HOW CAN A CHRISTIAN BE A GOTH?

have some issues with this question. Almost every Christian Goth, at some point, will be asked to address it, so I will. First I’d like to respond with a very personal observation. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an attraction to the gothic. I love it. I find it beautiful and safe. I would be gothic for this reason alone but there is more to my story than that.

I have struggled with clinical depression for most of my life. That is not to say that all gothic people do, but, for me, embracing Goth was the single, most therapeutic thing I’ve ever done. I have been to therapists and I’ve taken many anti-depressant medications but nothing ever relieved my symptoms. I finally stopped trying to be a person I’m not and let the darkness come out. It was cathartic, therapeutic and I’m happy and joyful because of it. Sure I look gloomy, but I’d rather have the gloom on the outside than on the inside.

Discovering gothic culture and those that embrace it was like finding a family I never knew I had. Growing up gothic was like being a bird in a squirrel’s world. It was one of the happiest days of my life when I finally discovered other birds and realized I wasn’t the only one.

Now, with personal reflections aside, let me address the broader issue of Christianity and gothic culture. This question tends to imply that there is something wrong with being Goth. As I disagree, I might find answering this question difficult. It’s like being asked to defend the reason why I wear a size small shirt. The obvious answer is, “it fits.” Ultimately this is the same answer I must give to the question “how” or “why” are you Goth: it fits.

Perhaps a better question is how can a Christian be a conformist to any standard other than the one God called him or her to?

The culture or subculture to which one belongs does not make them either acceptable or abhorrent to God. There may be elements of the culture that run contrary to or may reflect positively on the value system represented in the scriptures. For example, in the mainstream Christian community as it exists in America today, some middle-class Christians think nothing of indulging in expensive homes, clothes, cars, luxury items, etc. In fact, some believe they are entitled to such things.

I’m not trying to berate mainstream Christian culture. Instead, I’m trying to point out that cultures are as imperfect as people are. We all have flaws. Instead of focusing on the flaws, why not focus on the contribution:

• Goth encourages us to accept people for who they are.
• Goth inspires awe and wonder.
• Gothic culture is much older than the modern Goth underground movement. If you look for it, you will find it everywhere—reflected, perhaps, in the church building you worship in.
• Goth can open our eyes to the beauty in sorrow or the elegance in darkness.
• A close association with the darker side of life will increase one's appreciation for the light of God, the way eating a strict diet will increase one's sensory experience of food. It will heighten sensitivity; it will make one more aware not less. In short, it will increase sensitivity and awareness of the spirit world.
• Goths have a different perception of beauty than mainstream culture does: different, not better nor worse. Gothic beauty invokes awe. It puts us in touch with the magnificence of God, His utter transcendence and the limitless depths of our own supernatural, eternal existence.
• Goth reminds the mainstream that there is more to life than the material and we are more than material beings.
• Goth reminds us to be outraged at oppression and hatred.
• Goth encourages everyone to come out from behind the mask and let Him mature His unique expression in each person.
• God calls His remnant from every culture and subculture and wants that remnant to faithfully represent Him to their culture.
• Goth is a counter-cultural movement. In many ways, Jesus was counter-culture. He swam against the mainstream and was persecuted for it.

This is what others have said:

“God offends the mind to reveal the heart.” – Author Unknown

“Goth culture is a movement embracing the romanticism of darkness and the outcast persona...it is a statement against what was seen as the oppressive, materialistic, and superficial values of mainstream society...Goths are usually gentle people with artistic and literary tastes. Sometimes their deliberate off-putting look is a test to see who will accept them for what they really are...we should not assume that all in the Goth subculture are damaged. They search for the authentic, not the plastic, intimacy, not the grandiose. They are sensitive to artificial and superficial social behaviors.” – Marcia Montenegro

“Goth is the ability to find the art where art seems to be lacking; to find the light in the darkness and embrace it for all its worth.” – Jennifer Mason

“Goth unashamedly celebrates the dark recesses of the human psyche...many people lead unhappy, unachieved lives. And that’s sad. Goth makes depression and angst a lifestyle choice and that’s art…Goth is about living precisely when suicide is the only reasonable option.” – Unknown Author

“I could not adapt to the cookie-cutter Christian model…Being Goth to me is also being real with myself, real with others, and real with God...In “normal society,” people seem so concerned with appearances, they hide their true selves in order to gain the favor of others. This mask wearing is accepted, yet stark honesty is often shunned, even by those in the church...If I were to be anything but gothic in my views, I would be among the mask-wearing hypocrites.” – Pastor Ed Carter of Sanctuary

Think of it this way:

“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” – 1st John 1:7

Walking in the light is not rejecting darkness nor those in dark culture; it is honesty. Taken this way, a Goth is walking in the light and a mask-wearing hypocrite is walking in darkness. Kind of ironic, isn’t it?

You don’t need to conform to someone else’s cultural standards to be a Christian. God loves diversity. He made diversity. God wants you to know that you are highly valued, loved, and appreciated for who you are.

I think Goths are creative, imaginative and courageous people. They tend to present the uncensored truth, not hypocrisies or lies. But, truth can frighten. That is why we must speak the truth in love. We must show love when we are shown hatred. We must understand when we are misunderstood. We must follow our Master's example in all we say and do. Always remember that His example was one of courage as He lovingly fought against the hypocrisy of His mainstream culture.

If Goth is who you really are and not just some fiction you are hiding behind, then Goth will set you free. Truth is liberating, just as lying and hypocrisy are enslaving.

Goth is not a fad. For some it may be. For others it may be a temporary stop along the journey home. But for the vast majority of long-term Goths it is a part of our personality, our very being. It is an outlook on life, a point of view, or a value system and we are here to celebrate it.

- David Dellman