Music

Dear Van,

I listened to rock and roll for over 50 years and have thousands of snippets from tunes and lyrics which at times bombard my mind and at other times I sing or hum along.

This verse:
Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5

One, I think, has to decide for themselves if secular music is an idol to them
which exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

And to consider what soul freedom means:

Baptists have discussed and debated soul freedom for centuries. One definition of soul freedom is the belief that the soul should be free from any human coercion and interference concerning an individual’s response to God, and the only mediator between an individual and God the Father is Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
Voices: Soul freedom: An antidote for abusive church cultures & a balm for the abused

 

That's a good question. By purchasing the music, are we supporting a corrupt industry? We live in an imperfect world, and you could go nuts in our society trying to scrutinize every single purchase and every song that comes across the airwaves.
If we have second thoughts about something, it could be the Holy Spirit trying to move us in a different direction. We know when something is vulgar or ungodly and we don't have to be convicted by the Spirit to understand the need to avoid it.
You can buy some good Christian music at a music store, but that store also makes money selling raunchy stuff. The internet can take us to the "Baptist Board," but it can also take us to some morally corrupt places. What can we do? Maybe the Amish have the right idea.

 

He was a nut and a musical genius, all at once.

Yes.

 

This is the crux of the matter. Any good thing can become an idol.

 

Just about all industries are corrupt. We live in a fallen world. We need to exercise due discretion, but we will tie ourselves in unhelpful knots of we go overboard trying to avoid having our money go to "sinners."