• May ride to a public place or private home when accompanied by a student of the same gender who has advanced privileges, is a F/S/GA, is a BJU graduate, is married, is over 30, or is a married person of the opposite gender provided a third person is also present • May attend certain youth group activities and other special events off campus when accompanied by a F/S/GA or BJA/BJU parent 29
Entertainment, Music and Technology Bob Jones University’s mission is to help students develop Christlike character, and we therefore encourage students to make biblical decisions in the area of entertainment. BJU expects and holds students responsible to select and participate in entertainment options—including music, movies, television, computer/video games, printed materials, the Internet and social media—that honor Jesus Christ and edify both individual Christians and the Christian community. <strong>Student</strong>s are to avoid any types of entertainment that could be considered immodest or that contain profanity, scatological realism, sexual perversion, erotic realism, lurid violence, occultism and false philosophical or religious assumptions. (See Appendix F for a biblical approach to evaluating objectionable elements in literature or entertainment.) BJU also encourages students to honor the Lord in how they spend their time and to carefully consider the desensitizing effects of consistent exposure to popular entertainment, even if the content itself is not objectionable. Music Music is an opportunity to love God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength. It also has the power to dominate the mind and heart of the listener. Its style and content can display God’s glory, by exhibiting the ideals of purity, dignity, honor, loveliness, virtue and excellence; or they can appeal to the flesh and embed the world’s philosophy in the heart and mind of a Christian, drawing him away from unhindered communion with Christ. Music, by God’s design, is a subjective experience; but its various aspects— words, sounds, images and associations—greatly affect us. While the elements of music (e.g., melody, harmony, rhythm, tone quality, instrumentation) are morally neutral, music—the combination of these elements—can be designed to influence moral responses, both right and wrong. While these responses are not automatic, with mature biblical discernment they are reasonably predictable. Therefore, BJU expects students to evaluate music on several levels—the content itself, the intent of the music maker, the effects on listeners, and the context of the experience. Our application of biblical principles precludes students from listening to most of the music of our popular culture, including rock, rap, jazz and country. Rock and pop music are admittedly broad terms with many sub-genres. But in general these styles of music have played a major societal role in sexual liberation and rebellion against authority. When compared with the characteristics of other musical genres (e.g., folk music, patriotic music, classical concert music, and traditional sacred music), the rock genre is distinguished by the combination of some or all of the following characteristics—sensual singing styles, dominating beat, heavy 30
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