[rock_show_host]

Originally Posted by Steve353

I think lyrics can be evil. Messages can be evil. The music behind the lyrics might not necessarily be 'evil' but are they uplifting? Do they glorify God? Does God bang his head to heavy metal? Does he care what kind of drum beat you're using? Does he like the sound of one particular instrument over another? Does he prefer clean acoustic tones and not like overdriven distorted metal? Does he even like guitars? I don't know? I think one thing to be mindful of here is that quite often we try to rationalize things as being OK when they really are not good for us. I know I'm guilty of that. I personally think that there is a lot of music that is not good for a person to listen to. Ultimately, I think a person ought to take this issue to God with a pure and humble heart and let the Holy Spirit convict you of what is right and what is wrong.

I think another thing to be mindful of is that quite often we just mindlessly condemn anything that we're unsure about rather than striving to understand why. It's really easy to say "Oh, well there's a lot of debate around heavy metal music, and it's generally perceived as being 'evil,' so God probably doesn't like it. Let's just condemn it and cut it out entirely just to be safe." Is this really the way to go about following God's commands?

Also, you didn't really address the question -- you say that there is a lot of music that is not good for a person to listen to. Are you referring to the music alone, apart from any questionable lyrics or messages? If so, you're going to need a better defense than "Well, the music doesn't sound uplifting so it might not glorify God."

[Rainer.]

IMO, the modern rap scene is much more popular now and is spreading less-than-wholesome messages than metal bands spreading satanic messages. I'd be more concerned about young people these days listening to that. Besides, the Christian hardcore and metal scene seems to be alive and well.

[+SEAL+]

Keep in mind, the title of the thread says "Evil", in quotation marks. I think that changes everything...

[patty67]

yes, i believe there is evil music.

[Aiken]

Originally Posted by Naragrath

I'll be straight up front and say, yes, I believe that music can be evil, as can every other art form(though perverted is the better term).

Music is just sound. Neither evil, nor holy. It is, in effect, a thing created by people. The people's actions are the things that are evil or holy. Both the creator and the listener interact with the music and their actions will be evil or holy. I do think that certain sounds cause physical reactions in people. If you are stimulating your flight or flight adrenaline rush via certain music...in essence causing yourself to become angry because you like the feel of it, then I think that your use of those sounds for music is questionable. As for the lyrics/vocals....All of the screaming that goes on in some music seems to emulate "rage." That may not be what they are going for, but that's what it seems like to me. It seems odd to me to scream "I love you Jesus!" in the same tone you would use if you were saying "I want to rip your heart out and eat it!" You know, it's been shown that if you act happy (smile, laugh, etc.) that you actually feel more happy. I'd bet the same is true for anger/rage.

So, my vote is...not evil music, but evil uses of music.

[rock_show_host]

Originally Posted by Aiken

Music is just sound. Neither evil, nor holy. It is, in effect, a thing created by people. The people's actions are the things that are evil or holy. Both the creator and the listener interact with the music and their actions will be evil or holy. I do think that certain sounds cause physical reactions in people. If you are stimulating your flight or flight adrenaline rush via certain music...in essence causing yourself to become angry because you like the feel of it, then I think that your use of those sounds for music is questionable. As for the lyrics/vocals....All of the screaming that goes on in some music seems to emulate "rage." That may not be what they are going for, but that's what it seems like to me. It seems odd to me to scream "I love you Jesus!" in the same tone you would use if you were saying "I want to rip your heart out and eat it!" You know, it's been shown that if you act happy (smile, laugh, etc.) that you actually feel more happy. I'd bet the same is true for anger/rage.

So, my vote is...not evil music, but evil uses of music.

An evil person can just as easily whisper "I want to rip your heart out and eat it," which would in my opinion be far creepier. Yet whispering is hardly wrong or even sketchy in most cases. Tones of voice are just like you describe tones of music; just sound, neither evil nor holy, made evil by the way in which they were used.