V2V Insider music industry writer Michelle Wright will be looking at the secular music industry and how it is affecting not only the young people today but the generations to come.  As Christians, young people and parents
we can’t bury our heads and ignore the destructive and demonic influence that music is having on this generation.  All the stops and boundaries have been removed to draw young people into a downward spiralling life of violence, destruction, darkness and even suicide.

We will be taking a closer look over the next several months at various aspects of the music industry and the message they are sending out to young people today.

Wherefore art thou… Church?

Currently there is a lot of  speculation around the apparent ‘dark side’ to this industry… what on earth could possibly be so dark about it? With music being ever so influential in the lives of many young people today, how can such a powerful instrument be both manipulated and used as a bad influence upon today’s society? In a world where you can now expect to find the sale of inappropriate clothing for young children (such as underwired bras and t-shirts with suggestive slogans on them), beauty salons offering fake tans and makeovers to toddlers, as well as hearing young children ‘cooing’ along to the chorus of Rihanna’s infamous hit “S&M”, proclaiming that “… chains and whips…” quite frankly “excites” them,  the British Government has finally begun looking into proposals to shield children from sexualized imagery across the media once again – hoping to tackle the sexualisation of today’s children.

Nonetheless, regardless of whether such changes put forth are brought into action through government legislations or voluntarily, one simply cannot deny the severity of such damages already engraved deeply into today’s society that will affect generations to come.

Where the Music and Entertainment Industry is concerned, celebrities such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and current RnB/ Pop Sensation Rhianna have come under much scrutiny for their ‘oversexed’ public image. Since bursting onto the music scene with dance floor hit “Pon de replay”, back in 2005, Rihanna has since engaged in a complete image overhaul - with both her music and appearance now reflecting the ‘highly sexed’ recording artist that she is today. Known for well received tracks such as “Umbrella”, “Rude Boy” and “What’s my name”, she has recently unveiled her latest controversial video to accompany newly released track “Man Down” – showing a cold, calculated execution of murder, as a result of a female (played by herself) being raped.

The Bible gives a clear instruction that we are not to take revenge “... avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.” (Romans 12: 19). In addition to this, one of the 10 Commandments clearly states “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20: 13). However, although the majority of us Christians are very much aware that the message conveyed in such a video is contrary to the word of God, with such a criminal offence being said to affect tens of thousands of victims each year alone in the UK, how many people out there (especially those both young or unsaved) are aware of this?

With much outrage expressed amongst various social groups, it is said that the singer had taken to the social networking site, “Twitter”, defending her latest video, stating “I’m a 23 year old rock star with NO KIDS. What’s up with everybody wanting me to be a parent? I’m just a girl; I can only be your/our voice.” To add further insult to injury, the singer later went on to say, “The music industry isn’t exactly Parents R Us. We have the freedom to make art, LET US. It’s your job to make sure they don’t turn out like US.” Church, what’s happening? Christians, better yet …“ambassadors of Christ”, what are you doing to ensure that as a member of the body of Christ, we as a whole are being heard?

What are we doing to ensure that the truth is being heard? Surely, we are all aware of the fact that we are not powerless neither are we not without authority? Although we should be neither amused or shocked at the inconsiderate statements being made by several well known artists today – with 2 Timothy 3: 2-5 already giving insight into the “insulting”, “irreligious” and “treacherous” generation already upon us - we need to begin speaking out against all those who convey messages of corruption, deceit and especially that of blasphemy against our God. We need to begin praying against these negative influences and take an active stand.

So Men, Women, Parents, Youths... CHURCH. Rather than murmur amongst one another about the nonsense that appear all over our screens, as well as our air waves, how will you effectively take a stand against negative messages portrayed throughout music today?

The V2V Insider asks;

Why so Gaga… for Gaga? Since her musical debut back in 2008, with the hugely successful club anthem, “Just Dance”, it’s fair to say that “Stefani Joanne Argelina Germanotta” AKA “Lady Gaga” has received her fair share of success as of late. After having recently ‘pipped’ US chat show Oprah Winfrey to top the poll for the world’s most influential star (Forbes, 2011), it’s clear she is more than on top of her game. However, many have even gone as far as boldly branding her Satan himself – with her avid use of symbolism, which is rumoured to link back to Satanic worship.

Nonetheless, taking into consideration both Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” and Matthew 7:1 “Judge NOT, that ye be not judged”, using the Bible as my clear point of reference, I decided to look into all of the drama currently surrounding that of this artist – focusing on her more recent track “Judas”. So here we go...How many of you know that names held a very important place in Biblical Revelation - with one’s name usually being changed once their character had changed? An example of this is with Abram whose name had been changed to Abraham, by God himself. Here, this was to reflect his new found status of being “father of a multitude (of nations)”.

With this said, after paying close attention to the name “La-dy Ga-ga”, I soon discovered that the term “Gaga” can be defined as “mentally confused”, “crazy” or “carried away by love or enthusiasm”. Better yet, www.yourdictionary.com also reveals that such a term in French (although of imitative origin) refers to someone as being an “Old Fool”. While on the other hand, the term “Lady” is defined as “A well mannered and considerate woman with high standards of proper behaviour” (Answers Corporation, 2011). Quite conflicting eh? So, from what I gather the name “Lady Gaga” is used to describe the character of one who is foolish and yet in authority right? Hmm. Authority of what and over whom? After my first attempt at reading the lyrics to her new track, entitled “Judas”, I suddenly found myself faced with the intro “Oh - oh-ohohoo, I’m in love with Juda-as, Juda-as” x 2. Wait one second...in love with who? Judas Iscariot? Is this not the man widely known for betraying Jesus Christ? Better still, is this not the man that Jesus indirectly referred to as both “...the Son of perdition” in John 17:12, and “...a devil” in John 6:70?