"Be ye holy; for I am holy." —1st Peter 1:16
Says the Rev. Efrem Smith, a senior pastor who holds hip-hop services six Sundays a year at Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis...
"Traditional churches often are suspicious of hip-hop's sinful side, but I'm not ready to give poetry, creativity and visual expression up to the forces of evil when they can be used for God,"
Pastor
Smith's reasoning is unscriptural and flawed. Pornography could just as
easily be considered "visual expression."
Kittredge Cherry's new book
Jesus In Love, which fictitiously presents Christ as a flaming homosexual
in love with the disciple John, could just as easily be categorized as
"creativity."
The truth is that believers are supposed to follow the Word of God instead of culture. When poetry, creativity, and visual expression CONFLICT with the teachings of God's Word, then Christians are to OBEY the Bible. Hip Hop is the expression of street gangs—thug punks! Christian rappers may change the words, but the EXPRESSION of the music itself is still gang style.
Is Christian Hip Hop really Holy? Be honest with yourself... you know it's not! Holiness means moral perfection. Is there better music which today's youth could be hearing, than the street punk, gang style, music called Hip Hop? You bet there is! There's nothing "holy" about Holy Hip Hop.
Nowhere in the Bible did God ever lead men to compromise with the wicked to appease the heathens. When Korah rebelled against Moses, God caused the ground to open up and swallow the rebels into Hell (Numbers 16). When the Egyptians charged after the Israelites into the Red Sea, God caused all of the Egyptians to drown. When the prodigal son left home, the father didn't go after his son. The entire notion that the church needs to become worldly in order to attract the attention of today's rebellious youth goes 100% contrary to everything the Word of God teaches!
If God wanted us to compromise our standards, music, and beliefs in order to reach the lost for Christ, then why didn't He write the Bible in a much less offensive manner? Let's be honest, the Bible is the most offensive Book on the planet. Many people refuse to come to Christ because of the Word of God. So why do churches today try to diminish, water down, alter, and apologize for the Words of God? We need not feel ashamed that the Bible calls homosexuals "sodomites," or abortionists "murderers." We need not feel ashamed that the Bible calls alcoholics "sinners," or Rock-n-Roll fans "idolaters." The Bible says what It says!
It's like a Christian who sees an Ouija Board in the garbage. What if he decides to paint over it and call it an Angel Board instead? He then donates it to the youth group at his church? Should the church accept it? Although it's words and name have been altered, the FUNCTION of the game is still the same. Likewise, Hip Hop is inherently sinful, and cannot be made into something holy. What if a lady wins the Big Lotto and wants to donate $100,000 to your church?
Should your church accept the money if they know where it came from? What if Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, called your pastor and said he wanted to donate a million dollars to the church? Should the church accept the money? Absolutely NOT! I was disappointed when Jerry Falwell accepted $2,000,000 from cult leaders Sun Myung Moon. Many professed Believers today have sold their soul for money. Hip Hop is Satanic!
Gotee
Records (established 1994) is a record label founded by dc Talk member
Toby McKeehan
(professionally known as tobyMac), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label is now part of
EMI Christian Music Group and is also an
RIAA
member label. Toby McKeehan is currently the president of the
company; however, Toby does not publish his own albums under this title;
instead he publishes his own records under the same label as dc Talk: ForeFront Records.
Mr. McKeehan has done more to promote apostate ecumenism, sinful compromise, and worldliness to Christian youths today than any other individual. TobyMac is in big trouble with God, for leading today's youth away from the Scriptures and into the world. The truth is that you won't find the Gospel of Jesus Christ on TobyMac's website.
Such imposters claim they are simply
providing an alternative to reach worldly teens for Christ. The
opposite is true, they are reaching Christian teens for Satan, by leading
them across an ecumenical bridge that tolerates homosexuality, bares no
cross for Christ, and idolizes music above the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Truly, the
love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10).
Again, it's THE BEAT!!! ALL Rock music,
Hip Hip, Disco, Rap, or other forms of music that mesmerize (i.e.,
strongly attract like a magnet) the body are worldly, and an enemy of the
Word of God (James 4:4). Listen to what the Bible teaches in Romans
8:8, "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
The Word of God magnifies the spirit, NOT the flesh.
