Music | A People for His Name

“Rock music is a neutral force. . . . This is an occult concept”

November 10, 2022

Tonight, I read a quote that I find very interesting:

4.) Rock music is a neutral force. It can be either good or bad, depending on how you use it.

This is an occult concept, not a Christian one. The witchcraft doctrine of “The Force” says that there is a neutral power within all of nature which can be directed by the person controlling it. For example, witchcraft can be either good or evil, depending on whether it’s white or black. Actually, both powers come from the same source — Satan. What does the Bible say? In Genesis 1:31, when God looked on all of His creation, He said, “Behold, it was very GOOD.” No neutral ground with God! According to “The Force” theory, good or evil is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, the concept of Christian Rock cannot be scripturally sound. C-Rockers are so desperate to defend their music, they have even resorted to the use of occultic principles in their vain attempts to do so.

–Jeff Godwin, Dancing with Demons: The Music’s Real Master, 233-234

Thoughts?

In CCM, Quotes

Is Rock Music Like Things Offered to Idols?

November 7, 2022

It seems to me that many believers today hold that we should regard rock music as being like things that people offer to idols. I would like to appeal to the brethren who hold such views to consider carefully the following line of reasoning.

Crucial Teaching about Certain Things Offered to Idols

Through the apostle Paul, God provides the most extensive treatment of issues concerning certain things offered to idols (1 Cor. 8:1-11:1). Specifically, concerning meat offered to idols, Paul says,

1 Corinthians 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

We must note carefully what exactly Paul teaches here. Paul says that meat does not commend us to God (1 Cor. 8:8a).

He explains that teaching to mean that those who eat meat offered to idols are not better (off) than those who do not (1 Cor. 8:8b). He also explains that those who do not eat meat offered to idols are not worse (off) than those who do eat meat offered to idols (1 Cor. 8:8c).

Applying Paul’s Teaching to Rock Music

If it is legitimate to hold that rock music is like meat offered to idols, applying Paul’s teaching here to rock music would teach us that rock music does not commend us to God.

Specifically, if we were to play or listen to rock music, we would not be better (off) than those who do not play or listen to rock music. Moreover, if we were not to play or listen to rock music, we would not be worse (off) than those who play or listen to rock music.

If these views are correct, anyone who holds that rock music is like things offered to idols must hold that playing or listening to rock music does not make a believer better (off) than not playing or listening to rock music.

In addition, he would then have to hold that churches that use rock music in worship are not better (off) than churches that do not. He would also have to hold that churches that do not use rock music in worship are not worse (off) than those who do use rock music in worship.

Conclusion

If you hold that rock music is like things offered to idols, do you also hold to the points that are the necessary consequences of holding that rock music is like things offered to idols? If you do not also hold to these points that are the necessary consequences of holding that view, I urge you to reconsider your belief that rock music is like things offered to idols.

See my post Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM for much more biblical information about issues concerning what music God accepts in corporate worship.

In CCM, Exposition, Interpretation, Music, Theology

Have There Ever Been Any Musical Instruments That Were and Are Unacceptable for Use in Corporate Worship?

October 31, 2022

Have there been any physical objects, whether manmade or not, that have been used as musical instruments that have been and are unacceptable for use in corporate worship?

Here are some possible considerations that we must think through biblically:

1. A drum that has multiple horns on it that signify that it is dedicated to demons and used to interact with them

2. A drum that has a humanly indecipherable inscription on it that in actuality expresses praises to Satan

3. A drum that has been used in human sacrifices and has been consecrated for that use by the application of sacrificial human blood to one or more parts of the instrument

4. A drum intentionally shaped in some manner so that one or more parts of it are like human private parts

5. A drum “decorated” with one or more engraved images of “one-finger salutes” or some other vulgar symbol, graphic, etc.

6. A drum that has occult symbols engraved on it

7. A drum that is a real human skull or is shaped like a human skull

On Singing, Dancing, and Playing Instruments in Scripture

Assigned Musical Meanings and Christian Use of Rock Music

We Must Reject a Man-Centered Understanding and Practice of Music

In Music

Jeff Godwin on Rock Music

October 24, 2022

There is one rule we should never forget. Rock is Rock is Rock is Rock. Whether it’s called “Soft” Rock, “Acid” Rock, “Punk” Rock or “Christian” Rock, we are still dealing with music more ancient than the classics. Rooted in the Druid demon worship of Celtic England, and baptized in voodoo ceremonies of Africa and the Caribbean, Satan’s rock rules the world.

–Jeff Godwin, Dancing with Demons: The Music’s Real Master, 8

Please Note: My sharing of this quoted material does not mean that I endorse all the content of this work, all the views of the author of this work or all the content and views that he expresses in this or in any of his other works. It does not mean that I agree with everything that he says and holds in this work or anywhere else.

See my post Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM for much more biblical information about issues concerning what music God accepts in corporate worship.

In CCM, Quotes

Does Skillfulness in Ministering Music to God Still Matter?

October 17, 2022

Scripture makes clear that God required that those who ministered music to Him in His temple be skillful in playing and singing music to Him:

Psalm 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

1 Chronicles 15:22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.

Of course, those who ministered such music to Him had to do so with a right heart toward God for it to be acceptable to Him (Josh. 22:5; 1 Sam. 12:20, 24; Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8).

Why, then, do some or perhaps even many believers today hold that skillfulness in ministering music to God no longer matters and that all that God requires from His people today is that they have a right heart when ministering music to Him?

In Music, Theology

What Revelation 19:1-6 Teaches Us about Godly Joyful Music

September 18, 2022

Revelation 19 provides for us a striking record of a future time when there will be repeated heavenly exclamations of joyful praise to God:

Revelation 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Suppose that various groups of people on the earth would hear these composite sounds (produced by these heavenly beings) successively emanating from heaven but would not be able to hear distinctly the words being spoken. Suppose further that among these groups of people, some groups in certain cultures would regard the composite sounds as joyful, but other groups in other cultures would not regard them as being joyful sounds.

Would the differing characterizations of these sounds by differing groups in differing cultures show that what joyful praises sound like is culturally determined and does not have any objective, fixed character to it?

Because these sounds will be the composite sounds of righteous heavenly beings and because the Spirit has revealed them to us objectively to be the sounds of joyful praise to God, those cultures on earth that would regard these composite sounds not to be joyful sounds would be wrong in their assessments. It is not true, therefore, that what the sounds of joyful exclamations of praise sound like is culturally determined.

Rather, Revelation 19:1-6 establishes that the composite sounds of such joyful praise and therefore the composite sounds of such joyful music do have an objectively joyful character to them that is not culturally determined.

Furthermore, because all these exclamations of praise will be produced by godly heavenly beings, we know that all these composite sounds will be the sounds of godly praise. These facts, therefore, establish for us that the composite sounds of godly joyful music have an objectively joyful character to them that is not culturally determined.

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Chord Melody Solo of “Jesus Loves Me”

May 27, 2022

Playing songs on the guitar in chord melody style is a great way to add variety and skill to what an intermediate to advanced guitarist plays. By using this style a guitarist can accompany himself while still playing the entire melody of the song!

This PDF provides a simple chord melody solo of “Jesus Loves Me.”

You can practice playing this song to this audio:

In Guitar Music

Consecrated Christians and Occult Music: A Key Resource

April 23, 2022

I recently finished reading “Drumming at the Edge of Magic: A Journey into the Spirit of Percussion” by Mickey Hart with Jay Stevens (1990). This book is a key resource about occult music that consecrated Christians need to profit from so that their beliefs and practices about music are what God wants them to be.

Based on my reading of this book and much other research that I have done over the past eleven years, I believe that the following 15 observations are warranted.

This book is essential reading for any mature believer who is in a leadership position and wants to understand what he needs to understand about the battle that we are in for godly music in Christian worship.
The mature, responsible, and consecrated believer who is in a leadership position who has not read this book does not have vital information that is available to us that conclusively provides us with more than enough information about occult music so that we can factually demand that all our people reject all occult music categorically.
In this book, there is only one very brief section that has some objectionable content in it.
For various reasons, I would not recommend that this book be read by immature believers or even those who may be mature but just have a passing interest in music issues.
This book (as well other sources) provides us with sufficient evidence about occult percussive techniques in 6 of the 7 continents of the world. Such evidence is very important for us to address properly the music issues that we face concerning Christian music.
I highly recommend this book because it provides extensive insight and information about the use of percussion in occult music. It also provides a vast amount of information that by way of implication underscores the vital necessity for Christian leaders to speak out against the use of occult music in our churches.
The book is not a Christian book at all, and it is not written to oppose any kind of music. The author of the book was the drummer of a rock band who spent many years very extensively compiling information about occult drumming practices from all over the world. He personally experienced and played the occult music himself from a large number of those countries.
The author never says that he is writing as a Christian, and he is not writing to say that all (or even any) drumming is evil, etc.
Without knowing what he has done, this author has provided God’s people with crucial, factual information about occult musical practices from all over the world.
Any music, whether “Christian” or not, that uses any of those occult drumming practices from anywhere in the world is occult music that God’s people all over the world must reject.
It is vital that we not get specific at all in what we say; rather, we must oppose any Christian use of any occult music anywhere in the world.
From this book (and other sources), we have more than enough evidence that we must not use any rock, rock-based, rock-influenced, or rock-like music in any aspect of our lives.
We must reject any CCM that uses any kind of rock, rock-based, rock-influenced, or rock-like music.
So much of the church all over the world has been greatly deceived about rock music. This book provides vital information and understanding that the leaders of consecrated believers must have.
God warns us not to be deceived, and we need to help as many people as we can to come to know the truth.

In CCM, Music

Beware Allowing Balaam and Jezebel to Corrupt Your Church!

April 18, 2022

By the time the Spirit inspired the apostle John to write the book of Revelation, Balaam had likely been dead for somewhere around 1500 years, and Jezebel, for more than 900 years. In spite of the vast spans of time involved, the glorified Christ confronted Christian churches late in the first century AD about their allowing Balaam and Jezebel to corrupt their churches!

Because the Spirit ended His letters to two churches with commands to all churches of all time to hear these warnings, we know that we too must beware allowing Balaam and Jezebel to corrupt our churches!

Allowing Balaam to Corrupt the Church at Pergamos

The glorified Christ confronted the church at Pergamos by saying to them,

Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

More than 1000 years earlier, the Spirit had revealed just how corrupt and dangerous an occultist Balaam was:

Numbers 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Joshua 13:22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

These passages show that Balaam was an occultist who wickedly taught people to corrupt others through the eating of things sacrificed unto idols and through immorality.

Incredibly, many, many centuries later, somehow there were people in the church at Pergamos who held the wicked doctrine of Balaam and thereby corrupted that church. Even the passage of more than 1000 years did not make the occult and immoral doctrine and practices of Balaam any less of a problem for God’s people!

Allowing Jezebel to Corrupt the Church at Thyatira

After confronting the church in Pergamos, the glorified Christ confronted God’s people in another church about their having very similarly allowed an occultist to corrupt their church:

Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

As He had done with Balaam, so the Spirit had also revealed many centuries earlier to God’s people that Jezebel was a wicked and immoral occultist:

2 Kings 9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

Horrifically, similar to what was true in the church at Pergamos through the lasting influences of the ancient occultist Balaam, somehow there was in the church at Thyatira great corruption through the lasting influences of another ancient occultist, Jezebel, that defiled the church through the wickedness of another woman with the same name. This modern-day Jezebel had so corrupted some people in the church that there was fornication, the eating of things offered to idols, and the knowledge of the depths of Satan among the people of the church!

Commonalities between Balaam and Jezebel and Their Ongoing Corrupting Influences

Both Balaam and Jezebel corrupted God’s people with fornication and eating things offered to idols. Both were wicked practitioners of the occult.

Shockingly, their occult and immoral wickedness manifested its horrific corrupting affects in Christian churches many centuries later in spite of vast amounts of time having elapsed since these two prominent occultists had died.

Application

Christian churches must not have anything to do with wicked people or things having to do with immorality, idolatry, or the occult. Christian churches must purge themselves of all such corruption due to any influences of Balaam, Jezebel, or any other occultists in their churches!

Especially in our day, we must not be deceived into thinking that things that were corrupt and immoral things of the occult in the past, such as rock music, are no longer a problem for God’s people today because of the passage of considerable time. The passage of many decades has not at all changed the necessity of God’s people rejecting from their churches rock music as corrupt occult and immoral music in our day.

In CCM, Discipleship, Exposition, Music, Theology

Why Our Singing in Worship Is Not To Be Only A Cappella

April 9, 2022

For various reasons, some people believe that the singing in church must only be a cappella. This position is not biblical for several reasons.

1. The singing in heavenly worship is not only a cappella singing (Rev. 5:8-10; 14:2-3; 15:2-5). Heaven’s worship is the pattern for ours (Matt. 6:10).

Our singing in worship is not to be only a cappella.

2. It is not true that only the Israelites were to use musical instruments to accompany their singing in temple worship and to do so only as long as the burnt offerings were being made.

Rather, God has commanded all the world to worship Him with singing accompanied by musical instruments (Ps. 98:4-6). NT Christians are among all the people of the world that God has commanded to worship Him with singing accompanied by musical instruments.

Our singing in worship is not to be only a cappella.

3. The NT does not show that all singing in Christian churches was only a cappella. In the corporate worship in the church at Corinth, Paul revealed that when they came together, every one of them had a psalm (1 Cor. 14:26). There is no legitimate lexical, grammatical, or contextual basis to insist that what Paul meant was only either the speaking of the words of a psalm or the singing of it a cappella. There is no basis to hold that this statement excludes the singing of the psalm with musical accompaniment.

Our singing in worship is not to be only a cappella.

Clarification

By making these statements, however, I am not saying that we can never sing a cappella in our churches when we worship. What I am saying is that it is not biblical to insist that all our singing in corporate worship must only be a cappella.

In Interpretation, Music, Theology

Archives For Music

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Crucial Teaching about Certain Things Offered to Idols

Applying Paul’s Teaching to Rock Music

Conclusion

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Allowing Balaam to Corrupt the Church at Pergamos

Allowing Jezebel to Corrupt the Church at Thyatira

Commonalities between Balaam and Jezebel and Their Ongoing Corrupting Influences

Application

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Clarification

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