We just want your soul (book)
| "We only want your soul"
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|---|---|
| description | Treatment of occultism and satanism in hard rock / metal from an evangelical point of view |
| language | German |
| publishing company | Publishing house and writing mission of the Evangelical Society for Germany Wuppertal |
| First edition | 1984 |
| editor | Christian literature dissemination e. V. (CLV) |
We only want your soul ( ISBN 3-87857-192-5 ) is a book by Ulrich Bäumer first published in 1984 , which was published and distributed by the Christian-missionary literary publisher of the Evangelical Society for Germany . From an evangelical point of view, it deals with occult and satanic influences in rock music and warns of the possible consequences of this music consumption. It achieved several editions and was offered free of charge via classified ads in relevant scene organs such as the Metal Hammer .
Basic idea
Ulrich Bäumer sheds light on the development of hard rock from early exponents like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath to (at the time of going to press) more extreme bands like Slayer and Venom . The author's basic thesis is that both musicians and fans of this genre are susceptible to demonic influences. This is justified on the basis of numerous text examples, but also on the basis of incidents relating to hard rock and heavy metal music . The attempt is made to infer satanic control with the help of often very loose chains of evidence from texts or musicians' statements.
In order to give his theses a scientific coating, Bäumer also quotes other authors and transfers the behavioral observation of shamanic cultures to hard rock and metal by creating an intersection
- a constantly driving rhythm,
- repetitive musical themes and
- wild expression
constructed.
On this basis, he comes to the conclusion that the consumption of this music does not necessarily lead to obsession , but brings with it a significantly higher risk:
"Trance is therefore the basic prerequisite for the phenomenon of being possessed by an alien spirit."
As a scientific justification, Bäumer cites a quote from the parapsychologist WF Bonin:
“Music obviously has a stimulating effect that could promote the parapsychic. Music can change the state of consciousness, e.g. B. lead to trance, but it can also simply favor the emergence of extrasensory perceptions. "
As support from the missionary side, Bäumer relies on statements by Bob Larson , whom he describes in the book as a "formerly active rock musician", but who was best known as an evangelical preacher and also dealt with exorcisms:
“Satan is using hard rock to rule this generation en masse. With my own eyes I have seen young people who were possessed by demons while dancing to rock music. "
The rest of the content of the book deals with examples that are supposed to prove demonic influences and presences on rock musicians or fans. This is a mixture of subjective interpretations of actual events (for example, the murder of a fan at a Rolling Stones concert by a Hells Angel ) and statements from musicians who have professed the occult. In addition, there are also many unofficial claims made. In this respect, it is not always understandable for the reader how Bäumer came to his statements or where the information came from. The corresponding reports from the music scene are viewed from an evangelical perspective on the basis of biblical quotations with the result that Christian teaching has always warned of such dangers and that one must turn away from this music. Bäumer sees the only way out as the suggestion that Walter Kohli made in his work Rock Music and Christian Lifestyle , namely the consistent destruction of the recordings with this music:
“In the days of the apostles, expensive spellbooks were burned. Likewise, today prisoners of rock music must destroy their records with occult, blasphemous and filthy content if the word of the Lord is to grow mightily in them and gain the upper hand.
Classification in the zeitgeist
The book is from the early 1980s. At this time the high phase of parapsychology ended , in which the topic of supernatural phenomena not only aroused lively social interest, but also scientific and military research was carried out. In addition, the hippie movement led to a striving for transcendence and psychedelic experiences in terms of music culture , whereby the consumption of mind-expanding drugs such as LSD also played a major role. It was part of this zeitgeist that rock musicians who were shaped in this era were more often interested in experiments with the occult or professed to esoteric philosophies. To this end, Bäumer's book contains a number of original quotations that have been proven by old interviews in the music press. The writings of Aleister Crowley had a particularly great influence on rock music at the time . The later bands from the more extreme metal directions, which will be discussed in the book, were known for making open anti-Christian propaganda part of their band image. It can also be seen as proven that musicians like King Diamond and Ritchie Blackmore are convinced that they had psychic experiences during this time.
In this respect, it cannot be denied that occult and demonic themes have in parts quite a serious appeal to some followers of music.
In Catholic doctrine, however, a rethinking of the religious interpretation of obsession and paranormal phenomena took place at the same time . In Germany, after the death of the supposedly possessed Anneliese Michel , the Bishops' Conference decided to call in medical professionals and psychiatrists for assessment in the future. Trance and possession states are medically defined in the ICD coding . Other Christian directions have also come closer to psychology and psychotherapy and are increasingly removed from the idea of obsession. Clergymen like Jörg Müller even take the view that if they are supposed to be “obsessed” there are always mental illnesses and that the exorcism must be classified under superstition and shamanism.
In this respect, it can be stated that the book was written in a time frame in which on the one hand occultism enjoyed great popularity, on the other hand Christian teaching gradually put aside the idea of actual possession by devils and demons.
Criticism and unsubstantiated statements
In addition to the contemporary approach to the occult by individual rock musicians, which is well documented and partly openly expressed by the musicians themselves, Bäumer's interpretations of a potential demonic possession are based exclusively on comparisons with the Bible and partly also very freely and via today's ecclesiastical one Teaching out. The following points belong to the very free interpretations or also unsubstantiated claims (which are often introduced with formulations such as "I heard from a fan who ..." ):
- The Led Zeppelin song ' Stairway to Heaven ' is played backwards as a satanic creed that contains lines such as ' I will sing because I live with Satan '. [S. 26]
- The Black Oak Arkansas song 'When Electricity Came To Arkansas' can also be played backwards and contains the text line' Satan, Satan, Satan. He is God, he is god, he is god › [p. 27]
- The band name of AC / DC does not refer to the English terms for alternating current and direct current , but actually stands for Antichrist / Death To Christ . The song Hells Bells is used as evidence of a hellish connection between the band . [S. 80]
- Bäumer describes the Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, at which an aggressive fan was stabbed by a Hells Angel, as follows:
"Young people undressed and wanted to offer themselves on the altar as human sacrifices for the Hells Angels."
- He writes about the wild stage show by musicians like Angus Young , Ginger Baker or Meat Loaf :
"Anyone who is familiar with occult phenomena will recognize unmistakable signs of demonic control at first glance!"
- Bäumer attributes the success of the Beatles to the fact that John Lennon sold his soul to the devil. The later murder by Mark David Chapman was the price for this deal. [S. 55]
- A villager with a talent for media was under the influence of Michael Karoli when Michael played the guitar. It was noticed that the villager always chopped wood exactly in time with the guitar playing. [S. 58]
- If Jaki Liebezeit stopped a song in the studio, the studio clock stopped too. [S. 59]
- The band name Kiss is an abbreviation for Kings In Satanic Service . An unspecified boy adored a kiss poster in his nursery. Then it started to glow and Gene moved his tongue. [S. 65]
- During a concert, Pink Floyd had told the satanists present "... on the media level that the musicians were some of theirs" . [S. 91]
reception
In the rock culture scene, the book was seen as involuntarily funny; the band Die Ärzte chose the title of their live album We only want your soul in allusion to it. There is no scientific reception of the book. If the book is mentioned, it is critical. This is the verdict of the Scientology working group in the Ministry of the Interior of the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg in the publication Occultism and Satanism on Bäumer's book:
“Even today, the publication of U. Bäumer,“ We only want your soul - rock music and Satanism - data, facts, background ”, with its partly arbitrary conclusions, is haunting German bookstores. [...] Not only is Bäumer wrong linguistically, because Satanism was not the problem of rock music, he indulges in speculative hypotheses, which he cannot prove. "
The trade journal Psychologie Heute treated the therapeutic potential of this musical genre under the title “The joyful hardness of heavy metal” and contrasted it with Bäumer's alarmist claims:
"Bäumer did not make any differentiations and mixed everything that had distorted guitars and a gloomy image into a pulp of evil:" Rock groups that play with the occult automatically open themselves to satanic powers and run the risk of the original ' Combining fun with devilish seriousness faster than they'd like. "Such alarmistic statements about metal were widespread until well into the 1990s."
Web link
- Brief info with download. Christian Literature Dissemination, accessed June 17, 2021 .
- Table of Contents. German National Library, accessed on June 7, 2021 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brief information in the archive of clv.de.
- ↑ Walter Kohli: Rock music and the Christian way of life . 2nd Edition. House of the Bible / Geneva Bible Society, 1981, p. 70 .
- ↑ Steffan Chirazi: My Apartment Was Haunted - Ask The Guys From Metallica. Loudersound.com, accessed May 31, 2021 .
- ^ Rafaelo Polcaro: When Ritchie Blackmore talked about ghosts and a haunted clock he owns. Rockandrollgarage.com, September 25, 2020, accessed May 31, 2021 .
- ↑ Claudia Keller: Obsessed with the incarnate. Tagesspiegel, May 21, 2008, accessed May 31, 2021 .
- ^ Ingolf Christiansen and Hartmut Zinser: 4.10 Kultursatanismus. In: Occultism and Satanism. Department of Home Affairs - Scientology Working Group, accessed May 31, 2021 .