Skol303 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402499125' post='2474165'] OK, I don't know any electronica Christians.[/quote] Moby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402435287' post='2473572'] I tried to find things that said what "I" wanted them to say so I could continue playing... ... [/quote] This bit speaks volumes to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I admire your faith and your courage in both being prepared to follow it and to be public about it. I wish you serenity with your decision and hope you will continue posting here. In peace Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2004gdavi Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 In my view religious beliefs and the bible have always gone hand in hand. You only have to look and you'll find plenty of references in there, try Psalms for a start. It seems that this is a crisis of conscience where the music is a side issue. You probably need to look within for the answer and keeping true to your beliefs whilst still enjoying a musical engagement will make you a stronger in the long run. Hope this makes some degree of sense and good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2004gdavi Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Ok the above read religious beliefs and music. To err is human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Surely dedication to playing music is how you become proficient and good at it? You should be applauded for that. However if you feel it is taking over your life and not providing enjoyment and fulfillment then sack it off. I have done many times only to return to it some time later with a fresh outlook. To put this into perspective my brother practices piano around 4 - 6 hours a day in order to become good at what he does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402499125' post='2474165'] It's not playing music that's the main issue, it's my relationship with it. Everything I do, I put music first. If I go to church I think about how the music/sound could be improved, when I go to bed I put music on, when I get spare time I play an instrument. This is put before anything else that should be on my list. It's not been a sudden or rash decision, I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I searched for answers, mostly for answers to say "Yes, continue in the band" to put my mind at ease & let me just carry on, but everywhere I looked, I got the opposite. I scoured the web, I read my bible & still got the same. Me being selfish.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It's not a vice like smoking, but it has become an addiction & to be addicted to something is to idolise it, to rely on it & to worship it.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Once I've broken the addiction, then I'll consider going back to music.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I may keep just my bass (pack it away somewhere), but not the rest of the gear.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I know there's plenty of Christian musicians. There's a lot of good Christian bands & there's also a lot of good bands with Christian members, Fieldy from Korn, Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper (OK, I don't know any electronica Christians ).[/font][/color] [/quote] What I get from this post is that you feel you will be a better all-round person without music, and able to give more of yourself to other areas in your life where currently you feel you`re lacking. In that case, whilst I don`t usually recommend people giving up music, I think you have to follow your instinct and give it a try. Music isn`t going to go away, if you want to take it up again it will still be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402499125' post='2474165'] It's not playing music that's the main issue, it's my relationship with it. Everything I do, I put music first. If I go to church I think about how the music/sound could be improved, when I go to bed I put music on, when I get spare time I play an instrument. This is put before anything else that should be on my list. [/quote] Unless your'e actually neglecting loved ones and other responsibilities because of a total obsession with music, what's the problem? Doesn't anyone with an keen interest/ambition in something do much the same thing? Indeed can anyone develop the skills required to be a good musician [u]without[/u] spending a great deal of time practicing? Or good at anything? What about olympic athletes who train intensively every day? Is it not possible for any of them to be christians because of their 'idolatory' of their sport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1402514726' post='2474362'] What about olympic athletes who train intensively every day? Is it not possible for any of them to be christians because of their 'idolatory' of their sport? [/quote] Yes, I think being into something very much is not necessarily obsessive, or even a bad thing. 'Idolatory' is a bit of a strong word, imho. Edited June 11, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 First up you'll be missed G but you gotta do what you feel you gotta do. If you feel like playing is diverting you from your faith then fair play to you. Hopefully you'll return to the low end fold having re-prioritised it's standing in your life, meanwhile Bon chance! However I think it's mostly THIS ........ [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402469283' post='2473729'] Maybe God is just like the rest of you & hates it when I play a bit of slap bass & he's had enough. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee4 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Perhaps trying to moderate your musical addiction is the key. There are days when I have to play bass or mandolin over and above anything else. Equally,there are periods when it is furthest from my mind. IMHO I believe you should simply put your rig and bass away for a bit(perhaps let a mate look after it so you do not succumb to temptation)and see what happens. Remember,you have the gift of music.Whether you believe that your god put it inside you or that it is within your own nature is up to you. But please do not squander a talent that others would give squidgy bits of thier anatomy for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Sometimes I wish I was more obsessed, then I could get to the next stage and be better, but I can't be what I am not. I can't pretend to understand the god thing, so I won't try but if you feel it is what you want to do then it doesn't matter, you can stop and come back whenever. You would be rusty but it wouldn't take long to get back into it, although probably longer to find a group you liked again. Either way you haven't lost anything and come back, so do what feels right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 There's one thing to practice & get good at something & to ask God for help with it, but if the athlete is like me & spending all their time on that one thing & none on God, then that is putting my trust all in myself & none in God. Therefore that object is becoming an idol & taking the place of God. I might join a worship band in the future, that would depend on where I'm called to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 One of the biggest mistakes I ever made, and one of my greatest regrets, is leaving a band that was really good, one where all the members were great people. It was the most fun I had ever had playing music, I adored that band. Unfortunately I had to leave it because of an overbearing, bullying and violent ruler (My Dad. Only in my case I was trying to escape him.). I had had to skip town because I didn't want him to find me, but I did eventually go back. Even though I had been well respected in the local music scene, I was never able to get back into it and never got to play in another proper band again. That was over twenty years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Can I just congratulate everyone on the maturity and sensitivity of their contributions to this thread - pretty unique to this forum, I'd say. To the OP, I can understand you needing to get your priorities right (they're not the same as my priorities but that's irrelevant) and I understand your need to take a fairly stark break from music in order to put things into perspective - its probably the only approach that will work. I'm glad you're keeping the door open to coming back to music if and when it feels right, and wish you luck in getting though this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 On the first page you compare your involvement in music with your previous addiction to nicotine. I hope you appreciate that one is a destructive addiction and the other is a creative outlet with no negative connotations other than its demands on your time. I would have thought that a religious person would feel a stronger connection than most to his/her 'soul' and find music to be a very spiritual experience. I'm an atheist but I've found the power of music to bond people together has been quite inexplicable and irresistibly compelling. I'm so stoked that - approaching my 40th birthday - I'm still finding players who want to get together with me and create original music, and we're still finding audiences (admittedly smaller and smaller audiences) who thank us for doing it. As I said I'm an atheist so I've always struggled to understand why god would or wouldn't approve of one thing or another, but I am really struggling to find the negative aspect of artistic pursuits, and especially something as primal and spiritual as music. I think if I did believe in god I would probably imagine music - as the fairly inexplicable thing that it is - to be more easily explained by belief in god than pretty much everything else that the religious texts have traditionally attempted to take credit for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1402530276' post='2474585'] As I said I'm an atheist so I've always struggled to understand why god would or wouldn't approve of one thing or another, but I am really struggling to find the negative aspect of artistic pursuits, and especially something as primal and spiritual as music. I think if I did believe in god I would probably imagine music - as the fairly inexplicable thing that it is - to be more easily explained by belief in god than pretty much everything else that the religious texts have traditionally attempted to take credit for. [/quote] +1 Articulates what I've been trying to say without being too offensive, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1402531594' post='2474591'] +1 Articulates what I've been trying to say without being too offensive, thank you. [/quote] I like your qualification of the level of acceptable offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1402531594' post='2474591'] +1 Articulates what I've been trying to say without being too offensive, thank you. [/quote] [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1402532058' post='2474595'] I like your qualification of the level of acceptable offense. [/quote] I don't offend easily as I know sometimes trying to say something that's meant to sound honest can be easily taken the wrong way. It's not music itself, it's how I engross myself with it that's the issue. I liken it to smoking only as the feeling of breaking away from a habit & how I feel a mix of freshness & sorrow. I know that I'm doing the right thing, but there's a part of me that feels sorrow that I'm missing out on something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1402499125' post='2474165'] It's not playing music that's the main issue, it's my relationship with it. Everything I do, I put music first. If I go to church I think about how the music/sound could be improved, when I go to bed I put music on, when I get spare time I play an instrument. This is put before anything else that should be on my list. [/quote] so learn to prioritise and then learn to accept that it is not any sort of failure or underachievment that quite often many things whilst not perfect, are fine 'just as they are' imperfections and peculiarities are sometimes the best descriptive tools for capturing the nuances and subtleties of a given situation this is after all 'the human condition' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skej21 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I must admit I've been heading down this path (sort of)... I've sold two basses, loads of bits and bobs I've hoarded over the years (pedals etc) and downsized my rig from two 12" cabs to one (by selling one this morning)... The feeling of dread soon kicked in and I thought it was because I'd made the wrong decision but it's actually not. I have made the correct decision and in sure of that. It's the feeling that I'm missing out by somehow not owning these material things that I enjoy but don't NEED! I have a more than adequate gigging rig after selling all the bits and pieces so I'm happy about that and the money raised is going towards some recording bits which I will use much more. It's funny how the GAS induced part of your brain tries to trick you with these feelings of regret! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'd be inclined to put my amp in the wardrobe and my bass under the bed - it'll sit waiting quite patiently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Good luck to you on your personal journey, only you can make the decision where to turn and there may be one or many turns ahead of you. My thoughts are that the beauty about music is that it never leaves you and there is always a way back, be it church bands or other. If you get back to music then you broke a cycle that bothered you and you did it in your own time and on your terms (perhaps with a new outlook on it). And it you don't play again, you found peace with your struggles so made the right choice. I guess you're going to do what you have to do and then go with the flow, there's nothing that can't be replaced later if you do sell your gear. Keep the faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 You have to follow your feelings. If you have had enough of music, knock it on the head. Most of us will still be here for you when/if your desire to play music returns. Listening to and playing music is, I suppose my religion or the nearest thing to it but music will always be there for you if you decide to return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceChick Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Reading this got me thinking about some things that have touched my life: The first being that some strong Muslims believe that stringed instruments are too sexual and that music containing them are evil. The second - thinking back to my devout Christian Mum (God rest her soul) that was devastated as I stopped playing the oboe as she felt I had a musical gift from God. The third, seeing a friend of my Dad who has been a bassist in a Christian band for twenty years and is delighted that the bass is giving me as much joy as it's given him. Religion wise, I can't help. However, I do believe that when you have a talent you should not be rash to dismiss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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