One of Christian rock's critics' more potent accusations is that rock music is idolatrous. In fact one of their favorite passages is Exodus 32:17-20, because it mentions loud music and idolatry in the same passage. (Therefore, according to their logic, loud music must be idolatrous.) That is why I titled this essay "A Golden Calf."
The first question is: can Christian rock be an idol? The answer is yes. Surprised that I would say so? Don't be; my goal is to be honest, not to defend what I think even at the cost of the truth. The simple fact of the matter is Christian rock can become an idol. Practically anything, from money to a job to a politician to a television show can become an idol if it is put in a position above God in a person's life. This is especially likely for Christian rock considering that many of its fans are young teenagers, who commonly idolize their heroes.Having established that Christian rock can be an idol, we now have to look at another question. Does this invalidate Christian rock's ministry? The answer to this one is no. The early church had the same problems. In I Corinthians 1, Paul has to persuade the Corinthians that they shouldn't be following him or Apollos or anyone but Christ. Sarcastically he asks them "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (v. 13, NIV). Yet Paul obviously continued in his ministry to them and others. This isn't the only example of people setting a tool of God's up as an idol. In II Kings 18, it's recorded that Hezekiah (one of the few godly kings) began his reign as king of Judah. One of his first official acts as king was to break "into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made" (v. 4, NIV). Why did he do this? This was a symbol of God's mercy upon the Isrealites, giving them a way to avoid punishment if they would trust in him (see Numbers 21:4-9). He destroyed the snake because "up to that time the Isrealites had been burning incense to it" (II Kings 18:4 NIV). God had ordered this thing to be made, and it was eventually turned into an idol. Being made into an idol does not make a person or thing evil. Setting yourself or someone else up as an idol however, is sinful.
The final question we must ask is Do Christian rock musicians encourage their fans to make them idols? After all, if being made an idol against your will is not sinful, then there is no fault in the musicians themself unless they encourage such activity. The answer, quite clearly, is that they do not. Many CCM and Christian rock stars have songs emphasizing the fact that they are only human. Just so no one can protest that I don't give any evidence of my claims, I'll put the lyrics to a few such songs in What's Christian Rock Saying?, namely "Just A Man", "Superpowers" and What If I Stumble?". Believe me, if I had time, there are many others I could use as evidence for my beliefs. Unfortunately, as always, time is limited.