Friday, March 25, 2016
The Voice of the Serpent
Why is it that the people who think their views should be tolerated, are the ones who are the least tolerant of others? Why do homosexuals think that we should tolerate their adverse behavior and allow them to call their union a marriage? Or let them adopt children? Why is it that children can learn in school about religious holidays and practices, such as the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah or Yom Kippur, along with the African-American celebration Kwanzaa, but not the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas or the true meaning of Easter? Most people celebrate Thanksgiving, but who are they expressing their thankfulness to? Why do we pledge our allegiance to One Nation under God, but at every turn we try to take Him out of it? Why is it ok to be pro abortion, including partial birth abortion (where the fetus is killed during birth) and to be vocal about it, but you can’t speak out against it or the sale of fetal parts? How did profanity and obscenity become an accepted part of the English language? Why is it that believers in Christ must learn to tolerate all these things, but no one seems to want to tolerate them? Why are Christians put down for wanting the world to have some shred of integrity, decency and moral fiber in it?
The new morale for the current American society is; there are no morals, no rules, nothing to guide us through life, except our own fantasies. Our own desires have become the focus and there is no right and wrong, no good or bad. The new philosophy of choice being that of secularism, which assumes that this world ”the material world” is all that we have by which and for which to live, so therefore any view of a spiritual essence or of other worldliness is by definition considered irrelevant or irrational. This form of secularization asserts that public life is to be governed by laws that are not influenced by religion, or any transcendent sacred notion. With the philosophy of pluralization all belief structures, such as religions, are held to be true, so you can believe anything you want and say that it is true. Then there is the privatization of beliefs, the socially required and legally enforced separation of our private lives and our public personas. In effect, privatization insists that issues of ultimate meaning be kept within our private spheres. If you take a close look at our society, you'll find that all those protesters from back in the sixties and seventies are now in positions of authority and who's agenda have they been pushing for?
We have let ourselves fall into the trap which was set back when time began, in the garden of long ago, when the serpent said to the woman “Did God really say you couldn't?” It has been a downward spiral for man ever since. The fall of mankind through Adam and Eve, brought sin and shame into this world and with them knowledge of what is right and wrong. They learned the lesson the hard way; they now knew the difference between right and wrong, but they had to leave their perfect home and life behind. After their exile from the garden they began what continues, even to this day, a constant battle to try to cover their shame and the guilt of sin on their own, apart from God. Each new generation putting that shame farther and farther behind them, until today we have no shame at all. We do the most heinous things without thinking; we live by our own terms, doing pretty much whatever we feel like. Then we try to remove the shame further by declaring it to be normal. As though it’s one's personal right to kill an unborn child, because a pregnant woman decides she can’t deal with the consequences of her behavior. There are circumstances such as rape or incest where pregnancy occurs, but those might be better dealt with in a more dignified manor for both the unborn child and the mother. Then some would have us believe that the sexual union of two people of the same sex is normal or that it is a natural thing for people to be attracted to others of the same sex. When we want to fulfill our desires, no matter how detestable or vile, we comfort ourselves by saying its normal and therefore ok. It’s as though we keep hearing the voice of the snake whispering in our ear, prodding us on, saying “Did God really say you couldn't? You will not surely die.” So we just keep twisting the truth to fit our desires.
The most upsetting thing is that the church has let this way of thinking filter into its very core, by accepting things as normal which are not, as though it is trying to fit into the world, when what it should be doing is putting God and Christ back where they belong, at the head and center of everything! Ravi Zacharias tells us the three moods of our current culture will do the following: secularization will hurt those we love through loss of shame, pluralization will hurt those we choose to hate through loss of reason and privatization will hurt ourselves through loss of meaning. Perhaps Christians and the church need to stop tolerating the things they know are wrong and start changing from within, putting the focus on becoming more Christ like in their dealings with the world by learning to address the needs of the individual and not to be distracted by their outward appearance or behavior. Maybe our society needs to return to its earlier morals, ethics and values and the church should lead the way!
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Profanity in Christian Music
Does profanity have a place in Christian songwriting?
I was very confused by an article I read in an online Christian Music magazine awhile back, it was about a disagreement that an artist, Derek Webb, had with his record label, INO. Apparently there was some problem with the release of his album “Stockholm Syndrome”, the matter was centered around his choice of words in the lyrics of a song. I hadn’t heard the song at that time, so I didn’t know the exact word he used. But from the article, I gathered it wasn’t a very nice one. Webb claimed that the song and its lyrics were very important to the album and his work.
I had really liked Derek Webb and loved his work with the group, Caedmon’s Call. I own one of his solo albums and was considering checking out more of his work, but this story had left me very troubled. I later had the misfortune of hearing firsthand the song and the lyric, which turned out to be the infamous “S-word” at a Christian Music Festival in a room filled with people of all ages, including young children! Why would Webb, a Christian artist or an artist with Christian beliefs, find it necessary to use profanity in his song? As believers and followers of Christ, we are to be living and behaving in a manner that was exemplified by Christ and ultimately glorifies God! So my question is this “does the use of profanity glorify God and if not, then why use it?” The Bible gives us some clear guidelines as to how followers should try to conduct themselves. The Old Testament states in Psalm 63:3 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Then in Proverbs 4:24 it says “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” And again in Proverbs 10:32 “The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.” Along with the idea that we are to be reborn and therefore changed, it tells us in Colossians 3:8 “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”
With all this in mind, I just don’t understand the need to include crude words in the lyrics of a song, especially songs written with the express purpose of spreading the word of God and the message of his love to others. But even if Webb’s song is just a song about his life, his own experiences or life in general, why add an unsavory word? We would expect to find this type of thing in the secular, unsaved world, as the prowess of mainstream bands today is built on how lewd and graphic their lyrics are, as though this makes them more creditable musicians and better songwriters. Bands like Green Day, Blink 182, and so many others have always said whatever they felt would shock and wow the listener. But when bands like Lincoln Park, who boasted that they didn’t need to use profanity to get their message across, decide to add so much, that their music now carries a “Parental Warning” label, it becomes really sad! Although bands sometimes find it necessary to re-invent themselves, changing their music styles or sound, which is understandable in the market these days, where there is so much music, that it all starts to sound the same. But Lincoln Park’s decision doesn't seem to be about their re-invention and this type of behavior takes away from their credibility and makes me think they are small minds with little talent! What about the argument, art for art sake? But is it really art or just garbage? I tend to think true artists, with true gifts, would be able to express themselves without degrading others or life itself! Should we sacrifice our principles for art? At what cost? Wouldn’t it be more admirable to sacrifice our art for our principles? Whatever happened to the moral majority? It has become the moral minority!
Even before I discovered Christ, after having kids and driving around listening to the same music I’d listened to since I was a teen, I had the revelation one day that most of it was unfit for little ears. So I continued to listen, but only in private, away from the kids, kinda like a music junkie! But when I found Christ (or He found me) I could no longer ignore such issues, how could I continue to listen to music so highly saturated with coarse language and explicit imagery in good conscience? Then came my discovery of “Christian” music, I was so thrilled to find another realm of music that would fulfill my inner need to rock, head bang, whatever, but is way better for my soul and those little ears!
I started listening to “Christian Music” to escape the madness! But now, has that madness found a way into my new realm? Maybe there is something deeper to consider here, if Webb and other Christian artists start using these words in their songs, what will the world imply from it? That Christians are just another bunch of hypocrites, or that they are just like everyone else? As Christians, we are to be set apart from the things of this world that will drag us down into the pit. There is a very fine line here and I wonder if it really should be crossed. Does the use of this word glorify God in anyway? What about integrity? When artists do things like this, I believe it corrupts the integrity of their work. To me they seem to have lost sight of some of their original intentions behind their music, the ones that sent them on the journey in the first place! The Bible puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” It also gives us these warnings in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Then again in Titus 2:7-8 “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may have nothing bad to say about us.”
By using profanity in their songs what kind of example are believers setting for the rest of the world? Will it just give the world more bad things to say about Christians? My hope is that Webb and others will have well thought out answers to these questions!
I was very confused by an article I read in an online Christian Music magazine awhile back, it was about a disagreement that an artist, Derek Webb, had with his record label, INO. Apparently there was some problem with the release of his album “Stockholm Syndrome”, the matter was centered around his choice of words in the lyrics of a song. I hadn’t heard the song at that time, so I didn’t know the exact word he used. But from the article, I gathered it wasn’t a very nice one. Webb claimed that the song and its lyrics were very important to the album and his work.
I had really liked Derek Webb and loved his work with the group, Caedmon’s Call. I own one of his solo albums and was considering checking out more of his work, but this story had left me very troubled. I later had the misfortune of hearing firsthand the song and the lyric, which turned out to be the infamous “S-word” at a Christian Music Festival in a room filled with people of all ages, including young children! Why would Webb, a Christian artist or an artist with Christian beliefs, find it necessary to use profanity in his song? As believers and followers of Christ, we are to be living and behaving in a manner that was exemplified by Christ and ultimately glorifies God! So my question is this “does the use of profanity glorify God and if not, then why use it?” The Bible gives us some clear guidelines as to how followers should try to conduct themselves. The Old Testament states in Psalm 63:3 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Then in Proverbs 4:24 it says “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” And again in Proverbs 10:32 “The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.” Along with the idea that we are to be reborn and therefore changed, it tells us in Colossians 3:8 “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”
With all this in mind, I just don’t understand the need to include crude words in the lyrics of a song, especially songs written with the express purpose of spreading the word of God and the message of his love to others. But even if Webb’s song is just a song about his life, his own experiences or life in general, why add an unsavory word? We would expect to find this type of thing in the secular, unsaved world, as the prowess of mainstream bands today is built on how lewd and graphic their lyrics are, as though this makes them more creditable musicians and better songwriters. Bands like Green Day, Blink 182, and so many others have always said whatever they felt would shock and wow the listener. But when bands like Lincoln Park, who boasted that they didn’t need to use profanity to get their message across, decide to add so much, that their music now carries a “Parental Warning” label, it becomes really sad! Although bands sometimes find it necessary to re-invent themselves, changing their music styles or sound, which is understandable in the market these days, where there is so much music, that it all starts to sound the same. But Lincoln Park’s decision doesn't seem to be about their re-invention and this type of behavior takes away from their credibility and makes me think they are small minds with little talent! What about the argument, art for art sake? But is it really art or just garbage? I tend to think true artists, with true gifts, would be able to express themselves without degrading others or life itself! Should we sacrifice our principles for art? At what cost? Wouldn’t it be more admirable to sacrifice our art for our principles? Whatever happened to the moral majority? It has become the moral minority!
Even before I discovered Christ, after having kids and driving around listening to the same music I’d listened to since I was a teen, I had the revelation one day that most of it was unfit for little ears. So I continued to listen, but only in private, away from the kids, kinda like a music junkie! But when I found Christ (or He found me) I could no longer ignore such issues, how could I continue to listen to music so highly saturated with coarse language and explicit imagery in good conscience? Then came my discovery of “Christian” music, I was so thrilled to find another realm of music that would fulfill my inner need to rock, head bang, whatever, but is way better for my soul and those little ears!
I started listening to “Christian Music” to escape the madness! But now, has that madness found a way into my new realm? Maybe there is something deeper to consider here, if Webb and other Christian artists start using these words in their songs, what will the world imply from it? That Christians are just another bunch of hypocrites, or that they are just like everyone else? As Christians, we are to be set apart from the things of this world that will drag us down into the pit. There is a very fine line here and I wonder if it really should be crossed. Does the use of this word glorify God in anyway? What about integrity? When artists do things like this, I believe it corrupts the integrity of their work. To me they seem to have lost sight of some of their original intentions behind their music, the ones that sent them on the journey in the first place! The Bible puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” It also gives us these warnings in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Then again in Titus 2:7-8 “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may have nothing bad to say about us.”
By using profanity in their songs what kind of example are believers setting for the rest of the world? Will it just give the world more bad things to say about Christians? My hope is that Webb and others will have well thought out answers to these questions!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)