Is Led Zeppelin a Christian Band?

[radhead]

This is one of those things that makes me question my faith. I claim to be a Christian, but I also listen to Led Zeppelin and I am especially fond of guitarist Jimmy Page. I consider his music to be beautiful.

Jimmy Page is/was involved in the black arts and magick. He owned an occult bookstore at one time. He bought and lived in the house which used to belong to Aleister Crowley. In their concert film "The Song Remains the Same"
he performs a gesture with a violin bow in the middle of one of his long guitar solos, a 4-part gesture which is supposed to summon the most evil one, the chief of all evil spirits without mentioning the name. He does this not once but twice in a row.

How do you reconcile this with being a Christian? (This question is pointed towards those who would say that it's okay to listen to anything you like.)

 

[HighwayMan]

Well if you believe in a literal, fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, it's hard to reconcile.

If you have a more liberal viewpoint, there is no problem. Just because you like someone's music, it doesn't mean you support every action they might have done in their life.

 

[WileyCoyote]

Well if you believe in a literal, fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, it's hard to reconcile.

Because every person who believes the Bible in a literal way is a fundamentalist, huh? Whatever, dude.

As for Radhead, it's a matter of personal conviction. If you don't feel right about it, maybe you shouldn't do it. But if you don't take the lyrics to heart and it doesn't affect your faith, listen away.

However, I draw the line at the hardcore satanist crap.

 

[Niels]

Isn't John Paul Jones a Christian? He played bass and keyboard for the band. Not all members of Led Zeppelin were into the occult.

That said, I evaluate music on a song by song basis. If I like it, and the lyrics aren't too out there, then I'll listen to it. Some of Led Zeppelin's catalog is quite good.

 

[Sketcher]

Hey, I like them. With Led Zeppelin I, II, and III there is no evidence that Page was practicing that stuff.

As for the stuff since, I haven't really made up my mind about it - play it safe and cut it out completely, or just the stuff where there is good evidence of occult activity (such as Stairway)? Another thing - Having been an art student in college, I took drawing classes with people who are into the occult. We all did stuff in class together. I really do not believe they used witchcraft in creating the stuff they shared in class. I was in that same room. They just drew and joked. No bad feelings like what happened when I approached an ouija board that was being used. Now, this is visual art rather than music, but I fail to see how creating music would be different spiritually.

 

[RobinRedbreast]

Can a Christian be a Led Zeppelin fan?

No.

Oh wait... Yes.

I always get those two confused.

 

[Trashionista]

Generally, I see music primarily as entertainment.

Personally, I think Led Zeppelin are overrated, but as a comparison, a band like Black Sabbath were [are?] very controversial. I enjoy Black Sabbath and don't feel like running out and pledging my soul to Satan, despite the fact that numbers of televangelists and fanatical religious nuts warn that that can happen.

So long as the listener has their head on straight, they can listen to a band that maybe has controversial lyrics or a slightly eccentric frontman, and not be inspired to follow in those footsteps.

Granted, I never lived in a house where any form of art or media was banned, so I can't really understand the viewpoints of those who try and ban their kids from listening to certain musicians. I'm sure if I had grown up in a different environment, maybe my opinion would be different.

 

[WileyCoyote]

Granted, I never lived in a house where any form of art or media was banned, so I can't really understand the viewpoints of those who try and ban their kids from listening to certain musicians. I'm sure if I had grown up in a different environment, maybe my opinion would be different.

I grew up in a strict home where even a clock with a radio was not allowed in my room. Strictly Christian music. I'm grown now and listen to music that would have gotten a foot lodged in my behind when I was younger. I refuse to raise my future kids in that manner.

 

[Sketcher]

Personally, I think Led Zeppelin are overrated, but as a comparison, a band like Black Sabbath were [are?] very controversial. I enjoy Black Sabbath and don't feel like running out and pledging my soul to Satan, despite the fact that numbers of televangelists and fanatical religious nuts warn that that can happen.

Interestingly enough, Sabbath never touched the real occult. They did some horror songs that I wouldn't recommend some Christians listen to, but it was a horror act. Not sorcery.

 

[Trashionista]

I grew up in a strict home where even a clock with a radio was not allowed in my room. Strictly Christian music. I'm grown now and listen to music that would have gotten a foot lodged in my behind when I was younger. I refuse to raise my future kids in that manner.

Do you think that a changed viewpoint is generally the norm or an exception?

P.S. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm generally curious if you've seen a 180 from how one's raised in the banned media regard to be very common or very rare.

 

[Trashionista]

Interestingly enough, Sabbath never touched the real occult. They did some horror songs that I wouldn't recommend some Christians listen to, but it was a horror act. Not sorcery.

In a way though, isn't that a lot easier to jump on than a band member who may have dabbled in the occult?

One could be very out in the open, while the second could be kept quite hidden.

And really, if the parent were really religious, do you really think they'd enjoy hearing Ozzy scream "Sabbath... Bloody Sabbath!" through their kid's record player?

In the end, if you've raised the child to be inquisitive and questioning, they can listen to a controversial band with strange lyrics and not feel the need to go out and apply that to real life.

Really, if you take something incredibly campy like Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl, play it for a girl who has issues with her sexuality [not that they're nessecarily not straight, but that they strive for the wrong kind of attention from men] or daddy's issues, then unleash her in a club and she acts like a tramp*... I don't think that's Katy Perry's doing; I think that's an issue that was in the making long before Katy Perry got a record deal.

You can apply that to Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin as well.

*which isn't to say you're a tramp if you kiss a girl at a club. There's a difference between that and someone who is obviously pretending to be bisexual in order to get attention.

 

[WileyCoyote]

Do you think that a changed viewpoint is generally the norm or an exception?

P.S. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm generally curious if you've seen a 180 from how one's raised in the banned media regard to be very common or very rare.

Perhaps I was an exception. I guess it depends on how rebellious or compliant a person is.

 

[Sketcher]

In a way though, isn't that a lot easier to jump on than a band member who may have dabbled in the occult?

Nah, it's all the same to uninformed and concerned parents. And of course kids who can't distinguish fantasy from reality (no matter how much they claim to).

 

[justanobserver]

Can a Christian be a Led Zeppelin fan?

yes. and also a Pink Floyd fan and a Jimmy Hendrix fan and Areosmith fan and ....

 

[Blank123]

This is one of those things that makes me question my faith. I claim to be a Christian, but I also listen to Led Zeppelin and I am especially fond of guitarist Jimmy Page. I consider his music to be beautiful.

Jimmy Page is/was involved in the black arts and magick. He owned an occult bookstore at one time. He bought and lived in the house which used to belong to Aleister Crowley. In their concert film "The Song Remains the Same"
he performs a gesture with a violin bow in the middle of one of his long guitar solos, a 4-part gesture which is supposed to summon the most evil one, the chief of all evil spirits without mentioning the name. He does this not once but twice in a row.

How do you reconcile this with being a Christian? (This question is pointed towards those who would say that it's okay to listen to anything you like.)

how do i reconcile the two? i recognize that music is not inherently evil no matter who performs it (or even what gestures htey make to shock their audience). I'm not a huge Zepplin fan or anything so i don't know much about the subject matter but i think thats all that matters, if its influencing you to think or dwell on ungodly things then its time to throw out the records/CDs/whatever but otherwise there's no commandment about not listening to music because a sinner recorded it

 

[Beauty4Ashes]

yes

 

[GreenWizard]

only on Wednesdays

 

[Tinkerbell33]

I used to listen to Led Zeppelin all the time when I was 16 but not so much now because I am worried that it offends God.

I didn't know much about Page's dabbling in the occult untill I got a few magazines and books and started reading about him. After that, I felt guilty when I listened to the music.

The only thing I didn't know was the violin bow summoning the evil one.

Now that is just beyond dark,

 

[Reanimation]

No, you must throw away your Led Zeppelin cds and listen to Limp Bizkit instead.

 

[The_Dan_x]

In my opinion, listening to Led Zepplin doesn't negate your Christianity. No way.

I've had people tell me something similar (more or less) in the past, but it involved video games. I really, and I mean REALLY love video games. Some believers that I know basically insinuated that certain games that I have shouldn't be played. It was their own viewpoint on the matter, not necessarily something Biblical. I guess when it comes to media content (music, movies, games, etc), it matters what you are taking in from the stuff. I mean, you're not listening to Led Zepplin dwelling and hoping to draw deeper into the occult or anything, ya know? Same way for me with games. I don't play a game like Resident Evil 4 to train myself in combat or to desensitize myself to violence so I can go out and commit it without remorse. That's just silly.

In my opinion, of course...