A Dark And Quiet Room

In May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on student protestors and demonstrators. Four students were killed, and nine were wounded. Of the four dead, two were not even part of the demonstration.

In the wake of this event, Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio”

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We’re finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are gunning us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We’re finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

But this post isn’t about Kent State. Rather, it’s about rock and roll.

Some of my Christian brothers oppose rock music for a variety of reasons. I’ve heard rock decried because of the backbeat or the instrumentation. I’ve also heard it decried because of the focus of rock music on anger and rebellion.

I’m not really not going to go into much depth here about the first category of items, as they have been addressed elsewhere. Rather, I want to focus on the second category.

Anger. Rebellion. These are bad things, right?

Right?

Well, are they?

The Bible does not teach that anger is wrong. Rather, the Bible is concerned about the reason for your anger and the results of your anger. Look at Mark 3:1-6.

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Jesus was angry with the Pharisees, because they were more concerned about “catching” Him than caring for the sick among them. To the Pharisees, this man was just a pawn in their ongoing duel with Jesus. To Jesus, this man…was a man.

Thus, He becomes angry.

Casting Crowns followed in His footsteps when they wrote their song “Does Anybody Hear Her“:

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon’s ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even knows she’s going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

If judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her

What about rebellion? This one is trickier, I admit. As such, I grab for the dictionary:

Rebellion: 1 : opposition to one in authority or dominance 2 a : open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defiance of or resistance to an established government b : an instance of such defiance or resistance

There are God-ordained authorities that must be respected as such. To rebel against them would be wrong.

However, there are other “authorities” in this world that must be rejected. These range from the pressure to conform to the world (Romans 12:2) to the demonic forces in authority that tyrannize this world (Ephesians 6:12). Is it okay to rebel against these things? Is it okay to refuse to yield to the pursuit of personal pleasure and affluence? Is it okay to cry out against oppressive tyrants that crush the weak?

And is it okay to have music that expresses these emotions?

I think so.

Neil Young was angry when he wrote “Ohio”. In this song, he spoke for the dead, unjustly killed, and he spoke against the rulers of the day, who had permitted such a thing to happen. Is this something worth being angry about?

Casting Crowns was angry when they wrote “Does Anybody Hear Her”. In this song, they speak for the rejected and neglected that we as Christians are failing by our hypocrisy and, as such, they speak against the pressure to conform to the “good conservative Christian” stereotype. Is this something worth rebelling against?

A few weeks ago, we came across this passage during family devotions:

Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. And whatever is needed–bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require–let that be given to them day by day without fail, that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. (Ezra 6:8-10)

Upon reading this, Crystal asked, “So, does that mean that the temple was rebuilt using government grants?”

I blinked at her.

“Yes, I guess that it was.”

Indeed, it was a government grant from the Persians.

The application of this lesson I will leave as an exercise to the reader.