Love me do

Yesterday the local news in the North West reminded us all that it was the 50^th anniversary of the Beatles first record, Love me do. Over 1600 hundred people gathered in Liverpool to sing the song and get their name into the Guinness book of records as the largest choir – or something like that. Whether that was quite as significant as Bill Hailey’s visit to this country or the first record by Elvis Presley is a moot point. What can’t be denied is that pop music has grown ever more important and dominated the life of teenagers – and others – at least from the Sixties onwards. I have often tried to decide what effect this has had on life in Britain, on moral standards, and on the whole culture. I have thought of preaching on the subject several times but have never been able to come to any decisive conclusion – mere condemnation does no-one any good. Yet I cannot but believe that much pop and rock music has had a seriously harmful effect on young people and so on the whole ethos and outlook of a couple of generations. Personally, I think it is also responsible for damaging Christian worship; in the first place at least, through the charismatic movement. Just when many churches were seeing the importance of reverence and seriousness in the worship of God a whole new emphasis began to be brought in and is still spreading its effects. I post these thoughts for any others who may wish to ponder the influence of the Beatles and many other popular groups before and since.

[I delayed posting this from last week for a reason but have now decided to put it on my blog.]