It’s quite likely
you have seen and been disgusted by the
media portayal of the goth underground. Frequently, sound
bytes accompany sensationalist headlines of Vampire and
Satanic children out to coerce the unsuspecting innocents of
our society. For added punch, these same programs
masquerading as news will cue the horror music and provide a
nano-second shot of the most outlandish photo of someone
within the goth subculture.
This propaganda is certainly not new. In fact, we built our
entire country on it with the Inquisition alone. In today’s
day and age, the media uses goths and gays as the fiends
that soccer parents must be ever vigilant for. After all, if
these people look so different from everyone else, couldn’t
they be construed as the monsters next door who are out to
murder the little cloned Ken and Barbie children?
The dark clothes, make-up and misanthropic stares tend to
leave Mundania a little shaken. Many suburban parents
believe that if their innocent children were to don one of
those mysterious “mind-altering” black trench coats, it
would clearly cause a disturbance within their children. It
is as though their children would be driven to acts of
hideous carnal depravity because of the clothes they wear or
the music they listen to rather than a less-than-perfect
home life and lack of parental involvement.
It would seem easier to blame the external fashion trends
than delve deeper into the psychological heart of the
matter. Unfortunately the dark image brands those in the
Goth subculture with a stigma. Most are viewed with malice
and contempt because it is erroneously felt that there is a
hidden agenda which will be imposed upon the world. While it
is neither fair nor accurate, media fear-mongers often
marginalize and scapegoat a sliver of the population for
atrocities committed by irresponsible people. After all,
someone has to be blamed, so why not blame the ones
so different from everyone else?
The reality is that most Goths would actually prefer to
smoke a clove cigarette at a Bohemian Coffee shop. The most
violent action taken by most goths is to shake the ashes
from their cigarette butts. In spite of the reality, the
majority continue to be maligned and viewed with suspicious
caution.
Black is viewed as the color of evil by western perception,
yet in nature it is most often donned by creatures as their
own form of natural armor. They link the Goth world with
“Satanists” because it’s easier to assume that the cut of
one’s clothing determines ones mindset. While a very small
minority may be Satanists, and respectful, loving
contributing members of the underground community, the
stereotype persists that Goths can only be of one type of
faith. Yet, respected members of our tribe have made
definite statements about the diversity within our
community.
Vocalist and Graphic artist, Voltaire, states:
“There are some who may very well be Satanists. But there
are Farmers and CEO’ls who are Satanists. There isn’t any
real direct correlation between Goth and Satanism. Most of
the Goths I’ve met have been Christians, Jewish... I’ve met
a few Muslim Goths... I’ve met a few Born Again Goths, and
probably to a large degree most are Secular”. (Fox News
Interview, Oct 22, 2005. used by permission from Voltaire)
Many in America vehemently decree that modern Christianity,
which is often associated with the wealthy and the
Republican Party, holds the high moral ground of the
Conservative Right Wing. Because of this, a certain
“Christian Culture” and rhetoric has been imposed on the
image of what a good and proper American Christian should be
like. Our western society often tends to impose this image
as proper for our citizens regardless of whether one follows
the precepts of this perceived State/Faith-based ideology or
not. Subcultures created themselves out of rejection of this
imposed belief. One could hardly fault them if the image of
total love and acceptance comes with the cost of total abuse
and ridicule.
In the past, Punk rockers declared, “I refuse to dress as
you would have me dress because you refuse to act the way
you claim to be in your image.” While this may seem like an
oversimplification, one need only look at the Goth world for
an ideological morphing of a similar route. Rather than
appear angry, ready to lash out at everyone within striking
distance, they put on the image of melancholy and dejection.
The question remained for those of on the inside of the
community, “did rejection of the image of the State/Faith
really mean rejection of faith altogether?”
Faith is not found nor necessarily represented by a
particular image in clothing and common dialect. There
currently exists a sub-community within the Goth subculture
of Christians who view the world in every detail exactly as
our fellow tribe members do, through coffin colored glasses.
Our world is not by and large a happy place, nor is it
altogether safe or wholesome as Western society would have
us believe. In brief, we hold to our faith because it gives
us hope in a hopeless world of seething anger and darkness.
From its foundation, Christianity was never intended to be
an institution of Totalitarianism and Abuse. It was never
intended to be something that abused the weak, nor subjected
people under its thumb or imposed a set of dogmatic
theologies on people destroying their culture. It was the
opposite as demonstrated in the earliest Gospel writings and
most Christians in the Goth community rely on the notion
that their faith is so much more than stereotypical dogma
and proselytizing.
Rick Joyce, guitarist for The Last Dance succinctly states,
“You asked about my experience with faith and my walk with
Christ. How I would respond to that is, it is a continuing
path that is never the same, but always growing. Being a new
Christian many years ago, I was one of those unfortunate
stereotyped people who thought very narrow mindedly about
the idea of God. Yes I will admit it, everyone who thought
differently than I was, was wrong. But that idea changed as
I continued my path of life and grew up a bit both as a
person individually and as a Christian. I came to realize
that God is much bigger than anyone, anyone, can
define, being an infinite creature by definition, and that
having a relationship with God is truly an individualistic
type thing which is awesome.
You asked about faith; my life is based on two things and
those are faith and hope. And well, they do go together
truthfully. Because of situations, hard times, good times,
etc., that have happened throughout my life and my always
believing in hope through them; I have established a faith
that well, to me has proven itself.
“Some of my friends, well, they say I am just way too lucky.
Fair enough, but to me it is trusting in God with everything
no matter how hard life seems to get and having faith based
on the fact that I have seen the fruits of believing and
trusting this way.”
The assumption in the past was that Christians attempting to
infiltrate the Goth community had only intended to convert
the Goth community to Western Christianity, and therefore
purge the “heathen Satanists” of their “wicked” image. It
was supposed that Christian Goth missionaries would coerce
them into cutting their hair, cleaning up their faces and
start dressing like sweet innocent children again.
In actuality, Goth bands have existed since early on in the
Christian entertainment industry. It was found that a great
many of these groups who designed their acts to look more
dark, more mysterious than the Non-Christian acts really
weren’t interested in creating well dressed, calm and
collected church-goers. They were signed and promoted by
Christian marketers as “Christian musicians,” and even filed
in with, and assumed to be, the same category and genre as
Stryper and its many clones, often labeled as just another
form of Heavy Metal. If the mission (read: record sales)
failed, it was because the bands had no intentions of
following through with the contemporary Christian music
marketing plan. They were only looking for a record deal to
make music, nothing more.
A great many of the early 90s Christian Goth acts began to
cross into the secular Goth markets to break away from their
designer knock off marketing plans. They never wanted to be
an active conversion force, rather, they had a gift they
believe given by their creator to make music well and wanted
to pursue it. If their music of choice happened to reflect
their world view, the better equipped to perform they felt.
Their goal was not to win hearts and minds to a political
image of faith, nor to be knock-offs of other talented
Non-Christian artists. Rather, by using their talents well,
they could finally make a living at something they enjoyed
in a community where they truly felt they belonged.
Today, Christian Goths exist in all facets of the
underground community: clothing design, music, literature,
community activism, coffee shop entrepreneurs, and nightclub
owners. Today, as many members of the Goth community will
report to have a faith in Christ as will claim faith in the
Goddess. Our community is not as stagnant as to believe the
lies that society imposes that Goths can only be of
one variety of faith or one belief structure.
Critics of the Goth subculture exist within both the
Conservative Right and they felt even within the Goth
community itself. Today, there are conservative Christians
who still impose the idea that God only wants the people in
his Kingdom that look and act like our modern view of clean
and pure people. Only those who don’t need Heaven or
Salvation it seems can afford to get it. Neither a
comforting notion nor exactly “Good News” as the Gospel
would state. We all know them; we see their judgmental
stares and turned up noses in disgust at everyone underneath
them, failing to see the notion of Paul in his writings “All
my righteousness is as Filthy Rags to the Lord”.
The Goth community however in its study of all faiths and in
keeping a great many trappings of faith, often finds the
concept of accepting the faith of Christianity in total to
be repugnant and delusional. It isn’t that the initial
message or messenger are at fault, but those who claim a
faith while harshly judging and rejecting anyone outside of
their myopic view as disposable simply because some see the
world for what it is and refuse to buy into the Disney
vision that happy endings always exist.
Those Goths that have accepted Christianity as their own
personal faith view the concept of abusive faith to be a far
cry from the comfort and peace they personally have found.
While their faith is something they hold in high regard,
they are not above sharing it on a personal basis with other
artists. Respect is given where respect is due within the
Goth community, and Christian Goths are no different.
Regardless of faith, a musician’s talent carries them much
further in the eyes of the community than their personal
spiritual journey. However, one of the key tenants of
Christian faith is building strong communities through
personal relationships, which is how many best share their
faith in respect to their fellow darkly minded peers;
building something personal with respect to the larger
community out of respect and understanding.
Regardless of how the world views the Goth subculture or how
the Goth community views itself, there remains a broad and
diverse community built up of many faiths from within the
darkly lit tribe. To settle on one vision of faith or one
stereotype that must be upheld is to limit the ability to
maintain a community. Respect for all walks and creeds are
paramount, for after all, disrespect is what so many have
endured in this cold, vacant world. Without common respect
from ones’ fellow tribe members, it would be appropriate use
the pagan epithet: “How very ‘Christian’ we’ve become.”
On a final note, I’d like to quote from the ever
introspective and lovely Monica Richards from Faith and the
Muse:
“I wouldn’t think any differently about whether a fan of
Goth music happens to be Christian, Jewish, Catholic, Wiccan
or Atheist. We have fans of all faiths and no faith. It’s a
style of music like any other, it has fans of kinds.”
|