Is all music spiritually neutral ???

[Carl Emerson]

If this is correct then lyrics cannot amount to a word spell...

At this point I have to disagree.

During my journey our of the effects of the drug culture and the demonic nasties that came with it, I was shown by the Lord lyrics that had a hook in my mind.

 

[RDKirk]

I thought Mike E and the G Rap Crew (ca. 1991) did a good job.
I liked Carman's Resurrection Rap (1990).

I would put both of them in the "outreach" sub-category of Christian music.

BTW, back in the 80s I had a chance to "roady" for Carman's show when he appeared at National Church of God near Washington DC. He was a very interesting person to meet and watch "off stage" for two days. I also experienced a healing miracle in his visit.

 

[Jillybean736]

OK some great replies thanks.

I think that some consider their personal tastes sacrosanct.

But when He gives you a new heart and new desires the old becomes less attractive.

This is a journey I guess.

The other issue is that some music is dedicated to destruction.

It is designed to be dominating and carries a message of rebellion.

For the record, I was a trained singer and self taught classical guitarist.

But when I returned to the Lord, I repented of much of the music I played and stopped playing altogether for two years. Then I made a vow to have my music dedicated to Him only.

There were lyrics that had a spiritual grip on my mind that needed to be broken.

Music that truely contributes to God's plan of salvation is pretty rare.

I have been seeking God more over the last year. Since then, I have been having random songs pop into my head (usually in the middle of the night) that I thought were from God, but now I am not so sure. Most of the songs were secular (some are Christian or hymns) but had a spiritual and/or loving message.
Some of the songs are:

I’ll Be There- Jackson Five
Higher Love-Steve Winwood
I’ll Take you There- The Staples
Ooh ooh Child- The Five Stairsteps
Shine- Collective Soul
Nightshift- The Commodores

When I looked up the song nightshift it is apparently about Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye (who passed away) and them singing up in Heaven. I listen to mostly Christian songs now, but do listen to some oldies. However, these songs are not ones I normally listen to or had heard recently.

I do feel like the songs have brought me closer to God (I felt a special connection of sorts) Your thoughts?

 

[Carl Emerson]

I cant second guess your personal experiences.

Best advice I can give is that you ask for a grieving in the Spirit if you desire less than His best for you and secondly ask for a hatred for evil.

It is good to take time out to dedicate every aspect of you life to Him.

Then invite him to occupy every crevice of your life, heart and mind. ask Him to put His finger on anything less than His best for you and be at peace.

 

[mrpaul89]

Some lyrics are blasphemous.

Some music is written under the influence of drugs.

Is music more than a matter of personal taste - is it in some cases spiritually potent?

Your thoughts appreciated.

i understand what you mean and i agree with you.
modern popular music doesn't interest me at all and if by chance maybes one song does interest me, i always end up searching the lyrics because like you said majority songs these days are written about influence of drugs/alcohol/partying (etc) or they have explicit lyrics. i don't like and despise music with explicit crude/rude lyrics.

 

[lismore]

Some lyrics are blasphemous.

Some music is written under the influence of drugs.

Is music more than a matter of personal taste - is it in some cases spiritually potent?

Your thoughts appreciated.

Hello Carl. Music can be spiritually potent, in two ways- song lyrics and also style. Lyrics are obvious, just as the bible tells us to be conformed by the renewing of your mind, so can the mind be damaged by destructive lyrics. The truth builds, a lie destroys.

But also style can be potently dangerous and more controversial. Imo anything with a psychedelic effect is dangerous, in terms of beat, rhythm or repetition. Also genres such as death metal which use aggressive style and distortion. God Bless

 

[Roymond]

I skipped all the intervening pages of posts, so I may be repeating something already said:

The biggest concern is not any secular music at all, it is bad Christian music. When I listen to contemporary Christian music stations on the radio, I am always saddened by just how many lyrics out there are presenting bad theology. As Martin Luther noted back when he was trying to steer the Reformation on a solid course, what we sing teaches us more thoroughly than what we study or think -- so when we hear and especially when we sing lyrics with bad theology or even just sloppy theology, we bend our minds to believe incorrectly. Rather than get into detail, I just point to some articles that popped up from a quick web search:

Christian Music Theology: Is It Going Bad to Worse?

More and more, Christian music is leavened with wrong theology It is littered with unbiblical truths and extra-biblical claims

www.christianpost.com

Songs With Bad Theology | Worship | Centerpoint — Centerpoint Church

Worship is many people’s favorite part of church, but there are some songs with bad theology we need to remove from our set lists.

www.centerpointfl.org

The first one gets overly judgmental a few times but gets the point across. The second one urges us all to learn to think before we sing.

The problem is that when we listen to secular music we have a subtle filter protecting our minds if only because we recognize that it is secular, but when music is labeled "Christian" the barriers fall and we soak it in, especially when something in the lyrics resonates for us, and the words settle in and become part of our understanding of God, Jesus, and the Gospel -- and if those lyrics contain bad or sloppy theology then no matter whether we recognize it our view of Jesus becomes blurred. As one pastor I knew put it, better to sing about fighting and vengeance and know it isn't godly than to sing about Jesus and soak up ideas like He didn't die for everyone or He's only kind of honorary God or that we can do any darned thing we please and He's pleased to keep us.

 

[YahuahSaves]

Some lyrics are blasphemous.

Some music is written under the influence of drugs.

Is music more than a matter of personal taste - is it in some cases spiritually potent?

Your thoughts appreciated.

Crazy as it sounds, Satan has his claws in the secular music industry and it's now spilling over into some worship music as the Christian music industry models the world in business.

There doesn't have to be abusive lyrics or anything of that nature in a song, it's all in the undercurrent believe it or not.
How do we guard our ear gates and eye gates? When we receive spiritual discernment from the Holy Spirit, we know what to accept and what to avoid.

 

[LW97Nils]

Certainly not. Here a great video on this.

 

[Disciple777]

I heard that music either glorifies god or glorifies the devil.

Regardless if this is true or not, I think it's best to stop listening to secular music as a lot of it is to do with sex, promiscuity, affairs, drugs etc. Some aren't but it's a slippery slope.