Light Rock: The Devil's Chum
Republished December 22, 2009 (first published June 7, 1998)
Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
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The following is an excerpt from a seminar on rock music entitled "Easy on the Ears, Hard on the Soul," by David Benoit (Glory Ministries, Charlotte, North Carolina) --

You know, I talk about heavy metal rock 'n' roll and I make a few people mad. But then when I show a slide of these guys [New Kids on the Block] I make people really mad. But let me stop right here. Before you get really mad at me, let me ask you a question. Why is it that anger comes on when I put these guys up? I know, you're sitting there going, "I can't believe this guy's going to say anything's wrong with these guys."

You know, last year I went to the Bahamas. And I went fishing for shark. Now to fish for shark--do you know how they do that? They take a hook about that long, and it's about that big around, and it was on a chain. And then they had a long rope. Then what you'd do is you would take the head of a grouper and you would hook it into the head. Then you would walk, during low tide, and put it in a pool. Then you would come back to the shore, and you would take a bag full of fish remains and you would throw it out there. Do you know what that's called? That's called chumming. If you go fishing offshore, it's not like fishing for bass. You have to get the fish to start feeding in salt water. If you go deep sea fishing, they'll start throwing out chunks of meat. You know why? So the fish at the bottom of the ocean will go into an eating frenzy. And once they get them into an eating frenzy, then they put a hook in and they reel them in. I'm told that a shark can smell blood up to seven miles in the ocean. And as that water would start to come in it would take the aroma of that blood out into the ocean, and that shark would start moving its way into that inlet. And you know what? We caught three shark almost six feet long. I took the knife that I had and I cut the stomach up in that shark, and you know what I found in that shark? I found the head of the grouper. I found the chum.

And you know what? I call New Kids on the Block chum. It's something to get you into an eating frenzy with rock 'n' roll. It causes you to start feeding on this material, and I can assure you that you will not stop with these guys. Because after you get on these guys you're gonna go a little bit deeper. I can guarantee you that those who follow these guys, as soon as Madonna goes on tour this year, they'll be at Madonna concerts, too, if their parents will let them.

But let's discuss New Kids on the Block. On their song, "The right stuff" they say this: "I love the way you turn me on." Now "turn on" is a sexual stimulation. Do you think as a Christian it is something you should engage in? Do you think there is anything wrong with that? Not only that, but look at the people they are marketing to. The age that they attract are ages eight to eighteen. Now I'm not saying you can be twenty-one and not listen to them. I'm not saying that, but the targeted age is eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen-, fourteen- and fifteen-, and sixteen-year-olds. Those are the primary people that they attract. And you know what I notice? I've seen a lot of girls in the fifth grade--eight-, nine-, and ten-year- old girls--who are totally engulfed with these young men.

Let's say that it is twenty years from today, and you're a parent. Let me ask you a question. If you had an eight-year-old daughter, and you had a young man seventeen years old, and he was sitting on the couch with your daughter. And he told your daughter in your hearing, "You turn me on," how would you feel? I'll tell you how he'd feel. He'd feel bruised. Because I had an eight-year-old daughter, and I wouldn't want a guy to tell my daughter she turns him on.

And by the way, there are New Kids on the Block dolls. I don't know many eighteen-, nineteen-, twenty-year-old ladies who play with dolls. But I do know a lot of children who do. The people who are behind New Kids on the Block, they are not satisfied with the rate of pregnancy among teenagers, they want to make sure they get turned on at an early age.

The other day I was in California, and this little girl who couldn't have been any more than nine or ten years old, came up and her mother was literally dragging her to hear me. She said, "Mr. Benoit, my daughter wants to know what's wrong with New Kids on the Block." And I looked at the little girl and I said, "Let me ask you a question. Do you know what `you turn me on' means?" And the little girl goes, "Yes." I said, "Do you think as a Christian you ought to listen to things like that?" And about that time, that little girl wrapped her arms around her mother and with all her strength, she was just literally tugging on her mother. And I looked at her mother and said, "Mom, even if New Kids on the Block were not bad, look how loyal she is to this rock group." Is that healthy?

Not only that, but I must admit that they are very attractive young men, well groomed. But let me tell you something. I would venture to say that some young ladies who have their pictures all over the walls, think more than just on these things which are pure, holy. See, I'm not asking you be honest with Dave Benoit, I'm asking you to be honest with yourself. See, again, you can be like that girl who came up to me and said, "Well, I had my devotions today [and she tried to make me think she had regular devotions by her own desire, but in reality her school made her do the devotions]." Did something make you? Or did you do it because you wanted to. See, that's what I want people to be with me. I just want people to be honest with themselves, because Dave Benoit is not going to be here next week, next month, next year. I'm not going to be here. You as a young person have got to make the decisions yourself that you will have to live with.

You know another problem I see? I see in songs of New Kids on the Block over and over and over again they talk about a lifetime of commitment. "I love you forever." "You're mine girl, forever." "Forever, forever, forever." You know what? Can I tell you something? There are going to be a lot of young ladies who the first time a guy comes up and says, "I will love you forever," will do things that they will regret for the rest of their lives.

Now again, if they were singing to twenty-one-year-old or older ladies, I would say that's great because you ought to be committed forever. But that's pretty strong language for an eight- or a nine-year-old child.



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