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RSS FeedThe Potential Evil of “Christian” Music
May 05
I once heard it said that “Christian” makes a better noun than an adjective. I think there is much truth to this, especially when it comes to music. I am happy to be a Christian (noun), but what is often touted as “Contemporary Christian Music” does not please the heart of Christ.
Maybe I was just extra-sensitive because of numerous run-ins today with “cultural Christianity,” but as I drove home from work listening to our lovely local “Contemporary Christian” radio station, I was a bit irritated when I was told that my faith is to be:
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It’s like I’m falling, oh
It’s like I’m falling in love
Now I understand what the artist, Jason Gray, is trying to say. He’s putting into poetry the [almost] old adage, “It’s not about religion, it’s about a relationship.” But in doing so, he’s denying some very important biblical truth.
You see, when the Philippian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul didn’t answer, “Just fall in love with Jesus, lose your heart and get everyone to look at you.” He said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31). When he wrote to the Romans “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” I don’t think he really meant “Fall in love with Jesus… get yourself feeling all warm and fuzzy inside and THAT’S how you will know you are saved.”
Jesus, in his Word, told me he wants me to believe in him. He doesn’t want to be my boyfriend or husband or lover… he wants to be my LORD (and for that I am EXTREMELY grateful). He wants me to love him, but not with a sexual love (what “falling in love” denotes in our culture, if we want to contextualize), but rather a devoted, covenant love.
So let’s agree to something (especially as worship leaders): let’s be careful what we communicate with the music we write and promote. Let’s not write all “Christian” music off as good and all “secular” music off as bad. Let’s pursue the heart of Christ in our words and songs, being discerning in all things.
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May 06, 2010 @ 12:05:44
Agreed, 100% my friend! Sometimes the greatest love I show is when I feel nothing at all, yet serve or give anyway. So many people, and worship leaders, are looking for the next “feeling”. And if they don’t feel it, the “worship” has failed. Who or what are we worshiping at that point? To me, that’s what the song above is communicating, and it is so empty.
May 28, 2010 @ 23:40:02
You might find this article interesting from Gungor… http://www.gungormusic.com/blog/?p=34 “There is No Such Thing As Christian Music”
I agree that following Jesus is not entirely described as that song you quoted. However, what that song describes is present in scripture when defining our relationship to Jesus.
Just like a husband has commitment and choice to fulfill and is in a legal contract of marriage, he also has human feelings to express that commitment as well as acts that are mysterious enough to make us “one” as a married couple. When Paul says “to know Christ” it is a little bit more intimate than we might feel comfortable, yet appropriate. We do need to fall in love and grow our devotion to Jesus. The emotions are not separate from the truth. They are part of it. Just like a marriage or any other relationship that involves people.
Yes, we are people. Not Vulcan or alien. Our discipleship’s focus on truth is not just truth that is propositional, positional and legal but also personal, emotional and mysterious. Hence the phrase “mystic union with Christ” which is a foundational articulation of our relationship with Christ. The danger is when only one of these sides of truth is divorced from the other.
Jun 01, 2010 @ 07:42:13
Hey Rich, thanks for your comments! What Gungor concludes is very much in line here: we need to think critically about all that we listen to, no matter the label because the labels don’t help us in the least.
I also agree with you when you said, “The emotions are not separate from the truth. They are part of it.” Our Christian walk is to be the absolute truth of God experienced in our daily lives with emotion and fervor. Our experience does not define the truth at all, for the only God can do that, but the experience of such truth is a necessary and integral part of understanding and living it.
However, I’d like to respectfully disagree that “falling in love” is a good way to describe our personal relationship with Christ. When Paul talks about “knowing” Christ, nothing romantic is in view. It is experiential, but not romantic. Just because “ginosko” can be translated as a Jewish idiom for sex, does not mean that is in view here in Paul’s writings. In fact, it is only used in a romantic context 1 time in the whole NT. Furthermore, when Paul writes about the “bride of Christ” and relates it to marriage, he is not speaking about individuals, but the corporate body of the church. And even then, he does not carry that metaphor to the fullest extent. Our “falling in love” metaphor then is an American concept forced back onto a few texts that are already misunderstood.
In the end, the problem is, as you stated divorcing truth from experience. It’s a fine line to walk, especially when emotions can be so fickle.
May 29, 2010 @ 14:04:37
Good timing, Rich! I was just planning a post about that Gungor article, which I read the other morning and found very interesting.
Aug 29, 2010 @ 16:01:36
I realize that this is a long time since someone has posted, but I would just like to clarify a few things here.
This is his blog in which he dissects the song into many parts: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/jfhblog/template_archives_cat.asp?cat=35
Also, he never meant to fall in love in an emotional way. He meant in a way so that no one does any thing out of acts or obligations.