In his recent book Playlist Theology: If Not Unison, Then Harmony, evangelist Ben Everson makes some statements concerning “the demon beat” that I believe are problematic.1 Of those statements, I find the following to be especially concerning:
“The claim goes like this: tribal African music used heavy rhythms to summon spirits. Rock music uses heavy rhythms. Therefore, the rock beat is demonic. . . .”
“Even if there were some distant connection, that doesn’t prove spiritual corruption through rhythmic structure.”
“We don’t believe that objects carry moral energy across continents and centuries. That’s not biblical theology, that’s superstition.”
“The real danger is in confusing association with essence. Just because something was once misused doesn’t mean it is permanently tainted.”
In response to these statements that I find to be especially problematic,2 I have some key questions that I would like to get answers to:
- Who exactly makes the claim about the rock beat being demonic in the precise manner that is set forth in these statements about that claim?
- What are “heavy rhythms”? Does he deny that any such rhythms have been used “to summon spirits”? Does he believe that those original “heavy rhythms” were demonic or does he deny that any rhythms are demonic?
- Does he believe that “spiritual corruption through rhythmic structure” is even possible or does he dismiss that possibility a priori as an impossibility?
- In the context of these statements, what does “moral energy” mean? What objects does he have in mind that believers do not believe “carry moral energy”? What evidence does he have to support his belief that it is not true(?) or possible(?) “that objects carry moral energy across continents and centuries”?
- By using the expression “permanently tainted,” it appears that he holds that the something must have been originally in its essence untainted. If that is his view, does he believe that there cannot be anything that is originally in its essence tainted and permanently so? If so, why does he hold these views and what biblical support does he have for them?3
- I have made private appeals to evangelist Everson to discuss his views privately, but he turned them down. It would have been helpful to receive further explanations both about what specifically he means by what he says in these statements (and many others in his book) and about why he believes that what he says in these statements is true. Not having that opportunity makes responding properly to them very challenging. Nonetheless, I believe that responding to them is necessary. ↩︎
- These statements are from a brief treatment of “the demon beat” at the end of the chapter The Beat. He treats the subject at much greater length in his appendix The Demon Beat. I hope to present my concerns about what he says in that appendix in future posts. ↩︎
- I have many additional questions that I would like to have answered. As God directs, I may present them in future posts. ↩︎
Photo by Josh Sorensen from pexels.com
See also my post Learning from Supernaturally Directed Creation and Soundings of Musical Instruments.
For much more biblical and other information about music, see my post Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM.
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