Thu 27 Jul 2006
I’ll admit it, I was a punk rock kid. I listened to “Flogging A Dead Horse” quite a few times. But that has nothing to do with life now or this post. Instead, it has to do with the fact that I sometimes feel that flogging/beating/kicking (whichever violent descriptor fits your preference) a dead horse is exactly what I do here when I write about “Christian” music. But the truth is, I love Christ and I love music, so the two play a large role in my life, and thus, also in my thought life.
I have been reading Terry Mattingly’s Pop Goes Religion and the first chapter deals with the question, “what is Christian music?” Mattingly tells of an experience he had while teaching at an unnamed Christian school. He had a mix CD of U2 songs that he would play while he worked out in the school’s gym. He was told that the CD was unacceptable because “U2 isn’t a Christian band.” While Mattingly tried to counter that three-quarters of the band’s members openly claimed to be Christian and all of the songs on the mix in question contained substantially biblical lyrics, it was to no avail. Yet the next day, he came into the gym only to hear the song “Bullet the Blue Sky” from the Joshua Tree album. The words were were the same, the music was the same, only this time it was by P.O.D., who happened to be sold in “Christian” stores.
This of course begs the question “What is Christian music?” The Gospel Music Association says that it is:
“music in any style whose lyric is substantially based on historically orthodox Christian truth contained in or derived from the Holy Bible; and/or an expression of worship of God or praise for his works; and/or testimony of relationship with God through Christ; and/or obviously prompted and informed by a Christian world view.”
The problem is that this is untrue. Why can I hear someone cover a U2 song on “Christian” radio while being unable to hear U2 play the same song? Because it’s a marketing question, not a content question. If content were the only question, why wasn’t U2 nominated for a Dove award for the song “Yahweh” or the album on which it appears?
Mattingly provides one more example that the criteria stated is not the criteria applied. He says: “There was even a time when the rock band Van Halen had a born-again singer named Gary Cherone belting out lyrics rooted in the third chapter of the Epistle of James.” Mattingly goes on to tell of a discussion with Cherone who says: “I knew exactly what the words meant and where they were coming from. Cherone then recites some of the lyrics (compare with James 3):
“Rudder of ship, which sets the course.
Does not the bit, bridle the horse?
Great is the forest, set by a small flame.
Like a tongue on fire, no one can tame.”
Mattingly notes that “The album liner notes even included a nod to super-Calvinist theologian R.C. Sproul” and wonders aloud, “It would seem that an obvious Bible quote such as this would fit within the GMA definition of “gospel” music.” So why didn’t Van Halen get a Dove?” Though Mattingly’s question is somewhat sarcastic, it hits right at some of the underlying issues. It’s difficult to believe that content is the issue when Phillips, Craig and Dean deny the “orthodox Christian truth” (a prerequisite for the GMA, right?) of the Trinity (here and here) and yet they’re available in just about any “Christian” bookstore while acts who opt for other marketing avenues are shunned.
Christians have allowed marketing to define a genre, the only musical genre defined by lyrical content rather than musical style. The bottom line is that it’s a business decision rather than a theological decision. U2, Sufjan Stevens, Bob Dylan are all “informed by a Christian world view” and write songs “based on historically orthodox Christian truth contained in or derived from the Holy Bible…” In fact, you’ll often find more Scripture in a Bob Dylan song than most of what passes as “CCM.”
Until we encourage our artists and our listeners to think deeply about these subjects, we will continue to be at the mercy of marketing companies as the gate-keepers of what is or isn’t “Christian” rather than actually looking at the content. While they’re making A LOT of money now, self-proclaiming Christians cannot ignore theology for long without suffering severe consequences.
on 27 Jul 2006 at 8:34 am 1.Kevin said …
I don’t see the point of the GMA and the Dove Awards aside from encouraging quality and professionalism within the realms of “Christian Music.” But the heart of the matter really boils down to what the Spirit is showing you while you are listeing to the music. There have been several “secular” songs that have been vessels of truth to me and I have taken them with a Christian spin. Perfect example of this “One Thing” by Finger Eleven:
Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It’s nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line
If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something
I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time
Even though I know
I don?t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds
on 27 Jul 2006 at 10:26 am 2.Steven Patrick Morrissey said …
I left the North
I travelled South
I found a tiny house
And I can’t help the way I feel
Oh yes, you can kick me
And you can punch me
And you can break my face
But you won’t change the way I feel
‘Cause I love you
Oh …
on 27 Jul 2006 at 2:27 pm 3.The Hosh said …
“Because it’s a marketing question, not a content question.”
Excellent point. It is frustrating to me, because Christian society today, would rather settle for something generally mediocre and unemotional as long as it says basically what they believe and think already than to accept anything or anyone that would possibly disagree with them.
Christian music is very closely knit with consumer Christianity that we hear so much about. People would rather pay for music and support artists that play a plain brand of music as long as it reaffirms and justifies their sense of ‘I am a Christian, because I listen to Christian music and none of that devil music.’ It plays right into a self-centered, isolated religious walk. Overall, it is unhealthy.
However, I don’t completely knock the Christian Music Industry, because one thing it has done is bring some sort of legitimacy to the industry. It creates accurate ways for bands to ‘compete’ musically. It helps foster better bands, better concerts and ultimately better music. But, it is self-serving, because it does not compete with everything else in the world.
on 27 Jul 2006 at 5:42 pm 4.Chris said …
I think that having a strict cutoff line for which bands are considered Christian is more for the Christian community to have control over what is okay and what’s taboo. In reality, one of the unspoken rules of conduct for a Christian band is that they have to live a “Christian” lifestyle. I myself don’t adopt such a philosophy because it leans heavily on a crutch of Calvinism, but I can understand that concerned parents would want their children’s music to be played by musicians who have a relatively “clean” record and don’t use language, etc.
If Eminem had one song that focused on God as sovereign in his life, would that make it worthwhile to listen to the rest of his endlessly bitter rhymes? Of course not. I don’t judge anyone who listens to Eminem as being ungodly, but I prefer to listen to music that focuses on God, because that’s where my focus is.
on 27 Jul 2006 at 5:56 pm 5.Brent said …
Chris, you say that you “don’t adopt such a philosophy because it leans heavily on a crutch of Calvinism.” I’m not sure what you mean, please elaborate.
on 27 Jul 2006 at 10:39 pm 6.Rhett Smith said …
Brent,
I’ve never beaten a dead horse before…so you should stop as well :-)
on 28 Jul 2006 at 11:31 am 7.Carey D said …
As always, Brent — I agree with your viewpoint on this issue. Things always get muddied when we use the word “Christian” as an adjective or label.
on 28 Jul 2006 at 1:09 pm 8.Amber said …
On the flipside of the coin, I get irritated when songs that are not “Christian” (they have no biblical reference, no spiritual point, they don’t really point you to God, and the author doesn’t even mention God on their album or website) gets promoted as “OH SO Christian” and plastered all over the Christian airwaves. It’s not that I’m anti-anything-else, it’s that I’m anti-calling-something-it’s-not. Again, that all a part of marketing. “Hey, let’s take this song that kinda-maybe-sorta sounds Christian and could pass for one and market it to the Christian market, make more money that way.” Imagine the irritation when someone buys the cd for the one song and dicovers that the others are all about a boyfriend and ‘getting it on’ and who-knows-what-else. I agree with the point that music should be judged by it’s content mainly, and secondly by the artist and their intent, and that labels (which aren’t always accurate) should be tossed out the window.
on 28 Jul 2006 at 3:58 pm 9.Donald S said …
I read on Christian Connect (http://www.ChristianConnect.com )that Bono was a Christian and got saved back in the Jesus movement in the 1970’s.
I think that there are Christian bands and then there are Christians who are in bands. I think that both are justified. As long as you are praising God with what you are doing and living in His will, who cares about the genre of what you “do” for a living?
You can be a janitor, teacher, artist, athelete, park ranger, anything you want and serve the Lord God.
on 29 Jul 2006 at 1:57 pm 10.Zach said …
I think it’s pretty obvious why Cherone-era Van Halen didn’t win any music awards.
on 27 Sep 2006 at 4:33 pm 11.John Beeler said …
I think Christians should stop citing U2 as the quintessential “christians in the world” band.
YAWN.