What about "secular" "non-Christian" music?

So here is the new Sr. High question of the week:

What about "non-Christian" music? As Christians, are we supposed to listen to it? How does God view it?

So this, of course, is a loaded question that relates to a lot of "gray area" topics (smoking, television, movies, books, tattoos, piercings, sports, you name it), which the Bible does not speak directly to, BUT which I do believe the Bible does give good guidance on, so that we might live worthily for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

Here are some passages of scripture that I thought were helpful in giving insight and guidance on the matter. I imagine there are plenty of other passages of Scripture that are relevant to this topic, so please post them as you come across them:

- Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 5, Philippians 4, Colossians 3

And here are some links to some articles that I found to be helpful...

http://www.gotquestions.org/secular-music.html - focused on evaluating the content/lyrics of the music

http://cpyu.org/Page.aspx?id=293603 - this is geared toward parents, but is helpful for all in terms of being critical of all music, "Christian" and "Secular"

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/2012/02/22/a-renaissance-of-gospel-centered-music-a-conversation-with-matt-papa/?comments#comments - interview with Matt Papa (Christian artist) about his take on Christian music

http://marshill.com/2010/11/26/this-is-why-we-engage-culture - helpful video clip about Receive, Reject, or Redeem in terms of culture, along with a helpful article about Engaging culture versus (I believe) Endorsing culture.

I think there is a real danger in mindlessly and recklessly engaging culture without any Godly filters or boundaries, because it can lead to falling in love with the very thing(s) that you're calling others to fall out of love with. It's one thing to engage culture with Christ-centered mission in mind but completely another to engage and then endorse it because you actually love it more than Jesus and you want to use your "freedom in Christ" so that you can indulge more in your idolatry.

All in all, it takes Biblical/Spiritual discernment within community (the Church). We also need to be ruthlessly honest with where our heart is at when it comes to these gray areas, but since we are prone to self-deception and pride, we need to be humble enough to allow the Spirit and Word to examine us as well as allowing other trusted Christ-centered individuals to speak into our lives and tell us what they see (the good and bad).

I find it appropriate to end with Hebrews 12: 1-2:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."

Hey all,

So we've brought back the Question of the Week this year for our Sr. and Jr. High Youth Group lessons and discussions. I love having this opportunity to address real questions that our students have about God, their faith, Christianity, and the like.

It's good to have questions. It's great to actually voice them, and it's even better to seek out answers to those questions in God's Word, Prayer, and Christ-Centered Community. While I admit that some questions require answers which simply must be left to mystery and Faithful Trust in the God of the Bible, there are many questions that we can discover clear answers for. Sometimes the answers are easily found while other times the answers are more hidden and require greater searching, discernment, wisdom, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. There are some answers we simply won't like or want to hear, but we'll need to hear them. We need to never stop learning, never stop pursuing, never stop growing lest we become stagnant and apathetic.

My prayer is that in all this authentic and humble asking and seeking, we might be filled with all the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we would live lives worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God and in our relationship with Him. May we always and continually be shaped and conformed into His image through His Word and His Spirit.

With that said...here are the Questions of the Week. You do not have to be a student to respond to them. In fact, we welcome parents and other caring, committed adults to provide their insights. The hope is that the discussion will be taking place here online, at home, and throughout the week BEFORE we gather to discuss the question more on Wednesday and Sunday nights. Thanks for joining us on this journey.

Fruitful asking and seeking to you all...

Jr. High:   How do you meet with/talk to Jesus? (How does this whole relationship thing work?)

Sr. High:    How did evil come into the world? (Where does it have its ultimate origin? Why does God still allow it?)