There is no prohibition on any particular musical style. The problem is that certain styles of music are frequently used to promote sinful practices. As you noted rap music often deals with themes of killing, drugs, and sex. Though I don’t usually listen to rap, I do get subjected to it by cars driving by with the volume cranked up. More often than not the lyrics are filled with cuss words.<\/p>\n
Jesus noted that you are as you think. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man<\/em>” (Mark 7:20-23). When a person fills his mind up with thoughts of evil or even evil expressions, it is highly likely to influence his thoughts at other times, his language, and his actions.<\/p>\n Sin is hard enough to battle without giving it access to our hearts. It doesn’t matter if the song is written in hip-hop or country-western style if it is promoting sinful ideas, it doesn’t belong in a Christian’s life.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I know Christians shouldn’t listen to secular rap or hip hop music, in which I stopped recently, but what if the song doesn’t contain anything about killing, drugs, and sex? Is it okay to listen to it? Answer: There is no prohibition on any particular musical style. The problem is that certain styles of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[759,353,520],"class_list":["post-23975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-entertainment","tag-influence","tag-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4917,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-only-listen-to-christian-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":0},"title":"Should I only listen to “Christian” music?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What kind of music is prohibited? For the longest time, I have been listening to music that isn't \"Christian,\" but nothing that is profane or that gives a bad message or talks about lewd or gross things. When I listen to my music, it makes me happier and helps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45085,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-be-forgiven-of-my-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":1},"title":"Can I be forgiven of my sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need advice. I am in my early twenties. I was born in a Christian family. I was a clever child and a good learner under the guidance of my grandparents, who raised me and my siblings after our mother passed away. Around age 14, my life changed. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-worth-listening-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":2},"title":"Not Worth Listening To","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores There are some things that are not worth wasting the time to listen to.\u00a0For me, that would be rap or any new \"pop\" song. Or most political drivel. Or false religious teaching. Jesus said, \"Take care what you listen to\" (Mark 4:24). In Luke's gospel, He says,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Not-listening-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":81198,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-and-lyrics\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":3},"title":"Music and Lyrics","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Becky Rene Introduction I love music and I love to sing and dance to my favorite songs but, as my parents and friends keep telling me, \"You can't sing and your dancing is an embarrassment.\" Well that is true and so I have to sing and dance in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-your-opinion-about-instrumental-music-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":4},"title":"What is your opinion about instrumental music in the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was having a heated conversation with a very close friend of mine about musical instruments in church. It is very hurtful to know the word of God and try and explain it to someone, but they refuse to listen. I know that the Bible does not specifically say\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-bad-for-not-liking-christian-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":23975,"position":5},"title":"Am I bad for not liking Christian music?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings My question is concerning music. I am a devoted Christian. I love my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. All I want to do is honor Him and glorify Him. I read and study the bible. I read many good Christian books. I don't like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23975\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}