Carol Rutz has posted a video by one of her favorite bands, Depeche Mode. We have a couple Depeche Mode albums at the house. Paralleling the Eminem discussion in the Lutheran blogosphere, but hopefully keeping the debate reasonable without name-calling as happened in the Eminem debates on other blogs, I think there are things to recognize.

First, let me say that there are parallels between what we listen to and what we do between the physical existence of the world today and the battle for our souls. Today, I have a job. I do not have to be an ordained minister, a Sunday School teacher, or even the principal of a church-school to do the “Lord’s work.” My works are good in Christ. My works do not save souls unless the opportunity arises outside of class to discuss what Christ has done for us, but my works still enable others to earn paychecks and put food on the table, another function of our heavenly father.

When it comes to faith I see three sets of “works”: those that actively catechize in the faith, those that actively denigrate the faith, and those deeds that do neither, at least visibly.

Music is just a subset of works. There is music that catechizes (”Salvation Unto Us Has Come!”), music that denigrates (and here I’ll pick on Depeche Mode, “Blasphemous Rumors”), and music that does neither.

Within the subset of music that is Depeche Mode, one can see that there is music that denigrates and music that is just neither good nor evil in the spiritual sense. “Blasphemous Rumors” imagines God with a “sick sense of humor,” and “Personal Jesus” is a weird song about confessing over the phone (is there a euphemism here?). On the other hand, “Enjoy the Silence” is about holding someone and not saying anything to spoil the moment. “Blue Dress” is about a man who is happy when his woman wears a particular dress — kind of self-centered but not overtly anti-Christian.

Duran Duran happens to be one of my favorite artists. Most songs are neither catechetical nor evil, but there are a couple of songs that are overtly atheistic: “None of the Above” from the second self-titled album and “What Happens Tomorrow” from Astronaut are a couple of examples. Personally I find the songs kind of pushy, so I don’t listen to them.

In Matthew 15:10-20, Jesus tells us that it isn’t what goes into the mouth that defiles a person but what comes out of it. I think the rule is worth mentioning with regards to music, because it is something we intake. Adam and Eve didn’t sin when they heard the serpent’s lie, they sinned when they believed the lie and ate the fruit.

I don’t think listening to “evil” music is a sin, but I think discernment needs to be applied in the appropriate of the lyrics for one’s own use. Music is catchy, so much that we use the term “ear worm” to mean a song stuck in one’s head. One can listen to a song about killing cops without killing a cop, but how much can be heard without incorporating some disdain for law and order? Songs can inculcate — otherwise, why do we worry about what our hymns say?

I favor the training of discernment and lyrical analysis over the banning of music from one’s ears. We cannot control everything we hear, and we are not created to. Categorization tends to approve of some things and shun other things too quickly. “Christian” music that preaches false doctrine is just as denigrating as “Blasphemous Rumors”, and yet would get play on “Christian,” “family-friendly” radio stations. I cite no examples, but the possibility exists.

If your ear causes you to sin, cut it off; that is, if you recognize that certain songs touch you in such a way that you can’t exercise self-control, then you should stop listening to them. If you can listen to Duran Duran or Depeche Mode or Eminem and avoid incorporating anti-Christian messages, more power to you and me. Of course, that shouldn’t be the only thing in our musical diet. A little Speratus never hurts anyone. We can’t know what is evil until we know what is good — there’s a use of the Law in there somewhere. :)