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Role of music in christianity
Examples of secular music
Relationship between music and Christianity
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Do you ever find yourself singing along to a song but not really registering what it is you are singing? I recently caught myself doing just this, which led to the realization that in all the years I had listened to that song, the lyrics had never sunk in. The particular song that I was listening to had one particular line that struck me, “Cleanliness is Godliness, and Godliness is cleanliness, and God is empty just like me.” (Corgan, 1995) Once I truly heard this line I began to contemplate the religious communities thoughts and concerns regarding metal and alternative music, even the metal bands who are considered Christian.
Music plays a very large role in religion and worship, inside and outside of the church. Within church, hymns and various spiritual songs are used as an emotional way to connect with God and each other. Spiritual music can also be used as a way for people to memorize scripture, particularly for younger children. Church music comes in many different forms, some have musical instruments, some use more modern music, some have choirs, some use tapes, and others just use the voices of the congregation. No matter what the form or style of music, it plays an integral role within churches. Outside of the church, people use spiritual music to express their love and devotion. Every genre of music has a Christian sector, even metal or alternative. The varying modern genres of Christian music tend to appeal to a younger crowd and allows them to find their own way and express individualism within Christianity.
The most stigmatized genre of music, particularly within the Christian religion, is metal and alternative music. There have been books written about metal music and the evil it represents, there hav...
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Hann, Michael. (2010). Prophetic and poetic: in praise of heavy metal. Guardian, Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/aug/31/in-praise-of-heavy-metal
Corgan , Billy (Composer). (1995). Zero [Recorded by Smashing Pumpkins]. On Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness [Medium of recording: CD] Virgin Records.
Priest says church can learn from metal. (2010). Ultimate Guitar, Retrieved from http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/priest_says_church_can_learn_from_metal.html
Cimino, Richard, & Lattin, Don. (1997). Shopping for faith: american religion in the new millennium. San Franciso, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Raschke, C. A. (1990) Painted black: From drug killings to heavy metal: The alarming true story of how satanism is terrorizing our communities. Harper Row, San Francisco, CA.
The satanic cult panic in part contributed to the conviction of Misskelley, Echols and Baldwin. Baldwin himself describes this assumption; “I can see where they might think I was in a cult,” he said, in that 1993 interview, “because I wear Metallica T-shirts.” (Rich, 2013). The article goes on to explain that the crime happened at the end of the five-year satanic panic period that had plagued American popular culture. These boys did not dress like other teens; they did not listen to the same music. Metal music especially music from bands like Metallica were frowned upon because of their expletive lyrics. When the public established that the boys were different from them, they developed stories that would align with their beliefs. The article establishes that after several weeks of investigation and no clear leads, “rumors of satanic involvement assumed greater urgency” (Rich, 2013) By doi...
Schlossberg, Herbert. Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture. Weaton: Crossway, 1990.
The purpose of this paper is to examine philosophical and theological themes in the work of two modern musical groups. The alternative rock bands Jane’s Addiction and Bush will be the focus of this study. I have chosen these two artists since I have observed what I believe to be contrasting ideas in their work. Perry Farrell was the songwriter for Jane’s Addiction. His band’s release in 1988, titled Nothing’s Shocking contains views on God, man’s place in the world, and instruction on living a life that adheres to Zen philosophical views. Songs on the album include “Ocean Size," a memoir about how life should be lived; “Had A Dad," Perry Farrell’s beliefs about God; and “Ted, Just Admit It...", that will be discussed in more detail below. Bush’s lyrics, written by Gavin Rossdale on the album Sixteen Stone, argue directly with the ideas contained on Nothing’s Shocking. I believe that his song “Everything Zen” is a response to Perry Farrell’s beliefs.
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
Gaustad, Edwin S. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. N.p.: HarperOne, 2004. Print.
Religion has been an important part of man’s life. Man has allowed religion to control and influence his life in many different ways, affecting both his behavior and his actions. So its not surprising that music, one of man’s earliest expressive forms, has also been influenced by religion. Religion has had an effect on man’s music all throughout history, from the early Egyptians to even now. So it is only natural that Western music should also have been affected by religion. Western music, and its development by composers, has been strongly influenced by the Christian religion, especially in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The music in these periods laid the foundation for all the different types of music we enjoy today.
...ings like anger. This is exactly what has happened to metal music; it has contracted a stubborn social stigma. It is misinterpreted to be "satanic angry and violent" and therefore many conclude that it creates violent, angry and satanic people. The truth is these angry, cynical, and socially isolated "metalheads" were created by a series of conditions through their lives, such as failed upbringings, severe antagonism towards them, and general misunderstanding of them and not by the music or it's subculture. These teen "metalheads" have merely reacted to the hostility and general negativity towards them and have chosen to be part of a group that can stand strong against the antagonism towards them. They joined to the metal subculture to be accepted as a part of a group that can simply laugh in the face of the dislike towards them. There is strength in numbers.
1 Gass, Bryan "A History of Rock Music: The Rock and Roll Era" World Book. Ed. 6. 1994.
Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Now Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print
It is difficult to show the effects of music on the individual, but it is easy to see how the individual chooses genres of music based on mood. The soldiers in Iraq, for instance, listened to a song by the band Drowning Pool titled, “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor,” over the speakers in their tanks. After listening to the song it would be easy to see that they didn’t just choose the song because they thought it pertained to their current situation. The song is loud, fast, and hard. The song fueled the soldiers. I don’t think that it made them into bloodthirsty savages, but I do think that it pumped them up with adrenaline. Walk into any random Gold’s Gym and I’m sure you will not hear classical or new age music, but instead some sort of rock. David in the Bible played music to soothe Saul. Due to David’s harp and voice Saul calmed down and fell asleep. This is present even in today’s society. After work, school, or any other long, exhausting event, it isn’t uncommon for people to go home and put on some soothing music in order to cure them of their horrible day.
Sweet, Leonard I. Communication and Change in American Religious History. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1993.
5. Smith, J. M. (2011). Becoming an atheist in America: Constructing Identity and Meaning from
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
Coyote Springs is a peculiar band. They play all types of music; from country, to rock, to blues. However, an old woman in the Spokane comes up to Thomas stating that “The Christians don’t like your devil’s music. The traditional don’t like your white man’s music.” (p 179). Rock music is supposedly devil’s music, as the genre is frequently associated with sex and drugs. It makes sense that those on the reservation harbor a resentment towards white people as they are stuck there because of the white men. Playing the devil’s music usually lets some infer that the band worships the devil. Playing the white
The occult is on the rise; many young people are seeking their spiritual identity through Satanism. Satanism has become an issue of great concern in our society. It is a phenomenon that crosses the city limits into the rural areas of our nation. Satanism is not just a big city problem. The news wires carry story after story about young children being kidnapped, only to be found later as victims of some bizarre ritualistic crime. This paper will analyze and will come to a conclusion to the most frequently asked question “What makes a person to convert his/her religion to Satanism?” To do so, this paper will examine the following areas: Effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become a Satanist? And is music a factor in changing one’s religion to Satanism?