Rock ‘n’ Roll…and God
The Pitch…
My hypothesis is that the Rock’n’Roll did not rely on the Occult or invoke the Devil, but instead had a focus on honoring the Christian God and the various deities of other religions.
It is a common belief that Rock performers would immerse themselves in the world of the Occult, and tried to spread their messages of violence, sex, and anarchy. Album covers and the way that these artists behave seemingly support this. However, there are clear indications of just the opposite- Rock is used as a way to invoke religion and its various teachings. Many popular Rock performers are actually very spiritual, which can be seen in some of the most well-regarded tunes. Through Rock, the word of God is actually spread to young listeners who do not attend church regularly . And in fact, many of the songs that are commonly thought to honor Satan and dark magic are actually warnings against such ideas. In this research paper, I will go against popular belief, and illustrate a point of view of Rock’n’roll that makes much more sense than what is currently thought.
…+ 5 Sources
Top 10 Quotes About Rock and Religion – Ultimate Classic Rock
- The Essential Content of the Article: A top 10 list of well known Rock musicians providing quotes about their personal relations with religion, and how it crosses over to their music.
- What it Proves: Some of the most popular Rock performers are very much into religion and spirituality. Shows that a majority of Rock stars do not worship the Devil and the occult.
God, Love, and Rock n’ Roll – CBN.com
- The Essential Content of the Article: Rock is another way for God to spread his messages. His messages were given through various ways in order to capture the attention of specific crowds, whether by types of music or specific people (such as John the Baptist, a relatively disheveled man who was able to attract many people with his words and actions).
- What it Proves: That there can absolutely be the presence of God in Rock music. Rock’n’roll, although seemingly unorthodox to conservative Christians, still spreads the messages of religion to groups of individuals who do not identify with the classical form of learning scriptures.
The Top 10 Epic Rock Songs Featuring Jesus Christ – VH1.com
- The Essential Content of the Article: A top 10 list of beloved Rock songs that mentioned Jesus Christ and religion in their lyrics, including Norman Greenbaum‘s “Spirit in The Sky” and The Doobie Brothers‘ “Jesus Is Just Alight”.
- What it Proves: That some of the most popular Rock tunes had to do with religion, casting it in a good light. Shows that God can be associated to Rock. From this point I will also mention the fact that “Spirit in The Sky” is one of the most requested songs at funerals.
Tracing It to Its Origins – Inside Rock Music
- The Essential Content of the Article: An analysis of the origins of Rock music, and how at its basic roots, it was all about offering tribute to well known deities. Also mentions how early performers invoked these deities, and attempted to spread the ideas to the millions of listeners.
- What it Proves: Religion has always had a place in Rock music. For example,Voodoo, which was very popular with Rock performers, may appear to be a big representative of the Occult, but in reality, the word is derived from the African term vodun, which is translated as deities that speak through humans.
Japanese Buddhist and Lutheran Pastors Spreading God Through Rock
- The Essential Content of the Article: Japanese Pastor Kazuhiro Sekino and his band Boxi Rocks, along with Monk Yoshinobu Fujioka and his band Bozu, spread the word of God and happiness to hundreds of audience members through fun Rock music.
- What it Proves: A prime example of how religion and Rock can blend very well, and how this combination successfully spreads the good word of the Lord to multitudes of young people and non churchgoers. Shows that Rock is not entirely about spreading messages of anarchy, sex, and blasphemy.
Rowan Counterintuitive 
You have a lively and entertaining topic here, SBD, but let’s not kid ourselves; it’s just a topic. Your thesis, that Rock’n’Roll was saved by including some lyrics about “the devil,” is an excuse to include every article you can find that involves popular music and religion. It’s already a grab bag of material, and you’ve barely started.
I’m intrigued but not convinced that you’ll be trying to find an arguable thesis here. The temptation to keep broadening the dialog will be very strong. You’ve demonstrate that you’re not keen on proving anything by the way you’ve re-written the instructions. Instead of little paragraphs devoted to “What It Proves,” you’ve provided little descriptions of “What It Provides.”
If you have a thesis at this point, it’s not yours; it belongs to Peter Bebergal.
Much more interesting, to me at least, would be your discovery that Rock’n’Roll just as often invoked a Christian God or the deities of other religions, by name or by implication. (Does Donovan even qualify as Rock’n’Roll?) That would be surprising and counterintuitive. OR, if you advanced Bebergal’s thesis into the present. Look carefully at the top ten most profitable recording artists of today. Do they depend for their success on any common theme as obvious as “the occult,” or “devil worship,” or “black magic”? If not, why is there still pop music today?
Good for what you’ve done so far. Get down to the real work.
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Thank you for the criticism. I will redo everything as soon as I am able to.
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Technical note: I’ve reduced the size of your titles to Heading 2 and removed the underlines, which made them look like hyperlinks. They aren’t. But they should be. I linked the title of your 5th source the way they all should be linked. I’ll be happy to share the simple technique in a class demo if you ask.
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I have completely reworked my paper and used your suggestion as my new hypothesis. I agree with you that it is actually very interesting. I would appreciate your feedback, please, on the new version of my post, and any other points that you would like me to address.
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Power to you. I’ll be back with feedback. Drop a Reply here if I take too long.
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Okay thank you. I won’t be able to address the feedback after 6:30 due to a previous appointment. I will be able to address the feedback after your class around 9:30 though.
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Now that your thesis has morphed, SBD, I wonder if you would consider a slightly different angle on the evidence you have. Like any other medium—fiction, film, TV shows, comic books—rock music is a means of expression for a broad range of artists with the full spectrum of personality types. Finding 10 songs that praise the devil, or 10 songs that praise the Lord, is no more meaningful than finding 10 songs that praise My Little Pony. Out of the 565,000 rock songs in the catalog (entirely made-up number), the examples are almost meaningless. Pastors looking for the devil in rock will hear one set of songs, worshipers looking for inspiration will find the other. You could use your essay to diminish the conclusion drawn by the alarmists who think the music is demonic WITHOUT having to prove that rock is divinely inspired. (For the record, finding 10 songs about My Little Pony would go a long way to proving such a claim.) Evidence-based ridicule is a powerful counterargument.
Helpful?
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Okay. So what type of evidence do you recommend me looking for? I am not sure I caught it in your previous comment
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Sorry I forgot to put feedback, please on my previous comment.
I would also like to know if, based off what you said in your comment, I should completely discard my five sources or if there are any that I may be able to use in a different angle or keep?
Thanks
Feedback provided
—DSH
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I don’t dispute your sources, SBD. Just be aware they don’t PROVE anything. The existence of a dozen songs in a catalog of a million can’t be conclusive. However, your burden is much lower than that. You’re only trying to refute claims that Rock’n’Roll glorifies the devil. Therefore, if you have as many examples of Jesus-boosting songs as they have Jesus-bashing songs, you clearly demonstrate the weakness of their claim. Decide what ELSE you want to do with this essay because your “refutation proof” is pretty easily accomplished.
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Okay thanks. I’ll try to come up with something else to add by Friday night. I’ll comment to you if I have any more questions.
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Feedback PROVIDED
(Sorry I haven’t been able to focus on this for a while. I have been busy.)
So I am not entirely sure of what you are trying to tell me in the comments. From what I understand, even though the sources used are not the greatest to prove the point, they do fully show the hypothesis’ argument. Therefore, I need to add another angle to the hypothesis in order to come up with more sources that either support or dispute a bigger idea.
Here are some potentially different angles that I may be able to work into the essay:
Different angle 1:In addition to divinity and God, Rock & Roll was used to express love, anger, and wide range of feelings. Rock & Roll was a means of expression of feelings not honoring the occult.
Different angle 2: Compare Rock to other mediums (films, books) with similar claims attributed to the occult but actually very much focused on God?
Different angle 3: Take it from the artist perspective – which personalities identified with the occult – which personalities identified with God – what was representative of society during the rock & roll era?Was the attribute of “God- like” & “Satan -like” changed over time? How did it evolve?
Do you believe that any of these different angles will help progress this paper? If not, do you have any other suggestions of how I can branch off of my hypothesis?
Thanks for all the constructive criticism. I really appreciate it.
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SBD, I think you’ve been missing the obvious here, but that you have an opportunity to write a very useful paper that is also entertaining. First, let’s look at your Different Angles.
Different angle 1:In addition to divinity and God, Rock & Roll was used to express love, anger, and wide range of feelings. Rock & Roll was a means of expression of feelings not honoring the occult.
Different angle 2: Compare Rock to other mediums (films, books) with similar claims attributed to the occult but actually very much focused on God?
Different angle 3: Take it from the artist perspective – which personalities identified with the occult–which personalities identified with God–what was representative of society during the rock & roll era? Was the attribute of “God-like” & “Satan-like” changed over time? How did it evolve?
Do you believe that any of these different angles will help progress this paper? If not, do you have any other suggestions of how I can branch off of my hypothesis?
CODED GRADE SO FAR: P
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