INTRODUCTION

“I don’t care how good of a home a child has been brought up in, and how it’s been taught to do right; if that child hasn’t accepted the experience of the New Birth, rock and roll music catches his attention just as quick as he hears it. Because in him - born in him by nature - is a carnal spirit. And the power of the Devil is so great today that it catches the spirit of that little one.” 1
William M. Branham
 
    Americans are addicted to music. It is an addiction that last year alone, cost us seven billion dollars2 and helped make music one of the most prosperous industry on earth.
   However , we are not without company. The whole world has tuned in with us to become a part of the greatest social phenomena in all of history: Rock’n’Roll music.
   Rock is now a generation old, and that in itself is nothing short of a miracle for something that was dismissed by the previous generation as being a flash-in-the-pan, in-one-ear-and-out-the-other, teenage craze. Even though we live in an era of blinding changes, rock has been able to assimilate, integrate and even mutate its way through nearly five decades to become something that is much more than music in the ear of the rock-believer. Resurrecting the deep-seated spiritual attribute of its ancient forbearers, rock has now archieved the elevated status of its deification. In every sense, it has become a religion, complete with a full contingent of its own high priest and false prophets.
   It sounds incredible, doesn’t it? But, have you ever stopped to ask yourself just what it is that makes rock different from another music? Why is it so powerful? What is its source? And where is it leading us? Unfortunately, most people never stop to analyze the multitude of sounds that bombard them daily, and that could prove to be fatal. Of course, it doesn’t happen overnight. The story goes that if you throw a live frog in a pan of boiling water, he will jump out so fast that he won’t even be scalded. But take the same frog and put him in a pan of lukewarm water, then gradually bring the water to a boil, the frog will allow himself to be slowly cooked to death.
  Could it be that we Christians are being slowly conditioned to accept the compelling, pervasive, permissive attitudes around us without our even knowing it? As Message believers, how vulnerable are we to these attitudes?
   These are questions that must be answered today, and that is what this article is all about. Be warned: This is not going to be easy reading, and you cannot breeze through it quickly, but when you are finished you will know how to test the temperature of the water you are sitting in right now. I challenge you to check it out for yourself – before it’s too late.