I was raised on a steady diet of Christian pop and church hymns, but my sense of whimsical nostalgia is constantly at war with an intense frustration with the maddening mediocrity of it all. As John Sullivan said in his amazing GQ article, Christian music is the only genre of music I can think of that has “excellence-proofed itself.” I wrote this essay in April 2005 while still in University, for a class called “Christian & Culture.” I wanted to put some academic effort into exploring why Christians, as Franky Schaeffer put it, are “addicted to mediocrity.” I was happy with the exploration I conducted (and with the resulting A I got on the project), but I’d love to write, think and research more into this topic. Feel free to send me some feedback about this essay, and stay tuned for more posts on the topic of redeeming the broken, disheveled, horrendously embarrassing Christian media.

Rock, Records and Redemption

Essay written April 8, 2005
by Kevan Gilbert

Christianity has always had a hard time understanding and rubber-stamping most music outside the confines of the “praise and worship” genre. For generations, Christians have stumbled clumsily through different fads and phases, trying to discover the truth about the relationship between music and faith. Over the years, there have been three main stances. For some staunch traditionalists, there is no relationship between music and faith: they believe that all modern music is evil, whether labeled “secular” or “Christian.” Others hold the view that only secular music is evil, while Christian Contemporary Music (or “CCM”) offers a safe alternative to the unhealthy values of mainstream rock. A third view promotes the idea that artists with Christian faith can make a difference in the mainstream without having to label themselves as a “Christian band.” This paper will take a critical look at all three of these approaches, and instead suggest a fourth way: learning to recognize the beauty, truth and spiritual elements of all music, developing what Charlie Peacock calls a “comprehensive view of the role of music in the church
and in culture.”

Ever since Elvis started gyrating and the Beatles starting tripping in the 60s, Christians have found one reason or another to label music as evil and destructive. Some of these reasons have been remarkably valid. In their book “Truth About Rock,” Steve Peters and Mark Littleton provide numerous stories of suicides, beatings and murders committed by individuals that were heavily influenced by the explicit music they consumed. “The thoughts and the ideas we program into our brain have an effect on us,” the authors say. “They influence and produce who we truly become as people. If we listen to, meditate upon, and repeat words that are evil, our thoughts will become evil…For this reason, lyrics are extremely important.”

Likewise, the lifestyles of musicians can often influence listeners negatively – many musicians do not seem to connect their prominence on the world stage with a need to act as positive role models for young listeners. Extensive documentation of the wild concerts, shady dealings, bad decisions and morally lewd behaviours of musicians is offered up and criticized in countless books.

Despite the validity of the concerns regarding the destructive effects of the lifestyle and lyrics of secular music, those who criticize it often take their condemnation much too far. Instead of promoting the use of discretion and good taste when choosing music, this crowd would rather write off the whole idea of music if it means their piety is preserved. In his book “Satan’s Music Exposed,” Salem Kirban makes this bold declaration: “No matter how doctrinally sound the words are, rock, by its nature, can never be used to communicate spiritual truth. Not hard rock. Not soft rock. Not any kind of rock. Rock music and godly things just don’t go together.” Further down the same page, Kirban asks and answers his own question on behalf of paranoid Christians everywhere: “Is rock evil? Yes.”

As a response to this, opponents of progressive music and culture advocate a mass exodus out of the rock scene and into the church sanctuaries. At the back of Bob Larson’s book “Rock & Roll: The Devil’s Diversion,” one can sign and mail in “The Anti-Rock Pledge,” in which one pledges to not only abstain from voluntarily listening to rock music, but also to “destroy all rock records and tapes in [one’s] possession.” Instead, Christian music lovers are requested to make an about-turn and “be free of the bondage of the rock music culture.”

“A good alternative to secular rock music is contemporary Christian music,” offer the authors of Truth About Rock. “If you gave Christian music a chance, you may be surprised at the excellence and illumination that comes from listening to it.” Peters and Littleton (and others) heartily extol the virtues of CCM. “These musicians are committed to exalting Jesus in their music. Their concerts are more like rousing worship services. The riffs, melodies and lyrics they bring to the stage lift the heart and move us to love the Lord, love one another and love the lost.” CCM is described as a “unique musical phenomenon in that it is a content-based format that encompasses all musical styles, sounds and flavors.”

And indeed, the Christian music industry is “a vibrant and multifaceted one,” one that “continues to gain the attention of consumers and marketers worldwide through various avenues of exposure.” According to the Recording Industry Association of
America, “gospel music accounts for almost 1 billion dollars annually in US sales alone.” Testimonies to the attachment people have to the industry can be found in virtually any Christian-music-related internet community. Listeners like “cloud9surfer” from the CCM Magazine online forum testify, “I love Christian music. I would never recommend anything secular over something Christian.”

And why would he have to? For every secular band making a certain type of music, there exists its “Christian” counterpart. This means that a person who enjoys the music of say, Slipknot or Pantera, but disapproves of their message, can listen to the Christian version of it: Demon Hunter. Secular-to-Christian comparison charts abound, aiming to guide youth into a safer way to appreciate music; charts like Group Magazine’s Contemporary Christian Music Chart, who organize their chart by genre for greater navigational ease.

However, not all people hold the Christian music industry in high regard. One outspoken opponent of this industry is the proprietor of a website called Corrupt Christianity. The unnamed man behind this website offers a highly antagonistic, sanctimonious critique of CCM. With this website, the author aims to open people’s eyes to the “true condition of the Christian industry”, and does so by ruthlessly deconstructing the background, character and associations of many of Christianity’s top artists and spokespeople. For example, he accuses Michael W. Smith of “leading impressionable minds into deception through his compromised word and hypocritical example.” The author also calls U2 “an immoral band who…mock godliness, proclaims their love for wickedness, and speaks every foul, detestable word.”

The writer of CorruptChristianity.com displays a remarkable lack of grace, openness or sensitivity towards the way God has worked and is working through the artists he so zealously tears down. The Christian music industry has its share of problems, but it would be foolish to pretend it has no redeeming qualities. Strangely, despite all the problems that this writer points out, most of them are merely absurd trivialities, and never once does he hit any of the valid concerns that are actually facing the industry. Rather than an irrational attack on the CCM community, what would actually be helpful is a gentle, intelligent and supportive critique of the industry.

We can find that voice in the writings of Charlie Peacock. Peacock is a CCM veteran; one of Christian music’s most respected members. He has had extensive experience as a producer, performer, songwriter and record label manager. His 1999 book called “At the Crossroads – An Insider’s Look at the Past, Present and Future of Contemporary Christian Music” is a careful, thoughtful and forward-looking critique of the Christian music industry. He does not seek to slander or malign specific artists, but rather, points out many problems that are affecting the industry.

Peacock brings several accusations against the industry. “CCM promotes conformity,” he writes. He explains that some of this conformity is positive, as it produces an “ordered and stable environment where good can flourish.” However, he says that CCM also possesses the type of conformity that produces “legalism, performance-based acceptability, and stunted, uninspired imaginations…apathy and complacency.” Amongst other criticisms, he suggests that CCM inhibits music that is “diverse, faithful and imaginative,” and that it exhibits an “arrogant disrespect for diversity.”

Another voice challenging Christian artists to greater depth is Jeremy Begbie. In his book “Music in God’s Purposes,” he says “Much Christian music has degenerated into a nice, inoffensive, superficial kitsch which seems blind to the pain of the world.” He continues, “I would make a plea that Christian musicians learn more about what it means to transform their culture. Christian musicians cannot afford to retreat into a ghetto of the like-minded. Perhaps more than ever before, we need people with a vision to venture out, learn the musical styles of our modern culture, and remould them into something richer.”

As a challenge to the Christian music industry, Charlie Peacock gives a couple powerful suggestions. First, he pleads that Christian music be allowed to “range over the entire length and breadth of human emotion experience.” Next, he issues this challenge to Christian artists: “Raise the bar. Anyone can put the name of Jesus in a song. Only a Christian can think, imagine, and create music and lyric in a way which faithfully represents Christ and his kingdom.”

Now, based on the challenges of people like Peacock and Begbie, it seems that yet another shift is occurring. Previously, many Christians criticized and abandoned mainstream music and instead opted for the safe, exclusive Christian industry. Now, many are feeling frustrated with the shortcomings and limitations of the Christian music industry, and are seeking to reenter the popular music culture, “not as ‘Christian artists’ playing ‘Christian music’, but as Christian men and women deeply committed to that faith, but who avoid those stigmatizing labels even as they infuse their music with their faith.”

The trend of Christian artists crossing over into the mainstream is a growing one. Bands like P.O.D., Switchfoot and MxPx have all seen considerable success in the mainstream markets without compromising their faith. Many artists of faith are desperately trying to have their work viewed in a way that transcends the old extremes, “which saw art as either a tool to convert the masses, or as simply a form of art to be enjoyed without regard for the profound life-changing effects it was capable of inspiring.”

In some ways, crossing over into the mainstream seems like the only viable option. There is no other real way for Christians to have their music heard by secular listeners – which, arguably, should be the “point” of Christian music. In an interview with Sufjan Stevens at respected online independent music magazine PitchforkMedia.com, Amanda Petrusich says “Christian rock is almost unilaterally vilified…there’s a big fear of Christian music out there.”

The crossover trend has a produced a great number of positive outcomes. For many, it has proven that the Christian message can be taken seriously. It has also provided a lot of hope and light to the often-desolate mainstream music community. Additionally, youth can hear life-affirming messages through music they enjoy, without feeling as though they’re being preached to. Of all the Christian approaches to music we’ve looked at so far, this is one of the more commendable movements. Mark Joseph has written two books which very successfully articulate the ideas, attempts and successes of crossover groups – “The Rock & Roll Rebellion”, and “Faith, God & Rock and Roll” - and I recommend these to anyone wishing to explore the topic further. I have no intentions of criticizing the music or decisions of these crossover artists, as I support them fully, but I feel like the idea of exclusively supporting “Christians in the mainstream” is still a very limited view of what music can be. Could this just another way for Christians to feel good about themselves? I imagine a smug Christian music fan turning to his mainstream music fan friend and saying “See? Christians can be cool, too. Look, you like Pedro the Lion, and they’re Christian.” I believe Christians are still missing something vital in their understanding of music.

Once, the question being asked was “Should Christians have anything to do with rock?” and the answer was no. Then, the question was “Is it okay if Christians make their own rock music?” and the answer was yes – with restrictions. Then the question became “Do Christian musicians have to limit themselves to churches and Christian bookstores, or can they make music that other people want to listen to, too?” and the answer was also a reluctant yes. But now, there is a new question we have to answer: “Is it possible that we can see and learn about God, truth, beauty, meaning, life, humanity and love in all types of music, regardless of the artist’s faith?”

This will perhaps be the most difficult hurdle to overcome in our journey through music. There is a great deal of opposition to the idea that God can speak through non- Christians to bring about positive results. For example, the writer of CorruptChristianity.com declares, “Secular musicians live apart from God, therefore their music is birthed apart from God.” He goes on to announce that “secular, worldly, ungodly music does not and could never bring any spiritual, moral, or virtue in anyone’s lives” (emphasis his). I would like to present the argument that the complete opposite is true. I believe that passionate, artfully executed music can reveal God’s glory in extraordinarily powerful ways, no matter what the faith origins of its performers; that music produced by secular musicians holds incredible value for humanity, and should not be dismissed.

First of all, as Franky Schaeffer says in his classic book “Addicted to Mediocrity”, “…there is no secular or Christian world. There is only one world, the whole world as God has made it…the terms ‘secular’ and ‘Christian’ are only words. Reality cannot be compartmentalized.” Given this, we have to confess that sometimes, God can still use people or organizations or artists who are not specifically “believers” to further His will, to reveal His glory, and to speak His truth. Even the authors of “Truth About Rock” concede this point. “Sometimes, [God] may even use rock music,” they admit. “In the end, all truth is God’s truth.”

Secondly, by limiting our musical experience of God to music generated exclusively by Christians, we are hampering our abilities to distinguish this aforementioned truth, to identify and acknowledge true beauty, and even recognize God in unfamiliar settings. As David Dark says in his book “Everyday Apocalypse,” “One peculiarity of the present age is that, in some cases, our powers of application are so compromised that we’re incapable of recognizing as morally edifying anything that doesn’t advertise itself as such.”

Thirdly, by denying the power of non-religious art and music, we weaken the power of Scripture, and of God. As Charlie Peacock points out, the Bible demonstrates that “everything under God’s dominion is worthy subject matter for songwriting…The subject matter [of the Scriptures] is all of life, both the hellish and the heavenly.” Franky Schaeffer insists, “There is no Christian or unchristian subject matter (except in the area of art work or expression that would deliberately have as its primary purpose to lead people away from the truth).”

“Either God is the Creator of the whole man, the whole universe, and all of reality and existence, or he is the Creator of none of it,” Schaffer continues. “If God is only the Creator of some divided platonic existence which leads to a tension between the body and the soul, the real world and the spiritual world, if God is only the Creator of some spiritual little experiential ‘praise-the-Lord’ reality, then he is not much of a God.” By refusing to accept God’s presence in all his Creation, we alienate ourselves from a large part of our humanity, and limit the reach of God’s power.

Music can serve a multitude of purposes that are glorifying to God. In his book “Theology, Music and Time”, Jeremy Begbie says “music can serve to enrich and advance theology, extending our wisdom about God, God’s relation to us and to the world at large.” Later in the book, he says “music has the capacity to play a unique and positive role in the formation of Christian identity.” Music can also express honest and authentic emotion, capturing the essence of what it means to be human. Music can proclaim the beauty of God’s creation, it can express sorrow, it can announce joy, and it can act as a vehicle for wrestling with dark emotions and situations. Music is also a testament to God by its very nature, in its employment of the God-given gifts of talent, creativity and imagination. Music which is created and approached in a truthful, artful, creative and intentional manner has the power to turn our attention towards God, awakening our souls, minds and bodies to his glory in a way no other medium can.

It’s still very important to use discretion when choosing what music and art to ingest. Not all music and lyrics are healthy for a person - in fact, popular culture tends to feed on a steady diet of music and media that is self-centered, demeaning, ignorant, profit-driven and/or profane. David Dark explains: “As it aspires to no deeper vocation than enthralling the viewer [or listener] long enough to sell something, the media culture ‘is crippling people’s souls, setting up barriers between man and the crucial questions of his existence, his consciousness of himself as a spiritual being.’”

In our attempts to identify truth and beauty outside of Christian bookstores, it is guaranteed that we will uncover a lot of darkness. However, there is still hope. Plenty of “secular” artists continue to make music full of integrity, ingenuity, truth, beauty and honesty. Artists such as Radiohead, Beck and Tom Waits (to name only three) are shining examples of the “apocalyptic” vision outlined by David Dark in Everyday Apocalypse.

“I’m grateful for and in dire need of whatever art can keep me awake and alive to the mystery,” says Dark, “whatever keeps me paying attention, whatever reminds me that none of us (and no ideology) are possessors of the final say. Art that doesn’t bear witness to the opaque, the mysterious, or even allow any ambiguity is propaganda at best, at worst, a ministry of death, an exercise in sentimentalizing, self-congratulatory delusion.”

In the artist biography section of their website, the lead singer of worship band Something Like Silas tells that “the most worshipful experience [he’s] ever been a part of” was a Sigur Rós concert in Los Angeles. Sigur Rós is a Reykjavík-based noise quartet, whose music is described as “a fairy-tale explosion of unhinged elemental majesty”. The only words in the music of Sigur Rós are in a language they invented themselves.

Admitting that Christians are allowed to play rock music is a great start. Realizing that Christians can perform relevant, honest, creative, high-quality music is a huge step forward. Imagine what it would be like to admit that one can find God even where His name is not mentioned.

Works Cited

“Ágætis Byrjun.” Online editorial album review. 22 May 2001. Amazon.com. 6 April 2005.

Begbie, Jeremy. Music in God’s Purposes. Edinburgh: The Handsel Press, 1989.

Begbie, Jeremy. Theology, Music and Time. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002.

Begbie, Jeremy. Voicing Creation’s Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991.

Cloud9Surfer. “My 2 cents regarding Christian music.” Online posting. 12 Jan 2005. CCM Magazine Forums. 3 April 2005.

Dark, David. Everyday Apocalypse. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2002.

Joseph, Mark. Faith, God, and Rock & Roll. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.

Kirban, Salem. Satan’s Music Exposed. Chattanooga: AMG, 1981.

Larson, Bob. Rock & Roll – The Devil’s Diversion. McCook: Nebraska, 1979.

“Michael W. Smith” Online article. 13 September 2004. Corrupt Christianity. 26 Mar 2005.

Owyoung, Eric Michael. “Band.” 2004. Something Like Silas Official Website. 5 April 2005.

Peacock, Charlie. At the Crossroads – An Insider’s Look at the Past, Present and Future of Contemporary Christian Music. Nashville: Broadman, 1999.

Peters, Steve and Mark Littleton. Truth About Rock. Minneapolis: Bethany Press, 1998.

Petrusich, Amanda. Online interview. July 2004. Pitchfork Media. 3 April 2005.

Schaeffer, Franky. Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century Christians and the Arts. Westchester: Crossway Books, 1981.

“The Influence Effect.” 13 Sept. 2004. Corrupt Christianity. 3 April 2005.

“Today’s Gospel Sound: Moving Millions – Industry Overview 2004.” Gospel Music Association, April 2004. Accessed 2 April 2005.

“U2” Online article. 13 September 2004. Corrupt Christianity. 26 Mar 2005.