When I attended the University of Texas at Austin, I was involved with two excellent, thriving college ministries: Chi Alpha and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. For some reason, I was invited to speak at Inter-Varsity about rock music. I don’t know if I asked or what, but they gave me the floor one Friday night at the UT Student Union meeting room, where they met. Attendance was usually between 50 and 100, if I recall. This one was pretty packed.
I focused on the “ugly” aspects of rock—namely, the satanic and negative influence side that people had heard about before. I spoke about the “bad” and focused on the slightly negative, perhaps unhealthy, or more aptly put, “non-nutritious” musical diet of “secular” music. Then I focused on the “good” art made by believing artists.
I must admit that I was young, inexperienced, and somewhat naïve, but full of energy and passion. I wish I could have a few things back. At the end of my talk, I took some questions. Many people asked about their favorite (secular) band. Rush came up a lot. “What about these guys? Is it that bad?”
I had a somewhat reasoned response. I think I acknowledged the ability each of us has to defend ourselves and our minds against negative or false ideas. We have a built-in “defense mechanism” that can spot errors and resist them. None of us is so soft between the ears that we’ll hear a message on streaking and then suddenly be unable to resist the urge to strip off our clothes and go running across campus. I should have proved that hypothesis right there on the spot, huh? (Sorry, I digress.)
Being that we can resist an idea we disagree with, it’s not going to kill us to listen to even the most vile, evil lyric there is. However, if we want to grow and become healthier, it would be wise to watch our diet. That was the balance to my answer. I did quote a line from the popular Rush song, “Tom Sawyer,” which bothers me:
“…his mind is not for rent, to any god or government.”
I don’t like that line because it reinforces the notion that believers in God don’t think for themselves.
One guy (I think his name was Jorge) stated that some of what he’d seen and heard in my talk was ridiculous. I’m sorry that I used the smoke on a burning building painting (on the cover of Def Leppard’s Pyromania album) to insinuate Aleister Crowley’s face was superimposed in the smoke, or this “guy in the corner, leaning over the railing.”
Inside The Eagles’ Hotel California album was Aleister, too. Oh brother. Why couldn’t I have left my Crowley references to just the run-off “Do what thou wilt” inscription on Led Zeppelin III, Crowley’s face on the Sgt. Pepper’s… cover or the Ozzy song?
Later, one of the student leaders inquired about Rush. Many in the crowd laughed, because it appeared that I’d “struck a nerve” by picking on a popular favorite amongst the faithful here.
What I wish I had said, beyond the response I shared above, was this: “You, my friend (pointing out the guy that asked the question), are the best defense for listening to Rush. Your maturity in Christ, consistent walk, and level-headedness are a good argument that proves that listening to Rush will not steer you down the path of sex, drugs, and Satanism.”
I think it’s true. A mature person can do things that an immature person might trip over or get upset about. This guy was a leader. He had consistency in his life. He was popular, but grounded. This alone spoke volumes to the debate over “what musical listening choices should I make?” If listening to a non-Christian artist would damage anyone’s walk with Christ, where was the evidence in this guy’s life? There wasn’t any. The opposite was true. He seemed to be a growing, healthy, mature believer in Christ.
I also wouldn’t mind having my mixtape choice back. I had a few examples of “Christian rock” on a tape that I played at the end. There were snippets of Darrell Mansfield, Stryper, Sweet Comfort Band, and Uli Jon Roth on there. What?! Yes, Uli Jon Roth – the weird, mystical ex-guitarist for The Scorpions who left that band on the eve of their worldwide success due to philosophical differences. He didn’t want to play guitar for a band that had songs like “He’s A Woman, She’s A Man.” He got out just in time, because their next album (Lovedrive) had songs like “Another Piece of Meat” and lyrics like, “A car to love, a girl to drive…” The hit “Rock You Like A Hurricane” has some real smutty lyrics in it, too.
On his first post-Scorpions solo album, Earthquake, he spoke of the anti-Christ and proclaimed, “I’d better follow the Messiah.” I found out later, however, that while Uli embraced the teachings of Jesus, he also believed in reincarnation and the polytheistic deity of other spiritual leaders throughout time.
While I wasn’t correct in identifying this guy as a “Christian” artist, at least I was making choices based on some good reasons (what would edify me, prompt me to ask good questions, build me up, and help me grow).
An honest search for truth may encounter weeds along the way, but it can also reveal the good kernels of wheat.
Now, as I look back, I’m so thankful to some of the leadership at IV. I wonder where Pete Wilson is… I wish I could find him. He might have passed away since that time (the mid-’80s). This was a faithful man who bore much fruit in serving others. Perhaps I’ll luck out and find him on the internet.
A great deal has changed in the musical landscape since the mid-1980s. Gone are cassette mixtapes and trends that have become nostalgia. Christian music became a little more accepted, but still vastly ignored by the general public, who rarely, if ever, set foot into a Christian bookstore to check out the often Amy Grant-ified music section. The built-in delivery system used by the Christian music industry was flawed, restricted by style, and limited in scope.
An entire industry splintered into the internet's MP3 file-sharing landscape. Music magazines, compact discs, Christian music festivals, and Christian rock shows virtually disappeared.
Christian rock bands that delivered sermons or mini-messages at their shows sheltered themselves under the wings of youth pastors and church networks. The bands that were pushing the envelope for mainstream acceptance found it—in droves. For almost a decade, Christian bands like Underoath, Anberlin, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada, Red, Zao, Demon Hunter, and many more not only experienced success but also led the way, influencing and inspiring their mainstream counterparts.
Mega traveling one-day festivals like Warped Tour became a who’s who of Christian hard rock and metal bands. Their success led to them being featured in larger distribution channels on the retail, airplay, and touring levels. When these avenues disappeared and fairly big record labels closed their doors, it became a sea of artists who stayed in touch with their audience through a combination of old-fashioned methods—live shows—and the newfound power of email lists.
Christian radio homogenized into an all-worship format that captured a genuine move of God, but also popularized a musical style that was right up the alley of soccer moms and modern parents across the land.
Music that challenged its listeners—both lyrically and stylistically—got lost in the mix. Attention was splintered like the musical landscape. The gatekeepers vanished. Tastemakers who once had a platform, such as a magazine, radio show, or MTV, have lost those vehicles. Intelligent go-getters jumped into podcasting, but the system was decentralized. While this opened the door for more artists to share their music, it was also a do-it-yourself endeavor for fans as well as bands.
Bands that questioned the morality, religion, and politics of the mainstream continued to make music. Bands like Ghost picked up the inverted cross symbol from their predecessors. Rob Zombie, Cradle of Filth, and even Marilyn Manson kept the “ugly” themes of sacrilege, horror, gore, satanism, and profanity. Not much has changed in that regard.
If you wear a black t-shirt, drop the f-bomb like frequent slang, and have long hair, you’ll immediately fit right in at a big rock show today.
While Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and other grunge bands helped younger generations question the beliefs, mantras, and lifestyles around them, they also fueled the relativism that has permeated our Western culture for decades. To their credit, they promoted being informed and thinking for yourself. Like any fad or phenomenon, however, it multiplies with duplication and following the crowd.
Like many musical niche genres, progressive rock flourished and found an audience that rallied around it. Bands like Porcupine Tree, Spock’s Beard, and even Dream Theater and Animals as Leaders (an instrumental outfit). This is where “thinking man’s music” has flourished for the past couple of decades.
Heavy metal legends like Iron Maiden, Savatage, and even mega-popular Metallica have focused more on thought than on sophomoric lifestyle slogans of lesser substance. Conversing with a fan of today’s metal bands can be an enlightening experience that towers above the mind-numbing dribble of late ‘70s and ‘80s hard rock.
Today, as in the past, the discerning Christian has a wealth of music to sift through. While many artists promote truth, some promote lies, and others mix confusing recipes of both. It behooves the believer to be like Israel’s legendary Sons of Issachar, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”
In other words, they stayed current with the art, culture, and thought of the world around them. They understood the times. And they knew what God’s people should do because they had discernment.
Doug Van Pelt is the founder and editor of Heaven’s Metal Magazine, a pioneering publication covering Christian hard rock and metal since the 1980s. He has championed faith-based artists such as Stryper, Deliverance, and Tourniquet, bridging the gap between music and ministry.
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