[02/03/2010 at 05:22:58 AM]
Ulrich: It seems to me that the topic of fantasy annoys many. When I told people what we were speaking about reactions included a sigh, and then they would say “oh, let me guess you can’t watch anything right?”
Brett: In a lot of arenas Christianity has managed to get (earn?) this reputation of being about a bunch of stuff we can’t do. Sadly people who call themselves Christians often earn the label of “what we’re against” by having a greater focus on that than the love we are called to be recognised by. I think as a follower of Jesus there are definitely things we will choose not to do but I would rather be known by what I’m for than what I’m against. There is no verse in the Bible that says “thou shalt not watch Harry Potter, yet thou canst have a look at Stuart Little” so you really have to be led by the Holy Spirit in terms of what is wise to fill your mind with and what is not.
Ulrich: True, much better to be known for what one’s for. Duncan Reyburn’s response was really interesting; he brought up three key points which we also touched on in part 1. He first said that “In a world that is obsessed with fantasy both in literature and in film, it would be foolish (possibly irresponsible) for Christians not to engage with what these fantasy stories tell us.” He then went on to say that this culture can be viewed through watching things like Twilight – showing the greed and depression that surrounds us. He also related fantasy to parables – very true.
Brett: I definitely think we can take a lot of the movies in pop culture today and use them to speak truth into people’s lives because it is what people relate to – Jesus was brilliant in taking an every day situation and linking it to the kingdom of heaven. The Matrix is a classic example – it contains a whole lot of different religious ideas from different religions and beliefs and so some Christians stay clear of it but I see a lot of accessible truth and use it often to convey truth about being a Jesus follower.
Ulrich: I feel the same. Ok, new question stemming from this media issue… How do we control music we listen to? It is a struggle for me.
Brett: How do we control music we listen to? Use the remote if you have one… or there is a little volume icon at the bottom in the toolbar… What do you mean?
Ulrich: Well, where do we draw the line with what we listen to? I chatted about this with people and found that many are fine with listening to the music and ignoring the words… I can’t seem to do that but I still listen to some music which I sometimes wonder about…
Brett: I think the starting point – as with movies – is being aware of what we’re listening to – a lot of people “just listen to music” and are unaware of the messages and maybe even the effect of some of the music they are listening to – I think that is just irresponsible.
Ulrich: I suppose it’s similar to you listening to Eddie Izzard (a comedian)…
Brett: I think if there is a type of music that always ends up with you feeling depressed after you listen to it (music affects mood for sure) then you have to ask yourself is this the best thing for me – is it healthy?
Ulrich: True, funny thing is some Christian music has made me feel more depressed than secular music??? Disclaimer: I am not saying that every song has to make you feel as if you want to jump through a daisy field…
Brett: Yes Ulrich, don’t jump through daisy fields… Are you talking Casting Crowns because they had that effect on me? One of the key things about content is how it affects your relationship with God – if for example there was a band singing a song with the line “Valerie Anderson (my wife) is a fat wench” and I listened to it repeatedly, that would show a complete lack of respect and love for the beautiful Valerie which would be awful – and yet a lot of people listen to music directly against God, or else more often promoting things God is strongly against!
Ulrich: Was not Casting Crowns for me, was a band called foolish things. I remember that from last time – TbV (your wife) example. It’s a very good illustration.
Brett: Yeah I think we have to be careful with so-called Christian bands as well – with anything we listen to or watch we need to be aware of what it’s about – to say I just listen to the music and not the lyrics of songs that promote suicide or a lot of rap music which speaks about women in a degrading way is just ignorance and definitely needs some thought. In fact if you have to pick a genre worth being extra careful about it would be rap and more specifically “gangsta” rap – some of the lyrics are completely offensive and by listening to the music you are endorsing the product and the message of the band actually.
Ulrich: Then what about Mr Eddie (Eddie Izzard – a comedian). He is super funny and I love his stuff but some times he does get into a bit of blasphemy. Not cool.
Brett: Well I just bought the Eddie Izzard box set and apparently on the one DVD he does get a bit blasphemous but I have not watched that one yet and am honestly a bit nervous to but I will and will make a call when I hear it – it is not cool and I will definitely have to re-evaluate what I think of him – however one of the reasons I like Eddie Izzard is that he is generally really clean in terms of his content and so I have not experienced anything with him (yet) which has caused warning bells to go on. He does swear a bit but for me swearing is contextual and for some reason I find British swearing a lot less offensive than American swearing and so it doesn’t bother me as much (start the angry emails).
Ulrich: I agree there is something funny about British humour – maybe it’s the fact that they focus on ACTING instead of trying to look good which is what the Americans do – promoting their image over the movie.
Brett: Going back to Eddie Izzard, he has dealt with a lot of Christian related themes in the stuff I have listened to already but a lot of it is really clever and makes some valid points about Christians – some of the bad stuff we do or some of the extremes we go to, so I have heard stuff that some people might have viewed as blasphemous which is actually true and satirical and actually maybe a wake up call of “hey wait a minute, that’s true – we are like that and we should change.” So like I said, the day I hear some stuff that is blasphemous I will definitely need to re-evaluate and maybe not listen to him any more at all, but so far that has not happened in my experience, but because people have said it is I need to be cautious and watch out for it. I think maybe swearing is something we can address one day on “What’s the Vibe?” because I have some interesting thoughts on that – I don’t think it’s just about the words and so Eddie Izzard can say the F word and actually I don’t think he is swearing and then a Christian can say “oh bucket” or “frikkin” or whatever and it can be complete swearing – a lot of it is context and motivation and yeah I think that could prove an interesting discussion.
Ulrich: Definitely! We will do that! Ok, so if you do find a blasphemous section does that mean you have to stop listening to all of his stuff? What about the clean videos? I have also come to new understandings through watching some of his performances.
Brett: Yeah that’s a tough question… a lot of people say that about music “I just don’t listen to the swearing” or “I skip that song…” I don’t think it’s a good enough answer and I think a lot of Christians use it as a cop out. I just mentioned Cat-Sing Crowns earlier because I totally killed them – I was one of the first to discover them in this country thanks to a link with a music company who brought them in and so absolutely loved them and played them to death and now I can’t listen to them at all – so nothing personal – they still have some good songs though.
Ulrich: They do still have some really good songs. Don’t worry there are no angry mobs around…
Brett: Back to your question… Goes back to the Valerie example – if someone writes a song slating my wife then I don’t think I’d be super amped to listen to any of their other songs no matter how good they are and I don’t think it shows enough respect to Valerie to condone or appreciate the rest of the music and not take it seriously that this person has attacked someone I love. I am nervous about getting to that DVD which I think is the next one we’ll be watching, because if he, Eddie, is hectically blasphemous then I will definitely have to re-evaluate whether he is worth listening to at all because I love God more than anything in life and I can definitely miss out on some humour to uplift my relationship with God.
Ulrich: So what about almost all party music? “Yea let’s get down and dirty”?????? … What about rock bands that just hate the world? And Queen? I really like that band. Er, I wasn’t asking you to “get down” by the way…
Brett: Well I hope you were not saying that to me because I have not gotten DIRTY for a long time now… again that’s a choice we need to make led by the Holy Spirit. The problem is most Christians don’t ask that question about any of the rubbish they put into our minds.
Ulrich: Another point – what is interesting is the more you get into God’s word the less important the things of the world become. I have really found this to be true, especially lately.
Brett: Queen is a tough one because I like a lot of their music, but watching Freddie mercury in a dress vacuuming his lounge or something in the one video just did something to me and has constantly shaped my opinion of the band so I only enjoy their music when I hear it on the radio kind of thing because it’s a constant weird question in my head – not saying it’s bad to listen to them or good but for me it was something that was just weird – but if we stop listening to music of any bands that contain sinners in them we’ll be in trouble. I think the key element here linked to what you just said which is that God is actively involved in our life and He guides us – the Holy Spirit is there for that reason and so why not make use of Him?
Ulrich: Totally. God is bigger than the witch, period.
Brett: Don’t kill the witch as in head down the street with an angry mob and a firebrand and set fire to anyone, BUT maybe there is some stuff in your and my lives that we need to be a bit more lethal over – not because we are wanting to be known by what we are against but because what and WHO we are for is important to us, more than our entertainment. Ask the question? God is this music okay? God is it okay for me to watch Harry Potter or Twilight or Horror Movies or anything with Sarah Jessica Parker in it? Is there something in my music collection you want me to get rid of because it is not healthy for me or it hurts You?
Ulrich: That is the tough part but hey, sometimes needed.
Brett: When I was in high school I gave up reading a lot of the fantasy stuff I was reading because some of it was getting questionable in terms of spiritual stuff (blurring the lines, making good to be evil and so on) and some of it was getting really sexual – and I don’t feel like I lost anything at all – I discovered Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series (comedy fantasy with satire) and he is brilliant and added a lot to my life especially the insights he has on life and religion (as an atheist – wow sometimes he just completely gets Christianity and the church – incredible). I moved away from watching graphically violent movies – used to love watching Scream and things like that and as I started loving God more. He filled me with a desire for better things and so graphically violent stuff disturbs me now because I know that kind of thing actually happens in the world and so why would I want to glorify it and use it for entertainment?
Ulrich: What you did in high school is a tough one to do. Giving up something you love, but Jesus did it for us…
Brett: I don’t feel I’ve lost or given up so much as I have gained. It becomes easy when you realise how it is affecting you negatively – Jesus came to bring life to the full, abundant life, and when I was filling my mind with that rubbish it certainly wasn’t promoting that, so it was quite easy to kick out the junk and find better things to fill my mind and time with.
Ulrich: I feel the same, that is exactly what I’m finding – more God and less of the world BUT we are still in the world and must get involved to move and shake – like we are doing now! And look! We are still alive; the Twilight peeps have not destroyed us!
Brett: It’s because they all fell asleep during the movie, just you wait, they are coming… I would like to end by saying I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule – I think we must be led by the Spirit and something that it not ok for me to watch might be ok for you to watch – although I would say there are definitely some movies and books I would think are not good for anyone…
Ulrich: Yes, personal conviction.
Brett Anderson: Yes, but rather, Godly conviction.
Ulrich: Thanks dude, chat soon.
Brett: And it’s a rap.
[06:13:42 AM]
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What's the Vibe? 
Hi there! WOW I am so excited about “what’s the vibe!” Anyways, back to the topic at hand.Music is the one medium of comunication which is truly universal.If you think about it there isn’t a country or culture that doesn’t have its own music. Music allows people from the same place to identify with each other and it does the same for people who are from different places.I feel that you have to be discerning about the music you listen to precisely because it is so powerful. What better way to spread God’s word, than to use something that transcends geographical and physical boarders? The same could be said about promoting evil. I dont think the words of a song are necessarily what makes a song bad. After all music doesn’t always have words. I think it depends on where the music comes from. I’ll use rap as an example. “RAP” stands for “Rythm and Poetry” back in the day when rap started becoming popular thats exactly what it was. I used to listen to a lot of rap, however I realised that a lot of the things that were going in in the culture it fomed part of (hip hop) were things I didn’t agree with. As rap artists became more violent so did their music. When drugs and sex became more prominent in the culture so it did in the music. I feel that when you make music under the influence of drugs or when you are drunk its not of God. When I listen to a rap song now and it has a lot of swearing or talks about things I don’t agree with, I begin to question whether I should be listening to it at all. Rap music in itself is not bad, its the place it comes from or the intention behind it that makes it bad. There are a lot of christian musicians who use certain genres of music like rap, to try and get their message across.
Yes Jess, intentions play a major role in music. I have been listening to Owl City a lot and found it to be very uplifting. After a few weeks of jamming to his sounds I discovered that his intention was to express unending joy. He is a believer and friend of Jesus Christ – this joy comes through very strongly in his music.
Thank you for your comment!
Ulrich
Uuuurgh… can’t stand the Cat-Sing Crowns! 🙂
Thanks Chaps!