Is it a sin to listen to Secular music? Or is it bad?

W_McCarthy · Dec 4, 2015

riesie said:
Hey. Can you give me some country and/or bluegrass tips? I'm curious about it. Thanks.

Sure!
Ralph Stanley, Southern Gospel Revival, Southern Raised, Jim Reeves, Bluegrass Gospel Project, There is really so many if you just search country or bluegrass gospel on youtube or Pandora or Spotify you're bound to found something you like. There's a lot of artists that do secular and Christian music. Have you ever heard You're Drifting too Far From the Shore?

W_McCarthy · Dec 4, 2015

Willie Nelson's album The Trouble Maker is almost exclusively really awesome country gospel, except for the title track which doesn't really fit in with the rest of the songs, unless that was some kind of point he was trying to make, Willie was probably always a trouble maker, gotta love him though.
Check out Josh Garrels too. His music isn't country but it's really good in my opinion, especially the album Over Oceans.

keith99 · Dec 4, 2015

W_McCarthy said:
Sure!
Ralph Stanley, Southern Gospel Revival, Southern Raised, Jim Reeves, Bluegrass Gospel Project, There is really so many if you just search country or bluegrass gospel on youtube or Pandora or Spotify you're bound to found something you like. There's a lot of artists that do secular and Christian music. Have you ever heard You're Drifting too Far From the Shore?

Seems to me that Bluegrass is a musical tradition that has the Christian God mixed in so deep that it is hard to avoid. Here is one song where you could spend hours listening to different renditions.

Sometimes the Christian influence is not obvious. This is an instrumental. Noting to indicate it is Christian save the title, unless you happen top know the words.

W_McCarthy · Dec 4, 2015

I love Doc Watson, he does some really good pieces with David Grisman and Jack Lawrence.

Zorah654 · Dec 4, 2015

I don't think that it's a sin to listen to secular music. I listen to secular screamo, rock, and heavy metal along with Christian bands in those genres.I'm not limited to just that though haha. How much worse can you get right? People say my kind of music is satanic, but there are a lot of good sounding christian bands that play that kind of music. But back to your question... Listening to secular music isn't bad, as long as you aren't acting on the sinful messages some of the songs may send to its audience. There are some good christian bands in pretty much all genres. People have different tastes in music and that's okay, what I try to go by when listening to secular music is that if it isn't uplifting to you in the moment that you're in, move on to a different song that may be better for you in the moment. For example, if you're feeling down or sad, don't listen to a song that talks about how horrible things are, instead listen to a song that talks about something to be happy about.

riesie · Dec 5, 2015

W_McCarthy said:
Willie Nelson's album The Trouble Maker is almost exclusively really awesome country gospel, except for the title track which doesn't really fit in with the rest of the songs, unless that was some kind of point he was trying to make, Willie was probably always a trouble maker, gotta love him though.
Check out Josh Garrels too. His music isn't country but it's really good in my opinion, especially the album Over Oceans.

Thanks a lot! I will check it out.Personally I think David Eugene Edwards from 16hp is a hero. For years now he's in wovenhand. Absolutely extraordinary! You know him?

riesie · Dec 5, 2015

keith99 said:
Seems to me that Bluegrass is a musical tradition that has the Christian God mixed in so deep that it is hard to avoid. Here is one song where you could spend hours listening to different renditions.

Sometimes the Christian influence is not obvious. This is an instrumental. Noting to indicate it is Christian save the title, unless you happen top know the words.

Thanks a lot, great!

followthestar · Dec 6, 2015

It depends. I try not to listen to a lot of stuff with inappropriate stuff like drugs, sex, and songs that objectify women. I do listen to some stuff with swearing because I'm not bothered by swearing. I like some secular bands like Never Shout Never, A Skylit Drive and Sleeping With Sirens, for example.

Aelred of Rievaulx · Dec 6, 2015

ellieshay said:
Is it a sin to listen to secular music?

Yes and no. Most popular secular music has diluted and watered down the great musical traditions. It represents the lowest of all possible denominators and is generally trash. Considering the high liturgical and secular music of the baroque, classical and romantic periods it's really very sad just how far from splendour contemporary popular culture has degenerated. I guess this is what happens when everything is commercialised and placed on the market...

Sean611 · Dec 6, 2015

In my opinion, absolutely not. I refuse to limit my taste in music (art) to what I agree with. If I put those kinds of limits on myself, I wouldn't listen to anything. Personally, I love Black Metal, but I'm sure that would cause some on here to lose their minds. All this being said, it's always important to put art/music/entertainment into context, without always taking it too seriously.

ivnmetal · Jan 4, 2016

Sean611 said:
In my opinion, absolutely not. I refuse to limit my taste in music (art) to what I agree with. If I put those kinds of limits on myself, I wouldn't listen to anything. Personally, I love Black Metal, but I'm sure that would cause some on here to lose their minds. All this being said, it's always important to put art/music/entertainment into context, without always taking it too seriously.

I listen to black metal, death metal, etc... I see no problem with listening to it as long as the band is not promoting satanism or lyrics (which often comes with their actions) about anything blasphemous, cursing, etc.. Besides that, I enjoy it very much.

thehehe · Jan 10, 2016

Totally agree. I refuse to close my mind to everything that isn't Christian: I refuse to don't even let the chance for an artist to show his talent (or not). We can't just withdraw into ourselves and cut off from the world by ignoring everything that doesn't follow our own opinions or beliefs. We have to listen to other music than Christian music, to watch very different movies and to read very different books: we have to live in this world, the real world, and not in one we built by ourselves for security or I don't know what..

Shempster · Jan 20, 2016

This is not a perfect analogy but its ok...

Secular music is like junk food. Its probably ok if its not loaded with chemicals (lyrics that deny God or draw you away) but too much of it will leave you bloated, weak and more prone to sickness (wrong thinking) The dangerous parts are the hidden messages that you don't notice but your sub-conscious mind takes it all in.
Music specifically about God or worship of Him is like fruit. (tastes good and has nutrients to keep you healthy)

I am a musician and Ill be the first to tell you that secular music has a strange appeal. It has moments of super-human amazement that most Christian music tries to copy but it never gets to that level of awesomeness. The scary part is that the awesomeness comes from demons.

Dave-W · Feb 1, 2016

Shempster said:
The scary part is that the awesomeness comes from demons.

Sometimes. But not always; perhaps not even usually.

Do you think the awesome fire from Billy Preston on the keys, or Phil Driscoll on the trumpet, or Jim Peterak on guitar (Survivor, .38 Special) is from demons? How about Charlie Daniels on fiddle, or Rickey Scaggs on guitar, mandolin, etc.? These amazing christians are/were all in secular music. Rick Wakeman? Justin Hayward?

Jadis40 · Feb 4, 2016

Shempster said:
This is not a perfect analogy but its ok...

Secular music is like junk food. Its probably ok if its not loaded with chemicals (lyrics that deny God or draw you away) but too much of it will leave you bloated, weak and more prone to sickness (wrong thinking) The dangerous parts are the hidden messages that you don't notice but your sub-conscious mind takes it all in.
Music specifically about God or worship of Him is like fruit. (tastes good and has nutrients to keep you healthy)

I am a musician and Ill be the first to tell you that secular music has a strange appeal. It has moments of super-human amazement that most Christian music tries to copy but it never gets to that level of awesomeness. The scary part is that the awesomeness comes from demons.

I was with you up until you said that the awesomeness comes from demons. I listen to a lot of music from all different sorts of genres - classical and metal (all different subgenres) in particular. In the real world, they don't achieve their level of talent overnight. It takes years of practice and honing their skills. If I was a musician, and someone said that my talent came from demons, I don't know whether I'd laugh it off as ignorance or if I'd be offended - the implication being that I got to where I was through no effort and hard work, and hours of hours of practice, rehearsals, lessons with longer established musicians, etc. The example I can think of is if you took an average Joe off the street and handed him a guitar when he'd never played an instrument in his life. Do you think he'd be able to form a chord, much less play something that sounded halfway decent? But the next day he was suddenly performing something like "Eruption" by Eddie Van Halen? The real world doesn't work like that. Some people are gifted by God with musical talent (whether they recognize it or not), and others are content to listen.

I think a much better way of saying it is that musicians who perform in groups that aren't overtly Christian aren't bound by certain expectations that sort of limit their creativity, and are free to express it however they wish. The simple fact is, on a personal level, I listen to much more "secular" music overall. Why? Because in general it's more satisfying and the musicians are a lot more talented. Most of today's CCM simply fails to hold my attention for very long because it's bland and generic. Just my 2 cents. There are Christian artists that have grabbed my attention though: Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher and Matt Redman are three I can think of off-hand. And "Oceans" by Hillsong United is one of my favorite songs, regardless of genres.

Dave-W · Feb 5, 2016

The guy who started CCM (called "Jesus Music" back then) was Larry Norman. He wrote a song circa 1970 called "Why Should the Devil have all the Good Music?"

If (as you claim) "awesomness" comes from demons, then you say the devil has all the good music because only the devil can make it. I totally disagree. God created music, NOT the devil. The best ha-satan can come up with is a poor copy.

bldfalcon · Jun 20, 2016

I listen to every kind of music out there and bands that are extreme. You don't go to Hell if you watch horror films or listen to bad music. It doesn't work like that. We all sin, but in the of the day we come back to Christ. We all watch and even hear violence in reality at times. It's pretty much the same concept. We as people witness evil everyday. Prayer and following Jesus is all what matter's.

WolfGate · Jun 20, 2016

DaveW-Ohev said:
There are 2 kinds of sins: absolute and relative.

To give you examples, [using "bad thing" as substitute for sin]

Is robbing a bank a bad thing? Absolutely yes.
Is driving a car a bad thing? It is a relative yes. If you are 5 years old, yes it is bad. If you are 16 and have passed your drivers ed, got your license and insurance, then it is NOT a bad thing but a good thing.

So an absolute sin is something sinful for everyone at all times. A relative sin is something that may be sinful in some situations but not others.

Secular music IMO can be a relative sin. Certainly any songs that incite us to drug use, lust or violence are not good. But if you can hear them and not be swayed into sinful behavior, then I believe it is not a sin.

And no - the fact that you do not like certain mainstream christian acts is certainly understandable. They often fall short in their efforts. The underground indie christian stuff is often better. And over the last 30 years it seems the mainstream has gotten worse.

So back to your question: is it wrong or sinful to listen to secular music? IMO it is not; as long as it does not draw you away from the Lord or entice you into sinful behaviors and attitudes.

Bit of a zombie thread, but I wanted to say this is one of the best analogies and explanations I have heard on the topic.

Dave-W · Jun 20, 2016

WolfGate said:
Bit of a zombie thread, but I wanted to say this is one of the best analogies and explanations I have heard on the topic.

Thanks!

GoodLightSJ · Aug 1, 2016

WolfGate said:
Bit of a zombie thread, but I wanted to say this is one of the best analogies and explanations I have heard on the topic.

Agreed!

I've listened to a lot of Beatles, Nirvana, Beach Boys... and even Sex Pistols recently, but I haven't killed anybody since breakfast (or ever... I promise!).

I'll add that I know what it's like to listen to music that invokes some of those negative feelings. I think it's important to isolate exactly what it is about that particular music that's making you feel that way, and with this increased understanding of yourself, avoid that particular music (something I've been learning to do in my own experiences.)

Is it a sin to listen to Secular music? Or is it bad?

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