I grew up in the era when speakers made the rounds to youth groups and Christian schools, railing against rock music and all its evils. They would read lyrics to us for shock value (not realizing we’d already figured them out). Some talked about subliminal messages (play it backwards!), others about how the very drumbeat was satanic. Interesting stuff.
I remember at the time feeling like these (well-meaning) adults didn’t give us much credit… It was as if they believed that if we listened to enough garbage, we would become brainwashed into committing all kinds of evil. While there is something to the frog-in-the-boiling-water analogy (frog gets in while the water’s cool, and doesn’t notice he’s eventually being boiled), these guys were telling us all rock music was bad, and we weren’t smart enough to listen to it and still serve God.
I’m coming clean, because reading Neil’s entry today touched a nerve for me. His tone has shades of what those chapel speakers said years ago. I believe his intent, though, is good.
What I do agree with is that we need to be aware of what music our kids listen to, be attentive to how it affects them (Depressed? Stop listening to Depeche Mode!), and make it an open conversation. I believe in the value of teaching kids to make their own decisions based on what they believe, and then supporting those decisions.
All this is spoken with a huge dose of humility, because, and of course, I don’t have teenagers yet. Feel free to weigh in with your opinions…
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