Hip-Hop, Idolatry, & The Church Pt. 6

As continued from

Hip Hop, Idolatry & The Church Pt. 5

"Can Hip-Hop Be Redeemed?"

Additional Scriptural Insight Pt. 3:
The Removal Of "Curious Arts" From Among The People

Probably one of the most universally overlooked passages of scripture when dealing with this subject is

Acts 19:18-20 "18-And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19-Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20-So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."

This passage butresses an event in which the 7 seven sons of Sceva (The Left Hand) try unsucessfully to cast out the town demon (v.16). This demon, possessing a man, beat all 7 brothers naked, but prior to that admits that he is aware of and has a certain honor for both Jesus and Paul. (v.15)

We have looked at the traditions in Ephasus earlier in the previous segment. Quite naturally, because of these events, people understood that there was "real power" in town and because of this there was an uproar to say the least. But something happens here that is quite unusual. The bible says:

"Many that believed came and confessed and shewed their deeds" (v.18)

Now we can assume that individuals became believers or converted to Christianity as a result of these events, however the scripture is somewhat ambiguous in the nature of the "many that believed". Were these people also "believers" at the time of these events? Or did they become "believers" afterward?

The word in question is "believed" (GK. pisteuo) This word was used to indicate those who came to saving faith like those of Berea in Acts 17:12 and was also the same word used to indicate those who exercised a lifestyle of faith and practice as Christians such as those converted Jews in Acts 15:5. The ambiguity of this scripture is not the primary focus, neither does that ambiguity relinquish the message of the scripture. The results, either way, are…

Over One Million $$$ On The Trash Heap!

No matter how one views this scripture, the result was the same..."Believers" [whether converted at that moment or before hand] who were using "curious arts" became so convinced of the power of God until they came together, confessed their deeds, and got rid of their ungodly items.

There was over a million dollars worth of items that were burned and thrown away. Some of those items, I’m confident, had been in the family for quite some time and were probably very useful in the superstitions society or culture in which these believers lived. Could they not have used these items as a witnessing tool? Surely God could have used even the price of these items to help establish HIS New Testament church? Was there no way that God could have redeemed any of these items?

NONE of those items had any redemptive value.

An Encounter With The Culture:

"An Encounter With The Culture" was the title of the eulogy I preformed at the funeral of my Godson Mario McGee, who was recently killed in a home invasion. When trying to reconstruct Mario’s life, I was surprised to find that he was literally baptized within the hip-hop underground movement with all of the trappings that I’ve stated in this series and then some. Mario was a rapper with a completely and totally non existent sense of biblical requirements as it pertained to hip-hop and hip-hop street inculturation. His personality in no way matched his hip-hop persona.

Known as "Rio" and "King Swagg", the profanity, the gang signs the clothing etc. were all parts of the hip-hop lifestyle that he was enamoured with and by. Even though he was raised in a controlled environment, educated and working full time with a great paying job, hip-hop became his life, and I believe promoted his ultimate death.

What happened was that some years ago his parents left the church and left God. They didn’t live indecently but they had no living standard whereby to maintain safety and peace of mind and keep a blessing on their home. I had to preach the funeral to over approximately 500- 700 young people from all over the city who were seriously affected by his death. The thing that stood out to me is that death was inevitable within the culture. There was something or someone that had to give without question. There were too many tentacles by which Mario was trapped and entangled. Unfortunately, that something that had to give was his 19 year old life.

To the glory of God, as a result of that funeral, there have been young people saved. At various churches some youth that heard the message decided that life was worth living and that the culture didn’t have to hold them hostage. Thank God!

That’s why I continue to do this, with no or little money ever received, and larger churches not wanting my information to "rock their boats". I do this because I don’t want another young (or otherwise) life cut short or disillusioned because of the promise of the devil through hip-hop or any other culture. Yes, there is Goth, punk rock- and heavy metal cultures that are just as evil and dangerous if not more dangerous than hip-hop, but none of that gives hip-hop a free pass.

All I know is that hip-hop has not offered anything positive to my community ever since I have known it, which was before I got saved, and what positive things it did offer were and are short-lived and too expensive to maintain.. Hip hop cannot be redeemed. It is an inculturation which can only be laid aside and placed in it’s proper place, and that’s under the feet of the Saints along with sin and the devil himself.

Common Questions That I Encounter:

Question: "I have children that listen to hip-hop music. They have reviewed modern gospel and find it no different than the music they listen to. In fact some of the popular gospel artists often have their secular hip-hop icons on their gospel songs. How do I get my children out from under the influence of the hip-hop industry when it's almost everywhere you go?"

Answer: This is a very good observation. Many Gospel artists lace their Gospel music with secular and hip hop artists. All too often this is the "brainchild" of the record company who holds the contract and pulls the strings. There are two things that you want to do and one thing you definitely don’t want to do in this situation. Let’s begin with the later.

1- DO NOT alienate your child or place them on trial for everything hip-hop that they either listen to or enjoy. This by itself will drive them further into the culture and away from your advice as they may feel that you will not or do not understand them.

Instead, Implement The Following Techniques:

• Make the children investigators of the culture under your guidence? Teach them to begin to think critically and explain what they hear to you. By verbalizing and investigating some of what they hear they are not only becoming accountable to you, but they are beginning to process what they hear differently. If you’re maintaining godly teaching and a moral standard, they will recognize the moral conflict on their own. They will also come to realize that they have a higher and better sense of morality than their icons and will begin to pity then instead of admire them. You want your children to learn and effectively relay information and give you their opinion before you make a value judgement on what they’ve brought to you. Let them take responsibility and they will gain a sense of pride because they are becoming the "expert" on something that not only effects them, but more than likely effects all of their friends too.
  

2- Model righteousness and a hip-hop free lifestyle in front of them. You can’t expect them to put down hip-hop when you’re wearing "gangsta fashions", promoting hip-hop artists, and banging the music all day long. If you’re not delivered, and you're more excited about what’s going on in the hip-hop culture than your child is, then don't expect them to give up what they do (at least by your example) anytime soon.

Question: "Christmas and Easter were originally pagan ceremonies and festivals but now they represent Christianity. Why can’t hip-hop be used to do the same?"

Answer: This is a question that we often hear. A little research is in order. You can go HERE CHRISTMAS for that. And go HERE EASTER for that. Please be careful because there is MUCH misinformation out there and atheists as well as radical Christians love to confuse people on these issues claiming that their church is better than someone else’s church. One thing to keep in mind, a parrallel DOES NOT a holiday make, Christian or otherwise. In short it can be arguably stated that the secular world sought to eclipse Christian practice by bringing their practice into the church and the church allowed this to flourish. Which is apripos to this complete writing. None of that speaks to the fact that the bible doesn't condone using the world or worldly practices in the service of the Lord. Just because something happened does not mean that God wanted it to be that way. Consequentely, we can't always think that the church tried to emulate the world, sometimes it was the other way around and sometimes there is great confusion as a result.

Question: "What are we supposed to listen to if we can’t listen to "Christian" hip-hop?"

Answer: Are you able to create your own music or center yourself around others who are dedicated to God enough to allow their creative and spiritual talents to flow? Who’s in your circle? Usually people given to prayer and dedication to the Lord will sing a "new song" instead of a revamped 70’s hits with a Jesus wrapper on it. Besides, the greater point is that we identify the message and the encouragement of the music. If what you’re listening to is encouraging you to continue to be a "gangsta in Christ" then how can it be redemptive? That simply reinforces the old lifestyle. Find redemptive music from reputable artists and don't be afraid to do some research. Remember the beat is not so much of a problem as it the presentation and what the song incites.

Question: "Man, it's a financial crunch and I don’t have the money to change my child’s complete wardrobe. What can I do in the meantime?"

Answer: The section on clothing was pretty heavy, and as I acknowledge, some clothes were bought because they were (are) cheap and you didn’t see the emblems and names until you got home or until the kids had already worn them. What you can do now is teach and just like you found those on clearance, find some more, but now look at then with a spiritual eye, discerning the messages that come along with the clothes. The power of the blood of Jesus will cast off any "spell" if there is one so don’t become paranoid. Just live to HIS glory and redeem the dolla correctly next time.

Blessed!

If You Haven't Already Done So, Don't Forget To Read:
Hip-Hop, Idolatry & The Church Pt. 1
Hip-Hop, Idolatry & The Church Pt. 2
Hip-Hop, Idolatry & The Church Pt. 3

Hip-Hop, Idolatry & The Church Pt. 4