Let's be honest here guys, Christian Rock, Christian Rap...sucks. Sometimes even the words are so corny you can't even help but laugh. Not to mention the music aspect of it isn't exactly radio worthy. Why do we have this separation of Christian/Secular music anyways? Can't Christians talk about their break ups, tragedies and likes in the "secular" realm?
Jesus is coming back someday for the church. He is going to reconcile everything back to himself. This means, yes, even music. He will take what may be imperfect and make it perfect and his Kingdom will be complete. I urge you to see that "secular" music also has redemptive qualities. I can point to Christ through many secular songs. Coldplay, The Fray, Pink. Take a look at some lyrics,
"I found God on the corner of first and amistad
where the west was all but won.
All alone, smoking one last cigarette,
I said where you been?
He said ask anything.
Where were you when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone, it never rang all I needed was a call that never came to the corner of first and amistad.
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me lying on the floor, surrounded surrounded....."
Can you see how that may point to God? Of course I think we should be cautious and not listen to everything, but you still have to recognize the heart of the issue. Why are we as Christians keeping ourselves in a bubble of fiction when we're here on earth to speak the truth to people who don't believe? Why put yourselves in a created reality that many others don't share? How can you talk to your unbelieving friends about the underlying messages in songs, movies and TV shows if you refuse to listen or watch? It makes no sense to me. How about these lyrics by Coldplay,
"Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle?
You can't find your missing piece Tell me how do you feel?
Well I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak And they're talking it to me."
Pink seems to be screaming for something different,
"I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest
Or the girl who never wants to be alone
I don't wanna be that call at four o'clock in the mornin'
'Cause I'm the only one you know in the world that won't be home
Ah, the sun is blindin'
I stayed up again
Oh, I am findin'
That's not the way I want my story to end."
If you know these lyrics, you can discuss them with friends, family, even strangers. We were with friends once at a coffee/video shop in Winter Park when some guy just came up to us and started talking about Mozart. It was interesting and we talked to him about seminary in the end. I'm sure he was drunk, but the discussion about music led elsewhere, and that's what I'm talking about.
Christian, God is everywhere. He isn't just holed up in heaven looking down upon us. He is here, among us. And we should be among His people too.
There is a time for Christ centered music, and that is in church. Here is where I will bless you with a beautiful rendition of
"Be thou my vision" by Pedro the Lion (Thanks Tim).
Again, these are my rants, here is another take on the subject. This is from Richard Pratts wesbite, thirdmill.org
"So, as we consider music of any sort, the point is not that we should not listen to music produced by sinners. The point is that we are not to take pleasure in the sinful aspects of that music, or to be persuaded by them to sin (cf. Rom. 12:2). As I wrote in the answer
Rap 'n' Roll, music is usually a mixture of good and bad aspects, just like most other things in life. The Bible does not teach us to avoid all things and people that are infected by sin — to do that we would have to die, because only in heaven does such perfection exist. Rather, it teaches us to be in the world but not of it (cf. 1 Cor. 5:10).
We are to love and fellowship with other people, even though we know that everyone is a sinner, and even though anyone might cause us to sin in some way. On the other hand, we are to avoid those who are likely to cause us to stumble (1 Cor. 15:33). It is a matter of degree, and it is person specific. What causes others to sin may not be what causes you to sin. The point is not to avoid what causes others to sin, but to avoid what is likely to cause you to sin. If you know from experience that your favorite music does not influence you toward sinful thoughts, emotions or behaviors, and that it does not stumble others (1 Cor. 8), then there should be no impediment to you listening to it."
Don't throw all inhibitions to the wind and become a serial killer by listening to some metal bands the promote such things, but seriously consider WHY you listen to what you listen to and should you "ban" music that you hear on the radio? Just some things to consider.
