Cedars, November 2018

November 2018 19 COVER STORY tian music, though their own definitions of- ten varied and were all over. One double in- terview performed for this article spawned a two-hour conversation amongst many peo- ple about what the true definitions of beauty and Christian music could be. It’s apparent that the Cedarville stu- dent body can be quite split in their music tastes, their tastes in Christian music and in their own definitions of what Christian music actually is. Of those who answered the poll, 30 percent chose to eschew the given options for their favorite genre, giving their own custom answer. Furthermore, 56 percent of those polled opted to give their own opinion on the Christian genre and 51 percent provided their own definitions of Christian music. Obviously, it was not possible to in- clude all of those here, but they fueled the questions asked of those interviewed and shaped the direction of this entire analysis. While it can be beneficial to find Chris- tian music, disregarding the current popu- lar songs, one should always be careful with the music they choose to listen to. Not all songs are what they seem, and listeners need to use discretion. “Some so-called Christian songs, if you took the name Jesus out of the chorus, they could just sound like generic love songs oth- erwise,” said Gilhooly. “Now, every generic love song is pilfering Christian themes of love, but that doesn’t mean they are Chris- tian love songs. I think we want to be cau- tious labeling something as good or helpful for us just because it has the name Christian in front of it.” Callahan Jones is a senior journalism ma- jor and the Digital and Design editor for Cedars. In his free time, he enjoys making coffee, being overly critical about music and playing games with friends. How important is it to you that a music artist... Is “Christian Music” a genre? What’s your favorite genre of music? No - 29% = 10 people Yes - 71% 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Is a “Christian” band Professes to be a Christian 125 122 135 84 38 174 124 132 57 17 Very Important Unimportant Christian Music: What 504 students at Cedarville University have to say on the matter Christian / CCM Pop Alternative/folk Metal/Rock Indie Pop/Rock Rap/Hip-Hop Instrumental/Classical Country Other Jazz EDM/Dance Broadway Important Somewhat Unimportant Neutral