For many Christians, music today is split into two categories: Christian and secular. “Christian” music is simply music by a self-declared Christian artist who sings about God and who doesn’t use profane language. “Secular” music then is any band who doesn’t meet that specific criteria. In many Christians’ lives, Christian music is the only way to go and anything secular is forbidden. What is it that makes Christian music so infinitely holy all the time and secular music so indefinitely evil? Is there really such a fine line between good and bad music?
There are many varying views on what kinds of music Christians should listen to. Views range from those that say all music is permissible to those who believe that only worship music should be allowed. There are no verses specifically about what kind of music to listen to, so who then should we listen to? On the one side, we have people telling us about “freedom in Christ” and on the other we have the “whatever is good… think on such things” crowd.
While many Christians are stuck in the moral dilemma of what we are allowed to do, there is a bigger problem at hand. Some Christians stick within their fortress of Christian music and some embrace secular music without a second thought, but there is a whole aspect of our faith that is being missed: We are forgetting that we are supposed to do work in the world, causing change in all aspects of society, including music.
Possibly one of the reasons that secular music has gotten so bad is that Christians have had very little influence in it. Those that separate themselves are basically saying “Leave them to their sinful ways” and not realising the impact that music has on other people (including their own children). On the other hand, those who embrace secular music with no problems say “It’s not that bad” and are affected themselves. By not engaging the secular music world, we are not only missing a huge ministering opportunity, but we are also letting the ever worsening music to infiltrate the lives of those around us.
If you think that you are safe from “evil” music then consider the following: Every time you turn on the TV, radio or go outside, you are bound to see or hear the consequences of fallen music. You have probably heard “I’m Sexy and I Know It” or something along those lines in commercials on TV or seen large billboard ads of promiscuously dressed female pop singers. Nearly all stores and public places play some form of secular music that often includes vulgar and suggestive lyrics. Many Christian parents shelter their kids from secular music, telling them that the world’s music is all evil. This may keep them safe for as long as they are in the parents’ control, but as soon as the kids get out into the real world they will be opened to a sphere of music they never knew about (often better in quality to what they have known). With no real teaching of how to deal with it, they may cave into music and a lifestyle that causes them to fall from their faith. In a setting where secular music is already embraced, this fall may come much faster and easier.
The problem of corrupted music is like a growing tumor. We can choose to ignore it and do nothing about it, but in truth unless we do something about it, then it will come back to not only cause harm to us, but also cause harm to the entire body of society. This corruption is the result of two main problems with how Christians create and interact with music. The first problem is the overall failure of Christian music to produce genuine, honest and well-made art that not only benefits and equips Christians, but also attracts those who are not yet saved. The second is the lack of Christian artists with a strong influence in secular music. Both can be dealt with by a reform of what how we see music and by breaking down traditional boundaries of Christian musicians.
To effectively engage culture and combat the corruption in music, we must first realize that there is no such thing as “Christian music” and “secular music”. The problem is not “evil music” but evil in music. Both Christian music and secular music are made by fallen humans who have the ability to show beauty and corruption. Both have the potential to bring glory to God or to man. Just because a piece of music wasn’t originally written with the purpose of glorifying God doesn’t mean that it can’t still be used for the glory of God. Inversely, just because a song is written about God doesn’t mean that it is always used for God’s glory. As Drew Dixon puts it, “If all people are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and God is the source of all beauty, we should expect to see beauty in every human being.” Music created by secular artists is still created using creativity that God has given them and still brings some glory to God even though it may not directionally point people to God. We must realize that everything in this world is fallen to some degree and all music both glorifies and dishonors God, whether it has Christian themes or not, before we can begin to try and redeem the mess of the music world.
While the motives of creating a separate Christian music genre are good, the consequences of such are actually devastating to art. The main problem with the Christian music genre is that it has created a narrow criteria for its artists that generally only allow for shallow and overly positive themes. As put by Derek Webb,
“I feel like a lot of what I see coming out of the church in terms of Christian music… unfortunately, deals in probably the most spiritual two percent of life and culture… And yet the Bible gives us a framework and a language to deal with all one hundred percent of stuff that we find, that we come up against in life. And so, it’s kind of no wonder that when people look at the art that comes out of the church in Christian music… that they see Christianity as this kind of one dimensional, kind of irrelevant worldview to modern life that only deals with transcendent moments of worship and the afterlife and that’s kind of it. That’s kind of all that our art is covering.”
Basically, the classification of Christian music restricts the majority of artists to overly spiritual “Christian themes” such as worship, the faith walk and God. It misses many other aspects of life that also need to be dealt with. Most Christian music also only focuses on shallow “positive” themes and ignores much of the brokenness of the world. In fact, much of secular music is actually more honest about human brokenness than Christian music is. That’s troublesome if you consider that we’re the ones who are supposed to be healing the broken. Basically, the modern classification of Christian music is a restriction in creating meaningful music, in reaching the fallen and in equipping Christians to deal with the world.
Another way in which Christian music is problematic is in how it restricts artists to a particular style. Most Christian artists either feel restricted to a particular contemporary style of music that they know will be accepted or try to emulate popular styles of music to reach out to a broader audience. Unfortunately, both approaches at making music end up making boring, unoriginal and sometimes horrible music. While talking about Christian rock, David Bazan of Pedro the Lion says, “It turns the music and the message into crap. The message is degraded when it’s made into slogans and low-level propaganda. They’re attempting to reach a certain audience just like advertisers do – and that, ultimately, degrades the art.” Because of the low quality and Christian music’s superficial themes, Christian music often seems unauthentic and forced, leading many music enthusiasts to be scared away from the church and look to other sources for music.
While most Christian artists stay within the bounds of Christian music, there are some who realize the limitations of being stuck in a classification, such as Derek Webb and David Bazan. Many of these artists still identify as Christians, but do not pack their music with as many obvious references to Jesus as they can. Unfortunately, most Christian artists in the secular music world have only a weak voice in the industry. Many seem to only be Christian in the background and don’t seem to extend their faith much more than through a prayer before a concert or in the occasional interview about their faith. Most appear to be genuine followers of Christ but don’t do as much as they could to direct people towards Christ. Bono from U2 is an example of that. Bono openly (and intelligently) talks about his faith and seems to witness on a personal level. There have even been testimonies of people who have been lead to Christ through meeting Bono. If Bono is truly saved, he is giving up a great opportunity to show the light of Christ. He could easily do much good through his popularity and U2’s cult-like following.
On the other hand we have artists seem to do more bad than good by calling themselves Christian, but acting the complete opposite. Take Kings of Leon for example: They claim to be Christians but create vulgar music contrary to everything Christianity tries to promote, including their popular song Sex on Fire. This gives people, including other Christians, the idea that faith is just something you do in the background that doesn’t affect your whole life. Even some pop artists such as Katy Perry and Justin Bieber claim to be Christians but sing empty lyrics full of worldly lies that promote a sinful and meaningless lifestyle. Often, for these kinds of artists, the religious title is just for a popularity’s sake or a feeble attempt to hold on to their family’s faith.
While most aren’t doing their job as Christians, there are several artists who are working well in the music world and in pushing the boundaries of traditional Christian music. There are several Christians that have managed to branch out into the secular music world and bring the light of Christ into dark places. A great example of an artist who just makes music without the worry of if he is being “Christian” enough is Adam Young (known most commonly by the name Owl City). Young originally wasn’t considered a Christian artist, but is still played on secular and Christian radio alike. He is very open about his faith and does not hide it in his music, but his faith is not forced into his music either. Because of his permeation to both markets, Owl City has been able to touch many peoples’ lives. In an interview with Christian Post, Young tells a story of how once his music saved a young girl’s life.
“One girl told me she was at the end of her rope and had a handful of oxycotton pills, ready to end her life … and then my song started playing over the radio and it made her stop and think. She thanked me for saving her life and that meant more to me than you can imagine!”
Another example of a group who is popular in both the Christian and secular music industry is the rock band Thousand Foot Krutch. They don’t care about labels either. They simply make honest, real music that reaches out to both the saved and unsaved. In an interview, lead singer, Trevor McNevan, says,
“Our heart has always been to make music for everyone. At the end of the day, we hope people can walk away enjoying the music but also hearing a message of hope. Our faith is a big part of who we are. It’s our lifestyle. That comes out in what we do and that’s important to us. I hope people can appreciate those two things from this band. Each record just comes back to what’s on our heart and what we’re supposed to say at the time… I don’t think we realized for a long time how important it was to be a bridge to both markets. We never really thought about it. But then when you talk to people, you realize it is something special. It’s totally a God thing and we’re thankful to be a band that connects to both Christians and people that have never been to church. Music can be a bridge between those two places.”
It’s artists like Owl City and Thousand Foot Krutch that are beginning to really get it. They are the musicians that don’t worry about their classification and just write what comes on their hearts. They are the ones that make creative, meaningful and genuine music that has real potential to change lives. If Christians choose to create and support real and honest music, then it could create a huge impact on the rest of the musical world that has been so far neglected. It’s not to say that there isn’t still a place for Christian music in the church and in worship, but there is no reason for Christian musicians to be restricted to only making spiritual music. God didn’t command us to go and fill only the Christian part of the world, nor did Jesus come just to help those who are already saved. While there is a place for Christian music, Christian musicians need to eliminate the need for classifications and simply make music. Through honest, good and unrestricted music, we can begin to redeem this corrupt area of society.
Thank you for reading. I hope you consider what I am saying, especially if you are involved in the music industry or plan to one day. Please leave a comment telling me what you think.
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