A basic premise today is that those who are offended by a certain kind of music should not be judgmental of those whose “diet” is that certain music. Of course, the frequently used passage of I Corinthians 8 (the eating of meat) is drawn from to prove this point. But in our day and time, with compromise, sin, and error ever beating at our church doors, we must be very careful what we categorize in the “meat” department; for some, “meat” can be infected with spores of deadly bacteria simply by its close “association” with other meat that is spoiled. We can never use these passages to cover up for error and compromise.
Romans 14 deals with “doubtful disputations.” Only those things that the Bible does not deal with (such as the eating of meat and vegetables) are to be found in this category. To say that music is in such a context is utter folly. To warn that there is a “wrong” music (in both secular and “Christian” rock) is one of the reasons that Frank Garlock lectured all over the country in his earlier years. The meat in the shambles is in the category of something “unknown” to that individual. But if someone were informed that some meat was offered to idols, he was not to buy the meat because of its association. Yes, meat is “amoral,” but music is not. Even the world knows the innate visceral powers in certain chords, harmonies, beats, and rhythmic patterns. If God has raised up men among us to be preachers and theologians, they are obligated to warn us with what they know; they must “warn the righteous.” And it is true of those who seem to be the spiritual leaders in the ministry of music: they also are to “warn the righteous.” To simply state, that because the people are ignorant of Ralph Carmichael we should not say anything, is a retreating from our position as a musical “watchman” on the tower. No, not everyone can spend the hours, days, weeks, and months studying all of this; but somebody must do the studying and then tell us; that is his appointment in the Body of Christ. Do we remember the passage that was quoted to us years ago, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”? Ralph Carmichael has been one of the most damaging, influential men in feeding the fires of apostasy in the churches across our country. It would be wrong for me to use his material in church services or any recordings, for I would be “teaching” the people by example that his music is all right. It would be wrong for me to do so just as it would be wrong for me to use Billy Graham’s or Oral Roberts’ or Dr. James Dobson’s material to assist in services. We cannot say, “Well, the people don’t know about him; leave it alone.” Dear reader, why did God give music teachers, except to teach the people? But if we are going to use the music material on our recordings of “what the people want to hear,” then we might as well reason, “Preacher, preach the sermons that the people want to hear.” If everyone is spiritual and godly, then we will want to hear the truth, and nothing but the truth. But if the people are not spiritual, and therefore undiscerning, then they will not want to hear the truth.
Influences of the Neo-Evangelical Music: The Soft, Non-Offensive Sound
In 1973 a Neo-Evangelical movement swept across America called “Key ‘73.” Many of the evangelical denominations, including the Pentecostals, joined this movement, believing it would be the strongest evangelistic thrust to date in our country. An extensive invitation was sent out for new music to be written that promoted the message of “Key ‘73” with several stipulations: the words righteousness, judgment, holiness, repentance, and several other biblical terms were not allowed to be used, and the lyrics were to be of a positive nature. There was an intentional effort made to write non-offensive songs. A number of these were produced that year through this evangelical effort, strengthening the move away from biblical, doctrinal standards in the music.
By 1972, Bill Gaither, a member of the Nazarene Church who started his public music career in Southern Gospel, was experimenting with a disco form of music, and because of the reaction from the more moderate element of the evangelical spectrum, he started the Bill Gaither Vocal Band in order to further his music in the strong contemporary vein. It has only been in the last few years that he has returned to his Southern Gospel roots and conventional style, especially in his reminiscing Gospel-sing videos. He is the man who promulgated the “praise” music which was at its height during the mid 1980s and early 1990s. Its influence is now affecting the borders of the Fundamentalists’ music with the Charismatic sound in a number of choruses sung in the churches and youth camps. No, we are not against praise, but such an emphasis with certain types of music can be a ploy to make us leave off taking a stand against the apostasy of our time. Gaither’s song “Get All Excited” was written to pull the people away from speaking against anything that would cause division among “God’s people,” specifically doctrine and biblical concepts of separation. It truly intimidates the child of God in taking a stand in his church that is drifting away from the Word of God. The Charismatic leaders are regularly reminding us that the Book of Psalms is truly a hymnbook dedicated to praise. But we must carefully read this precious book: praise is often in the context of battle themes, imprecatory prayers, overcoming those who are against God, and instruction of godly living in opposition to carnal living. The battle theme in present day Fundamentalist music compositions is conspicuously absent. The term apostasy is never mentioned. The melodies and arrangements are progressively lacking strength and literally creating the “soft sound” in church music.
One of the characteristics that should be upon the hearts of Fundamentalist music leaders is the hope for balance in the repertoire. When the “easy listening” and the “soft sound” flow steadily from the pens of the music composers, the music will definitely produce soft and weak Christians. We were told back in 1969 that the “music is the message,” not just the lyrics. Much of this soft and pretty sound is coming from female arrangers teaching in our Christian colleges and universities. God made the feminine gender soft and pretty. And her tendency in history has been to write from that perspective. A few women in the past have written lyrics with strength and fewer have written melodies with strength. In this age when love and softness on apostasy have practically become the perfume of the modern Church, our dear Fundamentalist ladies who are part of the music ministry must be careful that they do not contribute to this “falling away” by publishing weak arrangements of strong hymns. Such music encourages passivity on the battlefield. We are in desperate need of strong melodies bearing along strong lyrics, feeding strength to the warriors for Christ.
Fundamental Radio Stations
When we purchased an AM radio station some fifteen years ago at Foundations Bible College, we purchased the complete radio tapes from a prominent, conservative, Fundamental Christian radio station. I was appointed by my father to listen completely through the approximate 1,500 songs. At least three hundred we were not able to use because of subtle syncopation and the strong dissonance contained therein. They were too near the “border” of the contemporary. Over the years I have listened to a number of stations professing to be Fundamental in content. Yet, it is evident that they are fast becoming Neo-Evangelical in their mongrelization of music styles. You may hear three or four good songs, and then a song presented in a contemporary fashion is thrown in. Truly the separatist philosophy is gone in Fundamental radio stations, and their music format is “tainted” by the subtleties of the world’s flavors and seasonings. Southern Gospel is becoming more accepted in the Fundamentalists circles, which truly destroys its character of sound. The crossover to Neo-Evangelicalism and Charismatic music is becoming the norm on conservative radio stations mixing the soft sounds of the world with the Gospel. Yet no one seems to care or even to take a stand against it. This is what is producing shallow, lukewarm, apathetic Christianity. The diet of their music is a mixture of hymns with a few contemporary sounds thrown in for good measure. May God help those managers or announcers on “Christian” radio stations to discern the subtle sounds of the contemporary slipping in via the “gray” area that will eventually cultivate the ear for the overt CCM.
The Christian Youth Camps and Children's Churches
The youth camps identified as Fundamentalist are another area where the music is changing. Choruses have been used for many, many years in ministering to youth. Both my father and I have written a number of such choruses for the children of our ministries. We do not condemn the use of the chorus in our following observations, but we come back to the premise of the “exclusive diet” in music. Perhaps most youth camps view their existence as an evangelistic outreach with their songs written in that specific direction. But many Christian families look to such youth camps as havens of enjoyment for their children, and places that converted children can be strengthened and nourished as Christians. If we teach our children only choruses and do not give equal weight to the strong, meaty hymns of the Faith, we may be spiritually damaging their generation. To intimidate these hymns of the Faith by saying “they are too deep and way over the heads of our young people” is to say we have a better way of producing a Christian than our forefathers had. Children of earlier days had their spiritual teeth cut on those hymns, and such music became the bedrock for building mature, godly lives. Such weakness reminds me of a sixteen-year-old young man whom I saw in a church service one Sunday morning bringing a “cartoon” Bible which had been published by the Jimmy Swaggart ministries. When I casually asked him about it, he said this was the only Bible he understood. And yet, he was born in a Christian home and attended church all of his life. Cartoon scripts used as a method for telling Bible stories may have a place from time to time with a child, but it can never take the place of the Bible itself. If it does, it will plant in the child’s mind, “My parents have their Bible and I have my own.” No, the Bible was given by God for all ages; it is the one book for all generations. Even so, we never want chorus singing to take the place of hymn singing, for the child will unconsciously think the hymns are more for the adults. This may be a growing problem with the concept of “Children’s Church” on Sunday morning: it splits up the family in worship before God, and tends to imply to the children that they are too young for the worship in the sanctuary. We must teach them early to sit properly, to sing, to listen to the preaching, to pray, and to give tithes and offerings to the Lord. Most children in churches today do not know how to worship, to say nothing of proper behavior in the house of God.
Moodiness and sour countenance are the characteristics which mark the teenagers of today in Christian homes, in Christian schools, and in church. This should not be. Somewhere there was a failure in the bringing up of the child. Because failing parents tend to be intimidated by such children, the services are catered to them and their “worldly” ways and likes. It will be only a matter of time before the services will be changed to basic “entertainment” for the youth, rather than remain consistent in teaching them the ways and will of God.
The Danger of the World Teaching Our Children Music
A sad story emerged out of church history when a Christian parent sought the best for his children’s education merely by the means of the world’s definition. We have lauded the ministry of Charles Wesley, but the way he approached the teaching of his two sons, Charles and Samuel, led to a sad conclusion in the investment of life in the next generation of the Wesleys.
Both of these sons were brilliant and gifted in music, evident by the ages of four and five. Their earliest compositions came at those ages, and as time progressed, music authorities viewed their futures as great as Handel’s and Bach’s. In order to raise money for their music schooling, Charles and the family went on tours to present his gifted children. John Wesley warned his brother of the potential dangers and especially of the pressure being placed upon Charles by prominent individuals to send his sons to Europe’s finest music teachers. But these warnings went unheeded. During those days when a child prodigy was furthered in his education, he lived with the teacher for many months at a time, as Charles’ sons did at a young age. In doing this the child imbibed not only the teacher’s knowledge of music but also his daily manner of living and religious philosophy, whether commendable or not. By the time these sons were in their late teens, being so long away from their family, they had come to reject the God of their father. They also had come to believe they were so perfect in their instrumental playing that they did not need to practice as they used to. They did reach a certain stage of brilliance but could have gone further if they had intensified their practicing. What was the outcome of their lives? Charles ended up writing not only classical music but also a number of masses for the Roman Catholic Church. Samuel ended up living with a harlot and an illegitimate child; and although he wrote a number of classical pieces and symphonies, his life and contributions were spiritually dead.
Amidst all of the warnings we have heard in recent years about the secularism and atheism permeating higher education in our country, we are hearing of more Fundamentalists’ children going to secular universities and pursuing the education of the world. Some may reason that “Moses and Daniel were able to do it without being affected, and my children will be the same.” But there are two observations that must be made: first, our children are probably not of the spiritual caliber of Moses and Daniel; and, second, God’s providence literally threw these two men as children into their educational context. They did not pursue it. When we hear of young Fundamentalists attending Roman Catholic universities simply because of the prestige of the school, we shudder to think how other young people will be influenced.
How often Christian youth have been sent to a school of the world for their music training and have come back with a changed philosophical presupposition concerning music! Once a Christian has tasted the world’s view of music or even a “less-than-the-best” view of music, it will be next to impossible for him to ever come back to the true, biblical music. Once the mind is damaged by the contemporary sound over a process of time, it will never hear the same again.
Concern for CCM in Other Countries
The influences and philosophies of America have been washing ashore in other countries for a number of years. One such influence is found in the “Christian music” being exported from “American Christianity” to those countries which look to America for religious assistance. It is becoming more and more evident that even the Fundamentalist-identified churches are slowly, but surely, giving in to the subtle, assimilating powers of the fluid, existential CCM.
Spain, a country in recent years which has come to know a greater religious liberty, is feeling the effects of the American Neo-Evangelicalism and the Charismatic movement. But its conservative churches (what few there are) are being drawn to a Fundamentalist music label that is not the best, which is going to take them in a direction I fear will lead them into the “Neo” stream. When a people are starving for “Christian music,” they tend to take whatever comes down the “pipeline.” A number of musical pieces coming out under a Fundamentalist label have the syncopation and strong rhythmic sound. Patch the Pirate music, for example, tends to be “up-beat,” a natural pull of the Spanish culture.
In regard to culture, not everything in a national culture is automatically right and good in the light of Scripture. Sin often over the centuries invades the precincts of a nation’s culture, including the infiltration of the occult. A Christian is a Christian in his country, but those things in his culture that are biblically wrong he must discard and at times must take his stand against. Wine in Italy or Spain is the common drink, a part of their cultures; but a Christian cannot partake of wine. There are also ingredients in the music of a culture that may not be the best which the Christian must keep himself separated from. I am responsible as a Christian in America to make this observation of rock music which has become a part of our culture. The same would be true in other countries. I plead with our brethren in Spain to be careful what they introduce to their congregations, for once the path is set on the mediocre, it will be next to impossible to bring about the needed change with the people.
South Korea is another country strongly affected by American Christianity. At the turn of the twentieth century, the Christian Faith was taken by American Presbyterian missionaries into the country of Korea. After the Korean War a revival broke out in South Korea (recent years have shown a small aftermath of that national revival). Today thirty-four percent of this country is Presbyterian. But a number of changes are rapidly taking place. The Christianity of the sons is not the same as the Christianity of their fathers. What is causing this difference is the large number of young men attending Neo-Evangelical, Neo-Orthodox, and Charismatic schools in America. They then return to their conservative churches and introduce a non-separatist, mongrelized Christianity that has made concessions to the world. What few conservative churches there are remaining in South Korea are fast being swallowed up by the “neo” crowd with the “neo” music. The country is in desperate need of a band of solid, Bible-believing, Bible-living young men and women to rise up and teach their people about the poisonous error of CCM. The elderly ministerial leaders do not know how to combat it, and their compromising sons are taking over the churches with the “American way” which is not the Bible way. Although folk music is a desired “taste” among the South Koreans, they are now mixing it with the guitars and soft rock beat of contemporary music. CCM is dramatically obvious in the special music rendered in their services. When these churches, born in the crucible of war and revival back in the early 1950s, taste the “wine of the world” (including its music), there will be no return to the biblical legacy of their Christian birth.
One of the great bastions left in the world today of the Fundamentalist message is in Northern Ireland, particularly among the Free Presbyterians. Their music legacy has been an honorable one, both in the Psalms and the historical church hymns of the Faith. But they too are feeling the assimilating powers of the CCM through a few individuals who are tolerated in the influence of special music. Dr. William McCrea, a man who is accepted as a popular recording artist among the Fundamentalists there, is an individual who has been able to take the nominal songs of this century, along with the less offensive CCM music, and add his entertaining flair to bring about his own contemporary presentations both on the platform and in the recordings. His music is strongly country-western with a clear contemporary beat. The recordings of Dr. McCrea that I have heard are truly a contradiction to the heart and doctrine of the Free Presbyterians. It is a mongrelizing of their spiritual pedigree. Such personalities as Dr. McCrea will only feed the contemporary wild vine to the youth of the Free Presbyterian churches and draw them away from their musical legacy. It does not matter how good a man preaches; if he has any “darkness” in his ministry, the ministry through the music becomes corrupt. I plead with our dear brethren, to whom we look as examples of Fundamentalism in a Separatist context, those brethren who are waging a religious war in their country, yes, I plead with them to clean out the world’s sound before their heritage is destroyed from within.
What we have noted in these countries is taking place everywhere. We are in the final hours of history before the takeover by Antichrist. May we not be intimidated by the “neo” crowd. We must maintain a true separation from the spotting of this world, or our lives, our standards, and our worship services will no longer “adorn the doctrine of Christ.”
A Note of Warning
We must be reminded of the warnings our forefathers gave to us concerning the dangers that lie ahead in our age: (1) We must be careful not to mix the world’s philosophy with truth (especially with our lyrics and our music). (2) We must avoid softness on sin and its fruit. (3) Although the liberals took the “Blood” out of the songs, may we not take the “battle” out of the hymns. (4) Our music will initially tend to go the “middle of the road” before the contemporary sound comes in, which will lead to the rock beat, which will bring us into the sea of the age. (5) Our music composers will tend to be the product of the people rather than of the Holy Spirit; this is the danger of yielding to the “taste” of the church, thus, leaving Christ. (6) If separation is not truly in the life, mediocrity and passivity will take hold in the music. (7) We must avoid placing truth in the context of levity, slob-culture, etc., especially with our children. It has been stated, “We are promoting character in such songs,” but character cannot be encouraged if the medium is not of proper “character.” (8) We must be careful how we present the rhythmic songs in our generation, for the age is highly sensitive to the visceral. (9) And we must remember that music is never presented in the Bible as a tool for evangelism. If music is reasoned to be so, we will tend to use the musical style and taste of the listener in order to win him to Christ. This is simply Neo-Evangelicalism. Some tastes are not right but worldly. A taste for right things often must be cultivated in our lives; the old nature does not naturally desire that which is good.
A Final Word on End-Time Music
In the prophetic, historical chapter of Daniel 3, we read of an event which becomes a prophecy of that which is to come (Revelation 13). This chapter reveals that music will be the end-time universal language, and that in its climax, it will be for the worship of the image of the Beast (Antichrist). How do you cause all classes of people with diversified cultures and languages to corporately worship an image? This chapter reveals that the setting of the worship mood and the proclamation of worship will be through the motivating force of music. It is called in this chapter “all kinds of music.” This is truly the end-time eclecticism, in which all forms of music will be drawn into one presentation. Folk music, rock music, disco, country-western, rap, calypso, etc., will be detected in one song. A Satanic stroke of genius will be evident in the writing of a song that will have the markings of every taste of music. And Gospel music has become the final ingredient that the devil is adding to the pot. The world has come to love Gospel music, because Gospel music has become worldly in its presentation. It is part of the eclectic acceptance.
We have seen how rock was used in the 1950s in setting the mood for sexuality. We saw how it established the mood for the 1960s to accept the cultural change philosophy and the mind-bending drugs. We viewed its call to Satanism in the 1970s and soul alteration in the New Age music. But Gospel music is the religious meal, the final ingredient, for the full world’s acceptance of Antichrist. Yes, music will be the final instrument to set the world in a mood to bow to the image of the Son of Perdition.
If we as Fundamentalists become accustomed to various styles of music, or begin reasoning that wrong music is simply a matter of taste, we are opening our minds to accept the prelude to the song of the Image to come. The saints of God will sing “The Song of the Lamb” in heaven, but the Devil has a song yet to come at the climax of the ages in worship to him; we are in the preliminary stages of his preparing humanity for that song. We remember the jingle of the Coke commercial around Christmas: young people from all over the world were sitting on the side of a beautiful mountain and singing, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” What a pretty, soft, catchy melody. But there is a greater manipulative one coming. Michael Jackson, collaborating with others, wrote “We Are the World.” The sea of humanity throughout the world swayed with its televised, satellite concert. But there is a greater one coming. The day after John Lennon was killed, the radio stations around the world sent to the air-waves his song “Imagine.” The death of Princess Diana took place during the final editing of this manuscript. The music presented at her funeral at Westminster Abbey was a classic example of the eclectic powers of music, from the majestic hymns of the Protestant Faith to the song “Candle in the Wind” sung and composed by Elton John. (This song was previously dedicated to Marilyn Monroe back in 1970; its lyrics were written by Ernie Taupin, whom Elton John requested to rewrite to be more suitable for Princess Diana’s funeral.) He recorded a single of the song dedicated to Princess Diana, which was anticipated to sell more copies than any other single in the history of music. But there is a greater, more powerful song coming from the pen of the Devil. Part of the eclectic genius is now contributing the final ingredient to the coming song—the contemporary Gospel music sound. We have heard in recent decades songs like “I’ll Rise Again” by Dallas Holm and Praise that has moved tens of thousands of people in the CCM world and Gaither’s spine-tingling renditions of “There’s Something About That Name,” “Because He Lives,” and “The King Is Coming.” Other songs have been used to move the masses in trance-like subjection such as “All Rise” and “We Have Seen His Glory.” But the world is still looking for the final song, that song which will include all tastes and desires of the world’s music, that song which will be so moving that it will be used to call the world to the worship of the Image of the Beast, a song so powerfully “denointed” by the Devil.
As Fundamentalists we cannot afford to help cultivate the people’s musical ear for the coming song of Satan. Back in 1969 we were warned that marijuana would finally lead to harder drugs; similarly, we were warned about the broad spectrum of rock music ranging from soft, bubble-gum rock to hard, acid rock. This truly has become the listening band of CCM. But will the softer, less offensive part of the contemporary become the tolerated music of the Fundamentalist musicians? Familiarity does not always breed contempt; it often breeds tolerance. And when the soft, pretty, easy-listening sound becomes tolerated as the regular diet of our freshly composed music, and these characteristics become the form of new arrangements for the old hymns, we are heading in “the way of all flesh.” It will be our contribution to the coming song for Antichrist worship.
In conclusion, it must be said that the mainstream music being written today by leading Fundamentalist composers is not voicing the message of the Fundamentalist pulpit. Amidst its exaltation of Christ, the pulpit is to be confronting the apostasy while the music is to be a loyal voice to that preached legacy. Unless the music supports with equal strength the Bible pulpit, we will witness a decay of heart on the battlefield. Music should refresh and bolster the spirit of the soldier in the fight as the pulpit empowers him with doctrine and principle.
“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight” (Psalm 144:1).
Words from the pen of David, the mighty warrior of God who also was called the “sweet singer of Israel.”