The Catholic Defender: Once Upon A Time In Arkansas

It was the summer of 1984, a friend of mine and I were patiently waiting for Bishop Andrew McDonald to speak to us concerning presentations we were conducting throughout the Diocese of Arkansas.

We had prepared and conducted seminars covering problems we felt about the influence of popular music. We were looking at groups who were using 'backwards masking' as gimmicks to sell records.

We had sound excerpts from popular songs, video excerpts, periodical excerpts from what the Artist were saying about themselves and their music. The influences the music especially has on the listeners, but also the concern of compromise within the Church excepting the way of the world.

When I was in college (School of the Ozarks), I hadn't paid much attention to the words before. It was a Catholic magazine called "The Wanderer" which was Conservative, had an article on this subject and I began to look into it. 90 to 99% of the young people who listen to popular Secular music have no idea what they are patronizing when they buy these albums. The constant subliminal messages have for a long time now sold the influence of drugs, promiscuous sex, the Occult, and homosexuality in much of the music. We felt the music implants thoughts in young minds by repetition and conditioned the mind as a form of mind control.

In 1964, with the Beatles invasion of America, that year 1 in 32 graduating Seniors were diagnosed with a Sexually transmitted Disease. In 1982, that went to 1 in 18 graduating Seniors that year, and today it is 1 in 4 Seniors. Just last year a report revealed that 1 in 4 girls down to the age of 12 have been diagnosed with an STD.

I have another article "Are Condoms Safe?" which speaks about this more. Nothing appeals to the human emotions faster than music. We were thinking of this as we waited for the Bishop.

As we continued to wait, I wanted to make sure I had some of my material together; One study by Dr. Lew Ryder, a Psychiatrist, dealt with the power of suggestion. He said, "there have been many Psychiatric tests made concerning the relation of suggestion and the subconscious".

One test made to determine audience response, Dr. Ryder states, "During a program (TV), a certain number would appear only briefly on the screen. It would not even be visible to the naked eye. Yet under hypnosis, the person who saw the film could recall the number".

Dr. Ryder in observation concludes, "The conscious did not know about it, but the subconscious did. The real danger is the subliminal suggestion that violence and sexual freedom are normal". The strength of Christians is shown by their morality.

If the morality drops below Biblical standards, then the spirituality of the people drops as well. John Michael Talbot told me "be sure to recognize the genuine faith behind the search of the God-oriented artists".

John reminded me a very important point, "Really love them. Never simply use them to prove a point".

As we continued to wait for Bishop Andrew McDonald, we were confident that we had our material. At last, the Bishop returned from a very important meeting and called for us to come into his office. What a blessing it was to meet the man of God. He was very receptive and gave great encouragement to us.

After sharing with him some of he material we had, he certainly preferred his young people to listen to groups and music that had good morals behind it.

At the conclusion of the meeting, as I was going towards the door, Bishop McDonald stopped me and told me that I was responsible to take this message to those who need it. He recognized the threat that our families and young people face. May the Lord strengthen us with a love for His teaching and a desire to serve Him with our lives.

Not long after that I learned there were a number of cult members planning to head down to Little Rock Arkansas to go on a Military post to witness to troops. I notified Bishop McDonald who then alerted Camp Joseph T. Robinson Maneuver Training Center of the situation. That night on the evening news, there was a report of cultists trying to get onto the Army post but the notification from the Catholic Bishop in Little Rock helped prevented them from entering in.