I begin this article with the statement that I used to believe all Christian Rock musicians were false Christians and that they had no motive for performing their music other than to corrupt Christian youth. I have moved away from that harsh position to declare that most of the Christian Rock performers I have had discussions with are sincere professing Christians. I still believe a good many CR performers, as well as many Christian music performers in general, are either not Christians or have selfish, ulterior motives for performing the music. The entire industry itself is fraught with people who have a terrible witness yet wield a powerful influence on, not only Christian youth, but Christianity as a whole.

I must also confess that there is a tendency to make Christian music the scapegoat for all the ills that has befallen the Church in the last few decades. This is not an accurate depiction of everyone in the industry. There have been some positive things come out of Christian music as well as some things negative and deeply divisive. It is the deeply divisive genre of Christian Speed, Trash and Death Metal and Brutal music that I still cannot bring myself to condone.

My primary purpose in this article is to determine what it is that is dividing the Church on this issue and what can be done to resolve the conflict. To resolve the conflict has been my goal since I debated several Christian Rock music proponents and realized that they were in fact sincere professing Christians and wanted to win the lost as I do. I have tried to listen. This has consistently been one of the major problems in all the conflicts the Church has endured through the centuries, people would rather impose their view than to listen to the opposing view.

I can also state with honesty that I have nothing but love and respect for those Christian Rock performers who are sincerely trying to serve God in the best way they know how, even if I do not agree with their music. Some of the things I will present in this article will be tough for them to read. Most of them will not agree and others will get very angry with me. I hope to reach the majority who have a heart for God and get them to see that there are some problems that have to be addressed. These problems are not the sole reason for the conflict and may not satisfy those who simply do not have a taste for the music and base their opposition solely on that issue. For this reason I have no illusions as to what I might accomplish here and have determined a secondary goal.

The secondary goal is to help the performers themselves. I want to give them a clear pastoral perspective of how to improve both the efficiency of their efforts and the purity of their witness. Now who wouldn’t want to accomplish this who is truly in love with Jesus. For those who may reject my words because I threaten their love of the music, their position as performers, their livelihood or their social acceptance and security in the CCM genre, they may find solace in this secondary purpose.

My words are not gospel anyway. Who am I but a pastor who loves Jesus and loves people and wants to see the most efficient and attractive soul-wining machine that the church can produce operating in the world. If, even in a small way, God may use me to accomplish some sort of an adjustment of this soul-winning machine, to help tweak the working parts a bit, and get a bit more production out of it, I will have satisfied my goals to a certain degree. If people who love winning the lost as much as Jesus does will bear with me throughout this article, I believe there will be some solid answers as to how this may be done.

The title of this article, "Diabolus in Musica," is Latin for "the Devil in music." According to Charles M. Brown, a sociologist, "The tritone interval, which consists of a diminished 5th or an augmented 4th; is commonly used in speed/thrash metal and is also known as "Diabolus in Musica," This interval was banned from church music during the middle ages because of its association with Satan. Church leaders felt that the interval sounded evil due to the extreme dissonance produced and therefore was not suitable for Christian worship."

I realize this is disturbing information to CR proponents, but they knew when they began using this music that it was formed or designed in the World System by people who were under the influence of Satan. We were all under the influence of Satan and the societal folkways and mores of the World System before we were saved. Consider the following scripture:

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, {2} in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, {3} among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Eph 2:1-3 NKJV)

I believe the devil is in the music, but not necessarily the musicians. With this statement, I will begin my explanation of why I believe this statement to be true, and present the effect it has had on the youth of the church and also propose what might be done to correct the problem.

Part one: Is the devil in the music?

Two of the points concerning Christian Rock music I have frequently heard from its proponents are:

1. Music is neutral.

2. Rock music can’t be demonic because Satan can’t create.

The problem with these two points is that they assume the opponent is declaring music is not neutral and that Satan created music. I will flat out declare that music is neutral, but that not all musical forms, which is the arrangement of neutral music into a pattern, are neutral. This is not a contradiction at all. It is the same as saying that milk is good, but not all milk is good. Milk, as it was intended by God for our consumption, is good. Milk that has been spoiled is not intended for our consumption and is not good. The same example applies to music. When music is arraigned into a pattern that is designed for the production of fleshly desires that are ungodly, then that music is sinful and unfit for Christian consumption.

Music, as God intended it for our consumption, is good. Music that has been spoiled is not intended for our consumption and is not good. Neither is spoiled music neutral because it has been contaminated with the spores of satanic influence, as we will easily see. The alphabet is neutral, neither good nor bad. However, when the letters are arraigned into words that produced the image of vulgarity or hatred, then the letters are no longer neutral.

The question begging to be asked here is, can music be made good again after it has been spoiled by satanic influence? Another way to ask the question is, can Christian Rock music have any good purpose at all since it is based on spoiled music? I will answer the questions later on in this article. First, let me get to point number two.

Point number two states that Rock music cannot be demonic because Satan can’t create. This presumes the opponent believes Rock music was created. That is an idea that comes from the natural mind concerning musical arraignments. We frequently hear that a popular musician created a song. Actually, from a scriptural perspective, the musician did not create the song. He fashioned or arraigned a song out of the music God created. Design is a more accurate word than create when it comes to describing the production of music. The style of music that Satan influenced the World System to bring forth was not created by him, but designed. His design is a perversion and improper use of music.

The clear evidence of this is apparent when you recognize the groups that brought this music into existence. The foundation for today’s Speed, Thrash, and Death Metal music came from these three major bands that started in England in 1960's and early 70's. They were responsible for heavy metal's formation: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band’s music style made the evolution into the Speed, Thrash and Metal around 1981 to 1983 by the musical efforts of these three groups, Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. I do not believe a honest Christian will deny the satanic influence in these groups that resulted in the satanic design of the music.

An ethical and honest consideration of these facts should help both proponents and opponents of CR to come to the same conclusion as to who is actually influenced the design of Rock music. We can discuss the validity of the use of it in Christianity later on in this article, but we must come to this agreement before we can move to any other point. If the debate stops here with a deadlock in difference of opinion, then I must suggest there has not been an honest and ethical consideration of these facts. It would be like a church committee trying to agree over the color of carpet to use in the sanctuary. If you can’t even agree that the color is what it has historically been defined to mean, such as, red is or is not red, green is or is not green, then it is fruitless to continuing discussing what color belongs in the sanctuary.

The origin of music is not in question here, neither is the neutrality of music, but the author or influence of the design that is termed Rock music and all its varying forms. The neutrality of the instruments is not in question. Neither is the neutrality of the vehicles by which the music is disseminated throughout the world, i.e, radio, television, C.D.’s, tapes, boom boxes and etceteras. A thing or a person leaves the position of neutral when it or they begin to define some position other than neutral. When music defines a righteous or wicked position, it is no longer neutral, but is definitely defined as an expression of that position. Christian Rock proponents claim that they can take what was designed as wicked and use it to define what is righteous. Can this possibly be the truth?

CR proponents might insist here that I have just given them the criterion to declare their music righteous. Since they claim that it defines a position consistent with the righteousness of God by the insertion of a few religious words, then it must be righteous. The criterion cannot be partially applied, but must be applied completely. For example, a person can be defined as a Christian, yet commit a wicked deed. When the same criterion that is used to define them as a Christian is applied to their deeds as well, the person may still be defined as a Christian while their deed may be defined as sin. In this case, they should repent. This is, of course, a reference to the Rock music style, which is wicked, although some of the words may be righteous.

Another question that begs to be asked here is as follows. Does the words, which clearly define a righteous position, make the music style any less wicked? I will answer by asking a question. Does the status of a Christian make his or her sinful deeds any less sinful? The answer to both questions is emphatically, no! The words cannot make the style any less wicked because the style has defined a wicked position. It will not make fornication a righteous act simply because it is committed by a Christian or is used as a tool to win someone to Christ, which is a bizarre thought.

Does this make Christian Rock proponents wicked? I do not believe that it does. There are several reasons why I hold this position. First, let me relate a story I heard about a man who came to Christ out of a violent life of crime, drugs, and other dark bondage. The first act of soul winning he performed was to promptly beat his best friend under submission because he wouldn’t accept his testimony. He then practically dragged him before his pastor and proclaimed his friend had received Jesus too. This didn’t make him less a Christian because of an aberrant soul-winning technique, he just needed some wisdom.

Christian Speed, Thrash and Death Metal music is an attempt to win souls to Jesus using an improper soul-winning technique. Because improper techniques are used does not of itself make the soul-winner a wicked individual. I do believe that when it becomes apparent to CR proponents that the music is an improper tool, they should be willing to change what they are doing.

It would be proper to ask here, what difference does it make if the tool is improper as long as it works? My answer is that the bait should be representative of the product you are offering. You could give out some free toast to sell a toaster, but you couldn’t give out a handful of worthless rocks to sell the toaster. In the same sense, Christian Rock music does not represent the qualities and nature of Jesus Christ. If this erroneous practice became acceptable across the board, I can imagine it becoming acceptable to use strip teasers to lure pornographers into the church. Some people might decide that it would be okay to encourage a few Christian ladies to dress up as prostitutes in order to win fornicators and adulterers. Others might try dressing in drag and acting as a homosexual to win homosexuals. Some professing Christians today are using the lure of making a lot of money fast to get people into the church. After the multi-level marketing presentation, they give an altar call and hundreds are "saved." I have known some of these people personally and they continue to equate God with making a lot of money fast.

Would there be souls won through these techniques if the person using them was sincere, although wrong in his or her methods? There would probably be some converts to Christianity or a church, but one has to wonder if they would ever come to know Christ Jesus as the Bible presents Him. The word of God is powerful and the Spirit is always willing and ready to convict. But that does not make aberrant techniques proper or sanctioned by God. I am not convinced that the best way to reach the lost is to mimic the bondage they are in, only with a bit of Christian rhetoric added in. The problem with such practices are numerous. First of all, if ladies began to dress as prostitutes and men dressed in drag, the church would begin to accept these abnormal actions as normal. The bait must reflect the product. If it doesn’t, people may adapt to the character of the bait rather than what the bait is trying to attract those people to.

Popular CCM star, Michael W. Smith, gives us an indication of how improper methods/bait perverts the truth. He declares that Jesus would not enter churches, but would go to the bars and nightclubs to do His ministry. This is not in harmony with the Scriptures. First of all, Jesus was sent to a religious nation who were the children of God. There is no indication that He ever visited dens of iniquity, brothels or other places of ill repute. He did minister to people that the Pharisee’s called sinners, but there is no evidence that He would do as Mr. Smith claims.  Jesus came as a holy man, a Rabbi, wore the garments of a holy man, conducted Himself at all times as a holy man, and never used the devices of Satan to present His teachings.

Part two: The conundrum of Christian Rock music.

With those thoughts in mind I want to lay out the scope of what I believe to be the conundrum, the puzzling and controversial issue of Christian Rock music and its various forms as it relates to the Church as a whole and the word of God.

First, I believe it is important to go back to the beginning of Christian Rock music. How did this music begin and how did it obtain its present position in Christianity?

The historical beginning of Christian Rock music is well documented and I will not spend a lot of time reiterating here. It is significant to point out a couple of major points relevant to the beginning of CR music.

1. The reason the musicians adopted that form of music in the first place.

2. The reaction of the Church to this style of music.

First, I believe the reason CR was adopted as a form of Christian music was because of the type of people coming into the church at that particular time. It was an unprecedented time in our society. The sexual revolution, the Hippie movement, drug use, war protests and other anti-establishment/anti-authority activity was rampant in our society. The music of that generation reflected their rebellious nature. The older generation was not listening to the younger generation and the younger generation did respect what the older generation had accomplished. It was a generational war of the greatest magnitude with misunderstanding, no understanding and lack of communication as the key issues. The music was a form of communicating the frustrated feelings and the rebellion that was pent up inside the youth of that era. The style fit the message and the culture; together the songs evoked a feeling of oneness with the spirit in the rebel generation.

When many of that generation became Christians, the Jesus Movement was born. They rejected the hymns and spiritual songs of the older generation and wrote music fashioned after the secular styles of that era. Some people declare Larry Norman the first Christian Rocker, but there were others that were soon to follow.  Norman's mantra, "Why should the devil have all the good music?" was based on a false premise.  The devil did not have and does not now have any good music.  God has all the good music, but Norman and his successors wanted Satan's version of musical communication.

The older generation became very alarmed at the new forms of music coming into the church and not without good reasons. They recognized the deviation from the pattern of distinctive Christian music and style that had long been the tradition in the church. A great deal of the church’s music at that time came from the mighty revivals and great awakenings. I believe the older generation also saw their identity slipping away. They recognized that their replacements were coming and wanted nothing to do with the legacy the older generation had established. It was change in a big way and it didn’t include some of the basic qualities of their generation’s fundamental methods and means.  The invasion was neither civil, responsible, ethical and certainly not respectful of the theological thread of continuity in Church history.  

For example, the new generation exhibited a cavalier attitude toward God, the lack of respect and understanding of holy things, disrespect for the many traditions the Church considered important. People dressed up nicely when they attended Church services as a respect to God. The CR generation came with holes in their jeans, t-shirts and unkempt, long hair. Most rejected deodorant and perfume, not to mention the razor blade. If the CR generation were going to sell their new ideas about music and worship, they certainly did not care much for first impression. I have heard CR musicians mock the scorn a lot of the traditions of the older generation including the preaching styles, the worship, the nice clothing, the music, and most everything else.

In my opinion, most of the Church did not handle the invasion of the CR generation with their new music and ideas. They denounced the music as "straight from the pits of hell," damned and banned it. They also rejected everyone in that generation who would not conform to their standards. It was a mistake. The huge problems that existed between the old and new generation spilled over into Christianity aggravating the "holy" war. The same old contributing factors were also exacerbated, i.e., misunderstanding, no understanding and lack of communication. The older generation should have tried to understand what was happening and presented a solution. Instead, they overwhelmingly rejected the CR genre effectively shutting them off from the rest of the Church. As the result, there was little supervision of the aberrant but rising trend in music style and very little accountability as well.

On the other hand, the CR generation should have left their old rebellious ways in the past life and humbled themselves, but they continued their fight with the older generation. They established their own musical agenda and did it on their own in their own way. Now, they reject anyone’s attempts to tell them what is wrong or how to fix it. Of course they are wrong, but can anyone blame them?

This brings us to explain why that generation adopted the secular forms of Rock music in the first place. As I previously said, the younger generation was caught up in a tremendous spirit of rebellion. The music was an expression of that spirit of rebellion as well as a release for it. The rejection by the mainstream church fueled the rebellion by giving them a cause and someone to rebel against. The "Christianized" secular Rock music was, to a great degree, a ready made retaliation and continuing expression against that rejection. It is easier to adopt secular forms of rebellious music when one is in rebellion themselves. The CR generation was rebelling against established religion just as they had rebelled against the secular establishment before they were saved. The secular music helped to foster and support that rebellion before their conversion became their perfect vehicle to continue that rebellion after conversion. A mind set ensued, whether consciously or subconsciously, that if the music can be made righteous by simply changing the lyrics, why can’t rebellion itself be made righteous as well by just changing the purpose?

The music became the best medium for their message of rebellion. It’s not that they included lyrics against the established church, although some songs did contain such lyrics, but that the music style itself, the clothing, and all the trappings of the secular Rock music genre was translated into a new Christian subculture. The musicians mimicked the darkness that they were delivered from right down to the facial paint, smoke and symbols of hatred, bondage, and the effeminate spirit. This not only sustained the rebellious nature, but made it stronger until the industry has now become so autonomous that it is a religion, self-perpetuating and accountable to nothing or no one.

It is important here to look at the self-perpetuating nature of CR. Each generation goes through the rebellious stage brought on by adolescence and the subsequent identity crisis. In the past, there was never a good escape valve for this imminent occurrence when it came to Christian young people. Christian young people going through adolescence wrestled with their parents and church authority as they struggled through adolescence. Some rejected both and wandered out into the World System while others made it through with the help of parents and godly leaders. The constant pull of the World System and their peers, most of whom were lost, was the greatest contribution to the battle itself. If parents could get their teenagers to get committed to God, the battle was soon dampened down to a strong disagreement from time to time.

Now, because of CR, the advent of another factor that operates from within the church has a greater effect than all the forces from without. There is already the added factor of secular music that is more available than ever before. Very few young people can navigate adolescence without being influenced and deply affected by secular music. I know from my experience as a pastor that it is one of their greatest battles. The spirit of rebellion in the music finds willing adherents in the pool of adolescent young people. Now, with CR being added to the battle, young people fight an even greater battle with rebellion. They are told it is okay to listen to rebellious music as long as it is called Christian. Thus, CR has found itself a generation from which to perpetuate itself. The people most affected by CR are people between the ages of 15 and 19 who are professing Christians. Though the music also appeals to fans under the under the age of 25, Christian young people going through adolescence are most affected. So much for the theory and claim that CR is reaching the lost. It is not reaching the lost as much as it is reaching the saved. The fact is, these young people were not hooked on secular rock, in bondage to drugs and in need of CR to reach out to and save them. Instead of becoming a savior, CR is to the adolescent generation a bridge to secular music and for many the path out of the church.

I predict the age span will widen as fans of Christian Rock get older and have children of their own. If they remain in the church, their children will start listening to CR at a much younger age. In fact, that is now happening as we are seeing much younger children listening to CR music. That leads us to the next segment, the structure of the music itself.

Part Three: The Structure of the Music

1. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." (2 Cor 4:16 NKJV)

2. "and be renewed in the spirit of your mind," (Eph 4:23 NKJV)

3. "and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him," (Col 3:10 NKJV)

4. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom 12:2 NKJV)

5. "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:5 NKJV)

For this reason God sent us the Divine Nature, which is His Holy Spirit. You can easily see by these scriptures that the Holy Spirit was given us to help us to transform the sinfulness of the human and heal the ravages of sin that we incurred in the World System.

2. "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." (1 John 2:27 NKJV)

3. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Pet 1:4 NKJV)

A wonderful provision God made for us when He saved us is that we can receive the Divine Nature, the Holy Spirit. We then have two natures residing in us, the human and the Divine. The Divine nature is there to teach our human nature to be like the nature of Christ.

1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom 8:1-2 NKJV)

2. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. {11} "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them." (Heb 8:10-11 NKJV)

3. (1 Cor 2:16 NKJV) "For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ."

This is why we are told in Ephesians and other places to put off the old and put on the new. Even though we are Christians, it doesn’t mean we are already perfected. The process of putting off the old is changing the human nature until it becomes as the nature of Christ. This process is done by the Holy Spirit using the word of God and the church. It is significant that before Paul begins an extensive teaching about the putting off and putting on process, that he writes these scriptures:

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, {12} for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, {13} till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; {14} that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, {15} but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;" (Eph 4:11-15 NKJV)

The secular-based youth coming into the church did not become re-sensitized in their emotions, but rejected the church altogether because they could not "feel" the ministry or the music. Then they set about establishing a new Christian subculture that incorporated the things they were accustomed to in the world system. Several contributing factors aided their decision to go this route.

First, there was the alienation by friends. When these youth became Christians, the strong social bonds they had formed in the World System were immediately broken. This happens to most everyone who becomes a Christian, yet the problem was more pronounced in the CR genre. Being rejected by their friends was compounded by also being rejected by the church. Thus, the adoption of the secular music culture was as much an attempt to gain or maintain some sense of security, or re-establish old connections with their friends and familiar lifestyle, as it was a rebellion against the church’s rejection.

Secondly, adopting the secular music culture also kept them from being branded with the stigma of the cross. Some may challenge this proposal by pointing to the fact that they sang Christian lyrics and preached the gospel and wore the symbol of the cross as jewelry. I agree that this is true that they did those things, yet they identified themselves with the world outwardly and symbolically. The world isn’t as put off by our witness as long as it doesn’t require change of identity. The CR genre identified with the culture of the World System rather than the kingdom of God. The cross is about death to the world, to our old nature and all its ways, and death to our rebellious self-will. If we want to identify with God, we must be willing to be crucified with Christ, we must carry the cross honestly and devotedly, and we must die daily.

Identity is very important with God. The children of Israel had to identify with God. He commanded them not to take on the identity of the nations about them, nor to engage in their culture and practices. Can you imagine a person identifying with the army of the enemy by wearing their uniform, carrying their flag, speaking their language and practicing their cultural habits? One CR spokesman said that CR proponents consider themselves missionaries. This is an invalid comparison on several points. First of all, if a missionary went to Africa, he or she would not dress as a voodoo priest and use voodoo practices to spread the gospel; at least we would hope not. Secondly, we are not talking about a foreign country here. We are talking about people immersed deeply in sin who understand the English language. If they choose not to listen to God’s word, how can we justify perverting it, by adding demonic symbolism and style, to make the word enticing to people who reject Christ?