolling Stone, Feb. 12, 1976, p 100).
Rapper Luke Campbell of 2 Live Crew says, “The sex is definitely in the music, and SEX IS IN
ALL ASPECTS IN THE MUSIC.”
Jan Berry of Jan and Dean says, “The THROBBING BEAT OF ROCK PROVIDES A VITAL
SEXUAL RELEASE for adolescent audiences” (cited by Ken Blanchard, Pop Goes the Gospel).
Observe that these statements do not refer to the words of rock music but to the back beat rhythm
in particular. This is a loud warning to those who have ears to hear.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the
one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17).
2. The rock rhythm is addictive.
By listening to rock, one develops an appetite for and addiction to this type of music, and like all
addictions this one is never content. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith said, “Rock music is the
strongest
drug in the world.” Timothy Leary said: “Don’t listen to the words, it’s the music that has its
own
message. ... I’ve been stoned on the music many times” (Politics of Ecstasy).
The child of God should avoid any fleshly thing that has this type of addictive power.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye
may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it
to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1
Corinthians 9:24-27).
3. “Clean” rock is a dangerous bridge to the evil things and unclean spirits that permeate
rock and roll.
The Bible warns God’s people to stay away from evil. There is great spiritual danger in dabbling
with the world’s toys. To play around with rock music in the search for “clean” songs is a very
dangerous occupation. It is playing with fire! Rock music has captured the heart and soul of
multitudes of people and carried them into the depths of satanic deception and eternal
destruction.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them” (Ephesians 5:11).
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with
God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
4. The listener has to sort through the huge amount of garbage in rock music to find a few
relatively innocent songs.
Is this a safe and wise use of this brief earthly life?
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the
days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph.
5:15-17).
5. We must be concerned about our influence on others.
If I listen to “clean rock,” it is probable that my influence will encourage others to listen to music
that is much worse. I might be exceedingly careful about what rock songs I listen to, but it is
doubtful if others within my sphere of influence will be so careful.
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all
things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. . . . Give none
offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:23, 24, 31).
“It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth,
or is offended, or is made weak” (Rom. 14:21).
Steve Peters, who does not believe all rock & roll is wrong for Christians, nevertheless made the
following important admission: “Just about the time I think I’ve found a good-clean-acceptable
secular musician, they blow it on their next album or tour. And if I have recommended them,
suddenly I find myself scrambling to tell thousands of teens who know--I WAS WRONG” (The
Truth about Rock, p. 90). We would remind Mr. Peters that he will never undo all the damage he
has caused by recommending secular rock even hesitatingly and tentatively. Such
recommendations by Christian authority figures are a bright green signal to young people that it
is alright to explore the filthy world of rock. VERY few of them will be as cautious about what
they listen to as Mr. Peters says he is and very few will escape the moral and spiritual pollutions
that permeate the world of rock.
I will conclude with a statement by our friend Brian Snider, who also came out of a life of heavy
involvement with rock music and its wicked lifestyle. I asked him to reply to this same question:
“I guess it’s just a matter of getting some personal conviction about the issue of fellowship with
the ‘unfruitful works of darkness’ (Ephesians 5:11). In that passage, it says that the works are
‘unfruitful.’ You could take that to mean things that don’t necessarily drag you down into deep
sin, but that don’t help you and could possibly hinder you.
The Bible says we should ‘approve things that are excellent’ (Philippians 1:10), not just things
that are middling or near the world. I am familiar with the song ‘Beautiful Boy’ and it is a pretty
song, but I knew when I got saved I’d have to give up rock music--not just the overtly wicked
stuff--but I just felt that I would have to eliminate all John Lennon.
“I doubt if the young person who wrote to you loves rock music more than me or you. I love it a
lot, too. Giving up rock is a bitter pill for the flesh to swallow, but I’d recommend swallowing it.
“Also, there are a lot of attachments with rock music that go far beyond the music. The attitudes,
lifestyles, immorality, coolness, dress, etc., that we ought to distance ourselves from.
“There are some Beatles songs that, as far as the melodies go, I wouldn’t necessarily mind
having on my iPod (‘Yesterday,’ ‘Norwegian Wood,’ ‘Blackbird,’ etc.). But even then the lyrics
aren’t always wholesome, and the fact is, you can’t separate the music from the men or women
who made it” (Brian Snider, February 20, 2008).
ISN’T THE SINCERITY OF THE MUSICIANS THE
IMPORTANT THING?
Those who defend Contemporary Christian Music often argue that the only thing that matters is
whether or not the musicians are sincere. Note the following statement by Christian rocker
Mylon LeFevre:
“Music is not good or evil because of the formation of the notes or the structure of the beat.
Music is good because the heart of the person playing it is innocently and sincerely giving praise
to our God” (LeFevre, interview by Pastor Rick Anderson, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Rock
Music--What’s the Real Message?, cited by Jeff Godwin, What’s Wrong with Christian Rock?, p.
122).
WE WOULD ANSWER THIS, FIRST OF ALL, BY REMINDING OUR READERS OF
THE DECEPTIVE NATURE OF MAN’S HEART.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah
17:9).
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be
delivered” (Proverbs 28:26).
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death” (Proverbs 14:12).
These verses remind us that man’s heart cannot be trusted. It is possible for a man to deceive
himself and others. It is therefore impossible to know whether or not someone is sincerely
seeking to please God. It is impossible to know for sure whether or not a person has sincere
motives for doing what they do. Man’s heart is complex, and he often has many motives for what
he does.
SECOND, GOD REQUIRES OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD AND DOES NOT ACCEPT
MAN’S SINCERE DISOBEDIENCE.
There are many examples of this in the Bible. Moses was very sincere before God, but when he
struck the rock instead of speaking to it, God judged him and refused to allow him to enter
Canaan (Num. 20:7-14). There is no question that Moses was sincere when he struck the rock,
but God did not accept his sincere and earnest disobedience. When Aaron’s sons offered strange
fire, God struck them dead, paying no attention to whether or not they were acting sincerely
(Lev. 10:1-7). When Saul disobeyed in the seemingly minor matter of refusing to destroy all of
the cattle belonging to the Amalekites, God judged him and removed the kingdom from him (1
Samuel 15). Saul protested that he had done the deed in the sincerity of his heart, but this did not
change God’s mind. When Uzzah steadied the cart holding the ark, God struck him dead (1 Sam.
6:6-7). It appears from the record that Uzzah was sincerely trying to assist in the service of God,
but God did not accept it because it was not done according to His Word.
Dr. Frank Garlock, who has a doctorate from the respected Eastman School of Music, observes:
“Sincerity and motivation have never been a test of real spirituality or even of Christianity for
that matter. The Word of God is that which will abide forever, and it is upon His Word that God
hinges all spiritual truth. It is not right to ignore the Bible, to become worldly in philosophy and
practice, to call things Christian which are not, nor to disobey the Word of God, even to try to
win people to Christ” (Garlock, Can Rock Music Be Sacred? 1974, p. 39).
THIRD, THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE CHRISTIAN RACE MUST BE RUN
ACCORDING TO THE DIVINE RULE OR THERE IS NO REWARD FROM GOD.
“And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2 Tim.
2:5).
This was one reason why Paul exercised his life and ministry so carefully and strictly.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye
may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it
to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor.
9:24-27).
It is obvious that sincerity and earnestness in the service of Christ is not enough. I must run the
Christian race according to the Word of God or God does not accept my service.
FOURTH, IF THE CHIEF TEST OF THE SOUNDNESS OF MUSIC IS THE
SINCERITY OF THE PERFORMERS, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE
HEARER TO TEST IT.
As already noted, we cannot know for certain the sincerity of the musician. Many Christian rock
musicians have admitted that they wrote and performed Contemporary Christian Music even
while they were drinking and committing adultery and seeking fortune and fame. The members
of the Christian rock band Stryper admit today that they drank and partied in carnal rebellion
during part of their touring career. Michael English, Sandi Patty, Kirk Franklin, among others,
admit that they were living in fornication and adultery during part of their careers. Mylon
LeFevre admits that he wrote and performed music for years before he got right with God, that
he was using drugs heavily and drinking and carousing even while producing Christian music.
After their success with the Supernatural album and tour, Michael Tait of dc Talk admitted that
he “went through a time where I dabbled in a lot of [wicked] things” (CCM Magazine, May
2001, p. 42). He calls this his “dark days.” Many CCM spokesmen honestly admit that this type
of thing is a big problem in their midst, but a great deal of it is covered up to protect the careers
of the worldly musicians and to protect the reputation and financial bottom line of the CCM
industry. How, then, are we to tell if a musician is “sincerely” walking with God? How can we
know that “his heart is right”? We cannot know this for sure, so it is unreasonable to make this
the measure of whether or not the music is sound.
While it is important to examine the musician’s life, it is not possible to examine “his heart.” A
more reasonable test is to examine how the musician lives and the character and lyrics of the
music itself.
/
You Can't Make Hip Hop Holy!
Says the Rev. Efrem Smith, a senior pastor who holds hip-hop services six Sundays a year at
Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis...
"Traditional churches often are suspicious of hip-hop's sinful side, but I'm not ready to give
poetry, creativity and visual expression up to the forces of evil when they can be used for God,"
Pastor Smith's reasoning is unscriptural and
flawed. Pornography could just as easily be considered
"visual expression." Kittredge Cherry's new book Jesus
In Love, which fictitiously presents Christ as a flaming
homosexual in love with the disciple John, could just as
easily be categorized as "creativity." The truth is that
believers are supposed to follow the Word of God
instead of culture. When poetry, creativity, and visual
expression CONFLICT with the teachings of God's
Word, then Christians are to OBEY the Bible. Hip Hop
is the expression of street gangs--thug punks! Christian rappers may change the
words, but the EXPRESSION of the music itself is still gang style.
It's like a Christian who sees an Ouija Board in the garbage. What if he decides to paint over it
and call it an Angel Board instead? He then donates it to the youth group at his church? Should
the church accept it? Although it's words and name have been altered, the FUNCTION of the
game is still the same. Likewise, Hip Hop is inherently sinful, and cannot be made into
something holy. What if a lady wins the Big Lotto and wants to donate $100,000 to your
church? Should your church accept the money if they know where it came from? What if Hugh
Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, called your pastor and said he wanted to donate a million
dollars to the church? Should the church accept the money? Absolutely NOT! I was
disappointed when Jerry Falwell accepted $2,000,000 from cult leaders Sun Myung
Moon. Many professed Believers today have sold their soul for money. Hip Hop is Satanic!
Gotee Records (established 1994) is a record label founded by dc Talk member Toby McKeehan
(professionally known as tobyMac), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label is now part of
EMI Christian Music Group and is also an RIAA member label. Toby McKeehan is currently
the president of the company; however, Toby does not publish his own albums under this title;
instead he publishes his own records under the same label as dc Talk: ForeFront Records. Mr.
McKeehan has done more to promote apostate ecumenism, sinful compromise, and worldliness
to Christian youths today than any other individual. TobyMac is in big trouble with God, for
leading today's youth away from the Scriptures and into the world. The truth is that you won't
find the Gospel of Jesus Christ on TobyMac's website. Such imposters claim they are simply
providing an alternative to reach worldly teens for Christ. The opposite is true, they are reaching
Christian teens for Satan, by leading them across an ecumenical bridge that tolerates
homosexuality, bares no cross for Christ, and idolizes music above the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Truly, the love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10).
It's the Music by Itself that Promotes Fornication
Even a casual observer will have to conclude that music alone, without the assistance of lyrics,
does affect mankind. And, that different styles of music affect mankind in different
ways. Anthems stir us to pride and duty. They make soldiers serve willingly in the cause of their
country. Dixieland sets our hands clapping and our feet tapping. Hymns make us reflective and
appeal to the higher senses of God and spirit. What does Rock and Roll do to man? What has
Hip Hop done to man? Let's find out from the artists themselves:
"The throbbing beat of rock provides a vital sexual release for adolescent audiences."
...Jan Berry
"Pop music is sex, and you have to hit them in the face with it." ...Andrew Oldham
(recording manager for the 'Rolling Stones')
"I'm in rock music for the sex and narcotics." ...Glenn Frey of 'The Eagles'
"Rock 'n' roll is 99% sex." ...John Oates
"Everyone takes it for granted that rock and roll is synonymous with sex." ...Chris
Stein, lead guitarist with 'Blondie.'
"Rock music is sex. The beat matches the body rhythms." ...Frank Zappa, superstar of
'Mothers of Invention' fame.
Dr. Ronald Spranglet, chief school medical officer in Nottingham, England, charged that teenage
pop music was probably to blame for the mounting obsession with sex. And Dr. Masterson,
head of the adolescent outpatient at Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic says,
"The music is, in a way; a kind of sexual expression. The beat has genuine sexual implications."
Did you get that ... THE BEAT! Frank Zappa of the Mothers of Invention put it very plainly,
"Rock music is sex. The big beat matches the body's rhythms."
Again, it's THE BEAT!!! ALL Rock music, Hip Hip, Disco, Rap, or other forms of music that
mesmerize (i.e., strongly attract like a magnet) the body are worldly, and an enemy of God
(James 4:4). Listen to what the Bible teaches in Romans 8:8, "So then they that are in the flesh
cannot please God." The Word of God magnifies the spirit, NOT the flesh. The flesh is weak,
and sinful, and corrupt. Hip Hop mesmerizes the fleshly body. In sharp contrast, the Word of
God directs us to WALK IN THE SPIRIT ... Galatians 5:25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit." You see, so-called Christian rappers want to live in the spirit while walking
in THE FLESH. That's not what Galatians 5:25 tells us to do. The Bible says that those who
LIVE in the spirit (i.e., born again believers), should also WALK in the spirit. Romans 8:5
clearly condemns Hip Hip, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." Hip Hop is clearly appealing to THE
FLESH, not the spirit. The Bible clearly states that THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE FLESH
mind the things of THE FLESH. Hip Hip is of the flesh.
Any music that is of the flesh displeases God, because we are commanded to mind the things of
the spirit in Galatians 5:25. Oh how blinded are so many Christian youths today by Christian
Hip Hop and Christian Rock music. Jesus said in Matthew 6:23, "...If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" If young people today read an article like this,
which exposes the evils of Christian Hip Hop from the Bible, yet they choose to continue
supporting Hip Hop, then they are well nigh hopeless? Jesus is simply saying that if you've
heard the truth, but think it's a lie, then you are seriously deceived. There's not a more deceived
group than those who buy, support, produce, and promote Christian Hip Hop. This includes
most Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) today. Judgment day is coming upon such
wickedness; God will not be mocked! ... "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of
the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit."
Hip Hop and the Wages of Unrighteousness
Apostate churches openly admit that they are embracing Hip Hop music in an attempt to draw
young people into their ministries. Although ministers claim they are interested in reaching
young people for Christ, it is the wages of unrighteousness that they're really after. In a February
2007 article by WORLD MAGAZINE titled, Holy hip-hop, Mark Bergin states...
"The whole of Christian rap represents a marginalized minority within the broader multi-billiondollar industry of hip-hop."
Hip Hop is a Multi-BILLION dollar industry!!! Christian Rap amounts to hundreds-of-millions
of dollars! No wonder so many churches are inviting the world into their camp. Truly, the love of
money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10).
The following quote is from a January 2006 article which appeared in the San Francisco
Chronicle...
BAY AREA
Churches try holy hip-hop
Ministries take to genre to attract more young people
Jason B. Johnson | San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
...At Church of Jesus Our Lord in Oakland, Pastor Phillip Tindsley said his first foray into gospel
rap services about five years ago got an unenthusiastic response from his congregation. Today,
the church has a large number of young worshipers, several of them aspiring gospel rappers, and
plans to open a music studio this month.
"People were kind of resistant at first because of tradition," said Tindsley. "It's grown on them.
People realized we could use it to reach young people, and we have reached a lot of young
people."
Gospel rap has drawn in young people who didn't come to church before, and some of them have
also brought their parents into the church, Tindsley said...
Apostasy!!! Do you think God is pleased when Christians bring the world into the church to
attract more young people? No Sir! 1st John 2:15 makes this plain, "Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." It is a sin to compromise our Christian standards to
reach the lost! If you don't agree with that, then you don't know anything about the God of the
Bible.
Joshua 24:15 states... "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom
ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will
serve the LORD." Carefully notice that Joshua DIDN'T try to compromise with the people, nor
did he try to fabricate a scheme to convince them that they should serve God. No, rather, Joshua
presented them with A CHOICE! You're either going to serve God or you're not...
PERIOD! Who is on the Lord's side? I can guarantee you that if all the Hip Hop churches in
America truly repented, there would be an exodus of disgruntled church members from their
organizations. It's the world's music they come for.
Christian Rock is a multi-billion dollar industry! Sandi Patti is one of the highest paid Gospel
entertainers in the world, averaging $75,000 for a two-hour performance (Don Cusic, Sandi
Patti; New York, 1988; pp. 211-212). At $37,000 an hour, who is Sandi Patti really serving—
God or mammon? Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other . . . Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Situation Ethics is No Excuse for Sinful Compromise
Balaam knew that he dare not curse the Israelites, and I don't think he really wanted to either;
BUT, he was sinfully covetous, like the CCM crowd today. They want that money!
What exactly was the "doctrine (or teaching) of Balaam"? It was UNEQUALLY yoking together
with unbelievers. Balaam said to the king of Moab, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." If you can't
beat the Israelites, then yoke with them by using your daughters to seduce their men. It worked
and God became angry; thus, 24,000 Israelites died as a result of their fornication and idolatry. If
you won't believe the Bible, then listen again to Dr. Masterson, head of the adolescent outpatient
department at Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic...
"The music is, in a way; a kind of sexual expression. The beat has genuine sexual
implications." —SOURCE
The heathen world admits the demonic nature of Rock music...
"Rock music is sex. The big beat matches the body's rhythms."
—Frank Zappa
The Word of God plainly teaches that God wants the believer to SEPARATE from the sinful and
unbelieving world...
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ... Wherefore come out
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord..." —2nd Corinthians 6:14,17
You see Cindy, these people just love their idol god they created to justify their sin, they claim to
be christian and condemn those who righteously rebuke them. Once you start breaking down
God's Separation Laws that He commands us to obey from the world, the line gets greyer and
greyer as to what is OK and what is not. You may justify just a little leaven that makes you feel
good, but what's the difference for the ones who go all the way? Where is that line? Well
Cindy, that line is found in His Word, in His KJV 1611 Bible, it's called separation and God
MEANT when He SPOKE IT! The Bible is not only a supernatural spiritual book, but it is a
literal black and white one that we must follow in obedience if we are His people.
Don't be seduced by satan into thinking you can live and enjoy the heathen's traditions Jeremiah
10, of this world and still have one foot in eternal heaven. This is why God gave us clear
understanding of how to judge ourselves to see if we are in the faith and how to judge others to
show them they are not in the faith.
The false NE/MG calls True Christians judgmental, unloving, critical, that live in a box of
legalist law. Nothing further could be from reality. We live in complete freedom being dead to
Christ. We live in obedience to His Commandments, we live loving others by telling them of the
Wrath to come and the glory of His Salvation if they truly repent. We are righteously judging all
things, and are critical of the things that are enemies of our King, Lord Jesus Christ. We hold
only to the Word of God, not to false bibles and false churches, and false teachers and preachers,
and never to false christians.
I pray that the Holy spirit wakes you up my love.
AMY GRANT •
The queen-bee of Christian rock
is Amy Grant. Amy says,
OFFERS ME A JOINT and all
.” (Bob Millard, Amy Grant, p.
The Bible says in 2 Timothy
but Amy says, "Petting happens
part of me to someone, I knew
A LITTLE FUN, . . ."(Bob Millard, Amy Grant, p. 30)
“Why isolate yourself? Your life
isolates you enough. I’m
isolated when I walk into a room
and somebody says, She’s a
Christian and NOBODY
the coke (cocaine) disappears. .
169)
2:22, "Flee also youthful lusts:",
. . . As a teenager, when I gave
I was just going to flirt, HAVE
Amy Grant tells the Ladies Home Journal (Dec. 1985, p. 210),
“It seems to me that people who are most adamantly against premarital sex have experienced some kind of
pain in their own lives. Like the people who say absolutely no to rock ‘n’ roll. Chances are it has something to do
with a past sadness…”
Amy's song, "Baby, Baby", was unprecedented in Gospel Music history topping the chart as the number-one spot on
Billboard magazine. People magazine (July 15, 1991 p.71) says of Amy's video Baby, Baby , "There's saintly Amy
cuddling some hunky guy, crooning "Baby, Baby" into his ear and looking pretty SLEEK AND SINFUL. . ." After all,
Amy confesses, "I'm trying to look SEXY to sell a record . . ." (Rolling Stone, June 6, 1985 p. 10)
In 1998 Amy left her husband of 16 years, Gary Chapman. Gary literally got on his knees and begged Amy to stay. In
June 1999, Amy divorced Gary. And quickly, in March 2000, Amy married country star Vince Gill. In 1996, Vince’s wife
Janis found a note—”I love you, Amy”—in his golf bag. (People, Nov. 29, 1999), As early as 1994, Amy told Gary,
“. . . I’ve given my heart to another man.” (CCM, January 2000, p. 36)
Amy admitts to ABC's Primetime, “I think that a part of me loved him [Vince] instantly.”
(http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/amygrant_vincegill_021003.html)
Though Amy has denied any sexual contact with Vince before their marriage – few believe her – including Gary
Chapman. When asked whether Amy and Vince were romantically involved, Gary says:
“Could I answer? Yeah. Will I answer? Probably not. I think by Amy’s admission they’ve been very dear friends for
years. I suspect most people can add. I’ll leave that to their mathematical abilities.”
(http://amygrant.offramp.org/info/articles/sep/41.html)
On Amy's Lead Me On album, Amy and Michael W. Smith wrote the "sin-temptation-adultery" song "Faithless
Heart":
At times the woman deep inside me
Wanders far from home,
And in my mind I live a life
That chills me to the bone.
A heart, running for arms out of reach,
But who is the stranger my longing seeks?
I don't know.
But it scares me through and through,
'Cause I've a man at home
Who needs me to be true. . .
Oh, faithless heart,
You tempt me to the core,. . .
God, you know my feelings here
Could wipe my world away,
Ravaging the promises
A stronger heart once made,. . .
- Faithless Heart, Amy Grant (Lead Me On,
1988)
Faithless heart — how true it was. .
.
“For their heart was not right with him. . .”
Psalm 78:37
THE OCCULT
A frightening "mark" infiltrating much of the Contemporary Christian Music is occult symbols. And many of these
symbols are blatant recognition of occult usage. Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience (p.594)
says, "Symbols are important to all esoteric teachings [occult], for they contain secret wisdom accessible only to the
initiated."
In Amy's video, That's What Love Is For, some occult symbols are clearly and openly displayed. In the video, Amy,
dressed in a red robe, (used in witchcraft rituals) strangely flashes
a six-pointed-star on the palms of her hands. It is common
knowledge the hands are the primary "contact point" in the occult.
That is why you place your hands on the Quija board and join
hands in a séance. The six-pointed-star Amy "communicates" is a
hexagram. "Hex" is a spell used to place a curse. Hex is also the
Greek word for the number six. Sean Sellars, a former satanist,
who was executed for sacrificing 3 people to Satan, says in his
book, Web of Darkness (p.51), the hexagram "is said by some
to be the most powerful and evil sign in satanism and of all
the occult world." Sellers also states, "The hexagram is used
mainly in witchcraft to summon demons from the underworld."
As Amy's is flashing the "hexagram", a mysterious black-attired
man begins digging up a guitar (the curse) from the
"underground"! This is no coincident or accident. These videos
cost thousands of dollars to produce. They are researched and
choreographed to the smallest detail.
P.O.D. •
Sporting heavily tattooed and pierced bodies, the group P.O.D., has destroyed any remaining fragments of Bible
separation and convictions. P.O.D. is undoubtedly, the most popular rock band ever courted by the Christian world.
Their metal-reggae, CDs are mega-million, top-sellers. Crowned by the Christian community, such as HM magazine,
as “The Most Important Rock Band Today” (HM Sep/Oct 2001), P.O.D. is clearly “king” of the Christian Rock empire.
P.O.D. is frequently quoted in rock magazines openly using profanity. In Circus magazine, Traa of P.O.D . says,
“Of course we got the same view on life as most people out there - it’s too short and most of the time it’s quite a
shi**y business.” (Circus, July 2002, p.22)
What a glowing testimony for a supposedly Christian, “life. . . is a shi**y business”!
What about the wonderful words of the Lord Jesus in John 10:10,
“. . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly?”
John 10:10
Other instances of P.O.D.s profanity; "f---ing" (Guitar World, Nov. 2001, p. 54); "D-n it!" (Drum!, Sept.-Oct. 2001, p. 86); "p--s us off" (Drum!, Sept.-Oct. 2001, p. 87)
"d--n " (Revolver, Nov/Dec 2001, p.63) "p--sed off" (AP, Nov. 2001, p. 59) "half ased" (Circus, July 2002 p. 22). And there are others.
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth. Colossians 3:8
P.O.D.’s perverted brand of Christianity is a mix of Rastafarianism and liberal
Christianity. Rastafarianism is a satanic religion that began in Jamaica in the
1930’s that mixes Christianity, Hinduism, New Age, Mysticism, Racism and
Voodoo. One of the signs of a Rasta is the dreadlocks hair style – the hair style of
P.O.D. In their concerts, P.O.D. displayed a huge picture of a “Rastadreadlocked-Jesus” in the background. (See Picture on LEFT) The Rasta god
is “Jah”. P.O.D.’s album, “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown” does not
contain the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, but the Rasta god “Jah” occurs 10
times. Spin magazine says of P.O.D., “Wuv and the band have structured their lives around a spiritual belief system
that cross-fades Christianity, Rastarianism and
Judaism.” (Spin, October 2001, p. 88) Guitar World writes,
“A lot of the spirituality you guys project seems more
akin to Rasta than mainstream Christianity”. (Guitar
World, Nov. 2001, p. 104)
P.O.D. frequently performs Rasta prophet Bob Marley's
music in concerts. During their Satellite concert they did
Marley's Rasta anthem "Get Up, Stand Up". Some of the
lyrics are: "We sick an' tired of your bulls*** game / Die and
go to heaven in Jesus name. . . Almighty God is a living
man [Haile Selassie]". Wuv of P.O.D. tells Rolling Stone
magazine, "Just because P.O.D. are a spiritual band
doesn't mean we adhere to any one religion. . ." (Rolling
Stone, Dec. 14-21, 2000, p. 102)
P.O.D. proudly appears on the Howard Stern show, tours with many filthy rockers, appears in the blasphemous movie
“Little Nicky”, and many other blatant anti-Christian environments. In fact, the only issue that P.O.D. viciously attacks
is Bible Believing Christians! Sonny of P.O.D. says, “We don’t fit in with the conservative values of Christian
America.” He goes on to say,
“I don’t even like saying I’m a Christian sometimes because it leaves such a bad taste in people’s mouths.” (Spin
Mag, Ocotober 2001, p. 88)
Marcos of P.O.D. blatantly says,
“To tell the truth, though, I don’t even like the term Christian. . .” (Guitar Legends, No. 37, p.28)
THE OCCULT
P.O.D.'s albums is gushing with occult symbols. One of P.O.D.'s logos is the 'triquetra'. The triqueta is Latin for "three
cornered" and signifies the power of three. The triqueta is very popular in witchraft, representing the threefold nature
of the Witchcraft Goddess as virgin, mother and crone. As Christianity was polluted with many pagan symbols, the
triquetra was falsely adopted by some Christians as symbolizing the Trinity.
The Aquarian Conspiracy (see RIGHT), a key New Age "handbook", bears a similar symbol. New Agers freely admit it
represents three inter-woven "6"s or "666".
Constance Cumbey, author of The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow and a notable authority on the New Age
Movement, says concerning the symbol:
"On the cover of the Aquarian Conspiracy is a Mobius, it is really used by
them as triple six (666). The emblem on the cover of the New King James
Bible [same symbol as P.O.D.'s] is said to be an ancient symbol of the
Trinity. The old symbol had gnostic origins. It was more gnostic than
Christian. I was rather alarmed when I noticed the emblem..."
(The New Age Movement, Southwest Radio Church, 1982 p.11)
LEFT: The three esoteric "6"'s separated.
Plainly displaying the interlocked "666".
On P.O.D.'s website (www.thesouthtown.com) under the section "Frequently Asked Questions", someone asks about
the "trinity symbol"?
What does the trinity symbol mean?
The symbol is known as a 'triquetra' that is derived from ancient Celtic knotwork & adopted by Christians around St.
Patrick's time as a symbol of the Trinity(Father, Son, & Holy Spirit). The interweaving lines represent One being in
Three seperate, but equal parts.
(http://www.thesouthtown.com/faq/#6)
But there is one problem with symbols representing the Trinity, or the Godhead — it is CLEARY FORBIDDEN in the
Bible.
Acts 17:29, condemns such symbology: ". . . we ought NOT to think that the Godhead [the Trinity] is like unto gold, or
silver, or stone, GRAVEN BY ART [symbols, icons, etc.] and man's device."
The Triqueta is used as the centerpiece for the logo for The Institute of Transpersonal
Psychology (ITP). The ITP is a new age school following the Jungian Psychology [occultist
Carl Jung]. One of their stated goals is ". . . to reach the recognition of divinity
within"(www.itp.edu/about/tp.html) (see Genesis 3:5, "...ye shall be as gods...")
The same symbol (with a circle as does P.O.D. also) is displayed by the rock group Led
Zeppelin. Members of Led Zeppelin are deeply involved in satanism and the occult. Guitarist
Jimmy Page, so consumed with satanism, actually purchased satanist Aleister Crowley's
mansion. Most believe the symbol is from the teachings of Aleister Crowley and represents 666.
One of the most occult television shows ever aired is "Charmed". "Charmed"
details the spells and occultic practices of three witches. The "P.O.D. symbol"
is the show's primary symbol of witchcraft and is splattered throughout the
series. Notice the "P.O.D. symbol" displayed on "The Book of Shadows". The
Book of Shadows is commonly used in withcraft and satanism:
Book of Shadows: Also called a grimoire, this journal kept either by individual witches or satanists or by a coven
or group, records the activities of the group and the incantations used. (Jerry Johnston, The Edge of Evil: The Rise
of Satanism on North America, p. 269)
THE P.O.D. SYMBOL & WITCHCRAFT?
The Craft: A Witch's Book of Shadows
The Witch's Book of Shadows or Grimoire
is a book of spells, enchantments, and
rituals. Includes Rituals, Spells, and Wicca
Ethics
The Craft Companion: A Witch's
Journal
By Dorothy Morrison, a high priest of
Witchcraft.
NOTE: We circled (in YELLOW and
RED), and also enlarged to the side The
P.O.D. symbol.
The book "Blood on the Doorposts" by former Satanists, Bill and Sharon Schnoebelen, also documents the "trio of
sixes (666)" in the "P.O.D. symbol" and goes so far as claim it is "symbolic of the anti-christ":
"A disguised interlocked trio of sixes, symbolic of the anti-christ. Also symbolizes the triple goddess of Wicca (three
interlocked vesica pisces together). Commonly used in Catholic liturgical iconography, and has recently found its way
into the logo of the New King James Bible [also P.O.D.'s symbol]." (Bill and Sharon Schnoebelen, Blood on the
Doorposts, p. 150)
Dr. Cathy Burns, probably the world's leading authority on occult symbols, writes in her book, Masonic and Occult
Symbols Illustrated, concerning the "P.O.D. symbol":
"Marilyn Ferguson, a New Ager, used the symbol of the triquetra (another name for the triskele) on her book The
Aquarian Conspiracy. This is a variation for the number 666. Other books and material have a similar design
printed on them, such as books from David Spangler, the person who lauds Lucifer, and The Witch's Grimoire. As
most people know, the number 666 is the number of the beast (see Revelation 13:18) and is evil, yet the occultists
and New Agers love this number and consider it to be sacred.
As stated earlier, many organizations, such as the World Future Society and the Trilateral Commission, incorporate
this symbol into their logo. I think it is quite interesting to see that this same symbol appears on the cover of the
New King James Bible as well! [as it also does on P.O.D.s albums, web site, shirts, etc.]"
(Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, pp. 242-243)
The cover of P.O.D.s platinum selling album The Fundamental Elements of Southtown is covered with occult symbols.
Notice the man sitting in the occult "lotus" position. The occult initiate believes the "lotus" position connects to the
spiritual transcendence of oneness with god. Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience writes of the
"lotus" position: "The most common sitting posture used in yoga and other forms of meditation. The position
facilitates the flow of the universal life force through the top of the head and into the chakras." (Harpers'
Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 332)
P.O.D. clearly understand the spiritual significance of the lotus position, as the man is levitating on a cloud. Of course,
the practice of levitation is a well known occult practice. Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience
writes, "Levitations are said to occur in mediumship, shamanistic trance, mystical rapture and trance, magic,
bewitchment, hauntings, and possession." (Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 327)
The Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult, classifies "levitation" as "occult; spiritualism and voodoo"
(Mather, George A. and Larry Nichols, The Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult, p. 175)
There are many other occult images on the cover of The Fundamental Elements of Southtown album. In fact, because
of the blatant occult influences covering The Fundamental Elements of Southtown album, many Christian bookstores
totally banned the album.
There are many other occult influences on the cover of The Fundamental Elements of Southtown album. In fact,
because of the occult influences covering The Fundamental Elements of Southtown album, many Christian
bookstores totally banned the album.
But, as they say, "you ain’t seen nothing yet"!
If the Christian bookstores were shocked by the occult symbols decorating The Fundamental Elements of Southtown,
the occult artistry of P.O.D.’s 2003 release, Payable on Death should (and did!) send them into spiritual cardiac arrest!
In over 25 years of researching occult influences in rock music, P.O.D.s album Payable on Death artwork is clearly
among the most openly occult and dark I have ever seen. The fact that P.O.D. plastered such artwork throughout their
CD insert unmistakably reveals a very serious spiritual condition. This occult artwork should not be taken lightly.
P.O.D. is a spiritually confused band that Christian young people should avoid at all cost. Young person,
please pay careful and prayerful attention to what you are about to read. Also, the following analysis may appear
lengthy and comprehensive, but the truth is, comparable to the amount of occult
images found, it is brief.
P.O.D.’s album cover [ON LEFT] displays a semi-nude woman (with her crossed
arms covering her bare breasts) wearing a crown with the wings of a butterfly. The
winged-lady-butterfly is a mystic fairy. Fairies have a long and winding history in
witchcraft and the occult. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects
describes the fairy as, "tiny female spirit with butterfly wings. . ." (p. 246) The
fairy is depicted as a Queen with a crown. (p. 245) It goes on to say, ". . . the
fairies were originally the souls of the pagan dead. . . In several folk ballads the
Fairy Queen is addressed as ‘Queen of Heaven’. . . Christian sources depicted
fairies as real people, almost synonymous with witches." (The Woman’s
Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, p. 246)
The Guide to the Occult and Mysticism writes of fairies:
"According to theory, fairies are either: earthbound unbaptized souls; guardians of the souls of the dead; ghosts of
venerated ancestors; fallen angels condemned to remain on earth; nature spirits, or small human beings. They are
said to have magical powers and to consort with witches and other humans with supernatural powers. . ."
(Geddes and Grosett, Guide to the Occult and Mysticism, p. 446)
The popular occult "field guide" titled, A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive
Spirits (by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack) readily link demons and fallen angels with fairies.
Fairies also represent the disembodied spirits of Halloween, and Christians knew them to be "demons". The
Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects says:
"In Ireland, all the sidh or fairy hills (grave mounds) were said to open up on the occasion [Halloween]. Folks insisted
that it was impossible to keep the fairies underground on Halloween. Since
these fairies were simply pagan spirits, the church naturally insisted that
demons were abroad on Halloween." (Walker, Barbara, The Woman’s
Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, p. 180)
The popular Encyclopedia of Occultism by Lewis Spence, connects fairies to
the devil ands says of fairies, "They steal human children, and leave in their
places fairy changelings. . ." (Lewis Spence, Encyclopedia of Occultism, p.
154)
Dr. Kurt Koch, probably the world’s greatest authority on demonism, writes of fairies in Occult ABC:
"If a person wants their [fairies] help, he must apply to their chief, the devil himself. This however, would cost a
person his salvation. The idea that these spirits [fairies] are demonic is in accordance with the Bible."
(Dr. Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, p. 83)
According to The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, "Fairies are fallen angels." It goes on to describe fairies
as, "Some fairies were said to suck human blood like vampires. . . Many contemporary Witches believe in fairies
and some see them clairvoyantly. Some Witches say their Craft [WitchCraft] was passed down from fairies . . ."
(Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 117)
Fairies come from the underground of hell. "Fairies are generally believed to live as a nation in an
underground location. . ." (Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 198)
Another enlightening artistic addition on the Payable on Death album is P.O.D.’s "personal occult symbols". Personal
"symbols" are a common practice in the occult. Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience states,
"Symbols are important to all esoteric teachings, for they contain secret wisdom accessible only to the initiated."
(Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p.594)
Like P.O.D., the occult soaked rock group Led Zeppelin also introduced personal occult symbols on one of their
albums. Guitarist Jimmy Page of Zeppelin is a devout follower of Satanist and self-proclaimed "The Beast 666",
Aleister Crowley. In 1971, guitarist Jimmy Page bought Crowley’s Boleskine House on the shore of Loch Ness where
Crowley practiced his hellish, satanic sex-magick rituals, including human sacrifices. Guitarist Jimmy Page actually
performed Crowley magical rituals during their concerts. Their song "Stairway to Heaven" carries the reference "May
Queen", which is the name of a hideous poem by Crowley. Page had inscribed in the vinyl of their album Led Zeppelin
III, Crowley's famous "Do what thou wilt. So mete it Be’. Page and Robert Plant claim some of Zeppelins' songs came
via occultic "automatic handwriting", including their popular "Stairway to Heaven". Stephen Davis in the Hammer of the
Gods, details the occult inspiration of "Stairway to Heaven".
". . . Robert described the 'automatic' nature of the lyric: 'I was just sitting there with Pagey in front of a fire at Headley
Grange. Pagey had written the chords and played them for me. I was holding a paper and pencil, and for some
reason, I was in a very bad mood. Then all of a sudden my hand was writing out words. 'There's a lady who's
sure, all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.' I just sat there and looked at the words
and then I almost leaped out of my seat.'" (Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 164)
"He [Robert Palmer] often remarked that he could feel his pen being pushed by some higher authority."
(Stephen Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 262)
There is no doubt to the occult influence of Led Zeppelin. For a very through, extensively documented history of
Zeppelin’s occult inspiration read the 648 page book titled, Fallen Angel: The Untold Story of Jimmy Page and Led
Zeppelin by Thomas Friend.
Zeppelin’s "personal symbols" were etched in occult images. For instance, "Zoso" was Jimmy Page’s personal symbol
and according to Stephen Davis in The Hammer of the Gods (p. 253), it is a "stylized 666". To further document
Page’s "Zoso" emblem’s connection to satanist Crowley and the number 666, the following page is from Crowley’s
book The Equinox of the Gods(p. 253):
JIMMY PAGE'S "ZOSO" MATCHES CROWLEY'S 666
The above is from Aliester Crowley’s
book The Equinox of the Gods (p. 253):
Notice the first statement — "So is O" matches Page's "Zoso".
and Now 666 = My Name, = The number of the Beast.
Like Zeppelin, P.O.D.’s "personal symbols" [ON RIGHT] are also etched in occult imagery. I asked Dr. Cathy Burns,
author of several exhaustive books on occult symbols and a recognized authority on symbology, to evaluate P.O.D.’s
"personal occult symbols". Along with several pages of detailed documentation linking P.O.D.’s symbols to the occult,
Dr. Burns stated their symbols, ". . . look wicked and occulitc". (personal letter on file)
On P.O.D.’s CD liner is also the familiar "eye in the palm" [ON LEFT]. This is a widely known occult symbol of
divination and palmistry. Many fortune-tellers and palm readers display the "eye in the palm" advertising their occult
practice. Dr. Cathy Burns writes of the eye in the palm, "When the eyes are situated in the hand, for example, by
association with the symbolism of the hand they come to denote clairvoyant action [divination]."
(Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 384)
The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects, "The entire field of palmistry is summed
up in this symbol [eye in the palm] implying that insight is to be found in the palm of the hand."
(Barbara G. Walker, The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects, p 321)
P.O.D.’s "eye in the hand" also contains several occult astrology symbols, the Latin word "LUNA" for
"MOON" and P.O.D.'s personal symbols.
It is also VERY revealing that the P.O.D. "eye in the hand" is the "left" hand. In case you do not
know, Satanism is commonly known as the "left hand path". The Dictionary of Cults, Sects,
Religions and the Occultwrites, "Left Hand path (occult). Term used in the occult circles
synonymous with evil. In the Bible, the goats (wicked) got to the left hand of God to be separated
for judgement, while the sheep(righteous) go to the right to be saved." (Mather, George A. and Larry Nichols, The
Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult, p. 175)
Also, on the hand is the letter "S" [BOTTOM RIGHT] Hmmm. . . I wonder whose name begins with the letter "S"? Who
is commonly known by the letter "S"? I’ll give a hint. He tempted Jesus in Matthew 4. (as in Satan) In astrology the
letter "S" is also used for Saturn. According to researcher Dr. Cathy Burns, "Saturn is really Satan". (Dr. Cathy
Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 314)
There is the bizarre occurrence of the "cursed" number 13. The number 13 is a major player in the occult, death and
Satanism. Throughout the Bible the number thirteen is plainly connected to Satan and rebellion. Ed Vallowe writes in
Biblical Mathematics, "The number thirteen is associated with depravity and rebellion. This number is usually
associated with evil. . ." (Ed Vallowe, Biblical Mathematics, p. 102) Author N.W. Hutchings says of the number
thirteen, "Thirteen is one of the most interesting of all numbers. It is clearly associated with rebellion." (N.W.
Hutchings, God, The Master Mathematican, p. 29)
Satan himself, is represented by the number 13. The prestigious Dictionary of Symbolism documents the devil as the
th
number 13, "The devil was believed to accompany a coven of 12 witches as the 13 member" (Hans Biedermann,
Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 241)
According to the Jewish Cabalist, the number 13 represents the Snake, the dragon, Satan. <Symbolism and
Properties, pages.globetrotter.net/sdesr/nuprop.htm>
The book, Satan Wants You, The Cult of Devil Worship in America, links the number thirteen with Satan and says, "It
is symbolic of death or the unknown." (Arthur Lyons, Satan Wants You, The Cult of Devil Worship in America, p.
38)
The number thirteen in the satanic Tarot card is "DEATH". [ON RIGHT] Notice the number "13" on the BOTTOM
LEFT and the Roman Numeral for Thirteen "XIII" at the TOP.
It’s not surprising the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation describes the Antichrist.
The most frightening symbol on the P.O.D. CD liner is a subtle (see Genesis 3:1) display of
the popular hand gesture known as the "Horned Hand" or the Satanic Salute [ON LEFT].
Technically known as the "Cornuto", (cornuto is Latin for "horn") it is a well-established
symbol of Satanism. Note: This is NOT the "I love you" sign langage where the thumb
is extended. The book, Satanism in America writes, "The 'Horned Hand' is the sign of
recognition between those who are in the occult. . ." (Fletcher Brothers, Satanism in
America, p.42)
The "satanic salute" goes back many years and according to The Woman's Dictionary of
Symbols & Sacred Objects , is an "appeal to the devil" - "In antiquity it must have
represented an appeal to the Horned God; then in the Middle Ages, an appeal to the devil. . ." (The Woman's
Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects, p. 308)
Satanist Anton LaVey is shown forming the "Cornuto" on the back of The Satanic Bible. The
"Horned Hand" is also flashed during the Satanic Black Mass. It is no accident, nor
coincidence, it appears on P.O.D.’s CD liner. A careful look at the "salute" in P.O.D.’s album
clearly reveals the deliberate intention of forming the "satanic salute". Nobody naturally
holds a rope (or root) with their hand in the "Satanic salute" position. It is also worth
mentioning, the hand is again the "left hand".
THE SATANIC SALUTE
The Satanic Salute from
P.O.D.'s album.
The back of The Satanic Bible. Anton
LaVey's bottom hand is making the
"salute".
The "I Love You" Sign
Language. Notice, the
thumb is extended.
A Satanic Black Mass.
Notice the people making the Satanic Salute.
There is so much occult imagery on P.O.D.’s CD I could go on and on and on. . . .
For instance, there is the constant "death" theme.
Throughout the P.O.D. album is an unhealthy preoccupation with "death". In the CD liner is a skull wearing on the
forehead, the "death number" of 13 [ON LEFT]. Dr. Burns writes of the skull, "It is prominent in witchcraft and
demon worship as a celebration of death." (Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 388)
Even P.O.D.’s name stands for Payable on Death. P.O.D. claims the name signifies that at "death" a Christian
"cashes in" hence, the "payable on death". But this is a serious doctrinal error and again indicates a confused spiritual
condition.
The Bible clearly teaches the "devil" is the author and promoter of death. And the Lord Jesus Christ is the
author and promoter of life.
Hebrews 2:14 says the "devil (not the Lord Jesus) is the power of "death".
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that
through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Hebrews 2:14
In Revelation 6, the entrance of the antichrist is foretold. And his name was "death" – and "hell" followed him.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And
power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:8
As Satan glorifies and testifies of "death". So does P.O.D. As we have clearly seen, their Payable on Death album is
covered with occult images of DEATH. They claim their name Payable on Death represents when a Christian "dies"
then their salvation is "paid", hence "Payable on Death". Nothing could be further from the truth! A Christian’s
"salvation" was paid completely and totally by the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary! And the second a sinner trusts in the
shed blood of the Lord Jesus their salvation is completely paid. Not at death!
The fascination P.O.D. has with "death" is a very, very serious spiritual problem.
Jus as Satan and P.O.D. glorifies and testifies of "death", the Lord Jesus glorifies and testifies of LIFE! Hundreds of
verses could be given to show the Lord Jesus is the author of life.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 5:40
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst.
48 I am that bread of life.
John 6:35, 48
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 11:25-26
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
Daniel Martin Diaz
The artwork for Payable on death was created by artist Daniel Martin Diaz.
One reviewer describes Diaz’s art as:
"A common iconography runs through all the drawings: Diaz’s world is made up of scorpions and snakes, skulls
and detached limbs, crucifixions and saints, astrological symbols and hearts on fire."
(Joshua Rose, Shade Magazine, "Thirty-One Drawings in Thirty-One Days", June & July, 2004)
One of Diaz’s esoteric drawings is titled Magicus, which depicts the head of a woman on the body of a moth, with four
eyes covering the wings. Though the head is crowned, the body ends with the tail of a scorpion. Under the figure,
Diaz has written in script the words to Hail Mary in Latin.
The demonic number thirteen also appears in much of Diaz’s works.
LA Times describes Diaz’s, sick and perverted drawing titled Life: "In one drawing, called ‘Life,’ we find a crowned
Virgin Mary connected through an umbilical cord that stems from a cross around her neck to a free-floating, halfreptilian fetus (characterized elsewhere as Jesus)." Can you believe such blasphemy? The Lord Jesus as
satanic "half-reptilian"? May I remind you – Satan is the serpent or reptile of Genesis 3 – not the Lord Jesus!!!
The picture also has written "13 Christi Fetus".
LA Times describes another Diaz demonic disaster called Crown of Thorns (an obvious reference to the Lord Jesus)
as, "‘Crown of Thorns’ portrays an emaciated torso that gives way to tree roots below the waist, two severed arms,
extended as if on a cross, and a single thorn-encircled eye where the head would be." God helps us! What sick,
perverted, wicked, and ungodly blasphemy. And P.O.D. plasters Diaz’s spiritual perversion on their album
cover!
For a view of some of Diaz’s sick art http://wiredheart.hispeed.com/july03/daniel_martin_diaz.html
This site is a picture of Jesus on the cross as a scorpion with the number 13.http://www.jqadams.com/gallery/diaz.html
You Christian young people that continue to defend P.O.D. you better wake up! If you keep on defending and
making excuses for people that blaspheme and pervert the Lord Jesus Christ, you will pay serious spiritual
consequences. You can not fill your heart and your mind with the music of P.O.D. and remain spiritually sound. It has
already spiritually corrupted many of you reading this article. You already place P.O.D. way above the Lord Jesus.
You’re mad at me for the documented TRUTH in this article. And yet you tolerate, defend and "love" this music from
people that mock and pervert your Saviour! God help you. . . Wake Up! (Romans 13:11)
Daniel Martin Diaz website (P.O.D.’s artist) has an open invitation and initiation into occult divination. Diaz proudly
broadcasts the following on his website: "Divination: the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or
discover hidden knowledge. by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers." Diaz has even
included on his website downloadable occult objects and images to practice satanic divination! Diaz’s website
says, "These symbols can be used in meditation or as a divinatory tool to unlock the power of the
subconscious" The pages contain occult symbols in the shape of a cube or a cross. You download the images, cut
along the dotted lines and construct your own occult image to induce demon possession! One of the pages is
titled, "cubus", in which you cut out and create an "occult dice". Diaz’s instructions says, "Roll dice, meditate on
symbol. Discover hidden mysteries within yourself. Try rolling more than one. Create your own meaning for each
symbol".
The Lord is very, very clear about the satanic practice of DIVINATION.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12
9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the
abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that
useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the
LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
2 King 17
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments,
and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
By the way, P.O.D.’s website has a link to Diaz’s occult and divination website. And on the special Playstation
Game, P.O.D. has a special feature segment on Diaz! WOW!
Diaz’s website contain "hidden"(meta keywords) search words and phrases. These are words that Diaz uses to best
describe his site. The web visitor does not see these "search" words, but search engines such as google, yahoo, etc.
can "see" them. Search words are words that best describe the web site. If you type in any of these "hidden" search
words, Google will "see" them and return Diaz’s site as a valid hit. What are some of Diaz’s "hidden" and descriptive
search words? "dark art, mystic Christ. Shamanic, Shamanic art, Astrology. . . shamanism. . . Alchemical
Healing, metaphysics, personal transformation. Shamanic Journey, shamanic energy healing, ceremonial ritual,
esoteric, magickal, devil, satan, 666, Demonic Attack,The Rite of Exorcism, Devil or demon on oath. . . My name
is Legion, horkizo, Mark 5:1-13. . .chakra. . . dementia, guts, gore, music, hell, serialkillers, crime, blood,
dark,occult, paranormal, witchcraft, dead bodies, halloween, corpses, gruesome, Dark and demented portal
site geared to unusual aspects of life"
Diaz is also a member of the gothic band Blind Divine.
The following occult and witchcraft websites (among many others) that link to Diaz’s website and art.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wicca (Witchcraft) Chat Room @ www.wicca-chat.com/links/artwork.htm
Darkness Rising @ www.darknessrising.com
Deviant Art @ beauty-fiend.deviantart.com
Death and Dementia @ www.deathndementia.com
Galactica Publishing -"The journal of Paganism, Occultism, Mysticism, Existentialism and Western Culture" @
www.galacticapublishing.com/links.php
Anathema Occult Books @ www.anathemabooks.com/art.shtml
Dark Side of the Net @ www.darklinks.com
Dark sites @ www.darksites.com
My young Christian friend, I know you do not fully understand the spiritual danger of this stuff. And I know music can
grab you and influence you – but leave this stuff alone! You can not possibly imagine the spiritual danger you are
embracing. This is not just music. You are opening your heart and soul to something serious and sinister. STAY
AWAY!
THIRD DAY •
One of the most shameful incidents I have ever witnessed at a
Christian concert occurred at a Third Day concert in Birmingham,
AL. During the concert, singer Mac Powell, said, “Now we’re
gonna do one for mom and dad”. And what song did these
Christians sing for mom and dad? Amazing Grace? Victory in
Jesus? No, they did outlaw rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet
Home Alabama”!
A tell-tale statement comes from David Carr of Third Day in CCM
magazine:
“Worship has to come from the heart and be sincere, so
we’ve been really wary about jumping on a ‘worship music’ bandwagon.” (CCM, Sept. 1999)
Is Carr saying Third Day is not sincere? And why is worship not in Third Day’s heart? Carr's irreverent
wording of ". . . jumping on the worship music bandwagon" is not to be taken lightly.
And then again, Carr admits maybe they are "jumping on the worship bandwagon" after all?
"Some of our songs we never thought of in a worship context until we began performing them live and
saw people raising their hands and worshipping. It surprises us and makes us realize that what we do is
sometimes more worshipful than we know.”
And these are Christians?
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 29:2
Then saith Jesus unto him,
Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:10
THE OCCULT
The cover of Third Day's album Time displays a well known occult
symbol called the lazy eight or the infinity symbol (underneath the word
"time") (see on RIGHT).
Dr. Cathy Burns documents the Satanic connection to this symbol,
"Another Satanic symbol is the lazy eight or the infinity sign. To
occultists, it represents Lucifer's eternal victory. It also
symbolizes reincarnation and karma. . . It's also used in the
brimstone symbol and appears at the top of the Nine Satanic
Statements." (Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols
Illustrated, p. 254)
It is also found floating above the head of the magician on the tarot
card.
EXAMPLES OF THE OCCULT USE OF THE INFINITY SYMBOL
The "Nine Satanic Statements" from The
Satanic Bible (p. 25).
The ancient Alchemy symbol for
brimstone, the place of hell.
The Satanic Tarot Card.
Notice the Third Day Time
symbol resting above the
head of The Magician,
signifying Satan's powers
resting on "The Magician".
The rock group Journey with
the symbol circling the earth.
According to Dr. Burns, "The
An occultist / satanist
infinity symbol sometimes
encircles a globe in which case wearing the Third Day Time
it means that Satan has put the symbol. The "eye of Lucifer"
is above the Time symbol
earth under his control." (Dr.
and underneath the Time
Cathy Burns, Masonic and
symbol is three small
Occult Symbols Illustrated, p.
numbers - 666!
255)
Third Day's Time album was the 2000 Dove Awards Rock Album of the
Year!
Third Day's album Come Together also advertises another occult symbol.
From Third Day's Come Together album.
The symbol is a variation of a very common occult symbol known as the "winged disk" or "winged globe".
Like the infinity symbol, found on Third Day's Time album, the winged disk is also on the rock group
Journey's albums. Author Eric Barger writes of Journey's winged disk:
"The Evolution album [by Journey] and at least two others by the group,
depict the 'winged globe' which signifies a demon deity and the
omnipresence of the sun go Ra." (Barger, Eric, From Rock to Rock, p.
117)
Texe Marrs, reports in his book, New Age Cults and Religions, "The
winged disk was used throughout the centuries to represent the supreme
god of other pagan cults and societies. It was the symbol for the baal
[devil] god during the Jezebel's reign." (Texe Marrs, Book of the New
Age Cults and Religions, p.228)
Journey's Evolution album.
Notice also Third Day's Time symbol plus
the "winged globe", which signifies a
demon deity.
According H.G. Wells, the winged globe, is 'to become the symbol of the New World Order when it [the
Antichrist] overtly rules the world," (Fritz Springmeier, The Watchtower and the Masons, p. xi)
The winged globe is many times (such as with the group Journey) associated with the "dung beetle" or
"scarabaus". The "scarabaus" is worshipped as a pagan god in many cultures. The Third Day symbol plainly
bears a striking likeness to the scarabaus.
Another "winged scarab".
From "The Essential Journey" album.
Noted occultist Helena Blavatasky directly equates the "winged globe" with the "scarabaeus":
"The 'winged globe' is but another form of the egg, and has the same significance as the scarabeus,. . ."
(Blavatasky, Helena, The Secret Doctrine, Vol I, p. 365)
Anton Lavey, the founder of the Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible, writes in The Satanic Bible
that the scarabaeus represents the devil or Baal:
"The Phoenicians worshipped a fly god, Baal, from which comes the devil, Beelzebub. Both Baal
and Beelzebub are identical to the dung beetle or scarabaeus of the Egyptians. . ." (LaVey,
Anton Szandor, The Satanic Bible, p. 60)
The inside of Third Day's "winged globe" is also very interesting. According to the Dictionary of
Symbols it is an "ing rune" and "an ideogram for the moon god". (Carl G. Liungman, Dictionary of
Symbols, p. 458)
The occult and pagan connection with the moon is widespread. Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical &
Paranormal Experience, reads, "The moon is associated with witchcraft, magic and sorcery, and is
considered to be the source of witches' power. . .The moon itself is believed to cast a spell;" (Rosemary Ellen
Guiley, Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 376)
There is another connection I found very interesting. According to occultists, it is the moon that gives the
divine scarab beetle life! The scarab or "dung beetle" deposits her eggs in a "dung ball" where it remains
for twenty-eight days under the moon. During these twenty-eight days the moon passes through all the
twelve signs of the Zodiac and this mystical moon-magic gives the revered scarabaus life and deity! "By
thus remaining under the moon, the race of scarabaei is endured with life." (Barbara G. Walker, The
Woman's Dictionary of Symbols & Sacred Objects, 418)
Without question, the mysterious symbol on Third Day's Come Together album has a bizarre history of occult
and satanic influence.
It's worth mentioning the Come Together album is an anthem for an ecumenical, one world, "come together"
"love everybody" utopia. The same basic new age-love-mantra put out in the 60s and 70s by The Beatles
and John Lennon.
Some of the words to Third Day's "Come Together":
You can all call me crazy / For the things that I might say
You can laugh all you want to / I know there will come a day
When we all will come together / And learn to set aside our hate
And we can learn to love our neighbor / Just like we would love ourselves . . .
We've got to come together / 'Cause in the end we can make it -- alright
We've got to learn to love / We've got to learn to love
You can call me a dreamer / But these dreams will come true. . .
We are brothers and we're sisters / We are one
Sounds like Lennon's "Imagine" (which is the official anthem of the New Age Movement):
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
By the way, Third Day's Come Together album was the 2002 Dove Awards
Rock Album of the Year! And Third Day was the Dove Awards 2002 Group
of the Year. Third Day has received at least 17 Dove Awards!
MICHAEL W. SMITH •
Inside Music, (Jan/Feb 91), describes a Michael W. Smith concert, “His
concerts draw hundreds of thousands of fans each year, mostly teenage
girls who scream out their affection for him non-stop throughout. To his
fans, Smith is the absolute greatest there is, bar none.”
The continual excuse of the Christian rockers is they're trying to reach the
young people with the gospel of Jesus Christ by using rock as a tool.
Here's what a secular reporter in The Birmingham News wrote after watching a Michael W. Smith concert:
"If you weren't familiar with Michael W. Smith's standing in the world of contemporary Christian music, you
might attend one of his concerts and come out none the wiser." (The Birmingham News, Feb. 12, 1993
p. 5c)
Amazing! After Michael W. Smith's concert, there was not even enough of God for the lost world to
even know this "so-called CHRISTian star" was a Christian! What a pitiful testimony for a Christian!
How are you going to reach the young people with the gospel of Jesus Christ when they can not
even tell you are a Christian!
A Christian is supposed to be peculiar (1 Peter 2:9), pure (1 Tim. 5:22), clean (2 Cor. 7:1), sanctified (1 Cor.
6:11), separated (2 Cor. 6:17) and holy (1 Peter 1:16). But not according to Michael:
". . .you're always going to have those very very conservative people. They say you can't do this; you
can't do that, . . . you can't drink; you can't smoke; . . . It's a pretty bizarre way of thinking." Michael
W. Smith (The Birmingham News, Feb. 1993, p.1B)
God help us! What a wicked, rebellious and ungodly statement!
Several years ago, Michael W. Smith attempted the Amy Grant inspired
"secular rock crossover". It was a total failure. So Smith went back to
$inging to the gullible Christians! The CCM hot $eller now is the rockin'
"praise and worship" albums. Of course, Michael W. $mith has a
"wor$hip" album. Did I hear cha-ching?
THE OCCULT
The back of Michael W. Smith's, The Big Picture, is Michael W. Smith spelled backwards (on RIGHT). One
of the first signs of satanism is writing backwards. Aliester Crowley, the guru of modern satanism (and
mentor of many rock groups) taught in his magick handbook, Magick in Theory and Practice, for the occultist,
". . . let him learn to write backwards. . ."
". . .train himself to think BACKWARDS by external means, as set forth here following.
(a) Let him learn to write BACKWARDS. . .
(b) Let him learn to walk BACKWARDS. . .
(c) Let him. . . listen to phonograph records REVERSED
(d) Let him practise speaking
BACKWARDS. . .
(e) Let him learn to read
BACKWARDS. . ."
(Crowley, Aliester. Magick:Liber ABA,
book four, 1994 Ordo Templi Orientis
ediiton, p. 639)
Something else very alarming is in
"Michael W Smith". The "M" in
Michael and the "T" in Smith is
part of the Runic (runic means
secret) alphabet used in witchcraft
and satanism!
The Dictionary of Cults, Sects,
Religions and the Occult, says of the
"rune", "From the German word
raumen, meaning 'secret' or
'mystery'. . . For witchcraft a rune is
a magical chant. There are various
rune alphabets used by occult
groups"..(Mather, George A. and
Larry Nichols, The Dictionary of
Cults, Sects, Religions and the
Occult, p. 235)
Author and occult symbol researcher, Dr. Cathy Burns, was so alarmed by Michael W. Smith's use of the
runes on his Big Picture album, she wrote Smith requesting an explanation. Here is her reply:
"When I wrote to Smith about this, his manager responded. He denied that the record contained runic
characters, but he did tell me that if I wanted to know more about runes that I should check out my
library for more information! He may not be fully endorsing the runes, but he certainly didn't try to
warn me that runes were occultic symbols." (Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p.
288)
In the book, Web of Darkness, former satanist Sean Sellers says, "Runes are the oldest form of occult
knowledge and magic . . . their use sets a person against God." (Sean Sellers, Web of Darkness, p. 72)
Michael W. Smith's Christmastime album has the most bizarre album
cover I have ever seen. Michael W. Smith is simply standing on a chair
in some weird stance. What in the world is he doing? During a slide
presentation on Christian Rock, I displayed Smith's Christmastime
album cover and remarked "what a bizarre cover it was. And I had no
idea what Smith was doing!" After the presentation, a man came
forward and told me that Michael was "runing". He was forming
the runic "T" and the bottom of the chair (we enclosed it in red) is
forming the runic "M"! It is clearly taking place! Unbelievable!
Notice the runic M and T are in the "Michael
W. Smith" name above.
THE ALAN PARSONS INFLUENCE
One of the most surprising "confessions" by any CCMer was made by Michael W. Smith in Inside Music
magazine, (Jan/Feb 91, p.23). During the interview, Michael W. Smith was asked,"There's also the influence
of such groups as Alan Parsons in your music. It's especially noticeable on the first record, the Michael W.
Smith Project [even named after the Alan Parsons Project]." And Smith's reply, "DEFINITELY!" What? Alan
Parsons is among the most occultic and bizarre groups in rock! Alan Parsons has songs titled: "Lucifer",
the sacreligious "Genesis Ch 1 v32" (there is no Genesis Chapter 1 verse 32), their album "Eve".
The Alan Parsons Project, album, Eye In The Sky (and several other albums) displays proudly on the cover
the occultic Eye of Horus (also called the "all-seeing Eye" of Lucifer). According to Harpers' Encyclopedia of
Mystical & Paranormal Experience, The Eye of Horus "It has become commonly associated with
esoterica and the occult." (Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 197) Horus is
known as the Sky God. Interesting. . . In Ephesians 2:2, the Bible calls Satan (aka Horus) as ". . . the
prince of the power of the air. . ." According to Dictionary of Symbols the "eye" is also associated with the
drug LSD, "Today it is used by subcultures using illicit drugs as a general symbol for altered or higher states
of awareness, e.g., in association with the use of LSD. (Carl G. Liungman, Dictionary of Symbols, p. 502)
Get this! Like Alan Parsons, Michael W. Smith also has an album titled, I2(EYE). Of course, the name
of Jesus is nowhere to be found in I2(EYE).
The Alan Parsons album Vulture Culture displays the occult symbol called the "ouroboros". It is a "serpent"
(a.k.a. Satan) biting his tail. It represents Satan is Lord by surrounding the earth. The book Occult Geometry
says of the ouroboros, "One form of the Circle is a serpent with a tail in its mouth. . . symbolizes evolution,
the Serpent Circle involution. . ." (A.S. Raleigh, Occult Geometry, p. 10)
Alan Parson Project album Stereotomy's cover appears pure evil.
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
The Alan Parsons Project
Eye in the Sky
The Alan Parsons Project
Vulture Culture
The Alan Parsons Project
Stereomy
POINT OF GRACE •
There is no mistaking the new age-occult message of the group Earth, Wind and Fire. They openly saturate
their album covers with occult symbols and imagery. A quick glance at their albums is a visual barrage of the
all-seeing eye of Horus, Shiva, Jupiter, zodiac signs, pyramids, hexagrams, the Egyptian ankh, and many
others.
Throughout paganism the concept of mother-earth-is-god begins with Earth, Wind and Fire. On the back of
Earth, Wind and Fire’s Greatest Hits Vol. I, this pagan heresy is promoted with the words, "In The Beginning,
There Was Earth, Wind and Fire." Rather than "In The Beginning, There Was God" – "God" is replaced with
the pagan elemental god of "Earth, Wind and Fire."
One of their albums is titled Avatar. Avatar is the new-age-superman-god (known by Christians as the
Antichrist) the occult world is longing for. New Age-Luciferian, author Alice Bailey writes in. The
Reappearance of the Christ, "The coming of the Avatar, the advent of a Coming One and, in terms of
today, the reappearance of the Christ are the keynotes of the prevalent expectancy. When the times are
ripe, the invocation of the masses is strident enough and the faith of those who know is keen enough, then
always He has come. . ." (Alice Bailey, The Reappearance of the Christ). The Christ Bailey is referring to is
not the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible – but Lucifer of the Bible. Bailey’s publishing company was originally
titled Lucifer Publishing. The Coming Avatar is none other than the Antichrist.
Earth, Wind and Fire is more than an innocent music group. Founder and leader Maurice White proudly
admits their music is to preach their metaphysic occult message:
"I always studied metaphysics and Egyptology. It got so interesting, what I was trying to do was
share with the audience what we were learning at the time. As we learned more, we went about trying
to share it with the audience, bring a message to the music."
(EW&F interview, Goldmine Magazine, January 1998)
In the same interview, Verdine of Earth, Wind and Fire, also provides insight into their new age message —
acknowledging they promoted the demonic practice of occult Trancendental Meditation:
"Maurice always studied astrology, numerology, astronomy, We introduced
Trancendental Meditation to a lot of the black audience. That was very new for
them. Of course, the Beatles had brought TM to the people in the 1960's, but we
brought it into the 70's to an audience that was looking for something
alternative."
(EW&F interview, Goldmine Magazine, January 1998)
Their song "Serpentine Fire" is based on the new age teachings found in Shah Kriza Yogi Meditation Cult.
On the back of Earth, Wind and Fire’s Greatest Hits Vol. I has this enlightening statement: "Looking back to
the pyramids and forward to the eternal cosmos, Earth, Wind and Fire conjured up some of the most
enduring songs of our time." Incredible. The word "conjure" means, "to call upon or command a devil or
spirit by invocation or spell." <www.infoplease.com> And this is from their own album – their own words!
On many of their album covers is the occult symbol for the god of Jupiter. Earth, Wind and Fire’s song Jupiter
describes a "visit" from a superman-Avatar "light being" named Jupiter. Interesting, the name Lucifer means
"light bearer".
Searching in the sky one night, while looking for the moon
I viewed a mighty light approaching in a zoom.
Need was there to tell someone of my discovery
Fifteen seconds later, a light appeared in front of me
To my surprise, there stood a man with age and mystery
His name was Jupiter and came to visit me
The name is Jupiter, from the galaxy
I came to meet you, to make you free
Deliver to you a flower from
A distant planet, from where I come
Keep your eye on Jupiter, such beauty in the sky
We will wait for your return in the by and by
Jupiter, Earth, Wind and Fire
Do you know who Jupiter is? Occult research author, William Hutchinson says Jupiter is "painted with horns"
and "he is the same as Baal. . ." (William Hutchinson, The Spirit of Masonry, pp. 82-83) Satanist Anton
LaVey, writes in The Satanic Bible, "The Phoenicians worshipped a fly god, Baal, from which comes the
devil, Beelzebub. . ." (Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 60) Anyone slightly familiar with the Bible
recognizes Baal as the devil worshipped in the Old Testament.
In Jeremiah 19:5, the followers of Baal burnt their sons for a human sacrifice to Baal.
They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal,
which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
Jeremiah 19:5
There is no question to the motive, message, and mission of the music of Earth, Wind and Fire. None. They
proudly and loudly boast of their occult message and mission.
THE OCCULT IMAGERY OF EARTH, WIND AND FIRE
Notice the Jupiter Symbol and
the god Dagon in the background.
Answer this question. . .
Would a born-again Christian fill their heart and mind with Earth, Wind and
Fire’s new age, metaphysical, Baal-inspired message? And even worse,
would (or could. . .) a supposedly born-again Christian, that is ". . . guided
in all truth" (John 16:13) by the Holy Spirit, sing and promote the
metaphysical, Baal-inspired, demonic message of Earth, Wind and Fire?
Believe it or not the CCM group, Point of Grace includes on their album
Life, Love and Other Mysteries the Earth, Wind and Fire song "Sing A
Song"! I kid you not! It is there. Check it out. Remember the album note
we previously read where Earth, Wind and Fire boasted about "conjuring
up" their music? One of the devil conjured songs on that particular album
is "Sing a Song". Wow!
Let me also remind the reader that for every Life, Love and Other Mysteries sold by Point of Grace a percent
or royalty is paid to Earth, Wind and Fire for the use of their music. Every time a Christian buys Life, Love
and Other Mysteries, they are financing the occult message of Earth, Wind and Fire. And make no mistake,
Point of Grace is a merchant advocate for Earth, Wind and Fire – and their message!
Do not tell me how the Holy Spirit is using Point of Grace. The Holy Spirit is not going to "lead and guide"
Christians to sing the occult songs of Earth, Wind and Fire. Ain’t gonna happen! Ain’t gonna happen! You
can scream and kick about Point of Grace being a blessing, blah. . . blah. . . blah. But it ain’t gonna happen!
Someone may think, what is the big deal of singing the metaphysical, Baal-inspired songs of Earth, Wind and
Fire. Tell that line to the prophet Elijah.
May I remind you of the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Remember how God
answered Elijah’s prayer and lighted the fire on the altar. And how prophets of Baal "cried aloud, and cut
themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." (vs 28)
And in 1 Kings 18:40 the Bible says:
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them:
and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
1 Kings 18:40
Tad bit of difference between Point of Grace singing and paying royalties to the "prophets of Baal" and
Elijah’s condemnation.
CCM & THE OCCULT
Why do these so-called Christians have known occult symbols and
influences on their albums?
I do not believe these Christian artists are occultists or pagans. In fact, I believe many of them are
saved.
So why the occult symbols and obvious pagan influences?
Matthew 16:13-23 has an amazing and very enlightening dialogue, between Jesus, Peter and Satan:
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say
that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the
prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of thes aring God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
REVEALED IT unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on eart youall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and
suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third
day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto
thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou
savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Matthew 16:13-23
A few interesting things about Matthew 16:
In verse 17, Peter had a direct revelation from God - " . . .for flesh and blood hath not REVEALED it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Again, notice God "REVEALED" it unto Peter.
Notice what happens in verse 23, just seven verses later. Jesus addresses Peter as Satan! Satan had
completely taken over Peter. God, the Father was communicating directly to Peter in verse 17 and in
verse 23, Satan had completely taken over Peter!
But what is really interesting is Peter's motive.
As Jesus began in verse 21 to tell how He would be crucified, verse 22 reads, "Then Peter took him, and
began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."
Peter's motive was his LOVE FOR THE LORD JESUS! He did not want Jesus to be crucified. And even
though Peter's motive was RIGHT - when he got out of the will of God - Satan COMPLETELY TOOK
OVER. You can have the RIGHT motive (even love for the Lord Jesus Christ!) and be completely WRONG!
Even to the point of under the control of Satan.
Sincerity, and even love, is no substitute for the WILL OF GOD.
Let me say that again. . .
Sincerity, and even love, is no substitute for the WILL OF GOD.
These CCM stars may have the right motive but anyone, with any spiritual discernment, could honestly
believe rock music was the direct will of God. And most of the CCM rockers know it. They know rock music,
any rock music, is contrary to the will of God. Oh, they want to believe it is the perfect will of God. . . They try
to convince themselves that God is pleased with their music - but they KNOW better. . .
The CCM group Stryper was very popular in the 80s until they spirirtually "bottomed out". Read what Robert
Sweet admits concerning God and Christan rock music:
"As a matter of fact, the band was one thing that was making us turn and walk the opposite direction
from Christianity. . . If you're doing something you like doing, and God says not to do it then you're
not going to pay attention."(RIP, April, 1987 p. 49)
Sweet knew Stryper and Christian rock was "the opposite direction from Christianity" and "God says not to do
it". These CCMers KNOW God is not pleased with their rock music. But like the chief rulers in John
12:43, ". . . they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."
Many of these CCM groups have gone so far from the will of God, that like Peter, Satan has completely
taken over. Their dress. . . Their talk. . . Their lyrics. . . Their music. . . Their symbols are the same as their
secular counterparts. Why? The same source of inspiration is controlling them both. And that source
of inspiration is not the Holy Spirit - it is the unholy spirit!
The secular world knows who is the "god of rock. music":
Rock star David Bowie said, "Rock has always been THE DEVILS MUSIC. . . I believe rock and roll is
dangerous. . . I feel we're only heralding something even darker than ourselves." (Rolling Stone, Feb.
12, 1976, p. 83)
Secular rock bad girl Lita Ford, said, "Listen, rock'n roll AIN'T CHURCH. It's nasty business. You gotta
be nasty too. If you're goody, goody, you can't sing or play it. . ." (Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1988)
Even secular Time magazine, (March 11, 1985 p.60) in an article about Contemporary Christian Music titled
the article, "New Lyrics for the DEVIL'S MUSIC".
MARSHA STEVENS •
In 1971, the first Christian rock album was
recorded, titled “Come to the Waters” by the
group Children of the Day. Led by singer
Marsha Stevens, her song “For Those Tears
I Died” was the spark that ignited the CCM
wildfire.
Dr. Mark Powell, author of An Encyclopedia of
Contemporary Christian Music, writes,
“[Marsha] certainly deserves to be known as
‘the mother of contemporary Christian
music’”. (p.870) CCM’s “Mother” is also a
militant lesbian. Marsha started the
spiritually perverted group B.A.L.M. (Born
Again Lesbian Music).
KING'S X •
Another popular CCM group is King’s X. Despite the fact, that King’s X member Doug Pinnick is a
proud homosexual, they are still romanced by the Christian world. Pinnick told Aquarian Weekly,
in May 2000, “Yeah, I’m gay; big deal”. During Christian concerts, Pinnick proudly wore the
homosexual trademark; “pink triangle”. Viciously denouncing Christianity, Pinnick told Metal
Manaics:
“I just finally kinda somehow weaned myself out of religion, out of the whole thing to the
point I just do not believe in Christianity anymore at all. . . Why do people live their lives for
God, wasting their lives. . .” (Metal Maniacs, Nov. 2000, p.78)
Even after Pinnick’s hate-filled attacks on Christianity and homosexual perversion, Dr. Powell,
writes in An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, “King’s X is one of the most popular
and most highly respected Christian bands in the world. . .” (p.489) Popular CCM author, Mark
Joseph incredibly calls Pinnick’s homosexual outing as a “courageous confession”!
STRYPER •
The 1980’s were rocked and shocked by the Christian metal-glam
rockers Stryper. Stryper pranced around wearing mascara, lip gloss,
eye shadow, earrings, spandex and women’s hair styles, deliberately
mocking 1 Cor. 6:9-10 (“effeminate. . . shall inherit the kingdom of
God”). Stryper’s popularity and perversion of Christian music
garnished a CCM-record-breaking, two platinum and four gold
records!
Robert Sweet of Styrper, makes a startling admission about Christian
rock in RIP magazine:
“As a matter of fact, the band was one thing that was making us
turn and walk the opposite direction from Christianity. . . If you’re
doing something you like doing, and God says not to do it then you’re not going to pay
attention.”(RIP, April, 1987 p. 49)
Sweet knew Stryper and Christian rock was “the opposite direction from Christianity” and “God
says not to do it”. Tim Gaines of Stryper, revealed to HM magazine,
“From the end of 1988 ‘til February of this year [1997], I was drunk every day.” (HM, Mar/Apr
97 #64, p.47)
For over three years while Stryper was performing Christian concerts, Tim Gaines was
drunk every day!
Oz Fox of Stryper honestly says,
“To be honest, Stryper wasn’t what we should have been spiritually speaking... there was sin
happening in the band. . . And the reason why it was happening is because we didn’t know
the Lord like we should have.” (HM, Mar/Apr 97 #64, p.49)
Did I mention Stryper was one of the most popular bands in rock music history?
SANDI PATTI •
In 1995, shock waves shook the CCM
planet. CCM’s queen-of-clean, Sandi Patti, confessed to committing
adultery since 1991 with singer Don Peslis. And he was not her first.
Christianity Today reports,
“According to several independent sources who at different times were aware of Patty’s activities,
she took part in two extramarital relationships, in both cases with married men.”
(Christianity Today, Sept. 11, 1995 p. 72)
During much of Sandi Patti’s CCM career, she was committing adultery with married men! When
Sandi Patti came out on stage, giving testimony and singing for the Lord, she was
committing adultery! Sandi soon divorced her husband and married her adulterous companion
Peslis, even though her husband was willing to forgive her and restore their marriage.
PsychoHeresy Awareness writes, "Patty's rising popularity is indicative of the trashed condition of
Christians who claim the name of Christ but will not follow the doctrines of the Bible. Marrying a
partner in adultery does not make the relationship right. It constitutes a continual condition of
disobedience to God. How does one repent of adultery while one continues in an ongoing
relationship with a former accomplice in adultery?" (PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter, MarchApril 1998 pp.1,8).
By the way, Sandi is more popular than ever.
Proverbs 30:20 has Sandi’s name on it:
Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I
have done no wickedness.
Proverbs 30:20
RAZE •
One of CCM’s recent emerging stars was the dance-hip-hop group Raze. In 2001, Raze singer,
founder and former dancer for Carman, Ja’ Marc Davis was arrested and charged with five counts
of lewd molestation, three counts of rape by instrumentation and three counts of forcible sodomy.
His three victims were ages 13 and 16 (2). Incredibly, much of the time Raze is singing for the
Holy Lord Jesus, the lead singer has molested a 13-year-old girl!
Loudly testifying to CCM’s total lack of any Christian convictions, a few months after Davis
was arrested for molesting a 13-year-old girl, the prestigious Dove awards honored Raze
with two Dove Awards! Frank Breeden, president of the Gospel Music Association said, “If they
[Raze] should win, it would go to them”. Breeden describes Davis’s child molestation, rape
and sodomy charges as simply a “moral difficulty”. It is no wonder much of Christian music is
wallowing in the moral and spiritual sewers because the leaders label child molestation as a
“moral difficulty” and also honor the pervert with two Dove awards!
MICHAEL ENGLISH •
1994 was an unprecedented night at the famous Dove
Awards. CCM superstar former Bill Gaither Trio Star,
Michael English won an unbelievable, record-breaking,
six Dove Awards! Just as unbelievable, less than 24
hours later, English called a press conference to
confess an adulterous affair with Marabeth Jordon of
the CCM group First Call. To make matters even
worse, both were married and Jordon was pregnant
with English’s illegitimate child.
Despite English’s highly publicized adultery, the
very next year he won another Dove award for his
recording with the Bill Gaither group! English soon
filled the tabloids with such juicy slime as frequenting
strip clubs; dating a stripper; being arrested for assault
charges filed by his shacked-up girlfriend. During
much of this open-sin-decadent time, English was still happily working within the CCM
world. In 2000, English was arrested and pleaded guilty to 12 counts of illegally obtaining
prescription painkillers. Despite his open rebellion, English can still be found performing Christian
concerts, and for a while, even hosting the Michael English Show on TBN. English flippantly
says of his drug addiction, forged prescriptions and arrest, “It was an innocent mistake. It
could happen to anybody.”
Why air out all this dirty laundry infesting CCM? Because Christians need to wake up to the
fruits of rock music. Rock music was born and bred with the seeds of rebellion. Calling it
Christian and changing a few words will not transform the rebellious nature of rock music. The
Encyclopaedia Britannica Yearbook for 1956 described rock’n roll as, “insistent savagery . . .
deliberately competing with the artistic ideals of the jungle.”
Secular rocker Lita Ford got it right,
“Listen, rock’n roll ain’t church. It’s nasty business. You gotta be nasty too. If you’re
goody, goody, you can’t sing or play it. . .” (Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1988)
Homosexual rock star David Bowie said,
“Rock has always been the devil’s music. . . I believe rock and roll is dangerous . . . I feel
we’re only heralding something even darker than ourselves.” (Rolling Stone, Feb. 12, 1976)
Clearly, the fruits of CCM stink with the stench of sin and rebellion of rock
music.
THE MYTH OF CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC •
After documenting the many sins polluting Christian rock, I always get the question, "But how will
we reach our young people if we do not use Christian rock?" Barna Research Group prepared an
extensive survey of Christian teenagers titled Third Millennium Teens Report. In the report they
write (p. 68), “Among the surprises emerging from the research is that teenagers do not
come to church because it has hot
music.” In the report (p. 54), Barna
constructed a list of “What Teenagers
May Look For In a Church”. And out
of 18 items on the list – at an
insignificant number 14 was the type
of music! Barna’s extensive report
has an error rate of less than 5%.
The “Great Drawing Card” of rock
music is a myth! The evidence
proves it is not true!
Undoubtedly, the most outspoken
promoter of Christian rock is CCM
artist Charlie Peacock. In his book, At
The Crossroads,
Peacock admits Christian rock is
NOT reaching lost
people! Peacock polled 35 popular
CCM artists. He asked
them “to estimate the number of
letters received from
non-Christians over the span of their
writes, “. . . over 50% gave ten or
careers”. Peacock
fewer letters as their answer”. He adds, “. . . we must give serious consideration to the
possibility that we’re producing very little evangelism and cultural penetration for the
cause of Christ.” (Peacock, Charlie, At The Crossroads, p. 184) And may I remind you – that is
from CCM’s greatest supporter!
Christian rock is not getting people saved!
It is spiritually blinding and perverting Christians!
CCM veteran Michael Card, warns about CCM,
“The direction and value system are getting worse faster
than any of us can imagine.” (Christianity Today, May 20,
1996, p. 22)
JACI VELASQUEZ •
CCM star, Jaci Velasquez’s starring role in the movie, Chasing
Papi, confirms Card’s warning. Chicago Sun-Times, famed
movie critic, Roger Ebert describes Chasing Papi, as a “. .
.feature-length jiggle show with Charlie’s Angels
transformed into Latina bimbos. . .” Ebert compares Chasing
Papi to the nearly-nude magazine Maxim (Walmart removed Maxim for it’s filth). Papi, he writes,
“. . would make your average Maxim reader feel right at home.” One scene in Chasing Papi,
is the three women (including Jaci) hiding in Papi’s bedroom wearing very (very, very) skimpy red
lingerie. When Papi appears they all lusciously pop-out. Ebert says the scene looks like “. . . a
fashion show by Victoria’s Secret”. Another reviewer says Chasing Papi is “. . . as lubricious as
a centerfold.” (Lubricious means sexual arousal or lustful)
Unbelievably, Velasquez tells CCM, "With my music and now this movie, I feel like I've been
given a platform. More than ever, I want to use that platform to be authentic about my faith to
people who may not know God. . ." How can anyone be "authentic about their faith" by
appearing in a lustful, movie that is compared to a
centerfold, wearing red skimpy lingerie in a man's
bedroom? Can people really be that spiritually blind?
Velasquez proudly tells CCM, after her concerts ". . . I
always get letters saying, 'You dress too sexy. I
was offended; I'm never taking my kid to your
show again.'"
EVANESCENCE •
Another revealing testimony to the complete spiritual
blindness of CCM is the unmasking of the gothic metal
band Evanescence. Evanescence’s album Fallen was
heavily marketed by the mega Christian music
distributor Provident and it swiftly climbed to the Number One spot on Billboard’s Christian charts!
Virtually overnight, Evanescence was the new “shining star” of the Christian Music world. But
there was one little-bitty problem. . .
Evanescence is not a Christian band!
In Entertainment Weekly (April 18, 2003), Evanescence finally could no longer take it. The
spiritual blindness of the Contemporary Christian Music world even baffled Evanescence! Guitarist
Ben Moody flatly tells Entertainment Weekly,
“We’re actually high on the Christian charts, and I’m like, What the f*** are we even doing
there?” (Entertainment Weekly, April 18, 2003, p. 41)
Yea, what are they doing there?
Here is how spiritually-blind, CCM magazine reviewed Evanescence’s Fallen:
“Evanescence’s unapologetic declaration of faith in songs like ‘Tourniquet’ and ‘Whisper’ have
Christian message boards buzzing with commentary about the band’s seemingly brave ‘Jesus’
agenda.” (CCM, May 2003, p. 41)
Their “unapologetic declaration of faith”? Their brave “Jesus agenda”?
Let's take a look at some of Evanescence's lyrics. Let us examine their “unapologetic declaration
of faith”:
In their song, Breathe No More, they openly sing, ". . . I've come to believe my souls on the
other side".
Breathe No More - Evanescence (Fallen)
I've been looking in the mirror for so long.
That I've come to believe my souls on the other side. . .
And I bleed, I bleed, . . .
Convince me that I've been sick forever.
Bring Me To Life - Evanescence (Fallen)
How can you see into my eyes. . .
Without a soul
my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold . . .
Save me.
Call my name and save me from the dark.
Wake me up.
Bid my blood to run. . .
Everybody's Fool - Evanescence (Fallen)
Lost in your lies . . .
I know the truth now
I know who you are. . .
Never was and never will be
Not for real that you can save me
And somehow now you're everybody's fool
In Farther Away, Evanescene sings, "I sold my soul just to hide the light!" To a Christian - the
Light is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 8:12). "And now I see what I really am - A thief, A WHORE
and a liar". Is this the kind of music our Christian youth should be listening to? Would anyone, with
ANY spiritual discernment, possibly believe this is Bible-Believing Christian music?
Farther Away - Evanescence (Fallen)
I sold my soul just to hide the light.
And now I see what I really am,
A thief a whore, and a liar.
Hello - Evanescence (Fallen)
Don't try to fix me
I'm not broken
Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide...
In their song Imaginary, even throws in a little wicca, pagan, new-age doctrine with "the goddess
of imaginary light"
Imaginary - Evanescence (Fallen)
Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming
The goddess of imaginary light
My Last Breath - Evanescence (Fallen)
Closing your eyes
You pray your dreams will leave you here,
But still you wake and know the truth No one's there.
Say goodnight, don't be afraid
Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black.
In their song Whisper, Evanescence sings the "this truth drives me into madness" and "fallen
angels at my feet" who "whisper voices at my ear. Death before my eyes". Who, with any real
Christian spiritual discernment, could honestly recommend and endorse this to our Christian
young people?
Whisper - Evanescence (Fallen)
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drive me
Into madness
I know I can stop the pain. . .
Fallen angels at my feet
Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes
"truth drive me into madness. . ."?
How different from the words of the Lord Jesus. Jesus says in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free"
How in the world, can ANYONE possibly believe
this is Christian music?
In the song Tourniquet, Evanescence sings a haunting, dark, gothic, blasphemous cry mocking
salvation. They even toss in the title "Christ". Music-Critic.ca says of Tourniquet: "The question
of whether God is listening or even there at all is brought up throughout the song,. . ."
(www.music-critic.ca/album-reviews/evanescence_fallen.shtml) And this is a Christian message?
Tourniquet - Evanescence (Fallen)
Am I too lost to be saved ?. . .
My God! My Tourniquet,
Return to me salvation. . .
Lost for so long.
Will you be on the other side ?
Will you forgive me ? . . .
My soul cries, for deliverance.
Will I be denied ?
Christ! Tourniquet! My suicide.
And CCM magazine praises this wickedness for their “unapologetic declaration of faith” and their
“brave ‘Jesus’ agenda”! How can anyone possibly be that spiritually blind?
No wonder Singer Amy Lee also tells Entertainment Weekly, “I guarantee that if the Christian
bookstore owners LISTENED to some of those songs, they wouldn’t sell the CD."
Now what does that testify to the spiritual discernment of the Contemporary Christian
Music world? Compare CCM's misleading "brave 'Jesus' agenda" and
"unapologetic declaration of faith" review of Fallen to MTV's review of
Fallen:
"Sounds Like: Exactly how they look: dark, eerie, and unabashedly
rocking. . . "
MTV's review of Fallen
(www.mtvasia.com/reviews/cds/Items/2003050702.html, emphasis
added)
Here's how Unearthed.com's describes Fallen:
"When one looks longs into the darkness, it stares into the depths of
your soul as well. This abysmal introspection builds the beautiful ruins
of truth. Just such a stark glory is what shines in the band
Evanescence. . . pristine vocals soar over emotional, ethereal
instrumentals ranging from the soft and sorrowful to the dark, heavy
melees of aggression. . .Evanescence is not brutal, but is darkly
heavy."
(http://www.unearthed.com/reviews/review_r_0232.shtml)
What's the difference? The secular world is simply listening to the music and making an honest
evaluation. And the CCM crowd, as Evanescence's lead singer told Entertainment Weekly,
"There are people hell-bent on the idea that we're a Christian band in disguise, and that we
have some secret message,"
She got that right! They are "HELL bent". There is no way the Holy Spirit of God EVER lead
anyone to recommend Evanescence to Christian young people! Not in a million years!
In Matthew 13:15, the Lord Jesus Christ describes some people whose "heart is waxed gross"
and their ears are "dull of hearing". They hear it, but because of the deception in their heart,
they can no longer hear the truth. A perfect description of many in Contemporary Christian
Music. They are so caught up in rock music, they are not spiritually capable of hearing the
truth.
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Matthew 13:15
CARMAN •
When Elvis and the Beatles first appeared, the secular world was shocked as teenage girls
screamed in lustful affection for their gods. Shout! magazine (Dec.1995, p.35) says of Carman,
“...just the mention of his name brings excitement to throngs of fans, many of whom are
women.”
Carman tells Shout, "I don't know what I do to attract women, I'm just trying to do what God
told me to do long ago - bring the gospel to the world."
Yea. . . Right. . .
The Minneapolis Star Tribune in an article titled "Is he Elvis? Is he John Travolta? Nope. He's
Carman", describes a sensual, carnal and ungodly Carman concert as:
"On his toes, he's a deep-voiced Elvis, swiveling his hips until the pointed-finger disco of
'Saturday Night Fever' kicks in, and he's suddenly John Travolta with a Bee Gees shrill. He
raps, he rocks, he line dances. . ."
(Minneapolis Star Tribune, Is he Elvis? Is he John Travolta? Nope. He's Carman, 09-13-1996, p.
01E)
For some strange reason, I do not think swiveling your hips, rapping, rocking, line dancing, Elvis
and John Travolta impersonations is what the Lord Jesus had in mind when He said in Mark
16:15, ". . . Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel. . ."
To no great surprise, Carman's "The Official R.I.O.T. Tourbook" lists Carman's Dream duet
with none other than sex-symbol-heartthrob - Tom Jones!
An "enlightening" display of irony
occurred when Carman printed his back
page ad for "Halloween 3:16" in the Oct.
29, 1998 "Life" section of USA Today. It
seems there was a slight typographical
error. . . The ad stated referring to Carman
- "See Him live." (See image at
RIGHT)The "h" in "him" was
"capitalized". To capitalize a "pronoun"
(other than the beginning of a sentence) is
to emphasize deity or God! The
capitalization of a pronoun is reserved
for God ONLY!
Sound familiar? It was the same lie
Satan told Eve in Genesis 3:5, ". . .and
ye shall be as gods. . ."
According to CCM (CCM, December
1998, p.24) this little typo cost Carman
$300,000.
Carman’s Resurrection Rap video is
some of the worst blasphemy I have
ever witnessed. The video has the
Lord Jesus Christ as a confused
street hippie, the Pharisees and
apostles are black street gang
members. The crucifixion takes
place, not on Calvary — but in a
back alley gang fight. The body of
the Lord Jesus is thrown into a
garbage dumpster!
DC TALK •
Dallas Morning News, (April 27, 1996), describes a dcTalk concert, “As teenagers’ shrieks filled
the Dallas Convention Center moments before dc Talk took the stage Friday night, one of
the relatively few grown-ups in the sold-out crowd observed, ‘This is just like the Beatles.’”
The secular rocker Kurt Cobain is among rock’s worst antichrist. Cobain went around his
neighborhood spray-painting, “ABORT CHRIST” and “GOD IS GAY”. (Des Barres, Pamela, Rock
Bottom, pp.54-55) The CCM group dcTalk pays homage to antichrist Cobain by singing his song
“All Apologies” in their concerts! Toby McKeehan of dc Talk, told USA Today, “Sometimes, being
labeled a Christian band, we consider that a negative. . .”
A reporter for the San Diego North Country Reader, (Feb. 29, 1996), covering a dcTalk concert
writes,
“. . . we both laughed during the buildup for the encore of “Purple Haze/Jesus Freak” as several
young booty
shakers
cried,
almost in
unison,
‘These
guys are
the sh**,
man.’”
Another
undeniable
testimony to
the rotten,
vulgar fruit
of Christian
rock –
young
people spewing profanity!
PLUS ONE •
CCM even has their own “sex-symbol-boy-bands”. CCM (June 2000) writes of Plus One,
“Following in the footsteps of ‘NSync, Backstreet Boys. . . The men are already Christian
music’s latest sex symbols, with excitable teen girls doing what excitable teen girls do —
screaming their adoration and begging for tokens of love.”
True Tunes describes a Plus One sex-symbol-show, “Suddenly, they appear. . . Girls scream. .
. The silk robes are dropped to reveal sleek wardrobes. The female population of the
audience is now screaming at a deafening pitch.”
And what about 2 Timothy 2:22 — “Flee also youthful lusts: . .”
CCM performer, Michael Card, tells Christianity Today (May 20, 1996 p. 22), “Now, the industry is
celebrity-driven. The song is almost irrelevant. The focus is on the person, and songs have
become disposable.”
ADD BACKSET BOYS TO DO A CHRISTAIN ALBUM
Do you know this CCM-man-worship is abomination to the Lord? Luke 16:15 says, “. . . that
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God”? Do you realize,
that according to the Lord Jesus, Satan’s goal is to uplift man? Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:23,
“. . . Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men.”
Could there possibly be any clearer proof of the real “god” of Christian
Rock?
NEWSBOYS •
The award for the most nauseating display of spiritual blindness easily goes to Jody Davis of the
Newsboys. Davis says of their album, Love Liberty Disco,
“Back in the 70’s when disco originated, the people who were into that would go to these
clubs looking for love and acceptance. That’s something we have in the Church...”
(Release, April/May 2000, p. 24)
Discos were homosexual hell-holes of filth and perversion. Here is how secular writers describe
“discos”:
Disco music is a “call for gays to come out of the closet.” (Newsweek, April 2, 1979 p. 63)
“For the heyday of disco was also the heyday of recklessness in the gay male life-style. . . it
cannot be denied that many gay men saw disco as the theme music of their collective orgy…”
(Hole in our Soul, p.281)
“A 1980 handbook for would-be disco proprietors, describes discos as a pleasure palace where
the public can ‘abandon themselves to the tidal wave of raw animal emotions that engulfs
them’” (Ibid, p.281)
And Davis of the Newsboys likens the homosexual disco to the church!
THE ROCK •
Fanny Crosby is the greatest hymn writer that ever lived, writing over 9,000 songs! Before Fanny
got saved, at 45 years old, she wrote many secular songs. But after she got saved - things were
different. . . Here's what Fanny said about mixing Christian and worldly music:
"Sometimes I need to reject the music proposed for my songs because the musicians
misunderstand that the Fanny Crosby who once wrote for the people in the saloons has
merely changed the lyrics. Oh my no. The church must never sing it's songs to the
melodies of the world."
- Fanny Crosby
And do you know why Fanny Crosby said that - because Fanny got saved! And God "hath put a
NEW SONG in my mouth, even PRAISE unto our God" inside the NEW Fanny Crosby! Fanny
Crosby wrote over 9,000 songs to the Lord! Fanny used over 200 different pen names because
she wanted to make sure God got the glory and not her.
Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in Glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellant greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
-- Fanny J. Crosby
There is no such thing as “Christian” rock music. Just as there is no such thing as “Christian
adultery” or “Christian homosexuality”. When it is rock, it is not Christian. There is only one
“Christian rock” and “THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST” (1 Cor 10:4).
“For their rock is not as our Rock, . . .”
Deuteronomy 32:31
Contemporary Christian Worship music is spreading across
all denominational lines, and when it enters a church it
brings more than a change in music. It brings a worldly
philosophy of Christianity and a gradual lowering of all
standards of morality and doctrine.
The late Gordon Sears, who had an evangelistic music ministry for many years and ministered
with Rudy Atwood, was saddened before his death by the dramatic change that was occurring in
many fundamental Baptist churches. He warned: “When the standard of music is lowered, then
the standard of dress is also lowered. When the standard of dress is lowered, then the standard of
conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered, then the sense of value in
God’s truth is lowered.”
Frank Garlock of Majesty Music warns, “If a church starts using CCM it will eventually lose all
other standards” (Garlock, Bob Jones University Chapel, March 12, 2001).
The late Ernest Pickering gave a similar warning: “Perhaps nothing precipitates a slide toward
New Evangelicalism more than the introduction of Contemporary Christian Music. This
inevitably leads toward a gradual slide in other areas as well until the entire church is infiltrated
by ideas and programs alien to the original position of the church.”
We can see the fulfillment of these warnings on every hand. Consider some examples:
AKRON BAPTIST TEMPLE, AKRON, OHIO
Akron Baptist Temple was founded in 1935 by Dallas Billington. From the 1940s to the 1960s it
had one of the largest Sunday morning crowds in the nation.In September 1960, during a Sunday
School campaign, it averaged 6,000 in attendance, and was dubbed “the World’s Largest Sunday
School” by Elmer Towns. In those days it was a typical Independent Baptist church, very
conservative in music and dress, committed to the King James Bible, and aggressive in
evangelism, particularly through the use of promotionalism to draw big crowds. Upon the death
of Dallas Billington in 1972, his son Charles assumed the pastorate. In 1996, Dallas’ grandson
Dallas R. Billington became pastor, and took the church in a contemporary direction.
Today, the Akron Baptist Temple is an emerging church with a “traditional service” called The
Temple and a raunchy contemporary service called The Bridge. The church offers a smorgasbord
of worship “experiences.” It’s all me and my tastes and my choices. How 21st century! How 2
Timothy 3:3-4! In The Bridge a loud rock & roll band plays 7/11 (seven words sung 11 times)
contemporary worship music in a darkened auditorium. The service is advertised as “creating an
environment where people who are seeking God, can do so in a non-threatening, comfortable
way.” It is all about “experiencing God.” It’s amazing how all of these “non-traditional,
think outside the box” churches use exactly the same language and exactly the same type of
music and exactly the same philosophy and exactly the same clothing and tattoos and
piercings. There is, in fact, less difference between them than there is between “traditional”
churches. They aren’t thinking outside the box. They are merely fitting into the contemporary
box, which someone else invented, and which they unthinkingly but gleefully stuff
themselves into. They think of themselves as following the beat of a different drummer, but
they are actually walking lockstep to the rhythm of this world.
HIGHLAND PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
Highland Park Baptist Church is the home of Tennessee Temple University. It was pastored for
decades, beginning in 1942, by Lee Roberson, and until the 1990s was a very conservative
Independent Baptist Church. The school required very modest, sexually-distinctive attire. The
music was sacred but certainly not boring. The congregational song services, often led by the
associate pastor J.R. Faulkner, were exciting and uplifting. The only pulpit Bible was the King
James. I attended Tennessee Temple in its heyday in the 1970s, and in those days there were
4,000 students and the church ran as high as 10,000 on Sunday mornings. Roberson led the
church out of the Southern Baptist Convention and they learned how to support independent faith
missionaries directly. By the 1970s, Highland Park Baptist Church was giving half of its income
to missionary work, supporting hundreds of church planters throughout the world. Its annual
missions conferences hosted 100 missionaries.
Roberson said: “In my first year at the Highland Park Baptist Church, we had one missionary.
The blessings of God came down upon us, and many were saved. As we kept on preaching the
Gospel at home, we were driven to a deeper concern for the rest of the world. So we began
putting on missionaries with support of them through the regular offerings of the church and by
special offerings on Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. We saw scores of our young
people volunteer for missionary work. During my fortieth year at Highland Park [1982], we were
giving support to 565 missionaries in all parts of the world. Fifty percent of the church’s
offerings went to home and foreign missions. Every need of the church was met, and every
building was paid for. At home we were seeing the salvation of hundreds. People were happy
and the blessings of God were upon us. Obey God! Don’t question. Don’t procrastinate! Don’t
quibble! Obey God! Obedience brings manifold blessings.”
The simple “obey God” philosophy gradually disappeared, and by the 1990s Highland Park and
Tennessee Temple were experiencing dramatic changes.
By 2005 the place was rocking out. In April of that year the church and school hosted a Christian
rock concert featuring Bebo Norman, Fernando Ortega, and Sara Groves. It was held in Highland
Park’s main auditorium. All three of these mainstream CCM musicians are ecumenical. Ortega,
for example, has appeared at Billy Graham Crusades and Promise Keepers conferences. Bebo
Norman has toured with Amy Grant.
Marty Tate, pastor of Peaceful Valley Baptist Church in Rising Fawn, Georgia, and two other
preachers (one a TTU alumnus of the late ‘60s) stood on the sidewalk and preached against rock
music and handed out tracts exposing the dangers of CCM. He told me that many of the people
they encountered “were very haughty and condemning of us, all the while accusing us of being
judgmental, legalistic, and all the usual stuff.” This is a dramatic change from the philosophy and
attitude that prevailed in this same place just 20 years earlier.
The October 29, 2005, issue of the Chattanooga Times Free Press featured a picture of
Tennessee Temple University students “worshipping” to contemporary rock music during a
Wednesday evening service. The accompanying article said: “Beneath the 90-year-old stained
glass at St. Andrews Center, rock music blares as worshippers in jeans and T-shirts fill the
sanctuary. The weekly Wednesday night church service has all the markings of traditional
worship--music, preaching and praying. But the choir and organ have been replaced with drums
and an electric guitar. ‘Each generation has different styles of music, and what churches have to
realize is that we’ve got to meet those younger generations’ needs,’ said Dr. Danny Lovett, who
preaches at the service and is president of Tennessee Temple University.”
Where does the Bible say God’s people should use the world’s style of music? To the contrary,
we are instructed to have spiritual music (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), which means music that is set
apart unto God from this wicked world. It means holy, sacred. See 1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4;
Titus 2:11-14; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:11. Lovett had recently come to Temple from Jerry
Falwell’s Liberty Baptist University, which is New Evangelical to the core. Billy Graham, the
Prince of New Evangelicalism, has spoken at Liberty and was praised by Falwell for his “faithful
ministry.” Liberty has hosted conferences for the radically ecumenical Promise Keepers as well
as for Southern Baptist church growth guru Rick Warren.
By 2008, Highland Park Baptist Church had joined the Southern Baptist Convention.
Pastor Terry Coomer, a 1970s attendee of Tennessee Temple, told me on August 10, 2010: “The
last time I was through Chattanooga, I went into the old auditorium and there was a large drum
set and part of it was painted black. There was a mural of Dr. Roberson and a church service in
the old building blown up on the outside wall. On the other side of the wall were posters of a
Christian Rock concert to be held there. People dressed in wild clothes and wild hair etc. The
book store was filled with the same thing.”
NEW TESTAMENT BAPTIST CHURCH, MIAMI
New Testament Baptist Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, used to be a fundamental Baptist
church. Pastor Dino Pedrone was a regular speaker at Highland Park Baptist Church when I was
a student at Tennessee Temple in the 1970s and was a regular speaker at Southwide Baptist
Fellowship conferences. He was a separatist then, used only the King James Bible and sacred
music, had dress standards, preached against rock & roll. But that’s all gone.
The church was renamed The Gathering Place. Today it promotes the watching of R-rated
movies, recommends books by emerging church leaders who reject the infallibility of the Bible,
such as Chris Seay, and feeds its youth a steady diet of rock & roll entertainment. The church’s
youth program, called YouthForce Dade, describes itself on the church web site as follows:
“Rock the Universe, All-Niters, Ski Trips, Summer Camps, Chubby Bunny, Water Balloons,
Break dancing, WWE Wrestling, The Book Of Ross, Worship, Bible Study, Community, Little
Debbie Snack Cakes, Madden, X-Box 360, LEE ADMIRAL MAJORS!, Eating Dog Food,
Samurai Swords, Paintball, Skillet, Shipwrecked, Videos, Ultimate Frisbee, Man Hunt, And
Much More!”
Notice that they even have a dab of Bible teaching in the midst of the carnal fun.
The church’s 2011 Imagine Women of Faith conference featured ecumenical charismatic rockers
such as Amy Grant, Mary Mary, Sandi Patty, and Sheila Walsh.
Jeff Royal, who lives in south Florida, says, “NTBC was once a fundamental church, but
obviously it has changed. In my view the change began about ten years ago by allowing CCM to
be integrated into the services. I’ve watched it over the years. It’s sad because that’s two
churches I’ve personally known to have taken this dangerous path” (e-mail, January 19, 2010).
THOMAS ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
The most prominent example of the changes that accompany the adoption of contemporary
Christian music is Jerry Falwell and the Thomas Road Baptist Church of Lynchburg, Virginia. In
the 1960s and ‘70s, Falwell featured traditional Christian music in his church and on the Old
Time Gospel Hour program. He was an independent Baptist aligned with the Baptist Bible
Fellowship International.
By the 1980s, Falwell had adopted the “music is neutral” position. Speaking at Word of Life in
New York, he said, “Other than Heavy Metal and vulgar lyrics, it’s all a matter of taste and has
nothing to do with Christianity.”
In 1985 the name of his school was changed from Liberty Baptist College to Liberty University.
By the 1980s, Falwell’s Moral Majority was made up of at least 30% Roman Catholics and in his
1987 autobiography, Strength for the Journey, Falwell called them “my Catholic brothers and
sisters” (p. 371).
In 1987, Falwell took over the leadership of the sleazy charismatic PTL ministry, claiming that it
was “certainly worth saving” (Strength for the Journey, p. 442).
In 1992, Falwell endorsed Chuck Colson’s book The Body, which urges Evangelicals to join
forces with Catholics and Charismatics and which looks upon the Roman Catholic Church as a
part of the “body of Christ.”
In October 1995, Falwell praised Billy Graham for his “long and faithful ministry” and did not
have one word of warning for Graham’s great compromise, his yoking together with Rome, his
praise of blaspheming modernists, etc. In 1997, Billy Graham was the commencement speaker at
Liberty University.
In 1995 Falwell hosted a Promise Keepers conference. That same year a Catholic priest spoke at
a PK meeting in Plainview, Texas. One of the PK directors was a Roman Catholic.
In April 1996 hard rocking dc Talk drew the largest concert crowd in the history of Falwell’s
university.
In 1996 Falwell joined the SBC, and in 1999 Liberty University was formally approved as an
SBC school. (Falwell is also still a part of the Baptist Bible Fellowship and speaks at their
meetings.)
By 1997 Falwell was yoked with the charismatic Integrity Music to train worship leaders at
Liberty.
When Catholic Cardinal John O’Conner died in May 2000, Falwell praised him: “I am grateful
that John O’Connor -- a man of courageous faith -- had such a profound influence on the
Catholic Church through his fifty-five years of ministry. I pray that another pro-life, pro-family
minister can be found to fill his significant and substantial shoes.” Falwell said nothing about the
fact that O’Conner’s false gospel has sent multitudes to eternal hell. When the Apostle Paul was
asked what he thought of those who preach a false gospel, his reply was quite different from
Falwell’s. Paul replied, “Let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9).
In 2001 Falwell identified himself as a “contemporary fundamentalist,” defined as “conservative
in doctrine, moderate in attitude, progressive in methodology, and liberal in spirit.”
That sounds impressive and doubtless plays well to the “progressive” crowd, but in reality, he is
careless about doctrine (i.e., he allowed evolution to be taught at Liberty in order to obtain
accreditation), moderate rather than strict in attitude toward apostasy, progressive rather than
scriptural in methodology, and liberal in spirit toward many of God’s enemies.
LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Landmark Baptist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, used to be an old-fashioned Baptist church with oldfashioned standards of music and dress and a commitment to the old English Bible.
In the 1990s the church took at turn away from its roots and at the heart of this change was
music. In 1996 the church brought in a Campus Crusade band playing “high energy ‘50s and
‘60s rock and roll.”
In 2001, Mat Holman became the pastor. The church web site says, “Being a firm believer that
church should be fun and on the edge, Matt puts all his energy into making Landmark a place
where everyone belongs.”
The church now features a teen ministry called EnterRuption. “The purpose of EnterRuption is to
create a relevant environment for students to bring their friends. We utilize a live band (secular
and Christian music), dramas, skits and a relevant message.” I wonder if Paul’s message on Mars
Hill, in which he boldly rebuked his listeners’ idolatry and demanded repentance, was
“relevant”? I have a sneaking suspicion that the messages presented at EnterRuption aren’t
exactly Acts 17 in nature. Somehow, such a message doesn’t fit an atmosphere geared toward
“fun” and bathed in rock and roll.
The pop group Jump5 performed at Landmark Baptist Church on Dec. 6, 2003. “The music of
the Nashville-based group is thoroughly modern pop, high-spirited and 100% fun.”
BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
This church illustrates the changes that contemporary music brings. At one time this church was
an old-fashioned Baptist church that believed in separation and was committed to the King James
Bible, but for many years the church has been moving ever more gradually in a contemporary
direction. By the time the 2002 Baptist Bible Fellowship International conference was held here
the contemporary “worship team” was led by four women.
Today the Bethlehem Baptist Church has much gone about as far as you can go away from its
roots in the matter of standards. In a letter dated July 3, 2003, Pastor David Stokes said: “With
regard to dress and modesty issues, we enforce NO RULE on our folks. … apparel issues are
really of NO CONCERN to us” (emphasis added).
If the pastor really means what he says, then it would be fitting for a Sunday School teacher to
come in her bikini! Of course, he probably wouldn’t allow that, which proves that what he really
means is that he has rejected the OLD strict conservative Bible standards and has replaced them
with his NEW loose worldly standards. All churches draw lines in dress, but while some draw
them using biblical principles, others draw them using the world’s principles. Of course, the
latter group consistently labels the first group mean-spirited legalists.
Stokes also led the church to drop its “King James Only” clause from the by-laws and he now
preaches from the New American Standard Version and the New Living Translation, among
others.
Recently the church’s name was changed from Bethlehem Baptist Church to Fair Oaks Church.
One of the church’s ministries is Skate Night, which is sponsored by secular skateboarding
companies. Thus the church is blatantly yoking together with unbelievers in open defiance of
Scripture (2 Cor. 6). A description of Skate Night was given by a local newspaper:
“CHRISTIAN ROCK THROBS inside the small gymnasium off West Ox Road in Fairfax, just a
few decibels louder than the clacking of wheels. ... It’s Sunday night and more than 170
teenagers and young adults -- all but one of them male -- line the walls of the Bethlehem Baptist
Church gym, waiting their turn to grind and swoop and dive over a maze of makeshift ramps and
rails” (Washington Post, April 4, 2001).
The church testifies that it is using rock music and skateboarding to win young people to Christ,
but the Skate Night web site’s gospel presentation is so weak as to be almost meaningless:
“We’re not talking about religion; we’re talking about a relationship. It’s about recognizing that
you are not perfect. We’ve all made mistakes. From pimping and drug abuse to telling a little
white lie, we are all in need of a Savior. He doesn’t care what you look like, what bad things you
have done, or even how good you may think you are. He just wants you to know Him!”
That is not the gospel message that we see in the New Testament. There is no clear explanation
of man’s sin problem. There is nothing about God’s holiness and justice, nothing about what
Jesus did to become our Saviour, nothing about His death, burial, and resurrection. Nothing
about the blood. There is nothing whatsoever about repentance or turning. And as for God not
caring how good a person might think he is, He most certainly does. If a person thinks of himself
as good in any sense, he cannot be saved. Someone might get saved through Fair Oaks Church’s
Skate Night ministry, but it would be in spite of its gospel presentation and not because of it.
The Bethlehem Baptist Church paper in 2002 featured a photo of the church’s new Youth Pastor,
Rob Hoerr. Bedecked with a goatee, an earring, and a P.O.D. T-shirt, this independent Baptist
youth director is proudly promoting the Christian rock lifestyle.
P.O.D. is a rock band. The initials are supposed to stand for Payable On Death. The tattoocovered band members curse in interviews, smoke, watch R-rated movies, and criticize kids
“who want to segregate themselves from the world.” The group’s leader said, “Jesus was the first
rebel. He was the first punk rocker going against all the rest of it” (Sonny of P.O.D.,
www.shoutweb.com/interviews/pod0700.phtml). In another interview, P.O.D. said, “We’re not
passing out pamphlets saying ‘Get your life straight or you’re gonna burn in hell” (Sonny, Guitar
World, Oct 2000, p. 78). Sonny says, “I like Slayer. I like Manson. I like music and this dark
imagery” (2001 interview with Theresa McKeon of Shoutweb titled “P.O.D. The Fundamental
Elements of God Rock”). He is talking about the antichrist rocker Marilyn Manson. P.O.D.
guitarist Marcos says, “You know, everyone is free to rock ---. When we go on stage we go
crazy. We are like four guys you should put in a mental hospital” (interview with Hwee Hwee
Tan of Singapore, October 2002).
Is that the example you want your young people to follow, dear parents? I say woe unto the
worldly youth directors who are leading young people in such paths, and woe unto those pastors
who appoint such youth directors!
Thus we can see that Bethlehem Baptist Church has gone a long way down the road from its
roots as a conservative, fundamentalist Baptist church, and music is at the very heart of the
changes.
TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Another example is Temple Baptist Church of Detroit, Michigan. This church was pastored by J.
Frank Norris from 1935 to 1950 and by G. Beauchamp Vick from 1950 to 1975. In past days, it
was the most prominent church in the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI). Vick was
one of the founders of the BBFI in 1950 and was president of Baptist Bible College. It was a
conservative fundamental Baptist church that eschewed ecumenism, preached strong Bible
doctrine, and promoted holy living and separation from the world. It also used only the King
James Bible. Preaching in 1975 at the 25th anniversary of the founding of the BBFI, G.B. Vick
said:
“It’s become fashionable to use many different versions of the Bible today. ... Listen! This King
James Version, our English Bible, the Bible of our fathers and mothers, is the one that has come
floating down to us upon the blood of Christian martyrs, our forefathers. It has been, I say, the
one text of the Baptist Bible College, and it will be as long as I have anything to do with this
school! [loud amens and applause] ... Let’s stick to the old Book.”
In those days at Temple Baptist Church it was the old Book and the old Paths, but that changed
in the 1990s.
In 1990 the church got a young new pastor named Brad Powell, and he began to lead the church
into a contemporary direction.
The church’s music today is described at its web site: “The PRAISE BANDS provide music for
all services. The Praise Bands consist of the piano, synthesizer, acoustic and electric guitar, bass
guitar, and drums.”
The church began having CCM concerts in the early 1990s, starting out with the softer rock
groups. In September 1993, for example, they had Steve Camp. By October 1996, they featured
Michael Card, who is radically ecumenical, working with Roman Catholic John Michael Talbot
(who prays to Mary) and claiming that denominational distinctives are not important.
In February 2000 Temple Baptist Church changed its name to Northridge Church of Plymouth,
Michigan, after taking a survey of the community and finding out that most people don’t like the
name Baptist.
The music style of the CCM groups at Northridge Church has gotten ever harder. In September
2003, the church hosted Sonic Flood, and Charlie Hall was scheduled to be there in October. In
September 2003, the church was scheduled to host Darlene Zschech (pronounced check), who
promotes ecumenism and unscriptural charismatic doctrines and practices.
SOUTHSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
This church was founded in September 1946. From 1965 to 1996 it was pastored by Walt
Handford. His wife Elizabeth is one of the daughters of the famous evangelist John R. Rice,
founder of the Sword of the Lord. It was long associated with the Southwide Baptist Fellowship.
It was an old-fashioned fundamental Baptist church until the 1990s.
Elizabeth Rice Handford is editorial consultant of Joyful Woman magazine, which in the 1990s
began to feature ecumenical personalities such as James Dobson and Elisabeth Elliot, both of
whom have close affiliations with the Roman Catholic Church.
In September 1993, the church hosted Ray Boltz for a CCM concert.
In 1993 Southside gave up the King James Bible in favor of the NIV. In support of this move,
the speaker at Southside for the Sunday evening service, September 12, 1993, was Kenneth
Barker, chairman of the New International Version translation committee.
By 1994 the church had a staff member who was also employed by the extremely ecumenical
Campus Crusade for Christ. In an interview with Charisma magazine in 2001, Campus Crusade
founder Bill Bright described his philosophy: “I have felt that God led me many years ago to
build bridges. I’m a Presbyterian . . . and yet I work with everybody who loves Jesus, whether
they be charismatic or Catholic, Orthodox or mainliners. ... I’m not an evangelical. I’m not a
fundamentalist.”
In 1996, Charles Boyd became pastor of Southside Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Dallas
Theological Seminary and of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, both of which are New
Evangelical to the core.
Southside Baptist Church recently changed its name to Southside Fellowship.
ARE THESE MERELY STYLE CHANGES OR ARE THEY DOCTRINAL?
It is good that these churches are changing their names, because they are certainly changing their
philosophy of Christianity. In each case, they will profess that they have not changed anything
important. Brad Powell of Northridge (formerly Temple Baptist of Detroit) claims that by
following church growth guru Bill Hybels of Willowcreek, he has not changed anything of
significance. For those who have eyes to see, this subterfuge won’t fly. If Temple Baptist Church
was right and scriptural in its early days, Northridge Church is wrong today, and if Northridge
Church is right and scriptural today, the old Temple Baptist was wrong. The doctrine and
practice and philosophy of the old church and the new are not compatible. For the Bible believer,
the choice between the contemporary church growth philosophy and the old traditional
fundamentalist philosophy is not “both and,” it is “either or.”
The pastors who follow the contemporary church growth principles claim that they are not
changing doctrine, only style. That is simply not true. Many of the so-called “style” changes are
doctrinal.
• To allow church members to dress immodestly like the world without any reproof or
correction is a doctrinal issue.
• To borrow the music that the world uses for sexual pleasure and to incorporate that very
music into the church program is a doctrinal issue.
• To claim that music is neutral is a doctrinal issue.
• To yoke ecumenically with charismatics and such is a doctrinal issue.
• To say that preaching should focus on the positive is a doctrinal issue.
• To take Matthew 7:1 and Romans 14:4 out of context to approve a non-judgmental,
doctrinally non-controversial approach to the Christian ministry is a doctrinal issue.
• To use community surveys for planning church policy is a doctrinal issue.
•
To adopt a New Evangelical philosophy is a doctrinal issue.
•
When a church changes its “style” in these areas, it is undergoing a radical doctrinal
change; and continual boasting to the contrary is mere noise without meaning and only
deceives the willfully blind.
There is little doubt that J. Frank Norris and G. Beauchamp Vick would consider the current
“style” at Northridge doctrinal issues.
CONCLUSION
Biblical separation is rapidly fading from the agenda of a large body of former fundamentalist
Christians who are moving in the popular contemporary direction.
I believe Gordon Sears was right when he said: “When the standard of music is lowered, then the
standard of dress is also lowered. When the standard of dress is lowered, then the standard of
conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered, then the sense of value in
God’s truth is lowered.”
And Frank Garlock is correct when he observes, “If a church starts using CCM it will eventually
lose all other standards” (Garlock, Bob Jones University Chapel, March 12, 2001).
A word to the wise is sufficient. “A little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:6).
Jesus was so profound when he said in:
Matthew 7:13-24:
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their
fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock:"
You see Christians, the rock n roll and ecumenical bridge is of CCM/YWAM is NOT of God the
Creator, but of the god of this world, satan. We are commanded to be separate from the world.
This is not what your church and the majority of western churches are, they are false churches
with false teachers leading sheep to the slaughter. The majority of people in your church, and all
others like it, will hear those words from Jesus on Judgment Day,
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
And you and your friends condemn True Christians who are obeying God and warning you of
the pending doom you will face. They say to us that they are Christians, because they prayed
once a prayer believing in Jesus, but yet there was no evidence of regeneration because of their
habitual sin. No destruction of the old man, the old man is 4 days dead he stinketh. No good
fruit according to the literal Word of God, only man scented fruit in the name of a Jesus that
would condemn them for their works of inequity.
I lived just like most of you and your friends from church for 8 years until I got away from the
false bible versions and began to see how God feels about the worldly things that the western
church claims to be of God. I realized He HATES those works of iniquity, then I understood that
ONLY A FEW will make it to heaven. I learned that everything I was doing in the name of God
was in fact feeding my flesh of pride and ego, thus it was sin.