I think where people get confused is that they confuse personal preferences with the nature of a music style and whether that music is christian or not.
I am all for personal preference. That said, I also believe that not all music styles are christian, regardless if they are self-labeled as such.
Just because some artists call themselves christian artists, that doesn’t automatically make that statement correct.
Does the music glorify God? Can you really look at all music marketed as ‘christian’ and say all of it glorifies God alone? Are the musicians dressed and acting in ways that glorify God, that they appear upright, or do they act and look just like the rest of the worldly musicians and their videos? If you can’t tell the difference there’s a problem.
Do the artists themselves look and act? Can you tell they are godly people by what they are doing, arethey dressed respectfully and modestly, or do they look and act like any other rock musician? If you can’t tell the difference, there’s a problem. Would you feel comfortable with them dressing the way they do in their video or on the CD cover, and doing their stage act in your church providing music for your congregation on Sunday? If you wouldn’t, then there’s a problem.
What about the music itself? You want ‘christian’ thrash playing in your church? You want ‘christian’ punk playing on Sunday in your church service? You want ‘christian’ speed metal or heavy metal playing Sunday morning at your service? Why not? If the message is good, the music doesn’t matter, right. Well, the music does matter. There is not ‘christian punk’ - it’s just punk. Just like there’s no ‘christian porn’.
You look at all these artists claiming to be christian, and line them up against all the other rock bands, and if you can’t tell the difference between the self-identified ‘christians’ and the worldy ones - they look the same, they sound the same, they’re doing the same kinds of things on stage and in their videos - then that is a very, very serious problem.
Based on 1 Timothy 4:7, Titus 3:9
Words and music by Bob Hartman
Everybody look there's a new bandwagon in town
Hop on board and let the wind carry you around
Seems like there's not enough to keep us busy till the Lord comes back
Don Quixote's gotta have another windmill to attack
(Chorus)
Another witch hunt looking for evil wherever we can find it
Off on a tangent, hope the Lord won't mind it
Another witch hunt, takin' a break from all our gospel labor
On a crusade but we forgot our saber
There's a new way to spend all our energies
We're up in arms instead of down on our knees
Walkin' over dollars trying to find another dime
Never mind the souls 'cause we really haven't got the time
So send out the dogs and tally ho
Before we sleep tonight we've got miles to go
No one is safe, no stone's left unturned
And we won't stop until somebody gets burned
Bro Bro Bro Bro Bro Bro Brothers