Christians: What kind of music is ok to listen too?

I'll pray for you!

& personally, I don't listen to only Christian bands.

it makes it easier to praise Him and bring glory to His name, but as long as the music you're listening to isn't so awful that it's getting into your head and affecting your mentality and actions, then you're totally fine.

Music To Listen Too

I love a lot of christian bands, there are some in any genre.

Metal- Devil Prada, As I Lay Dying, Demon Hunter, Disciple

Rock- Skillet, P.O.D., Disciple (some harder rock w/out the screaming), Thousand Foot Krutch

Rap- Manafest, KJ-52

All these are good, clean bands who are absolutely awesome. My favorites are Devil Wears Prada, Manafest (like the Eminem of Christian rap), and Skillet.

Just keep the music pretty clean or you'll be stretching and stretching the songs that you think you can listen to.

You don't have to listen to only Christian bands. There are a lot of "secular" songs out there that are clean and have good messages.

Normally if there is a popular current song that I've heard and liked, but it has swearing or inappropriate stuff in it, I look on Youtube to see if there is a "clean" version of it. You could even use Windows Movie Maker to cut bad stuff out of the songs you like, I am planning on editing my downloaded songs with special music software.

I personally don't like to listen to many mainstream Christian bands or artists such as Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Jars of Clay, Third Day, etc, because to me the the majority of their songs all sound the same. I like Christian artists such as Chris Rice, Scott Krippayne, and Keith Green. They try out different styles on their CD's without sounding like U2 wannabes.

Also, a lot of popular songs can be interpreted in different ways. For example, is Paramore's "Playing God" about hypocritical "Christians" who act like they're better than everyone else, or is it about a controlling significant other? Is it intentionally sacriligious, or is it a justified calling out of hypocrites?

Basically, it's between you and God when it comes to what kind of music you listen to.

EDIT: I also LOVE Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars (and also the original Billy Joel version). It's refreshing to hear a pop song that doesn't demean women to disposable playthings for men. However, I've heard some of his other songs, and they're not that great. I've also heard that he's done drugs, although I don't know how accurate that rumor is. But, that's between him and God. I've got nothing to do with it. My method is to only listen to songs that I like, that are clean, and it doesn't really matter to me who the artist/band is of what they have done.

For example, I used to like Miley Cyrus's songs. They were catchy, cute, clean, and fun. Now, I can't listen to her without feeling sad for how messed up her life is. Same with Demi Lovato. Taylor Swift has cussed in one or two of her songs, (Teardrops On My Guitar, Picture To Burn if you consider "gay" a bad word) but I don't listen to those, or else I listen to a clean version, and I'm a big fan.

So, as long as a band's/artist's track record doesn't distract me from the song, it's fine with me.

Sounds like you are already really thinking about it and setting up good criteria. Always spend time in prayer and you'll sense the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decisions.

Some music I listened to didn't have anything wrong with but it didn't build my faith either which I always need. It's an insane world we live in. Need all the help we can get. :)

It's so good to see someone actually concerned about the sort of music they listen to. It's quite discouraging how few people even think what they're listening to, and as Christians, we have a responsibility to question everything we're doing and make sure that they are what Jesus would do.

There are 2 main views on which music is morally acceptable for Christians to listen to:

1) The majority of liberal Christians hardly think about the music they listen to, but questioned on their views they say that pretty much any music considered acceptable by the secular world is okay for them too. These people are usually the same 'Christians' that bear such a strong resemblance to the world that they are virtually indestinguishable from those who have no religious beliefs whatsoever.

2) There is also a surprisingly large number of people (although completely unknown to 99.99% of people) that are the opposite extreme and are, in my opinion, overly conservative. By a lot. These people adamantly affirm that ANY music with a backbeat (accent on 2'nd and 4'th beats of a bar), any form of syncopation (accenting a traditionally unaccented beat of a bar), 'jazz chords', or contemporary singing (particularly 'sliding' of the voice in a non-classical way) is morally wrong. There is a huge problem with these statements if you apply them to the accepted music these people listen to. Pachelbel's Canon is an example of a backbeat in Classical music (these conservative people believe that any music written before 1820 is automatically pleasing to God), many Bach fugues exhibit some form of syncopation, traditional hymns make use of 'jazz chords', and the Biblical Psalms were originally sung in an 'unacceptable way' according to these people's standards.

Clearly one has to find the balance between these 2 extreme views. I was brought up in the 2'nd group of people and I know a lot of people in the 1'st group that I don't want to be like because I know that's not how God wants me. Here are some guidelines that I've found helpful in finding the right balance to please God with music:

1) Do everything for His glory. Don't just listen to certain music because someone tells you it's what a Christian does. Talk to Him about what He wants in your life and let your relationship with Him for the foundation for ALL your beliefs and convictions - not just in music, but all aspects of life.

2) THINK about why you are doing everything you are doing. Most of the people in the 2 categories I mentioned above are the way they are because they just blindly follow other humans without thinking about their own actions. It's good to see you've already started thinking about this and I would encourage you to continue it for as long as you live, and not just stop when you think you have things worked out.

3) Question whether the lyrics of a song have a wholesome message. Not every song has to have a deep spiritual meaning, but it should be clear to any Christian that any song which has even a LITTLE bit of portrayal of violence, rebellion, immorality, etc. as good is Biblically evil. If you wouldn't DO it, why should you be able to sing about it?

4) Music often evokes in you a feeling or attitude which isn't pleasing to God. If it causes you to think, imagine, or do anything which violates Biblical principles, it's definitely not pleasing to God. Keep in mind that it may not have this effect on you, but may still affect on other people. If so, be careful about what music you listen to in front of other people.

5) Be mindful about ASSOCIATIONS. This is a severly overlooked aspect of music. While the music and lyrics may both be perfectly fine, if the band performing the piece is known to be morally corrupt, then listening to the song will have a detrimental effect on your testimony. If a non-Christian friend found out that you listen to a band that even the secular world can discern as being evil, they would most definitely think less of Christianity in general. As ambassadors for Christ, we must make sure that we are not associated with anything that would bring down His name.

These are just guidelines to get you headed in the right direction. You'll find that you will still have to make an individual judgment for each separate song and use your discretion. A lot of deep thought and prayer is vital. More than anything, don't just do something because someone tells you to. I strongly encourage you to not just do what I suggested in this answer, but to go to God in sincere prayer and find what He wants for you. His answer is the only thing that matters, and more often than not you'll find that answer in His Word, so a lot of earnest reading is essential.

I hope this has helped you a bit, and if you would like to discuss this issue further, I would love to talk to you about it. Feel free to send an email to sonataform@hotmail.com. I wish you all the very best as you discover God's will for your life.

Listen to what you want. I'm Christian, I listen to what I want to, it just happens that I don't like pop songs that are about sluts in the club, I also don't know who your afraid of though, who are you worried is going to judge you?!

everyone has their own idea of what to listen to and what to avoid, and some even change their opinion one way or the other as they get older (or wiser?).

the best way is to seek the holy spirit's guidance. there is nothing wrong with listening to secular music so long as it is within reason, and like i said, everyone has their own guidelines.

I think the person who answered first is right. i dont think you SHOULD ONLY listen to christian songs all the time. i am christian, but i dont listen to those songs all the time.

Being a christian dosn't mean you have to listen to christian songs all the time. But they help you praise him by the lyrics.