Article re: Christian Teens against Secular Pop Music. Your thoughts?

Question

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/22/gw.teen.christians/index.html

I just read the above article and though it would be interesting to see the various reactions to it here on R&S.

It begins talking about a Christian Teen Boy who said he had to stop listening to the Beatles!!!! The Beatles? The "All You Need Is Love" Beatles?

Please take a look and share any thoughts you may have with me and the rest of good ol' R&S.

Answer 1

That BattleCry group again... I agree that it's good to preserve life (For me abortion is still a big no-no) but I don't like to pick fights with homosexuals either (they're humans like us).

But being against secular music... I don't see anything wrong with listening to it. I listen to many forms of music, rap, hip-hop, rock, j-pop, emo and I don't find them to be so bad to say that they go against my religion. I just like the tune.

This is one of the things that make me feel uncomfortable with this kind of group. When they say they're against secular and popular culture, they immediately think they're against everything that many teenagers like. However, they don't seem to know that not all things in popular culture are bad. There are many things in our world now that fall under popular culture, not just 'sex, drugs, alcohol'. You've got anime, you've got gaming, you've got comic books, you've got movies. All these things are under popular culture as well but aren't necessarily bad (as long as people pay attention to the rating). There are lot of people I know (myself included) who like many aspects of popular culture. If you try to radically change it like that, it just doesn't feel right. It just won't be fun anymore.

Edit: Deke, I think you're over generalizing, I know that there's something a little off with stem-cell research but not all Christians are against science and not all of them are as strict. I've got many friends who believe in the theory of evolution and they don't find it conflicting with our faith. As with sex... hey even I have a fetish.

Answer 2

In all truth, I understand where that boy is coming from. The Beatles started out as being innocent ("I Wanna Hold Your Hand"), and then became part of the counterculture in the late 1960s ("Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." Harmless? Huh. More like advocating the use of LSD). This culture is NOW looked upon as being "romantic" and "tolerant" but they sure weren't romantic or tolerant when they were spitting on U.S. soldiers and calling them baby killers.
If a person wants to see a perfect example of the nouveau counterculture's "tolerance" watch the video that the reporter did on Battle Cry. What was it that was shouted at the teens taking part in it in San Francisco? Oh, yes: "You don't belong here!" Wow, that's SO tolerant.

Anyway, I'm off point. I listen to all kinds of music, but I also find it necessary to be careful about what I let in my head. SO MUCH of secular music now glorifies sex, drugs, and money, and I want no part in those idols.

It's pretty bad that five year olds know more about sex now than I did at the age of ten. They're INUNDATED with it.

I think it's good, no, WONDERFUL that there are teenagers out there who say that they want no part of it either. Keep sex where it belongs: In the bedroom. Not in our music, and not on the TV. It gives me hope for future generations. If they maybe take it a bit far (e.g. not listening to things that perhaps are innocent), it's better than not taking it far enough.

Maybe Hollywood will start paying attention. Maybe the music industry will finally understand. If we want to see and hear about sex, we can always read Hustler and Playboy and watch pornos. It's pretty bad when sexual innuendo is even added into PG rated movies, and into music that is considered to be "for kids." Sign of the times? Yeah, I think so.

Edit: This is especially for Deke: No, I DON'T believe that laws should be passed against this stuff. That would not only make it more desirable, but it would give religion power that it should not have in our government. Instead, Hollywood and the music industry should bend to the will of the people. If people don't want to see sex, violence, drugs and greed in every facet of pop culture (and this includes secular people as well; I know many non-Christians and non-religious people who agree on this), then perhaps it SHOULDN'T be in every facet of pop culture. It's just so hard to draw the line now, it's in EVERYTHING. A person would have to live in a cave to avoid it. Is this fair? I don't think so. I don't think it's fair to our children, and I don't think it's fair to us. People should NOT have to be completely shielded from the outside world to avoid filth.
And for the record, I don't believe that birth control or abortion should be illegalized, nor do I feel that adultery, fornication and divorce should be illegalized. Religion has no place in politics and government. However, PEOPLE should be moral enough to make the right decisions WITHOUT the law having to step in. I think it would be a really bad sign if there NEEDED to be laws against these things in order to prevent them.

Answer 3

I took it, based on what he was quoted as saying in the article, that it was more along the lines of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" Beatles. (Please note the drug references in the article.)

He also said he stopped listening to the temporarily. Sometimes everybody has to stop doing something for a while so they can center themselves again. Even non-Christians do that. So, I don't see it as necessarily a bad thing for him, or for anybody.

For some reason, I keep thinking "all things in moderation." I guess maybe that sums up my feelings here.

Answer 4

I don't think that he was banning the Beatles because of content...but because he was admiring them so much that they were becoming a god too him in his own personal life...He was beginning to put them before God..so he removed them from his life.. I have things like that in my life, most Christians do..

Horror movies were my vice, I love them, I could watch them all day long....in fact I would and that was a definite problem. Well for me it was, I wasn't reading my bible consistently, I was using my prayer time for movies...and I knew that even though they are just movies and are fake (I can distinguish reality from make believe) that they were probably not something I would pop in the DVD and watch with Jesus sitting on the couch....So I gave all of my horror movies (about 35 of them) away..I just couldn't throw them out..Now 6 months later I cannot even watch a preview for a horror movie because well they kind of disgust me and gross me out...which is still weird, but that desire is gone from my life..So I think that is kind of what that young man is going through...his just happens to be John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Answer 5

Your link refers to "God's Warriors" a Christian based movement that has many followers. I think it is a good thing.

Surely no one can deny that the "pop" culture has a negative effect on children.

CNN has a special on this movement, it is on at 9:00 eastern, on Saturday and Sunday night.

Answer 6

A lot of teenagers hate pop music. It is just stereotyped that teens have a bad taste in music.

Answer 7

I hope he realizes that Christian Music causes permanent brain damage and results in Zombie like behaviour.

Answer 8

What?! When will these people just get lives! I mean the Beatles? The Beatles? How lame do you have to be to admit that you were controlled by the Beatles music? I hate Christians...I can safely say I hate them with a passion. I bet that kid was breast fed until he was 14.

Answer 9

everyone should stop listening to pop music, its bad for you! it has been proven that listening to the same drum beat over and oer again cam dumben the human brain! listen to metal, its much much better!

Answer 10

Garbage in garbage out. If they feel that its not helping them I believe that they have a right to choose not to listen.
I support them fully