Christianity and rock and roll seem like an anathema to each other. The Catholic People have always been known for their strong and unshakeable faith and to their adherence to the teachings of Christianity. As early as a child is born, the teachings of the Catholic church are already being ingrained in him.
For most part, Catholics and Christians have this desire to approach their lives the way Jesus Christ had done to his in order to say that they’re living a life in accordance with the Lord’s will and the teachings that are found in the most holy book- the bible.
The bible has been said to be a person’s manual in life. It is a set of instructions on how a person should live his life while he’s on earth. It is his guide in attaining eternal life so that when he dies, he would have a seat reserved for him in the kingdom of God.
—Novander
People have always had this love-hate relationship with Christianity since more often than not they find it hard to abide with the teachings and rituals of the church. They feel like they’re not being able to live their existence to the fullest.
To them, it deprives them of the pleasures the world has to offer. People should avoid acts which the bible deems as sins; otherwise, they will be punished for these acts when they leave the earth.
Christianity and rock and roll
Christians and people in general love to listen to music. In fact, Christians use music as one way of praising and worshipping the Supreme Being. Nevertheless, it is being told, or so it seems, that Christians should filter out the kind of music they have to listen because some music may be contrary to what the church teaches.
Rock and roll genre may be of those sounds that may be in a battle against the pure Christian beliefs. This is so because of the music’s characteristics and the performer’s taboo antics.
People are torn and somewhat forced to choose between their faith and their love for music. The latter should always lean towards the good not just for people to satisfy their passion for music but also their faith in the Lord.
The evils of rock and roll
Rock and roll have a bad reputation to Christians since it has been viewed as sinful and associated to demons and Satan. It is seen as something so worldly and deceives people to turn their backs to God and live a life which displeases the Creator.
It is an undeniable fact that music has and can have a huge impact on person’s life. It can open his or her eyes and can change one’s perspectives. Thus, music can also present dangers to a person’s faith and spiritual health.
—Novander
Rock music is usually made up of a vocabulary which is unacceptable to pious people since the words used and its theme usually revolves around sex, violence, illegal drugs and activities, even blasphemy.
To some, rock and roll may have been just plain music. It is just a form of art where a person expresses his or her thoughts about a particular topic. It is just a way of releasing a person’s feelings and conveying the messages he couldn’t say in person.
However, to others, rock and roll may have been Satan’s way of enticing people to backslide and forget about the teachings of the Lord. For believers of faith, it may be a tool used by demons in order to separate Christians from God.
Regardless if rock music is a form of art or a tool to make people run away from God, people should be accountable for their own acts. They should have the ability to filter out what they think is good or bad for them. Rock music which opposes the teachings of the church should be avoided by them.
The devil in rock music
Rock music has been deemed to be connected to the devil. It is believed that rock music is the devil’s way to pollute the minds of the people and make them do acts which would disappoint and displease the Lord.
It is quite unfair to label rock music as something satanic since not all rock music contains lyrics which are obviously immoral and corrupt. There are lyrics which reflect sex, drugs, and other evil things that’s why these songs are labeled as songs of the devil or tools used by the devil to convince people to live a life which is sinful and full of disgrace.
Why may rock music be bad?
Rock music may be bad because more often than not its lyrical content contains themes which are contrary to morals. Rock music sometimes romanticizes satanism, pre- marital sex, illegal drugs, and violence.
All of these things are proscribed and abhorred by the church. These things are outright contrary to the teachings of Christianity.
People have this notion about rock music that it encourages people especially the youth to rebel against their parents and the society in general. It promotes chaos and disobedience which is definitely the opposite of the goal of Christianity.
The teachings of the church and the bible lean towards the good. It aims to make people live a life that is in accordance to God’s will and morally upright.
Why Christians may not like rock and roll?
Christians have always tried to deviate from any form of rock and roll since they consider it as an abomination against the Supreme Being for sometimes it contains messages which directly or indirectly insult and blaspheme the Creator. It uses the Lord’s name in vain and mocks God in general.
Christian families have always been strict when it comes to the kind of music they allow their children to listen to. They try to filter and control what music or art their children should listen or adhere to in order to prevent them from being corrupted and engage in worldly things.
Why some say rock and roll may be the devil’s music?
When rock and roll became popular, Christians trembled in fear. To them, rock and roll’s rebellious rhythm is the devil’s music. Rock music is loud and strong and often contains messages which are morally unacceptable. It is often regarded as a tool to corrupt minds and encourages people to commit sins and indulge in acts which the bible labels as sins.
The devil’s goal is to detract people from following the path God wants us to take. He will use every trick and measure just to entice Christians to disobey their Creator and live a life filled with temporary and fleeting happiness.
Christians believe that rock and roll is one of the devil’s many tools and schemes to achieve its goal- to separate Christians from God. It is his way to convince people to disregard the teachings of God and the church and just live their lives the way they want it to be without considering what is acceptable to God.
How can you say that rock music is not evil?
Rock music is just music. Since it is music, it is a form of art. Art is one way of expressing oneself and serves as a medium to communicate what a person feels about a particular thing or how he perceives a particular situation.
It is unfair to label rock music as evil just because the artist’s views are conveyed in a manner which is not conventional or normal to people. Art is not conventional. There is no fixed way in doing one’s craft. Art is not intended to please people. Art triggers people to feel something despite the fact that such feeling may be foreign or weird to them.
Rock music is not and should not be seen as something evil because it is only an expression of one’s feelings or views. If it is something that bothers the person, then such person should exercise the necessary diligence in preventing himself from listening to such music.
He should have the capacity to filter out what stays in him and what goes out. This is just a matter of preference. If you don’t like something, then that’s on you. However, don’t deprive people of their free will to choose whatever music they want to listen to.
What does the Bible say with rock music, if any?
The bible is considered as a Christian’s guide in living a life which pleases and glorifies God. It is his manual in this life while he is still on earth. The bible contains stories and parables which a person can get a lot of lessons from and can apply in situations that might confront him in the future.
There is no verse in the bible which expressly talks about rock music. The bible is silent with regard to rock music. It is therefore unjust to draw the conclusion that God condemns rock music when the bible, which is considered as God’s word, doesn’t say anything about rock music.
People should not be making interpretations of the bible which are favorable to them or draw inferences which would put them at an advantage to make it appear that their views are the right views.
They should not twist God’s words just to entice people to choose their side. God gave men free will. People should never be deprived of their right to choose what to believe in and make their own decisions.
Conclusion
It is possible that rock and roll and Christianity can co-exist. It should be remembered that art and religion have always had an interconnection. Both art and religion are ways of expressing one’s views about the world he is living in.
Rock and roll is the type of art which goes beyond the norms of the society. It shocks people through its unconventional standards. Just because rock and roll is something new to the people’s taste, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s wrong or evil.
At the end of the day, a person is accountable to himself. He is given the capacity to think for himself, determine what’s good from not, what’s morally acceptable from not, and the ability to make decisions which he deems best for himself.
People have the tendency to shift the blame to other things when in fact they have the ability to control the outcome. If a person thinks that rock music is something that is bad for his spiritual health, then by all means he should take the necessary steps to stay away from such. By not doing anything about it knowing that it’s not good for him, is pure negligence and he has no one and nothing to blame but himself.