Christian + Goth = Evil?

This is a subject I wanted to bring up for awhile. People ask me how one can believe in God, or follow his son, if they are Goth. Though I have tried many times to answer their question, they still walk away perplexed, or is it that Goth goes against everything they were brought up on and they refuse to believe otherwise? Either way, I have decided to explain here, but instead of beating you over the head with my explanation, I thought the creative geniuses at White Wolf would do a better job. This is an excerpt from their Storytellers Handbook, from Vampire: The Masquerade Role-playing Game:


The gothic aesthetic is not about misery and depression as so many people assume it to be. The gothic style is just the opposite.

The gothic style takes the very things that seem miserable and depressing and finds a sense of beauty in them. In the gothic sense, the night isnt something to fear. Instead, the night casts a seductive spell on those willing to wander in and explore. The morbid and the tragic can seem romantic, even sensual, for those brave enough to look into the eyes of the things the fear most. It embraces the decadence of the modern world and cherishes the strength it takes to do so. Squalid surroundings can drive the weaker man insane, but the crumbling ruins of a once-thriving town are somehow comforting in the gothic aesthetic. To look into the eyes of the destitute is almost blissful because there is a strength there, strength that the ordinary person doesnt have.

The gothic ideal finds a fascination with the macabre and has an affinity for all things dark. Darkness means more than a simple lack of sunlight. It is the overriding attitude, especially in the gothic sense. Unlike the rest of society, those embracing the gothic lifestyle do not fear the dark side nor do they pretend that it doesnt exist and they sure as hell dont hide from it. The gothic attitude is an acknowledgement and an acceptance of the darkness. It does not mean acting upon the urges that the dark side sometimes brings, but it does mean seeking out a better understanding of why the urges are there in the first place.

What may seem like a preoccupation with death is actually a celebration of life. It isnt about suicide or murder, but it is a realization that an appreciation of death gives an appreciation of life. Comfort is found in the icons or images of death. Graveyards and crosses provide a dark ambience to what could otherwise be a boring backdrop.

Style, flair, and imagination permeate the gothic world. Creativity is essential for the gothic ideal because in that same search for beauty in all things, the gothic sensibility refuses to give in to dullness. Whether its through art, personal fashion or architecture, the gothic sense always ensures its interesting...


Mere words cannot change a person's heart; in fact only God can do that. Am I trying to change people's minds on the whole Goth thing? No. But when something this close to my heart, a part of who I was and in some respect who I still am, I cannot remain quiet on the issue. For those people who know me, I was never the depressive sort, dressing in all black, made up, sitting in the back of the room, BEGGING for attention, but I was still Goth.

For all those people who are still convinced that Goth is evil. Open your eyes, and your hearts. There is a generation of adults and kids out there who still find beauty in things you may find ugly, it does not make them evil people. There are bad seeds of coarse, and somewhere Goth got a bad rap, but for that matter Church has a bad rap as well. To be brutally honest, I have yet to see or hear of any prep or suit really break through to this culture. So Christian Goth to me? Why not?