Secular Music

Dr. Couch, should believers listen to secular music, and especially country music? ANSWER:  I have found that you can start a fist fight among Christians over music, to listen or not to listen to this or that! The problem is we have to be careful falling on one side or another—legalism or license. To me the key word is: discernment, discernment, discernment! There is a lot of good and acceptable music created by the secular world that we can all listen to. And personally, I don't think it is that difficult to discern what is acceptable or not. Many do not know it but Dr. John F. Walvoord just loved jazz music! Now my taste does not run in that direction but it did for him. And I'm sure he did not listen to "trashy" jazz music. Knowing him, I'm sure he practiced discernment. I can remember the day when country music was clean.  A lot of the songs talked about sin and restitution. Many country pieces spoke about the Lord. And TV country music programs always closed with a hymn. But then the demons were let out of the pit and country music joined other forms of expression and became totally filthy. So there are many pieces of country music, and other types, that are just plain filthy and without a doubt are corrupting those who listen to it. Television has also hit the bottom. Be prepared for the fall of 2008 for TV to be filled with even more forms of sin. The producers now know that there is no one out in TV land who will stop their march into the open visual expression of dirt. By the way, Christian TV is getting awful itself. It is moving rapidly into programs that deal with Gnosticism and mysticism. Satan is indeed alive and well in our culture. I believe we are now moving rapidly into the predicted Apostasy spoken of by Paul. He wrote: "For the time will come when they will not endure "healthy' doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate to themselves teachers in accordance to their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to lies" (2 Tim. 4:3-4). I believe we are there! Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch