Christian Rock Music? Is That Possible?

"You call that 'Christian' rock music?"

I've heard about this topic a lot, but mostly from people in their thirties or forties when they talk to teen musicians. Especially from the Bible teachers from the video school I have been involved with for the past couple of years.

1. "Rock" music is evil, "Christian" or not...

2. Christian rock music is a tool to reach our generation...

What's true? Depends on how you look at it.

I'd say that music comes from God. I mean, music is a part of our worship at church, right? David wrote a TON of songs in the thickest book of the Bible. He danced his way through town when the Ark of the Covenant was brought home. God gave us music as a way to connect to other people and express emotions in an amazing art medium. Music is truly a God-given art.

I've heard it said that just the beat and instrumentation of rock music is repulsive and satanic. In my opinion, I'd say not necessarily.

NOTE: I may be biased since my favorite kind of music is [Christian] mild rock.

Indeed the beat of the music may get you pumped, but the question is... what for? Is it to go after girls/guys and drugs? Or does the music influence you to chase after God and be like Christ with all of your being?

I've seen some of the scary stuff at some places. Some popular TV shows have displayed rock music that is grossly immoral and/or satanic. I saw some bizarre behavior and coarse language. Many people who have seen that kind of stuff automatically think Christian music is like that. Not at all! 

Many artists, yes Christian too, have interesting clothing. It may be a band with the popular haircut or all black clothing. I have yet to see a Christian band push it too far. I have not yet seen a true Christian band with:

a) Immodest clothing (both men and women)

b) Vulgar speech

c) Subtly arousing people to get involved in immorality

By "Christian" I mean truly Christian. Some bands hide under the umbrella of religious music, but they do not reflect it in the way they act, dress, and sing. I can even think of a few now. But, for the most part, Christian bands do their best to reach out and sing about Jesus. Wouldn't you agree?

 Let us narrow our view to a sub-genre of the Christian music world.

"Screamo" Christian Music- honestly the music can be terrifying. Usually I like to survey the band's attitude before I label them as something I want to listen to. Yes, I have some songs with screaming in my library, but they only have about two to four seconds of screaming in the whole song, and even then I've set the EQ to put it in the background (if it already isn't). I would absolutely go deaf or insane if I listened to a full screamo song.

I know it pumps up the adrenalin, but why? What is it about screaming that rouses the emotions? Is it the absolute desperation or roughness to the voice? Is it the fact that screams can chill the blood and cause young people to feel invincible? Is it the absolute pain being expressed?

As a person who does not readily enjoy screamo music, I cannot truly tell you why certain people like screaming music. I simply do not understand the logic to the whole subgenre. I believe that screamo rock music could very well be close to the brink of satanic.

What are your opinions on screaming during songs?

The thing is, I've seen a lot of people surrender their lives to Jesus when going to a Christian concert. Hundreds of teens have given their lives to Him. True Christian music has a genuine way of reaching out. But I believe there is a fine line between true Christian music and non. Especially nowadays, when artists are trying to be more modern and can be a little unsure of when to draw the line.

As you decide whether or not you want to follow a popular band, think about these things:

1. Are the lyrics wholesome and pleasing to God?

2. How is the music portrayed (artists' general attitude, way of bringing the music, response of the crowd, ect.)

3. How does it make me feel? (Good? Bad? Downright Angry?)

God Bless,



P.S. This post may seem familiar to you who have been following GoMC for a while. This post is the slightly edited version of a post published in June of last year.