Is music morally neutral?

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ohyah007

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i believe it is
but i cannot be sure
i love secular and christian rock music

my arguements supporting it are:
the beats can be found in nature and industry
the CCC and bible say nothing about music genre

but many ppl still argue its in all bad. i think they judge by its origin.

men are inherently evil, so our origin is evil, but we get baptised so we turn away from original sin. with non-evil-lyric rock i see rock as being baptised to a new form of good.

could you give me things you heard from a priest??
opinions are still welcome.
 
I would differ with you that men are inherently evil as we are created in the image and likeness of God. Original sin is not an utter lack of virtue. Evil is a choice we freely make as is the choice to do good.

Music is a gift from God, so by its origin it is good. In fact, I would lean more that it is a moral good versus neutral. One can choose to pervert it for evil.
 
ohyah007 said:
i believe it is
but i cannot be sure
i love secular and christian rock music

my arguements supporting it are:
the beats can be found in nature and industry
the CCC and bible say nothing about music genre

but many ppl still argue its in all bad. i think they judge by its origin.

men are inherently evil, so our origin is evil, but we get baptised so we turn away from original sin. with non-evil-lyric rock i see rock as being baptised to a new form of good.

could you give me things you heard from a priest??
opinions are still welcome.
Click to expand...
Music is inherently neutral. Music can be used to praise God, or it can be used to mock God. Music itself is not morally good or bad. It depends upon the piece itself.

(There’s a reason why Gregory the Great is called Gregory the Great (he introduced Gregorian chant into the Divine Liturgy)).
 
im talking about genre only

i kno that lyrics can make it evil
 
ohyah007 said:
im talking about genre only

i kno that lyrics can make it evil
Click to expand...
Genre is still to general I believe. Someone could take the Gregorian chant style and use it to mock God, but it is much more often used for praise. I think genre is still neutral.

Pax
 
yes you could use any genre for evil

but lets say the sound is enjoyable for some,
and the lyrics are not immoral
 
Enjoyability is subjective and cannot be a measure of morality. I already said that genre was too vague for it to be morally good or morally bad.

Pax
 
I really hate to hijack this thread but I feel this is the best place to ask my question as well.

A few weeks ago, before I gave up logging in to my YouTube account for Lent, I was debating with a fundamentalist about rock music. His reasoning however was quite different from the other ones I’ve met so far. His argument is that since rock music (and a majority of contemporary music in general) puts too much emphasis on rhythm and beat, it is “of the flesh” and is therefore “demonic” from his perspective. He also cites studies regarding the supposed effects of rock music on the brain (I didn’t trust this one though since these were conducted by the same people who believed in the Mozard effect).

Anybody here who can challenge this?
 
ohyah007 said:
could you give me things you heard from a priest??
opinions are still welcome.
Click to expand...
I’ve heard that the reason music can (but not necessarily is) be a gateway for demons or evil energy is because of the ancestral ties and bonds that music originates from. Many of our ancestors were into pagan worship, idol worship, worshiping the elements, nature, etc., and they would stylize their music to accompany this worship. The key ingredient were things like rhyme and beat, etc. These were as much forms of prayer and worship as were the actual ceremonies. They would summon the spirits, fairies, gods, etc., with the music. It was commonly believed that it was the music itself, the beat, that summoned the demons, which they believed were gods, etc. Having realized the potential they would have to deceive the descendants of these pagans and have access to them down through the bloodlines, they continued to play a part in religious worship.

Eventually this died out, and we fast forward to today. If we can say the music of our time is connected or taken from our ancestral roots, then the proposition that demons can influence us through music or manifest when certain music is played makes sense.

Of course, the music itself is not evil, since it is far removed from what it once was.
 
All music, no matter the style, was created by God, and nothing evil was created by God. God created all things, Satan only perverts. The sweet sounds of “Amazing Grace” is no morally superior to a Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. Music affects people in different ways. I can hear great melodic metal music and it blows me away. My mother, however, hates it and gets blown away by a Luciano Pavorati aria. They have the same effects on us both, but totally different styles. Now, it is when the intent of the music gets twisted that makes it morally evil. For instance, if you listen to Satanic Norwegian death metal, there is no question that it is morally wrong. On the other hand, you can have the same style of music (bands such as Mortification, Becoming the Archetype, etc.) who minister towards Christ and who are reaching people who enjoy a heavier style of music, and there is no question that it is every bit as valid (as long as they are sincere in their praise) as Gregorian chant.
 
ohyah007 said:
i believe it is
but i cannot be sure
i love secular and christian rock music

my arguements supporting it are:
the beats can be found in nature and industry
the CCC and bible say nothing about music genre

but many ppl still argue its in all bad. i think they judge by its origin.

men are inherently evil, so our origin is evil, but we get baptised so we turn away from original sin. with non-evil-lyric rock i see rock as being baptised to a new form of good.

could you give me things you heard from a priest??
opinions are still welcome.
Click to expand...
There is a music which calls your dream !!
Which very positively inspires you
but there is a music which can even lead you to sin
techno disco music ,
I think , in my opinion the music is not always neutral
 
Lost_Wanderer said:
I really hate to hijack this thread but I feel this is the best place to ask my question as well.

A few weeks ago, before I gave up logging in to my YouTube account for Lent, I was debating with a fundamentalist about rock music. His reasoning however was quite different from the other ones I’ve met so far. His argument is that since rock music (and a majority of contemporary music in general) puts too much emphasis on rhythm and beat, it is “of the flesh” and is therefore “demonic” from his perspective. He also cites studies regarding the supposed effects of rock music on the brain (I didn’t trust this one though since these were conducted by the same people who believed in the Mozard effect).

Anybody here who can challenge this?
Click to expand...
Sure, I’ll give it a go.

The assertion that rock and contemporary music put too much emphasis on rhythm and beat and it therefor “demonic” implies that the contrary is true i.e. that music that does not put emphasis on rhythm/beat (and perhaps more emphasis on lyrics) is OK or at the very least “less demonic”. Doesn’t make much sense.

That rock music may have organic or behavioral effects on the brain has nothing to do with its nature. Studies can also pretty much prove anything one wants to prove, depending on the method, the agenda behind the study, etc. Take such studies with a grain of salt.

Consider a Gregorian chant; very holy, most would agree. You still could drive someone to the point of insanity by playing it over and over and over again in a controlled study. Therefor it must be demonic? Hardly.

There is also the consideration that not all rock or contemporary music is the same. I wonder what he’s say about Christian Rock music. Surely it is different than the “Sex, drugs and Rock n roll” rock music, no?
 
Newbie2 said:
Sure, I’ll give it a go.

The assertion that rock and contemporary music put too much emphasis on rhythm and beat and it therefor “demonic” implies that the contrary is true i.e. that music that does not put emphasis on rhythm/beat (and perhaps more emphasis on lyrics) is OK or at the very least “less demonic”. Doesn’t make much sense.
Click to expand...
Actually that’s exactly what the guy believes and now that you mention it, that does sound screwy. Still, if you have anything that can help reinforce that argument (e.g. analogies, statistics etc.) It would really help! 😃
 
For what it’s worth, my two cents: there is a beautiful melodious pop song from the early thirties called The Street of Dreams; many of you might be familiar with it. And the lyric seems to fit with the Great Depression mindset: Love laughs at a king. Kings don’t mind a thing on the street of dreams. Dreams broken in two can be made like new…Gold, silver and gold, all you can hold is in a moonbeam…etc, etc. All very wistful. Except, it turns out, it’s a drug song, extolling the magic and wonders of cocain! I daresay nobody today performing or hearing the song gets that interpretation. Another example: in July of 1937 Benny Goodman recorded a song with a catchy melody and cutsie lyrics called Popcorn Man, with a vocal by Martha Tilton. Within a month somebody realized it was a drug song and every copy was recalled and destroyed and the song was not reissued until the late 1970’s. Listening to the song today you might get only the vaguest clue about the import of those lyrics.

The long and short of it is: I think music is morally neutral. We make of it what our perfervid little minds will.
 
I for one love Christian rock!
All music, no matter the style, was created by God, and nothing evil was created by God. God created all things, Satan only perverts.
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👍 I can totally agree with that. I think you can glorify God with any style of music - whether it’s classical or heavy metal. Some people twist music with evil lyrics. I know it sounds crazy, but I’d like to rock out with Jesus when I get to heaven. 😃

(Panheads rule! Go Skillet!!!) 😛
 
As a musician my point of view may be skewed, but singing out and praising God with voice, lute and drum is proclaimed in the Bible and the Psalms. Music is a creation of God and from His holy word. It seems to me that He desires us praise Him loudly with joy and happiness.

Contemporary Christian music, whatever that really means, does just that. I wish there were more Catholic artists out there (hint hint). Musicians know, the music they create comes from the heart. I am sure there are “Christian” artists out there that are not truly speaking from the heart and maybe that is a way Satan works his way into the genre.

I cannot and would not ever judge the sincerity of anyone’s praise of our God. I do know that music speaks to people, powerfully. Proof, do you remember the song you sang at Mass or what the priest said in his homily? 🙂

I am the president of an organization that puts on a concert every year called “Praise in the Field”. We get five or six churches together to have a day of “Christian” music out in a field and raise food for our local food bank. So we spend the day praising God and feeding a lot of hungry people. I am not sure how that can be categorized as evil?

“Loving does not mean looking at each other, but looking together in the same direction”
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa
Good Friday 2008

Peace
 
There is music designed to edify and lift the spirit and there is music made to worship satan or promote the killing of cops. It all depends on the music. I firmly belief that what goes into your ear, music wise, enfluences your actions. Beauty in beauty out, Trash in trash out.
 
rsesar said:
There is music designed to edify and lift the spirit and there is music made to worship satan or promote the killing of cops.
Click to expand...
and then there’s a whole lot of secular music that sits in between, putting emphasis on emotional experiences without reference to a God, or explicit good vs evil messages. Singer/songwriter stuff from the '70s for example. Music now is mostly blah…
 
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