Rap Music & Cultural Imperialism

Recently I interacted on a blog where an assertion was made that rap music is sinful. No one would mistake me for a rap artist or aficionado. However, the charge that rap music is sinful is silly and biblically indefensible. Rap music may offend the cultural sensitivities of some and not always be the best vehicle to communicate divine truth to people unfamiliar with it or predisposed against it. To say it is sinful comes awfully close to cultural imperialism.

 

No one’s saying that all cultural forms are okay, or at least I’m not. All forms are human creations, perhaps some reflecting more of God’s image but all affected more or less by sin with redeemable elements that can be put at the service of God and the gospel – rap music in this instance. My argument is against the pretense that one has discovered the forms more or most pleasing to God aesthetically, in this case sounding very western, white, middle-class American, and from that make blanket statements that go beyond Scripture about what is sinful.

 

What we need more of is a kingdom culture as it comes alongside and penetrates other cultures and progressively uproots and replaces elements that need to be denounced and rejected or restored and reshaped. It’s in this sense that I hold to a form of cultural relativism (not to be confused with ethical and moral relativism) and oppose cultural imperialism. Personal opinions about rap music are fine. Let’s reserve “sinful” for what the Bible calls sin. Of course I’m not suggesting that if something is not mentioned as sinful in the Bible it is not sinful. What I am suggesting is that we exercise more care about what we call sinful and be sure that it is the Bible that speaks and not our cultural preferences.

5 Responses to “Rap Music & Cultural Imperialism”

  1. "the charge that rap music is sinful is silly and biblically indefensible."
    "No one’s saying that all cultural forms are okay, or at least I’m not."
    "Let’s reserve 'sinful' for what the Bible calls sin. Of course I’m not suggesting that if something is not mentioned as sinful in the Bible it is not sinful. What I am suggesting is that we exercise more care about what we call sinful and be sure that it is the Bible that speaks and not our cultural preferences."
    I'm struggling to reconcile these statements. If things that are not specificially called sinful in the Bible can still be sinful, then the real issue is whether or not we are exercising care. Thus, if Bauder has worked diligently to try to think through biblical principles and draw out applications from them, why would it be wrong for him to call something sin? It seems the real issue is you disagree with his conclusion on this matter.
    IOW, it's not that it is silly and biblically indefensible…it's that you think it's silly and biblically indefensible. However, the only argument you give is "It's cultural imperialism and the Bible never says it's sin." You remove your first argument by saying not all cultural forms are ok (if they're not ok, then they must be wrong/sinful). You remove your second argument at the end by admitting that it is possible for things to be sinful even if they are not explicitly called such in Scripture. So, it seems we're merely left with your opinion.
    Maybe it would be better if we we exercised more care about what we call silly/biblically indefensible and be sure that it is the Bible that speaks and not our own opinions. 🙂

  2. I imagine the elements of a given culture that need to be denounced and rejected are those that are most "affected by sin" as you put it? 
     
    At some point, if those elements are so affected, why not call them sinful elements?

  3. Thank you for posting this.  I've long since been done with the cultural imperialism nonsense that goes on within fundamentalism in the name of holiness.  I'm glad to see men who have a voice that some fundamentalists listen to take a stand.

  4. Ben:

    It looks like saying something is sinful (and by implication those engaged are sinning) is okay if one has thought through biblical principles and drawn out applications. Saying something is silly is just an opinion and care should exercised. We should all exercise care but maybe even more care should be exercised before calling something sinful. Did you remind Bauder about that? Didn't think is. Saying something is silly might be a wrong opinion. Saying something is sinful is serious.

    Steve

  5. I assumed you meant that "saying something is sinful (and by implication those engaged are sinning) is okay if one has thought through biblical principles and drawn out applications" by your statement "Of course I’m not suggesting that if something is not mentioned as sinful in the Bible it is not sinful. What I am suggesting is that we exercise more care about what we call sinful and be sure that it is the Bible that speaks and not our cultural preferences." So, it's ok to recognize something as sinful even if the Bible doesn't say it, but it's just wrong to say that it's sinful? Hence, my confusion.
    However, I would agree with the first statement of your comment (saying something is sinful is ok). I have no problem telling someone that it's sinful to intentionally take someone's work and present it as their own (plagiarism), even though I don't think that is mentioned in the Bible. Why? Because I've "thought through biblical principles and drawn out applications" specifically the biblical prohibitions against theft and their implications and what plagiarism is.
    And my final statement was intended to be a play on your final comment, not necessarily a reminder to exercise care, just that your post actually argued against your own post.
    However, I would think that by saying a statement is silly and biblically indefensible is basically saying it's sinful (i.e., you were saying Bauder was sinning in his statement). So really, both of you are saying something is sinful anyway. Bauder did not put forth an explanation in his essay for why he felt rap was sinful, but I've read and heard enough from him to get a sense for what his argument is. I may not agree with it, but I feel confident in saying he has tried to exercise care, and doesn't take it lightly (i.e., he realizes it's a serious thing). However, you did attempt an explanation, so I decided to point out that your explanation was contradictory and thus ended up being merely a statement of opinion.
    I would love to see a thoughtful and biblical interaction on the use of rap, b/c I think it's an important issue for the church to consider. What we don't need is poor argumentation muddying the waters and simply dismissing contrary opinions (by only offering their own opinion)

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