Is it a sin to consume vulgar music, as it is to consume pornography?
A viewer asks whether, since consuming vulgar content such as pornography is a sin, it is also a sin to consume vulgar music.
Answer
I would say so, yes; especially in our day you have to be very careful what you listen to. When I was a teenager, pop songs sang about making love and I thought they just meant kissing, but most of them were talking about sexual intercourse, and that is jammed down our teenagers' throats. So you have to be careful with pop and rap songs. Anything with words demands your judgment; instrumental music is innocent as it goes, but even a heavy metal guitar or wild drumming can stir lustful things in your body that you find hard to control. The same is true with art: some of what passes for art in the major museums today is vulgar, like a crucifix displayed in urine. As the Supreme Court justice said, I cannot define obscenity, but I know it when I see it, and that applies to art, music, architecture, and poetry. This world is constantly trying to grab your base nature and make an animal out of you, so stay on your toes.