Me and My Music

I recently received a nice email from someone on my web-site www.stephenjbedard.com.  It was very encouraging but expressed some concern about my choices of music as shown in a slideshow of the books, movies and music I like.  I thought it was a good question and deserved a more public response.

I grew up attending an Anglican church where there were no expectations about the music one listened to.  I was not very personal in my faith, so it would not have mattered anyway.  In my teen years, some of my favourite music was Iron Maiden (both my first tape and first record were Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast), Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Scorpions and so on.  The more shocking, the better as far as I was concerned in those days.  In the later days of my time at high school and into my university years, I moved beyond heavy metal and more into progressive rock such as Rush and Yes.

During my time in university, I made a personal commitment to Christ.  Some of the Christians that I got to know as a young Christian made it clear that the type of music I listened to was very important.  It was not a minor issue but was rather one of the bigger issues that God was interested in.  I was not to listen to any secular music, but only Christian music.  One pastor suggested that it would be better if I did not even listen to contemporary Christian music (not even just Christian rock).  I took this very seriously and even participated in a good old-fashioned record and CD burning to get rid of the "devil's music."

I eventually got a job at a distributor of Christian music.  This was a great opportunity to get to know more Christian music and to get it at a very reasonable price.  I discovered that there was some great Christian music, rivaling the quality of many of the secular artists.  But I also discovered that things were a bit more complicated than I thought.  There were some nominal Christians that were in the Christian music industry because it was an easier market to break into.  Their lyrics had very little Christian content.  There were other Christian artists who were sincere in their faith and who were good enough that they were able to transition into the secular market.  Then again, there were other Christian artists who never were in the Christian market and were just making good music in the secular market that reflected their Christian values.

All during this time there was something else going on in my mind.  Some of my Christian friends that were most dead set against secular music did not hesitate to watch sports, watch television, go to movies, play video games and participate in all sorts of "secular" entertainment.  I began to question why music was the one area that had to be "Christian" (technically only people and not music can be Christian, but you know what I mean) while every other area of life can be open.

That brings me to where I am now.  I enjoy Christian and secular (I hate both labels, but I have to use something) music.  I love Christian bands like Third Day and Casting Crowns.  But I still listen to my progressive rock like Rush, Yes and Pink Floyd.  I enjoy U2, who people debate as to whether or not they are Christian.  What I look for are good music and thoughtful lyrics.  I do not have to agree with the lyrics (I think Pink Floyd's The Wall is a masterpiece of the inner life, even though I disagree with the lifestyle of the person being described).

I do not suggest that Christians should listen to secular music.  I do encourage discernment.  I do not hesitate to change the station on the radio or skip a track on a CD if I feel the song is bringing me down. This is simply the journey I have taken and each must go their own way.