carlgobelman
Puritan Board Freshman
Do these threads come in threes or what? There seem to be a lot of threads going around today of the variety of "Can/Should a Christian do...X" (e.g., listen to heavy metal, watch R-rated movies, etc.).
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Do these threads come in threes or what? There seem to be a lot of threads going around today of the variety of "Can/Should a Christian do...X" (e.g., listen to heavy metal, watch R-rated movies, etc.).
Someone mentioned "black metal". What exactly is that?
As you can see from my testimony from my profile, you can notice that I was playing in many heavy metal bands as well as even in black metal band.
I will answer with your own "feel". What ever comes not from faith is sin. This is not saying to "style" is evil to all people in all places....HOWEVER, it is an issue with your conscience, you stated:"I feel BAD everytime I hear it.... I would suggest that it has a "negative" background for you, if so, it may well be a prompt of the Holy Ghost to put it behind you. When in such a doubt, PRAY, listen to the Holy Spirit! If it makes you feel bad WHENEVER you hear it...perhaps you should put it away....Peace in Christ!Should born again christian listen and play heavy metal? Is heavy metal totally satan´s music or is every music neutral?
What about so called "christian rock or heavy metal"? Is it possible to use heavy metal music as tool for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
I was heavy metal musician, secular one, before I was born again christian. I think it is impossible to use heavy metal. I feel everytime bad when I hear heavy metal, no mather is it christian or secular.
Is metal music satanic or do I just think it is satanic?
I don´t want to fight with anyone, but I want to hear what other true christians think of it. If christian can listen to heavy metal, where is the line?
Should born again christian listen and play heavy metal? Is heavy metal totally satan´s music or is every music neutral?
What about so called "christian rock or heavy metal"? Is it possible to use heavy metal music as tool for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
I was heavy metal musician, secular one, before I was born again christian. I think it is impossible to use heavy metal. I feel everytime bad when I hear heavy metal, no mather is it christian or secular.
Is metal music satanic or do I just think it is satanic?
I don´t want to fight with anyone, but I want to hear what other true christians think of it. If christian can listen to heavy metal, where is the line?
Being a person who is into extreme Christian metal (Christian Death Metal and Black Metal, otherwise known as \"White Metal\" and \"Unblack Metal\" to some, though I do believe both titles sound corny), and hosts what I believe to be the internet's only 100% Christian black metal show, I felt I should comment on this topic.
When it comes to metal, as well as all music, there are two things one must keep in mind.
1) God's conviction upon you
2) Where it stands in God's Word.
There are some who believe that God does not want them listening to it, and I applaud them for devoting themselves to the Lord first above what they desire for themselves. However, one has to realize that what God applies to one person, He does not necessarily apply to another.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 is often used as justification to not listen to any Christian music besides hymns. But, one has to ask an essential question: What is considered evil? Throughout the Bible, the answer is given time and time again - Anything that is not like God (i.e. sin). The next question one should ask, which I will not answer here, as most should know it, is what is considered sin according to the Bible? Answer that, then compare it to the lyrics. Does anything fall into the many categories of sin? Does it glorify God?
Figure those two out, and you will have found Biblical music. Forget about the genre. If the music is holy and glorifies God, would He really care if it's polka, country, rap, or metal?
Hopefully this clears up some misconceptions about the genres.
Being a person who is into extreme Christian metal (Christian Death Metal and Black Metal, otherwise known as \\\"White Metal\\\" and \\\"Unblack Metal\\\" to some, though I do believe both titles sound corny), and hosts what I believe to be the internet's only 100% Christian black metal show, I felt I should comment on this topic.
When it comes to metal, as well as all music, there are two things one must keep in mind.
1) God's conviction upon you
2) Where it stands in God's Word.
There are some who believe that God does not want them listening to it, and I applaud them for devoting themselves to the Lord first above what they desire for themselves. However, one has to realize that what God applies to one person, He does not necessarily apply to another.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 is often used as justification to not listen to any Christian music besides hymns. But, one has to ask an essential question: What is considered evil? Throughout the Bible, the answer is given time and time again - Anything that is not like God (i.e. sin). The next question one should ask, which I will not answer here, as most should know it, is what is considered sin according to the Bible? Answer that, then compare it to the lyrics. Does anything fall into the many categories of sin? Does it glorify God?
Figure those two out, and you will have found Biblical music. Forget about the genre. If the music is holy and glorifies God, would He really care if it's polka, country, rap, or metal?
Hopefully this clears up some misconceptions about the genres.
using 1 Thess. 5:22 for this argument/discussion is invalid.
to wrench a passage out of context (regarding prophetic utterences) to make this type of point should not be done
1 Thessalonians 5:22? The Sin Sniffer?s Catch-All Verse | Bible.org; NET Bible, Bible Study
If you ask me, we need to get off this road of judging everything everyone does blindly.
It's not our place to nitpick through someone's life looking for something that could remotely look like it is of the devil. It's starting to pull the focus away from God, and putting it on making people right with God (which is both unbiblical and sin in of itself. So one could go as far as claiming hypocrisy on the matter), though I will submit that it demoralizes more than helps.
If you ask me, we need to get off this road of judging everything everyone does blindly.
This statement assumes that those who think such forms of music are not prudent for the Christian are making that assumption blindly, rather than having scriptural reason. One may ultimately disagree with their reasoning, nevertheless that does not make it "blind judging."
It's not our place to nitpick through someone's life looking for something that could remotely look like it is of the devil. It's starting to pull the focus away from God, and putting it on making people right with God (which is both unbiblical and sin in of itself. So one could go as far as claiming hypocrisy on the matter), though I will submit that it demoralizes more than helps.
Also, those who find such forms of music imprudent are not nitpicking, and are certainly not searching through someone's life trying to find something wrong; and much more so are they not trying to make themselves right with God through their actions or abstentions!
As to reasons, one can bring forth both scriptural reasons and reasons from the light of nature (for instance, read Plato's Republic to see the importance upon human behavior to which men have ascribed *types* of music). If something springs from the base pleasures and instincts of men, or from the dark parts of our culture (orgies, drug use, violent rages, pornographic material, etc), we would never say that we wanted to take that and "redeem it" or use it to honor God: rather we should shun such things and what they represent. Therefore, if "death metal" or "black metal" have originated from these parts of our culture (even just listen to the name!), why should we not treat it the same way? This does not mean we have to be separate from the world in the same sense that many modern fundamentalist sects claim, but it does mean that there are certain aspects or components of culture which should be shunned by the Christian.
Also, we are to conduct our lives in such a manner that our minds are sober and well-ordered. So, as you referred to above, this means not spending too much idle time on the phone, indulging in too much food or drink, or immoderately partaking of video games; we need to moderately and soberly use all forms of recreation, labor, food, drink, rest, etc. This also means abstemious behavior regarding certain things which might overtly seem otherwise "neutral." For instance, watching a movie might be just fine; however, we should probably avoid watching deep horror films which have the purpose of instilling true terror in the soul; laughing with friends might be just fine, but we should be wary of company which will throw us into uncontrollable and prolonged giddiness, which is the opposite of sobriety; likewise, it might be just fine to listen to music, but I should probably avoid listening to such *forms* of music which excite various passions in me, such as those which would make me drive my car faster, want to get into a fight (you may laugh, but music can very easily have this power) or dance in inappropriate ways. The question is, does "death metal" lead to this sort of sobriety? Or is it a sort of music which is designed to awaken certain passions or feelings in a person? Ultimately, we might very well disagree as to the conclusion, but I hope you can at least see why some of us are more extremely cautious when it comes to simply jumping on board and saying, "Of course such things are perfectly acceptable! The style of music is neutral so long as the words are glorifying!"
Hey, now that's a seriously sweet and smooth vox/sax/bass/drum mix right there. Been a fan for years. Some of the lyrics get a little "out there" but overall their music is really something!Blue Tick said:For instance I won’t listen to the band Tool but I’ll listen to music performed by Metallica and Morphine.
Many people commented on the lyrical content of metal, but what of the other parts? Metal is not played a cappella.
The tritone, an interval spanning three whole tones—such as C and F#—was a forbidden dissonance in medieval ecclesiastical singing, which led monks to call it diabolus in musica—"the devil in music.”Because of that original symbolic association, it came to be heard in Western cultural convention as "evil". Heavy metal has made extensive use of the tritone in guitar solos and riffs, such as in the beginning of "Black Sabbath".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music
I approve of "good metal" and simply disapprove of "bad metal". I grew up listening to bands like Stryper and will leave it to you to decide if that is "good metal" or not.