Questionable Rock Band

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dallas_r

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Hey guys

So I love music. But I’m sorry, Christian rock is terrible. There’s this swedish band my friends told me about called ghost and they’re extremely talented musicians. I heard their songs and fell in love. When I looked them up though, they had semi satanic themes.


However, upon research, I found out the members have no particular religious affiliation, and that they all believe in a higher power (not satan). To add, the lead vocalist, Papa Emiritus said that the band started with no theme, then it turned goth, so they adapted things like the upside down cross and other costumes (such is the norm for rock bands in sweden).


They don’t make any satan references except for one song which I obviously stay away from. I’ve heard satanic black metal which I shun, so I’d know if this was actually satanist, but this band just has that scary theme just for show. Like I said, they are very talented.
Here’s one of their best, more slow and musical songs.


I asked some of my Christian friends and they said that since music has no religion, if you stay away from the actual satanist stuff, you’re ok. Plus most of ghost’s songs are more wholesome than the rap songs that talk about shooting people, selling drugs in the masses, and slapping prostitutes, along with fornication.

Let me know what you think below.
 
Personally, I haven’t been able to get into Ghost, even if I find the “lore” built around the band interesting. That said, I don’t find them particularly wrong to listen to so long as you keep in mind that it’s all art, not reality.
 
Be honest with yourself
Take a look at the imagery they portray and the perversion of Christianity they portray in their appearance and stage shows. Are we not to avoid even the appearance of evil?
Guard all of your senses, anything that goes into your brain will stay there forever, perhaps driven in there by alluring music.
Wasn’t Lucifer the choir director of heaven with his “tabrets and pipes” (Ezekiel)
Satan doesn’t want you to believe he exists, but at the same time he perversely wants you to worship him.
The so called “secularist” wings of the Church of Satan say they do not believe in an actual entity called Satan. Are you to believe them?
I would love to listen to the band Slayer, but they could not be more virulently anti God in their imagery and lyrics. Their base player, lead vocalist Tom Araya says though that he is a practicing Catholic. I guess that makes it ok then…
Anyhow just some food for thought, that’s’ all
If their music was appealing enough on its own, they would not have to dress and act like a bunch of “Nameless Ghouls”
 
If I were you, I wouldn’t listen. Maybe listen to some Gregorian Chant?
 
The only sin involved here in my opinion is that I think Ghost’s music is boring as all get out, and there are much better bands out there, but to each his own.

Having said that, if you personally feel that listening to a certain band, I don’t care if it’s Ghost or The Wiggles, presents an occasion of sin for you, then don’t listen to that band. People are all different. The music that one person listens to and goes on their merry way and doesn’t think twice about could pose a real moral issue for somebody else who is younger, or more impressionable, or associates the band/ song with their own occasions of immoral behavior.

Most of us are able to live in the world and do not have to restrict ourselves to listening only to Gregorian chant in order to keep from committing sins. I like chant, but there’s a time and place for chant and a time and place for Slayer in my book. YMMV.

By the way, as with any “is this a sin?” question, if you don’t trust your own conscience, best to speak to a priest.
 
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I have to admit. Christian Rock is the most jarring. I would stay away from this though.
 
Check out the band Grammatrain. I don’t think they are recording or touring anymore but their music is still available. Peace be with you
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Having said that, if you personally feel that listening to a certain band, I don’t care if it’s Ghost or The Wiggles, presents an occasion of sin for you, then don’t listen to that band. People are all different. The music that one person listens to and goes on their merry way and doesn’t think twice about could pose a real moral issue for somebody else who is younger, or more impressionable, or associates the band/ song with their own occasions of immoral behavior
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This is wisdom. Whenever people ask “is it a sin for me to read this book/watch this movie/listen to this band?” I always think, “I don’t know, you tell me.”

My point being you know yourself and what your occasions of sin are. What one person might be able to watch and shrug off might lead someone else down a questionable path. It’s like asking “if I drink four beers, will I be drunk?” Well, depends on you. If you’re a 275 pound linebacker, no. If you’re a 90 pound sophomore, yeah, probably.
 
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i still love Black Sabbath, though I seldom listen to anything by them any longer. It’s just a collection of notes arranged harmonically, and the lyrics mean nothing to me in a spiritual sense. While Vivaldi is my music of choice 98% of the time, nothing gets the blood flowing while pumping iron like 'Sabbath or Rahmstein.

If it doesn’t unduly influence you, just enjoy it.
 
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And the anti-Catholic stuff is really in voge. The Catholics have no anti-defamation league and insulting Catholics carries no penalty. To insult Jews in this way is career death, and muslims would kill us. Jabbing a finger in the eyes of Catholics is non-attrition unfortunately.
 
dallas_r said:
Plus most of ghost’s songs are more wholesome than the rap songs that talk about shooting people, selling drugs in the masses, and slapping prostitutes, along with fornication.
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Good news! This is not zero sum, you have more musical choices, you are not bound to listen to “Satanic themes or unwholesome rap”.
 
Yeah well when an artist says I am a "Christian rocker"or any other religion or system of beliefs attached to their art, I usually expect someone who just said they are Christian/whatever religion followers to check out their art. This way of thinking keeps me away from many heartbreaks.
 
Whatever you do…avoid ear damage.

Tinnitus is incurable and can be a nightmare to live with.

😖
 
I would advise someone, not worry so much about the type of music, but the content, and that is not something I can say would be a good idea to listen to.
 
TRON said:
Are we not to avoid even the appearance of evil?
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If you’re talking about 1 Thessalonians 5:22, most modern translations use “form”. “Appearance” seems to be an older translation in the sense of, “If it seems evil, don’t do it.” There might be some wisdom there here. If you struggle to separate Ghost’s fiction from reality, then yes, it is a problem. Ultimately, though, Ghost is pretty harmless.
TRON said:
Wasn’t Lucifer the choir director of heaven with his “tabrets and pipes” (Ezekiel)
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If there were a time when Satan did not pursue evil as he now does, then none of the music made at that time would be wrong. If there never was such a time, he wouldn’t have been leading the heavenly choirs. Either way, this seems irrelevant to the discussion.
TRON said:
If their music was appealing enough on its own, they would not have to dress and act like a bunch of “Nameless Ghouls”
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From what I’ve read, the decision to go with a masked, theatrical style was because Forge (the singer) found it weird to play that music straight. The Nameless Ghouls and whatever leader they have were done for artistic reasons. Plenty of metal bands do stuff like that, and much of the genre in general has had a very “yes it’s stupid, but who cares” attitude.
semper_catholicus said:
Maybe listen to some Gregorian Chant?
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I think I’d stop listening to music all together before only listening to Gregorian Chant.
 
My father is a professional singer. He has toured for 70 years (began as a child radio star).

Over the years he has had several accompanists who worked with him full time. One of these men had been a professional jazz musician, playing the club circuit, and was deep in the scene of drugs and sex and all that. The man had a conversion and became a Christian.

He then went to work for my dad.

Dad would tell that sometimes, before or after their rehearsals, dad would see the pianist sitting at the piano, playing jazz pieces. The pianist would close his eyes and later told my dad that just playing those songs would take him back to his pre-Christian lifestyle and all of the sin that was part of his experience. For that pianist, the jazz songs were near occasions of sin.

For others, for my dad, we can listen and enjoy jazz for the complexity of the music. For us it is not a near occasion of sin.

This is why no one can tell you that XYZ music is wrong for you. Does the music lower your resistance to sin? Does the music lift your heart or energize you?
 
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