The Bible, Rock n' Roll And Your Soul

Some Key Bible Passages
Exodus 20:3
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Ephesians 4:17-5:21
John 3:16-21
John 8:12
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Philippians 4:8-9
Romans 12:1-2

Rock n' roll music has been very popular and influential in our modern culture.  But all be not well in the world of Rock.  To many of the fans it is like a religion.  Rock stars are often treated like gods.  Many fans are absolute devotees and some girls even offer their bodies to their gods.  There is definitely a dark side to Rock music.  

AC/DC sang "Hell's Bells" and "Highway to Hell", while Angus Young ran around with devil horns on his head.  Van Halen sang about "Running With The Devil".  Motley Crue had "Shout at the Devil", along with the Satanic symbol on the cover of their album. The Grateful Dead sang "A Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine".  Guns n' Roses gave us excessive profanity while Aerosmith gave us excessive immorality.  Marilyn Manson had an album titled "Antichrist Superstar".  Manson even claimed to be a Satanist.  At concerts he would tear pages out of the Bible and say he would not be ruled by Christianity any longer. 

The band Kiss had the song "God of Thunder".  In the song we hear these words, "I command you to kneel before the god of thunder and rock n' roll, the spell your under will slowly rob you of your virgin soul".  In the song "Great Expectations", Gene Simmons sings "you'll even sell me your soul".  Later Kiss would sing the song "Unholy".  Of course the sexual immorality of Kiss is well known.  Kiss member, Paul Stanley has said that he feels like an evangelical preacher spreading the message of rock n' roll.  

The Rolling Stones entitled an album, "Their Satanic Majesties Request".  On the cover Mick Jagger is pictured as a warlock.  Jagger's girlfriend at the time, Marianne Faithful practiced witchcraft (by the way the Hollies song "Carrie Anne" was about her).  John Lennon sang "Imagine", where he imagined there was no heaven, hell, or God. In his song "God", he states I don't believe in God, I just believe in me.  George Harrison sang "My Sweet Lord", a song not about Jesus but about the false Hindu god Krishna.  Unfortunately the later Beatles work was greatly influenced by drugs and Eastern religion.    

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin has been known to practice black magic (the occult).  In fact the symbols from the "Led Zeppelin IV" album come from black magic.  Black Sabbath had, "We Sold Our Souls For Rock n' Roll".  They too have been involved in black magic.  Even the music of Black Sabbath seems dark.  Band member Ozzy Osbourne has said he hopes he is not inspired by who he thinks he is inspired by (he meant the devil).  Osbourne also sang a song called "Mr. Crowley", it was about Aleister Crowley, a Satanist.  

Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and others have all admitted to being influenced by Aleister Crowley.  In fact he even appears on the cover of the Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" album (he is the bald guy in the upper left).  

Aleister Crowley was a Satanist/occultist who promoted drug use, sexual perversion, and a new age.  Crowley wanted to see the destruction of the family and Christianity. Timothy Leary, the influential drug guru of the 1960's was a disciple of Aleister Crowley.  Leary encouraged young people to "turn on, tune in, and drop out".  He encouraged people to find spiritual experience through drug use.  Interestingly the Beatles song "Come Together" started as a campaign song for Leary's bid to become governor  of California.  The campaign never happened because Leary got arrested.  Timothy Leary also referred to the Beatles as the four evangelists.  

There are many other groups and artists who are just as bad or worse.  And it does not just apply to Rock music.  Pop music has much immorality and debauchery.  Country music has it's share of immorality, adultery, and drunkenness.  Hip Hop/Rap is full of immorality, profanity, violence, and hatred of women.  

So is all secular music bad?  I do not think that it is all bad, but much of it is.  There is definitely a dark side and it has much evil in it.  It calls for discernment (the ability to distinguish between good and evil).  We must take sin and evil seriously. We must surrender to Jesus who is Lord of all.  If the music dishonors God, why are we listening to it?  

(Psalm 97:10) "O you who love the LORD, hate evil."  (ESV)