With this loss of responsibility comes also a tacit denial of the depravity of each of the links in the chain of communication. Now, most of the people who espouse this idea will immediately protest that their view precisely factors that in, but it is really the opposite. If you state that certain music styles are immoral in and of themselves, you begin to think for people and you take away the responsibility of the musician playing the music, because the music is immoral, not necessarily the musician making it. I will grant that we won’t go that far in our logic, but we rarely do follow all our thoughts to their logical conclusions.
It is in the end effect the human that determines the morality or immorality of the music, not the music itself, because, like a language, the music becomes moral or immoral depending on the use it is put to. Thus, a melody that was once used to extol the virtues of drinking alcohol can become a worship song. Thus, a music style used by Satan to promote rebellion can be snatched back and used to promote righteousness.
If we take our individual responsibility concerning music seriously, we’ll find that music that is perfectly moral for the song-writer could be considered immoral for the listener if it has an adverse effect on the listener mentally, physically, or emotionally.
What also affects the music is the milieu in which it is performed. Thus, jazz music played in certain skuzzy bars would often be considered more sensual and profane than music with a similar rhythm and harmony played in a concert hall, or even in a church service. If we look at the milieu in which most modern, pop-style worship music is performed in, we find that the people there are mostly moral, upstanding people, who desire to worship God and are there not merely for an emotional high, but as an expression of their deep faith in God. Is that music then immoral?
As mentioned above, claiming certain music is moral and certain is immoral takes the responsibility away from each link in the chain and oversimplifies the process of making music. It also denies the idea of a heart-language of each human in music and is highly culturally insensitive (not to our post-Christian culture, but to cultures around the world).
Are we remembering that each link in the chain, including ourselves, is utterly depraved, utterly selfish, and extremely opinionated to the point that we think that we are the only ones who are right? Are we remembering that we are more often wrong than right? Each of us must judge for ourselves using the Bible as our guide.