Pop/Rock

During youthful years of all generations, we all listened to the pop and rock songs and music of the day, and I stand guilty as charged. However, I think there is, and has always been a ‘dark’ side to the industry, and I can even relate to popular music from the late ‘50s onwards.

At this time of life, I no longer listen to, or even enjoy, modern pop or rock music, so do not follow this industry closely. However, there have been some cases recently where the music industry has shocked us with content of a graphic sexual, and violent nature which have hit the headlines. The past 40 years have seen a great change in what our young people listen to, and use as a backdrop to their lives. Like it or not, all music has an influence, and that can be for good or evil. Again, like it or not, these pop idols are role models to many who want to be just like them. Some will copy them to the detriment of their moral, and yes even physical beings. That’s a lot of negative influence over body and soul, and to me that’s a scary thought.

It transpires that the music industry is now being asked to regulate their output in the same way as the movie business, and introduce a censored age rating system. This would especially affect the music video releases, and I think this is long overdue. If you have chanced across any of the music channels on TV, you will have seen the scantly clad, cavorting men and women who sing and dance to devilish lyrics in a manner which leaves nothing to the imagination. How much further can this moral slide go, without intervention by government legislation, or by God Himself? Of course, this behaviour already happens in UK prime time TV on shows like ‘X Factor’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Both of these programmes have a list of complaints made against them weekly, for this reason specifically.

So, what can concerned Christian parents, grandparents, or teachers do? I think we can be more alert and aware of the content of the music being churned out, and listened to by our young charges, and take steps to make sure the offending programmes are not watched, nor music and lyrics listened to, in our homes at least. I know it is not considered progressive or PC, but why not trash the CDs/DVDs, and regulate the TV channels through the parental controls already available? Can’t do that? Too authoritarian? Well maybe, just maybe, those are the same channels and music we like to watch and listen to ourselves. What would that say about our own double standards, and more importantly, what would that say to our youth, and their moral compass? Are we guilty of saying one thing, and doing another? Is the moral failing of our youth partly our fault? If so, my own older generation has a lot to answer for! Which ‘rock’ do you base your life on?

Why a pile of stones at the top of a hill? There can be a few reasons. In past days, when climbing to the top of a big hill or ben, the walker would carry a stone or a rock to leave with all the others which had been left by previous folks. This made the area, the official peak, or summit. This then had the result of making the height of the peak even greater, and every so often the maps would have to be reprinted to reflect the change. Then there is the cairn. An old Scottish tradition of making a 'mark' of significance in an otherwise desolate part of the landscape. This might have been used as a sign of respect, or for worship of old gods of the past. There are many many cairns on peaks of hills, Corbets and Munros in the Scottish hillsides, each one a remarkable achievement, because each person who climbed to the top, carried one stone! The combined effect is a cairn, or altar. The more who took stones, the bigger the cairn and the higher the peak became. It is a bit like making the hill artificially bigger!

Sometimes we try to make ourselves bigger than we really are. Just like the cairn does to a hill. I think we can be guilty of talking ourselves up, or even worse, talking others down to make ourselves look better. I once worked with a man who swore often in 'normal' conversation. It turned out that he thought it made him seem a bigger man than he really felt he was. In fact, he didn't need to do that because he was a very nice person underneath, but he couldn't see it himself! And don't we love to exaggerate? To make our stories bigger helps to make us feel bigger too, doesn't it? We all do it, and can become quite accomplished at it too! Do we need to do this? No! Our friends, those real friends and family, will accept us for what we are, and are not impressed by inflated accounts of our lives. I know from experience that smaller folks with big hearts, are much nicer to be around than big people with a 'larger than life' story to tell! We have all been close to someone who didn't need to talk themself up. Their life did all the talking for them, and we are happy and even blessed to have known them, to have loved them, and better still, be loved by them. Sometimes one of those 'little' people can make those 'big' people look very, very small! We all know someone like that, don't we?

Oh yes, the photograph! It's of a 'cairn' overlooking the River Clyde estuary south of Largs, and towards the Arran hills.

Rock Pool at Wemyss Bay

Anyone who knows the area around Wemyss Bay, or indeed the West Coast of Scotland will also know of its rugged beauty. This is a relatively calm image, but the scene can so easily change within hours, if not minutes. This image was taken a short walk from my own flat. I am spoiled for scenery to enjoy and photograph at any time of the year, and try to make the most of what I believe to be a magnificent part of God's creation. I am happy to be considered as a creationist, and cannot subscribe to the theory (yes it still is a theory) of evolution. Darwin did a 'job' on us all, and drove a wedge between human 'thinkers', but more so the church. Oh, I do believe that our Almighty God may have used some of the other parts of his creation to finish his work, but I cannot believe that we evolved from some single cell, and kept evolving until we get to mankind. Where did the single cell come from? If it came about as a result of some gasseous accident, then where did this gas come from? Evolution does not, and cannot explain how the first cell came out.... from nothing!! Wow, what a great, creative God we have!