Can listening/enjoying certain songs be sinful?

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followingtheway

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Like songs with cuss words, songs that promote marijuana and drug use, and songs promoting sex before marriage and so on?
 
I think ultimately it depends. Depends on who the audience is. If its younger kids or impressionable minds than I would strongly suggest avoiding it entirely as its music and movies and stuff like that promoting those kind of mindsets that created the violent drug and gang induced society we live in today. But for adults and up I don’t see the harm in it since we’re a little more seasoned in life and can tell the difference between right and wrong and aren’t so easily swayed by something (as in listening to a song about weed so we feel the need to smoke weed with friends to look cool because so and so does so) But that’s just my opinion.
 
I don’t know if I would go as far as to call it sinful… But it’s certainly, in my opinion, distasteful.
If we are to praise god in everything we do, then why listen to music degrading his children, or promoting greed? Or promote it by purchasing it?

This has been on my mind recently too…
Thanks for the opportunity to answer this question an really think about my position on it.

God bless!
 
In 1968, a very popular rock-musical play premiered on
Broadway, called HAIR.

At the age of 16, I bought the broadway cast recording of HAIR.
It has some of the most exciting and well-written music of any musical play EVER.

But there is a drawback. Even though the show is not without some merits,
on the whole, HAIR is a filthy dirty and blasphemous (at times) show.
After seeing many productions of it (the movie version is much tamer), I had to face
those facts. HAIR is not just about peace and love. It also glorifies gross sexual immorality and glorifies drug use, including very dangerous drugs like Heroin and LSD.

Still, some of the songs from HAIR, taken by themselves, are very moving and even beautiful and powerful. The Finale (THE FLESH FAILURES/LET THE SUNSHINE IN) is a terrific piece of work. EASY TO BE HARD is beautiful and very touching.
But there are other songs in the show, like one called SODOMY, that are downright
nasty. Christians should not listen to such songs, as they are debased and debasing.
I no longer have my soundtrack to HAIR. I confess that because of the good songs,
I miss the soundtrack. But on the whole, getting rid of it was the best decision.
God bless you,
Jaypeeto4
 
Can be. Depends on the song, the person, their reaction, etc. I mean, there’s an outright filthy Whitesnake song (the title is “Slide It In”, for pity’s sake!), but it happens to be a very cool song. I hear it, and I’m entranced by the way the drums and guitar work together; I’m sure another person wouldn’t be able to abstract the music from the subject matter.
 
If listening to certain music is sinful, how much more sinful is watching television?
 
It can be sinful, depending on the song and the intent of the listener.

A song being loud and having a good beat is no excuse to throw your conscience out the window. If the performers just cuss a lot, it’s distasteful and possibly scandalous to listen to it- but not ordinarily sinful. If it actively promotes violence, impurity, drug use, or other immoral activities, listening to it is sinful.
 
Personally, it depends more on the person than the song.

For me, I feel my conscience is developed to a point where it’s okay. An artist I really enjoy, Mac Miller, is a good example. Mac often sings of sex and drug use, and overuses profanity in practically every song. I know what I feel about sex and drug use, and no song is going to shake that in me. If it’s avalible I’ll download a clean version of a song to remove the profane language. If not, then I just sing over it! For example, in Panic! at the Disco’s ‘I Write Sins Not Tragidies’, I prefer the line “Close the hot ham door.” 😉

As long as the songs don’t influence you, I see no problem in listening to any type of music. Once you begin to second guess your morals, you then need to reconsider what you listen to.
 
Yes of course. It ‘can be’

And even aside from the question of will it be sinful for me…let us like the early Christians go contrary to the disorders in the culture around us…even in our choice of music.

Certainly some songs are a complete…“not gonna listen to that junk” …

That is not to say that one cannot listen to songs that one could find fault with etc. There is much that can go into deciding if to listen to a particular song or work of music. Both on the objective level and the subjective level (and even the social level…scandal). One should use good prudent judgment.
 
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