This is not necessarily addressing the larger issue of Christians and secular music, but I wanted to specifically address the original post asking of Enya was a new ager.
I like Enya; alot. Her best of CD is on our regular play list for dinner time music. I have never considered her new age in that she is promoting a specific new age philosophy.
I remember back in college, when as a new Christian, I was doing the traditional barrel burning of the secular music all fundamentalists encourage their youth to do (I weep at the thought of all the great music I threw out... but I digress) Enya was on the hit list of devil music that would destroy men's souls. I remember hearing that Enya was some sort of "new ager" promoting pantheism or Druidism, and though I secretly liked her music, I always worried of having some wiccan spell cast upon me through the songs. That was until I got my spiritual wits about myself and learned to discern.
One day, however, I saw an interview with her. During the interview, she talked of her Christian faith which sort of stunned me(being Irish, it is more than likely Catholic) and she found it weird that people considered her to be new age, when in fact she has no interest in it. Though many "new age" folks classify her and her music as new age, she doesn't care for the designation and has never considered her music to be "new age." It is more along the lines of traditional Irish and Celtic music. Once I heard that, the burden was lifted and I openly enjoy her music.
According to a
wikipedia entry, she comes from an Irish/Celtic musical family that played traditional Irish music. She was once a member of Clannad, which is composed of several of Enya's siblings and other extended family. Unless things have changed, never has her or her family been new agers.
Fred
Hip and Thigh
