Music preferences and books

XPeterX

I have recenly had a conversation with some elders and they told me that I shouldn't listen to music that's heavy,meaning distorder guitar riffs,breakdowns brutal vocals even if the lyrics are positive.Secondly they say that we shouldn't read books that mention anything related to "spiritualism" but all of the Jws study Odyssey,history,ancient greek language at school and all of these subjects refer to the pantheon,heathen stuff etc.My question is:How to can someone abstain from reading these things if he is taught them at school while the elders are informed about it?How music can harm anyone if the lyrics are ok even if the music is fast or heavy or both?

cantleave

The organisation has a devil and spirits paranoia (Paranoid -mmmm! good song that!). When I was a young man I was always being counselled for ny taste in music. Just ignore them, educate yourself about the spiritistic beginings of the Watchtower and escape the clutches of a man made cult as soon as you can.

nancy drew

they believe the a whole world is in satan's hands so everything that isn't from them is suspect. technically every movie,song or piece of literature has something wrong with it. So if your want to play their game don't go to any movies or watch any tv or read anything except watchtower pubs their bible and cultivate a taste for kingdom melodies. Enjoy your life!

lepermessiah

Set YOUR standards for what you listen to and read.

If you speak to 100 elders, you will get 100 opinions on music.

One may love a certain group, another may think they are the most offensive thing ever.

I posted a thread of lyrics the other day which were positive, hopeful, etc......

I was joking that it sounded like WT teachings - Who wrote the lyrics?

OZZY The Prince Of Darkness!

pirata

The Bible has it's fair share of of violence, sex and spiritism (ie. the last few chapters of Judges, for example). Just cause we read it in the Bible doesn't mean we are enjoying it; It is for educational purposes. School work is not for entertainment, it is for educational purposes.

You'll find it hard to find a north american born witness who hasn't studied Hamlet, Greek Mythology, Lord of the Flies, or similar.

If there's nothing wrong with the music lyrics, then it sounds like the elders are hoisting their personal preferences on you. Many of the modern kingdom melodies (esp. Volume 9) would have been cast in the same light years ago with their new age sound and jazz styles. The g92 11/8 "A balanced view of entertainment" (after mentioning heavy metal and rap music) states "Granted, these are extreme cases and they do not mean that all entertainment in some of these various categories is bad." This issue is addressed well in the w80 5/1 article "Do Not Judge Others". Also helps to keep your thoughts and personal preferences to yourself if you want to avoid that argument that you are 'stumbling others'.

leavingwt

The elders will also tell you to keep your hands off of your genitals.

spawn

You need to listen to what you like and read what you like as it's not for others to impose there tastes on you. You will only become a rounded, educated and cultured person by being yourself.

dinah

That was the one thing that pissed me off when I was a teen. Hands off my music, dammit!

They demonized the Stones. Lyrics made sense to me, and they were not that bad.

The main problem is if you wanna kick back with some tunes, or *gasp* learn to play something....you aren't selling magazines. It all comes down to anything that takes time from selling magazines and the GB hates anything you hear (or read) that may make you think.

WTWizard

I was taught that one bad word or offensive lyric would render a whole album "bad". They did this to me with the Toulouse Street album by the Doobie Brothers, since it had the song Jesus is Just Alright. What they didn't factor in was that it was on the back of the album, and I played "Listen to the Music" more, which was on the opposite side of the album. They also wanted me to not listen to Simon & Garfunkel, because they had "Mrs Robinson", which is about religion. How many other Simon & Garfunkel songs are religious? Or Journey.

Another stupid reason is that they do drugs. Big deal. So what if Boy George takes horse. That is not why I listen to Culture Club music. The idiot that dragged me into the cancer told me that, if I listen to that music, it is the same as taking horse myself. I used to listen to the album cuts Time (Clock of the Heart), Church of the Poison Mind, Mr Man (which speaks out against violence, by the way), Karma Chameleon, It's a Miracle, The War Song (which speaks out against war), Dangerous Man, and The Dive quite a bit. And I don't remember ever sticking a needle into my arms while listening to it. I cannot see how I could be ruining my brain and liver by listening to the music--it is their brains and their livers. If they want to ruin their brains and their livers, so be it--I am not ruining my brain and my liver because of a song. Nor will I do so just by listening to it.

Michael Jackson is another case in point. It wasn't bad enough that they banned listening to Michael Jackson songs after 1985 1987 (the guy told me that it was 1985, just so "We Are the World" would be included). But, I had Off the Wall and Thriller already purchased. I bought my copy of Thriller in March 1983, before becoming a witless--from that point on, Michael Jackson had gotten all the money he was getting from my purchasing that copy. Yet, they insisted that I was supporting "that apostate" if I listened to or compiled music off that copy of Thriller (which was already paid for, not on lease). There were several tracks, notably Beat It and Wanna Be Starting Something, that were not even bad at all--yet, listening to those songs off my own copy (already paid for) was supporting "that apostate".

They also had something against Twisted Sister ("We're Not Gonna Take It", listened to in objective perspective, isn't even that bad), Van Halen (since when is the song "I'll Wait" a bad song?), and the big one: Led Zeppelin. So what if Jimmy Page is a Devil worshiper? Yet, his music was banned whether solo, as part of Led Zeppelin, or part of his other band The Honeydrippers. I have since listened to Led Zeppelin songs, and I have found absolutely nothing wrong with most of them. Backmasking? I have heard that flimsy excuse from mainstream media. However, I do not believe in its effect. Just as with the ink blot test, you could come up with any Satanic message you want if you play a record backwards. They do not go out of their way to put Satanic messages in music when played backwards. They are more worried about the artistic merit when played forward (as they usually are), because that's where they get their money from. Very few people regularly listen to their records backwards (and even fewer listen to CDs backwards); hence, it makes no difference how pleasing a record is played backwards. Oh yes, you could also come up with a positive message from the same record when played backwards.

I hate when musicians are asked to be role models. As with Tiger Woods, musicians only claim to be entertainers. And, as Tiger Woods is an excellent golfer, most musicians are very good musicians (or at least they used to be, before Big Corporate Radio squashed their talent). And, just because they make excellent music, that doesn't mean they know how to live exemplary lives. That is not part of the deal--a person can live a debauched life, and still put out great music. Those who expect musicians to live exemplary lives ought to ask how they feel that their companies for whom they work expect them to live exemplary lives as a condition of employment. I value the music they put out, and if I wish to learn to put out great music, I would still associate with them even if they were also drug dealers and prostitutes. Anyone that is going to start using drugs solely because their favorite musician sells drugs ought to ask if they could do better by being their own role-model and just enjoying the music on its own merit.

yknot

Great Question!

Actually quite a bit of that kind of stuff is discussed in the WTS publications in a historical sense.

Sounds like the Elder is going beyond his position.

BTW we have some Elders in my congregation who listen to 'Christian' radio stations.

Enjoy the tunes and learn from the past so that you lessen your chances of making the same mistakes!

As far as the 'spiritism' avoidance...... your Elder clearly isn't aware of the contents of some of the older WTS books found in your local KH library!

Also, Bethel uses a program called 'E-Sword' which contains 'Babylon the Great's' bible commentary to aid them in writing the WT/Awakes/Books.

Discerning things for yourself is a natural progression from boyhood into manhood...... so 'make sure all things'

Music preferences and books

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