Music.

[holo]

I don't think it's particularly more healthy to spend your time following heated agruments on CF than to listen to W.A.S.P. or The Prodigy.

 

[Oblivious]

I don't think it's particularly more healthy to spend your time following heated agruments on CF than to listen to W.A.S.P. or The Prodigy.

So are you speaking for yourself or....?

 

[holo]

So are you speaking for yourself or....?

I might be.

I try to avoid CF when I'm in a bad mood, it only spins me further down the spiral. People are so dumb you know, and it takes too much time berating them all.

But yeah, I listen to that kind of music with the best conscience.

 

[SOLDOUT4HIM]

Be careful, that's all I would say. Unless God tells you personally the opposite, listening to secular music is not a sin. My advice is just to try to stay away from the really nasty, satanic, or demeaning stuff. If God uses music for us to glorify Him and Satan was the leader of music in heaven, the devil is good at tempting us through music and God believes it is important. God Bless you for you desire to follow Jesus.

 

[Silver Speak]

Ive tried lots of Christain rock\rap bands {Blindside Tobymac Pillar} But its just not the same... should I just stop listening to music or force myself to listen to Christain?

Hey, don't mock Blindside Wonder if you tried the old stuff 'cause it's completely different. Tobymac, Pillar and whoever are considered the 'cool' christian artist don't sound cool to me. I wouldn't purchase a WOW cd if my life depended on it and traditional praise music just drives me off the wall. What really sucks is that only a few genres seem to be appreciated in the christian circles and the lyrics are all Jesus-I-love-you and give nothing to a non-christian -or a christian like me.

I would try bands that don't have the urge to categorize themselves as 'christian' artists. Pretty much anything Tooth & Nail puts out is good. What annoys me, though, is that these bands never said they're a christian band and if they decide to write about something else than spiritual things people judge them and think they're all about money they get out of record sales.

Honestly, I find a lot of non-christian music more uplifting than christian. Coldplay and the Cardigans make me happy ..Michael W Smith does pretty much the opposite (all respect).
I'm not saying all christian bands suck but they really do often lack originality and concentrate on the message rather than the music in itself. I don't even think it's worshipping God if they're not completely genuine in what they say. The attitude of heart is more important than worrying about what your audience will say. What I mean is, if you say you love God just because that's what people want to hear you say, you're doing it half-heartedly. God sees past the words and looks into what's in your heart. Anyway, there's no christian music -just christian lyrics.

I don't think you should force yourself to listen to 'christian music'; would be hypocritical of me 'cause I sure don't wanna force myself Just keep your attitude on check: if you notice the music you listen to has a bad effect on you, you should reconsider putting these cds in your player.

 

[Qyöt27]

What really sucks is that only a few genres seem to be appreciated in the christian circles and the lyrics are all Jesus-I-love-you and give nothing to a non-christian -or a christian like me.

It's because of the fact the CCM industry is pretty much only concerned in turning a buck, so they avoid controversial or dark topics (which may be perfectly justified; after all, the Bible itself isn't exactly all sunshine and roses) and the artists stick to only the handful of genres that are popular at the moment, because otherwise they won't sell, and when a new popular style comes along, a bunch of them jump onto that bandwagon. There's no other conceivable reason that it would stick to a close mirror-image of the mainstream for so long (and turning a buck is the same reason Post-Grunge has been kept alive for more than 10 years; it's not very hard to see the correllation).

Sure, there are the occassional innovators, but by and large it's whatever the mainstream is buying up because Christian music is being marketed as a 'safer alternative'. And what makes it that 'safer alternative' is the lack of willingness to confront topics that need to be talked about, not just trying to emphasize that 'if you have faith everything will be ok'. I don't like nü-metal or incessantly annoying teen pop and I've really just about had it with pop-punk, why would I subject myself to more of it?

IMO, Christian music has gone seriously downhill since the mid-90s. Aside from a song here or there from different bands, there are only two artists I consistently like from after 1996 - Plumb and Skillet. That's it. The rest don't like to label themselves as Christian bands, even if they do affiliate themselves with traditionally Christian labels or online stores (*shameless plug* Flaming Fish *shameless plug*).

 

[Bunnaroo]

I have a bit of trouble adding to the conversation. I agree with these points:
1) Any programmer will tell you: Garbage In; Garbage Out. What you put in your heart from all sources will be what flows out when you get bumped.
2) A lot of people are having trouble with the current "Christian" sound. It may be about money, it may be about safety, I don't know. I miss the stuff from the eighties.
3) No one should feel forced to listen to a certain type of music. That leads to a resentment of the music foisted on them.
4) It's sad, but one does have to look to find what they like. That is true even for secular music. I personally don't like heavy metal or rap(or anyone rapping on heavy metal. That gives me a headache. ). That doesn't make it bad, just not my taste.

That said, be a smart consumer. If it is offensive, don't support it. I liked Green Day's Holiday, until I noticed its similarity to a diatribe against conservative talk radio. If you feel it could cause another believer to stumble, don't do it in public, if at all. Our creator gave us methods to decide what is right, we need to use them.

 

[minus]

I love secular bands like the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Tool to name a few of the more mainstream ones.
I’ve tried to find Christian bands that do the same thing for me as secular bands but have been unsuccessful in finding any. I don’t find anything wrong with enjoying secular music just as long as you listen to see if the Holy Spirit is convincing you that something may be inappropriate for you to listen to. As for me I skip past songs I feel are sacrilegious.

 

[Silver Speak]

And what makes it that 'safer alternative' is the lack of willingness to confront topics that need to be talked about, not just trying to emphasize that 'if you have faith everything will be ok'.

Amen!!

 

[Sketcher]

It's because of the fact the CCM industry is pretty much only concerned in turning a buck, so they avoid controversial or dark topics (which may be perfectly justified; after all, the Bible itself isn't exactly all sunshine and roses) and the artists stick to only the handful of genres that are popular at the moment, because otherwise they won't sell, and when a new popular style comes along, a bunch of them jump onto that bandwagon. There's no other conceivable reason that it would stick to a close mirror-image of the mainstream for so long (and turning a buck is the same reason Post-Grunge has been kept alive for more than 10 years; it's not very hard to see the correllation).

Sure, there are the occassional innovators, but by and large it's whatever the mainstream is buying up because Christian music is being marketed as a 'safer alternative'. And what makes it that 'safer alternative' is the lack of willingness to confront topics that need to be talked about, not just trying to emphasize that 'if you have faith everything will be ok'. I don't like nü-metal or incessantly annoying teen pop and I've really just about had it with pop-punk, why would I subject myself to more of it?

IMO, Christian music has gone seriously downhill since the mid-90s. Aside from a song here or there from different bands, there are only two artists I consistently like from after 1996 - Plumb and Skillet. That's it. The rest don't like to label themselves as Christian bands, even if they do affiliate themselves with traditionally Christian labels or online stores (*shameless plug* Flaming Fish *shameless plug*).

I take it you're considering the current and former Solid State artists, along with those on Clenchedfist? The lyrics there are a bit darker.

 

[renaistre]

I got pretty turned off by the ccm stuff too, although there are still a few christian artists that I like. It's sad how bad some of it is. I know a lot of secular stuff is lousy too, but it's still sad. I probably wouldn't be too much help for you though... because I switched to country. Now there's some good music...

 

[Qyöt27]

I take it you're considering the current and former Solid State artists, along with those on Clenchedfist? The lyrics there are a bit darker.

Considering them how? Genre-wise, I can't stand artists like those listed on Solid State's page (dunno about the other one; I couldn't find the website). Metalcore and most 'extreme metal' just plain don't appeal to me, as does most modern Hardcore (early 80s Hardcore, on the other hand, I do like). Or did I miss your point?

 

[Silver Speak]

Considering them how? Genre-wise, I can't stand artists like those listed on Solid State's page (dunno about the other one; I couldn't find the website). Metalcore and most 'extreme metal' just plain don't appeal to me, as does most modern Hardcore (early 80s Hardcore, on the other hand, I do like). Or did I miss your point?

I hate how "nu-metal", or whatever they want to call it became a trend; now there's a bunch of alternative artists that sound exactly the same. It's hard to find anything original. Now I think indie is the next best thing, though, and everyone's going for that sound. I really wish I'd find more artists that do stuff that doesn't take after anyone else's sound The best ones are really underground, I suppose.

 

[LILIVIWA]

I tried listening to the hard core music (metal) and all I came up with was a sore head ache..but if you like listening to the stuff go for it...by the time you're in your 50s, I just can't imagine you listening to the stuff...

 

[Silver Speak]

I tried listening to the hard core music (metal) and all I came up with was a sore head ache..but if you like listening to the stuff go for it...by the time you're in your 50s, I just can't imagine you listening to the stuff...

There's other kind of alternative than hardcore, of course. I love indie too.

I used to hate hard music when I was younger but now I really like it; it takes a while to get used to the sound, I suppose. It's not for everyone, though

 

[Jason Dollar]

I really appreciate the thought and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that has gone into the posts in this thread. I love it that not one person opted to the legalistic "burn all seculard CD's" rampage. It seems that there is generation of young believers who understand (at least partially) what it means to walk with the Lord daily rather than keeping a list of do's and don't's.

As for me I agree totally that Christian music, perhaps becasue it is always trying to imitate secular, just does not reach the overall quality of its counterpart.

 

[Buttermilk]

What about bands which are not CCM but none the less have Christian members.

I am thinking of the likes of U2

 

[Silver Speak]

What about bands which are not CCM but none the less have Christian members.

I am thinking of the likes of U2

Bono is christian???

 

[MetalBlade]

That's no big deal man. Some of the music I listen to is probably the same music that they play in Hell. As long as the music doesn't influence you to do bad things, don't worry!

 

[Buttermilk]

Bono is christian???

Yes