Question:

Is being A Goth a sin?

Answer:

The Goths were a cultural.ethnic group from ancient times.  There were the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths and other Gothic groups.  These were Germanic tribes who invaded the Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries.  Eventually, they captured Rome itself.  Many Goths were converted to Christianity, including the king of The Goths in Spain. As far as I know, the Gothic ethnicity has not existed for many centuries.  It is therefore impossible to be a Goth.

OK, so I am using humor here (although what I said above is true).   But what is a Goth?  I found this on Wikipedia:    The goth subculture adopts dark fashion elements such as black clothing, dyed black hair, dark eyeliner, black fingernails, and black period-styled clothing and a focus on gothic rock and a range of other music genres. Wikipedia

As far as I know, it is not sinful to wear black clothes or dark eyeliner.  Black fingernail polish is not a sinful decorative item.  Gothic rock, as far as I know, is not an inherently sinful type of music.  I am sure that there are some behavior traits associated with the goth subculture which are not particularly Christian traits.  However, to apply a flat label and call being a Goth sinful is dubious.  I believe that this type of behavior is principally a teen kind of thing.  It is an expression of being rebellious or different.  Of course, these teen efforts at being “different” make all them the same as one another!

Here is my advice.  Let us NOT call “being a Goth” a sin.  The last thing teenagers need is unnecessary rules.  If you have a teen friend who is drawn to this subculture, I suggest you keep the lines of communication open but not overreact, unless there are specifically and obviously sinful behaviors.  Even then, call the sinful behaviors sinful, do not call the wearing of black clothes as sinful.

On a personal note, I have a daughter who went through a “Goth” phase in the eighth grade.  My wife and I pretty much ignored this behavior, as long as it did not lead her to hanging out with “bad” kids.  It worked for us.  She is a faithful Christian today.

John Oakes