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Are we allowed to listen to secular music?

S

stevepeter83

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I personally don't have any problem with this.

I totally agree with what the writer write on this blog: http://thepsalmsofdavid.wordpress.com/2 ... sic-power/.



I don't see anything wrong with listening to secular music. I'm a devoted Christian, too. However, one thing I have to realise day by day is really what the effect of music has in my life.



I've ever felt lonely at times and when I listen to sad songs, I feel even more lonely! Same when I listen to a lot of hard rock songs. Somehow it makes me being a harder person, more angry, etc.



I think we all have to agree that there is no song that is not written without the feeling of the composer at the time of writing. We never know what their feeling was. I could be full of joy, happiness but also could be full of hate, rebel, grudge, etc.



A religious song on the other hand, I believe, was always written WITHOUT any hate whatsoever. How can you praise God and at the same time hate him? How can you write a song that motivates people but at the same time teaching them to hate their neighbours? Out of thousands of religious song I hear every day, there hasn't been any that teaches me to hate God nor my neighbour.



How about you?
 
i gave up listening to secular music by choice, i only hear it at work or the gym

i felt the lord telling to do this, and i reccomend doing this for all christians,but it isnt a command in the bible.

i feel that secular music doesnt build you up for the most part.
 
Are we allowed?

Sure we are!

We Christians have full liberty to listen to whatever music we choose, watch whatever TV shows we want, eat whatever we feel like, celebrate whatever days we want to celebrate, including popular holidays that fall upon ancient pagan days.

We just need to always guard our hearts and our minds that our liberty doesn't turn into license to sin. If it is something that causes one to sin, then for that one, it is sin.
 
handy said:
Are we allowed?

Sure we are!

We Christians have full liberty to listen to whatever music we choose, watch whatever TV shows we want, eat whatever we feel like, celebrate whatever days we want to celebrate, including popular holidays that fall upon ancient pagan days.

We just need to always guard our hearts and our minds that our liberty doesn't turn into license to sin. If it is something that causes one to sin, then for that one, it is sin.
Click to expand...
but is it expedient to do so for all those hedonistic songs

i will post one that i think is a good one.
 
what do you all think of this, and take note i know that some listen and play secular music and i dont judge you. However i dont think that this song is easy for any bible believing christian to listen to nor play, and its mellow compare to say let the body hit the floor

Lyrics to All Summer Long :
It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh

Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair

Chorus:
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long

Catching Walleye from the dock
Watching the waves roll off the rocks
She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll

While we were trying different things
And we were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long

Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change
Or how we thought those days would never end
Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along
And think man I'd love to see that girl again

(Repeat Chorus x2)

Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long

(R.J. Ritchie, M. Shafer, R. VanZant, G. Rossington, E. King, L. Marinell, R. Wachtel, W. Zevon)
© 2007 RJR Publishing / Gaje Music / Warner-Tamerlane (BMI) / Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP) / EMI Full Keel Music (ASCAP) / Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI) / EMI Longitude Music (BMI) / Leadsheet Land Music (ASCAP) / Tiny Tunes (ASCAP) / Zevon Music (BMI)
[ All Summer Long Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]
 
If it is not tainted, I do, as a matter of fact I am the drummer and leader of a new band that I started, and we play Funk, and R&B and right now we are in the practicing stage to get tight with each other. And I still listen to rock and metal as long as it is not tainted, because bad lyrics is what makes a song bad.
 
dont get me wrong styles such as rock, metal and rap can be used for the lord.
its the lyrics that i'm adressing such as above.
 
Whether or not certain music, television, movies, books, food, beverages, etc. are expedient or not is left up wholly to the individual and that person's walk with the Holy Spirit.

I will make one exception and that is with parents and their children.

Different people are affected by different things. Which is why the Holy Spirit convicts the individual.

In other words: Jason, you can say that is isn't expedient for you to listen to Sweet Home Alabama. You can share that with me as your sister in the Lord, so that I don't crank it up when you come and visit.

What you cannot say, (and although I don't think you would, I know far, far too many Christians who do) is that I, me, Dora, cannot listen to that music without sinning, or watch that show, or eat that donut, or drink that glass of wine.

Colossians 2:20-23: If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

As Christians, if we see that a certain type of music, or video game, or beverage is obviously leading a brother or sister into sin, we can go to that person in love and talk things over. If the (whatever) is in fact causing our brother to sin, then the Holy Spirit would be convicting him on it as well.

But, on this board, there has been a myriad of threads with this common query "As Christians are we allowed to...(fill in the blank)".

The answer is "Yes, if it doesn't cause you to sin and you are mindful of not placing stumbling blocks before your weaker brother."
 
that was sweet home alamaba btw that was kid rock not lynard skynard.

it was gloryfying drug use and illicit sex, does it make me want to do those things, not on the drug thing but i'm a man.

what you do put in will come out, however i know that some arent affected by that and in some areas i'm not

as with the avatar movie i can watch that all day long and it wont tempt me into going into new ageism.
 
I just went to Christian conference last week, and one of the workshops I attended was about Music. Basically the person told us to always read the lyrics to the songs we listen to. Analyze them and watch for references to drugs/alcoholism, profanity, sexuality...etc. Then judge whether or not you should be exposing yourself to the content. He analyzed 4 popular songs today, by artists like Lil Wayne, Kesha, and 2 others I don't remember, and found something like 40 references to alcoholism, 50-some profane words, and almost 200 references to sexuality (this included images seen in music videos). He also said that there are 3 types of music: music with ungodly content like the examples above, neutral music, and God-honouring music (Hillsong etc.), and we should listen to neutral and God honouring music.
 
First John says "Do not love the world, neither the things that are in the world." I think worldy music contaminates faith. It just depends on how consecrated you want to be to God. If you want to be truly separated unto Him, you will have to give up worldy things. Most, not all, but most secular music is filled with sex, drugs, violence or fleshly pleasures of one kind or another, even in love songs people seem to be making their significant other an idol.

This may fall under what Paul said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient." You're not going to hell because you listen to secular music, but is it drawing you closer to God? Is it reflecting values consistent with the Christian lifestyle?
 
jasoncran said:
i feel that secular music doesnt build you up for the most part.
Click to expand...

that's true..
1 Corinthians 10:23
"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not"

i'm not 100% anti-secular... but I sometimes listen to the secular one just in order to learn their music, to get some inspiration on arranging music for my Sunday services..
God bless us..
:)
 
Just because the songs' purpose isn't to talk about God it doesn't mean they're bad. Surely this field is very huge and diverse, and together with negative stuff, there are also many songs that don't promote anything against Christian values. If you think that "most" of it is bad you have probably researched just a small part of the large area. Most of good music does NOT belong to mainstream, I believe.

But non Christian songs can also carry an inspiring positively encouraging message in them. Or they can just give us good energy by their sound [I personally tend to care more about the sound than the lyrics, otherwise I could just read poems instead! But yes, I also try to avoid the bands that carry a message inconsistent with my beliefs.] If I like a certain genre of course it's great if it's possible to find good bands of that genre who are Christians. But if they're not it doesn't mean yet that they cannot affect you positively.
 
I generally do not see anything wrong with listening to secular music. Some music like other secular music is inappropriate, but it is up to you and God what you will not listen to in your life.
 
I run a Christian coffee house and play in the house band. We have guest artists as well. We change the lyrics to popular songs in order to win them back to the Lord. Music is for the Lord!!! William Booth did this with the popular tavern songs of the period. The people already know the music...which creates a bridge for them. Many people can't hear the lyrics in recordings anyway...so when they hear the new lyrics, they usually enjoy it. We are to plunder back the music for it's ultimate use to glorify and extol the Lord...methinks! :)

Examples of lyric transformations

Message in a bottle---- Message in the Bible (Police)
Come together...under Me. (Beatles)
Taking care of business---About My Father's busines (The Church is not a business) (BTO)
Old man down the road---The Old Man's gotta go (John Fogerty)
Brick in the wall---Living stone in the wall (Pink Floyd)
Cosmic debris----Look here Jonah, why you messin with that whale in the sea (Frank Zappa)
Dance hall days---Praise all day long (Wang Chung)
Walkin' in Your footsteps (Police)

And many others.... ;)
 
There is nothing wrong with Christians listening to secular music such as Classical music, Opera music, Country music songs about cowboys and the old west and Country music songs that are not about drinking, adultery, fornication and any other perversion. There is nothing wrong with Christians listening to secular music such as Easy Listening music such as Hawaiian music, 101 Strings, Henry Mancini, Jim Nabors, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Mills Brothers, Big Band music, Nat King Cole.
 
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