In his 1984 book, "The Secret Power of Music," secular researcher David Tame traces rock music to its' satanic source in Africa as well as revealing extensive scientific research demonstrating the destructive effects of rock music on both mind and body :
"Were we to scour the globe in search of the most aggressively malevolent and unmistakably evil music in existence, it is more than likely that nothing would be found anywhere to surpass voodoo in these attributes ... as the rhythmic accompaniment to satanic rituals and orgies, voodoo is the quintessence of tonal evil. ... Its multiple rhythms, rather than uniting into an integrated whole, are performed in a certain kind of conflict with one another. ... What is certain is that to hear this music is to become instantly encompassed by the sound of its raw, livid power. ... Musicologists and historians are in no doubt that the drum rhythms of Africa were carried to America and were transmitted and translated into the style of music which became known as jazz. Since jazz and the blues were the parents of rock and roll, this also means that there exists a direct line of descent from the voodoo ceremonies of Africa, through jazz, to rock and roll and all other forms of rock music today." (pp. 189-190)
Tame reveals that rock music affects digestion, internal secretions, circulation, nutrition, respiration and neural networks of the brain:
"Researchers have discovered that consonant and dissonant chords, different intervals, and other features of music all exert a profound effect upon man's pulse and respiration -- upon their rate and upon whether their rhythm is constant, or interrupted and jumpy. Blood pressure is lowered by sustained chords and raised by crisp, repeated ones. ...It has also been found that the tension of the larynx is affected by melodies, that sound stimuli can have a negative effect upon the skeletal muscles, that rock rhythms cause the heart beat to lose its perfect rhythm, and that certain rhythms can even cause a rare malady known as "musicogenic epilepsy" with which some of its victims have been tormented to the point of committing suicide or murder. ... We can see, then, that music affects the body in two distinct ways: directly, as the effect of sound upon the cells and organs, and indirectly, by affecting the emotions, which then in turn influence numerous bodily processes." (p. 137)
Musicologist Alice Monsarrat points out that it,
"....is precisely at this point that rock 'n' roll ... becomes potentially dangerous. This is because, to maintain a sense of well-being and integration, it is essential that man is not subjected too much to any rhythms not in accord with his natural bodily rhythms" (ibid, p. 199)
Tame writes that like human nature itself, music cannot possibly be neutral in its spiritual direction,
"... ultimately all uses of tone and all musical lyrics can be classified according to their spiritual direction, upward or downward. ... To put it plainly, music tends to be of either the darkness or of the light." "In his famous work, Laws, Plato lamented the musical revolution of his time and its "unmusical anarchy": 'Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong in music -- that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their work and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. ... As it was, the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking" (pp. 187, 189).
With a clear-eyed discernment lacking in most Christians today, Tame concludes,
"More than any other form of the misuse of sound, it is rock with which we must deal today. ... It is a global phenomenon; a pounding, pounding destructive beat which is heard from America and Western Europe to Africa and Asia. Its effect upon the soul is to make nigh-impossible the true inner silence and peace necessary for the contemplation of eternal verities. ... How necessary is it in this age for some to have the courage to be the ones who are 'different,' and to separate themselves out from the pack who long ago sold their lives and personalities to this sound....I adamantly believe that rock in all its forms is a critical problem which our civilization must get to grips...if it wishes long to survive." (p. 204)
Noted German theologian Kurt Koch (1913-1987) agrees with David Tame's astute conclusions. An expert in the occult, Koch pastored and counseled those suffering from occult oppression in it various forms in 65 countries and 5 continents. In "Occult ABC: Exposing Occult Practices and Ideologies," Koch writes that from his travels in South America and Africa, he learned first-hand that rock music is the kind of music used in cultic dances:
"Primitive people dance themselves into a frenzy to such music, often ending in sexual orgies." (p. 180)
Koch observes that there is a kind of music which uplifts and a kind which destroys all that is good and drags people down, and this includes Christian rock music:
"There is a music which has divine inspiration, and music which has demonic inspiration." (p. 181)
Standing in agreement with Carl Raschke and David Tame, ex-rocker Bob Larsen said:
"(rock music) has a spirit which comes from dark and muddy waters. It cannot be cleansed and used for the Holy Spirit." (Koch, p. 182)
After leaving his rock music days behind, Larsen became an evangelist. When he spoke to rock fans he found they agreed, saying,
"You are on the right track. Go on as you are. We all feel something of the demonism of this music." (p. 182)
But when he spoke in churches, where truth and spiritual discernment should be found, he was attacked. In a sign of the times in which we live, spiritually blind Christians will teach about spiritual warfare even while assuring evangelists like Larsen that rock music,
"...can be used for the gospel, too." (p. 182)
Koch notes that Larsen's discovery that where the truth ought to be found, it is rejected, and where it is not expected it is accepted, means nothing less than that a rock fan is nearer to the kingdom of God than some elders of the church. This is a present-day version,
"...of the words of Jesus, 'The tax-gatherers and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God sooner than the hypocritical Pharisees." (p. 182)
As David Tame reveals, there exists a direct line of descent from the voodoo ceremonies of Africa, through jazz, to rock and roll and all other forms of rock music today. And this includes Christian rock, which like its' parent is not of the Holy Spirit but of an unholy spirit, which is why it causes confusion, anger, contention, and division among Christians, said Gordon Sears in his booklet, 'Is Today's Christian Music 'Sacred'?
If Christian rock is of God, as many Christians contend, then asks Sears, why is it:
(1) ....causing so much confusion and division among Christians?
(2) Why is it not received by all orthodox Bible-believing churches?
(3) Why is it readily accepted by the non-Christian world? The ungodly never accepted the old Christian hymns
(4) Why is it that Bible-denying universities and popular secular TV entertainment shows invite well-known Christian artists to give concerts with Christian rock? This never happened with the great spiritual hymns
(5) Why are there hundreds of churches with godly pastors across America that strictly reject it and forbid it in their services?
(6) Why does it have such a strong effect upon the physical body?