I'm not a devotee of much of the Christian music world. I rarely listen to Christian radio stations and probably couldn't tell the Newsboys from the Backstreet Boys by looking at them. My musical tastes tend to be pretty eclectic. If you were to come by my office, you could hear a variety of musical styles: classic rock, blues, jazz, country, or "oldies", as well as classical and worship music. This has gotten me into "trouble" with some students over the years who have felt that a man of my "position" shouldn't listen to anything that wasn't Christian, especially things like the Eagles or Lynard Skynard.

Recently, I spent some time listening to rap music (it's amazing what you can find on internet radio). I found that I could appreciate some aspects of the "genre"" - the "wordmanship" and rhythm. But I was blown away by a lot of the lyrics - the profanity, the violence, the sexual references. Some of the music I listen to contains references to the same things, but not to that extent and with that vulgarity.

But what probably troubled me most (especially as the father of two daughters) was the way that many (if not most) of the songs portrayed women as objects just there for the gratification of men. The songs didn't reference women as people, just as body parts. They promote a view that women are just here for men's sexual gratification.

I don't want the guys that date my girls to have that view. I don't want my girls to have that view.

And yet rap music is probably our country's most popular genre among teenagers who are forming their social and sexual values and views. And it isn't just popular among urban blacks. It is just as popular among suburban whites and every other demographic.

The music really troubled me. I couldn't tell you what "artists" I listened to, but the message they were proclaiming - and that many of our young people (including Christian young people) are listening to - is poisonous.