Hi everyone,
I am kind of lost in my own faith. I kind of sick of hiding that I am part of a metal community and scene. This all started when my friend came running to me the other day. She was really upset and she told me that an elder and four other people were telling her to go back to hell and putting so called holy water on. This made me think about what would happen to me if I came out as a metal lover in church. So I kept it quiet mainly because of this and because other Christians have said things .
The other day I was talking to someone and they mentioned my true self and I sat there thinking. But if you really knew me what would you do.
Any ideas on how to respond to my friend. Or how to be a part of this scene while being a christain
First of all it’s an interesting thing to think about but I can give you an example of this from my own life. I have 2 close friends of mine one who I was in a band with and another who is a lesbian woman both who like metal,hardcore, black metal you name it they like it! Both of them are very devout Christians and they had the same issue with this. My friend I was in a band with was a guitarist and he used to go to church about 3 times a week minimum but would listen to Whitechapel and black dahlia murder, people shouldn’t question your faith by the music you listen to! My other friend she has the mind set of she doesn’t care and turns the other cheek she had been through a lot in her life and this has not stopped her once!.
Also! Another note would be that August Burns Red and several other bands that are part of heart support are Christians through and through. You are not alone and you don’t have to go this alone!
First off, I want to apologize if I offend anyone with my post because I’ll be touching on my personal beliefs of how I view religion.
In my experience, there are different types of religious people - extremists, moderates, and “title-only” people. I’ve found that “moderates” are the healthiest type of religious people. For example, it sounds like an extremist religious person told your friend to put Holy Water on. “Title-only” people are those who claim to subscribe to a specific religion but don’t practice anything it preaches. I consider myself a moderate Christian. In other words, I love God and I love people, but I’m also a sailor mouth (in recovery), I enjoy vaping, I don’t mind “R-rated” movies, etc. I love studying Biblical theology in order to build my understanding of the context in why parts of the Bible were written. My purpose here on earth is to unconditionaly love my neighbor like myself, and I will continue doing that until the day I die. Anyway, all of this to say, tell your friend that there are healthy and unhealthy people who subscribe to religions, and it sounds like your friend just encountered an unhealthy egg. Thank you for reaching out on behalf of your friend. You have a big heart!
First off, I am so sorry that the church is being unwelcoming. As a fellow Christian metal lover, I can say that there are so many of us that know how it feels, but know there is also hope.
It sucks that the church has become so critical about things, especially what genre of music people listen to, when it’s all about Jesus. Like I believe Jesus isn’t concerned about the type of music we like but how we love each other.
Sorry about that short rant, I’ve just experienced this before and know too many people who have as well.
I would encourage you and your friend with this, you’re not alone. In fact, a lot of this community has experienced similar hardships. Be there for your friend and keep pursuing Jesus together. Go to shows together and jam. One of the things that helped me was doing life alongside other Christians who loved the same music.
I can definitely understand people judging you for the music you listen to. I can definitely also tell you that there is plenty of metal music with better messages than pop music, as well as many metal musicians who are much more wholesome than many artists from more popular genres. That’s not to say that metal music doesn’t have its share of negativity and “unchristian” messages. It’s not about the genre – there is good and bad in all genres. You know as well as I do that you can find good bands in any genre, and if people are giving you judgment for listening to metal music, that’s their own problem.
I know it’s hard to open up to fellow Christians about something that could make them treat you as more of an outcast, but in all honesty, a quality church would accept you no matter who you are. After all, Christianity is all about following Christ, and Christ made an effort to spend time with the poor, outcast, and diseased. It would be very difficult to open up and not care what other people think – trust me, I care way too much about what other people think so I’m not sure I’d be capable of that. It would also be very difficult to make the decision that your church community is not right for you, even if it may be true (I’m not saying it necessarily is, but if that’s something you decided it would probably be difficult to do).
The good news is that here at HeartSupport, we will all accept you no matter what AND we all vibe with the whole metal thing. You are NOT alone. I’m sure many in this community can relate to this type of issue. I would imagine it must be difficult, but I believe you can do this. You are definitely not alone, and like @Brightfuse mentioned, lots of HeartSupport metal artists are Christian, like August Burns Red whose vocalist founded this organization.
Please don’t doubt your own faith because of how it compares to others. Everyone is unique. Some people might be able to find God more clearly by following a more traditional Christian life, and others can worship God through metal music. It’s okay to be different from others in your church community too. Actually, it’s really a problem if there is no diversity in beliefs in a church. That’s when it becomes a cult – like Westboro Baptist. Anyway, please try to develop more confidence in your own faith and beliefs, and realize that it does not have to match with any sort of standard. You are your own person, and you deserve to follow whatever faith you want in whatever way you want. Same goes to your friend.
I do not have much experience with this topic, but what I will say is if people truly cared for you and your presence was a joy to them- if they truly loved the genuine true you- would they care what kind of music you listen to?
I know it’s not easy- but my friend I would embrace the true you.
I don’t know if this is possible but if people don’t accept you for who you are or what you like than maybe it would be good to reach out to other churches in your area.
I know what I’ve said is not much- but friend just be you. We love you for who you are.
Friend, let me just assure you that God could really not care less about your musical taste, as long as you’re loving Him and loving people. That’s really the only requirement for Christianity! Jesus makes that pretty clear. As for those people telling you and your friends you’re sinful or satanic, it’s just not true and I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Sometimes Christians like to add on to the truth of Jesus and make it into something it’s not. We have a tendency to get caught up in these arbitrary things that don’t matter in the scope of our faith. I promise that God loves you no matter what anyone else says or claims for him. No one gets to speak for God because none of us are him. I really hope you have some supportive people in your faith community who don’t make you feel so alone. And if you don’t- you’ve always got us here at HS! We love ya no matter what.
Thankyou its just confusing when a church does so much to welcome people but as soon as your different your not allowed. I guess that’s why at a lost. I am happy there is hope. Hopefully churches will grow out if being the cookie cutter church and expect different people.
Also this community is amazing. I am so happy I found it. Its always to know that I am not alone in this or anything.
