Jeff Godwin is a

Christian fundamentalist Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

preacher and author from

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

, USA. He is best known for his numerous books critical of both secular and Christian rock music. Godwin is a former drug addict and rock musician. He claims that he survived the stampede that claimed the lives of 12 fans of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

at their Cincinnati concert on December 3, 1979.

Conversion

Godwin was converted to

fundamentalist Christianity Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British an ...

in 1984 by his future wife's family. Subsequently, Godwin became a

King James Only The King James Only movement asserts the belief that the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is superior to all other translations of the Bible. Adherents of the King James Only movement, mostly members of Conservative Anabaptist, Conserv ...

fundamentalist very much in line with

Jack Chick Jack Thomas Chick (April 13, 1924 – October 23, 2016) was an American cartoonist and publisher, best known for his fundamentalist Christian " Chick tracts". He expressed his perspective on a variety of issues through sequential-art moral ...

, who published his first three works.

Teachings on rock music

According to Godwin, rock and roll music traces its origins back thousands of years. Its rhythms were written by Satan and his demons and have a subliminal power to control a listener's mind. The rhythms eventually found their way, via Africa, into blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and other forms of African American music before they appeared in rock music. In addition, rock music is loaded with references to sexual behavior of all kinds, and he believes it encourages

fornication Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. Nonetheless, John C ...

amongst youths and inspires

lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It ca ...

. He also believe it inspires

rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first-per ...

and it preaches "rebellion, hatred, drug abuse, suicide, fornication and the dark things of Satan". When

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

bit the head off a dove, Godwin viewed it as Osbourne's desire to destroy the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...

, which is often represented by a dove. Satanic symbols dating back centuries, Godwin maintains, can be found in the

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

s of rock music, testifying to Satan's power. While Godwin believes that Satanic messages have been backmasked (recorded backwards) on rock albums, he believes that Satan's presence in rock music has rarely required hiding. Godwin sees Satan's influence in music as being maintained by secret alliances between rock musicians, producers and promoters uniting with demons and Satan himself. He further believes that

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

is another diversion created by Satan, as the rock music industry itself is compromised by Satan. The Christianity preached in Christian rock, he says, is feel good, inoffensive and does not genuinely preach Christ.

Published works

* * * *

Presentations

Jeff Godwin: What's Wrong With Christian Rock
- Recorded 3/13/1993 by WVCY-TV
Jeff Godwin: The Roots of Rock and Roll
- Recorded 5/13/1995
Jeff Godwin: Seven Devils, One Plan
- Recorded 10/10/1998

References

Christian fundamentalists King James Only movement Writers from Bloomington, Indiana Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{Christianity-bio-stub