Should Christian music be edgier?

[W2L]

Catharsis is good sometimes.

Is that a the name of a music band, or is it the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions?

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Is that a music band, or is it the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions?

It may very well be the name of a band, but I meant the psychological effect

 

[Monk Brendan]

In the modern context of contemporary Christian music, our mainstream listening consists of bland lyrics that just emphasize God's love for us, using broad terms & never being controversial.

But is that how it should be?

I was at my college's Christian Campus House worship with a local Episcopalian priest. The band was playing some of the usual sort of songs, and he mentioned, "You know, I've always wondered if Christian music shouldn't be so vanilla. Sometimes it's good like this, but sometimes I think we need to be challenged, using more incriminating words to get us to live better."

The usual mantra "Jesus loves me, I love Jesus, all is cool" is fine; I'm not debating declaring our love for the Son of God, not at all! But shouldn't there be more?

Take, for example, the song that many historians consider the first Christian rock song, "After Forever", with the opening lines, "Have you ever thought about your soul can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave"

Or another one by the same band, "Lord of this World":
"Your world was made for you by someone above
But you chose evil ways instead of love
You made me master of the world where you exist
The soul I took from you was not even missed yeah"

Is it fine for all mainstream Christian music to be vanilla? Or should we be humbled that it takes a band called Black Sabbath to teach us how to write Christian songs?

(Side note: When looking at the lyrics of Black Sabbath songs that sing about Satan, notice that it's all singing about the despair of life for the devil; Ozzy calls out "Oh, God, help me!" in Black Sabbath after singing about where he's going with Satan at the wheel.) (And here's another discussion that goes into more detail of Sabbath specifically: secular artists releasing Christian music)

Important: I am not debating Black Sabbath in particular, I'm only using them as an example for the broader topic of edgier lyrics in Christian songs. You may reference Sabbath, but do not derail this thread from a discussion on Christian lyrics to a discussion on 1 band.

May God bless us all!

How about the original chants of the Church?

In the Renaissance, the same song would be sung to Latin words at church, in French at a banquet, and then speeded up and played on instruments for dancing afterwards.

 

[anna ~ grace]

I think Christian music should be humbling, holy, sound beautiful, and help us feel small.

 

[Halbhh]

Already converted Christians that have found His peace -- we love the harmony often. We have peace, very often.

But others don't all have that, and many long for it.

Many people are not at that place of peace, and need Him....

The seeker (not yet having God, not yet at peace) can be intense, and it can be more passionate and agonized than many have seen.

It's intense because very powerful forces, of the young flesh and spirit and the powerful pull of God are pulling on the person.

She was an atheist and a metal singer, and found God....

 

[Halbhh]

Lacey Strum, metal singer above just above, atheist, ready to commit suicide, but who found God...and Love..., in her intense meeting with God...reminds me in that song just above of another song that made me find St. John of the Cross, in the way I first learned of his poem of the Dark Night of the Soul...there's a connection in the 2 songs. (though of course so much is different otherwise, but God is the same!)

But here's why I ever learned of St. John of the Cross, and the Dark Night of the Soul

To me this paraphrase of Dark Night of the Soul, it's Lacey Strum's song above, or connected, because the Greatest Love is pulling on us, if we are open to Him.

 

[Sketcher]

Outside of CCM at least, it exists. Sometimes it's well done, sometimes not.

 

[anna ~ grace]

 

[Halbhh]

Is that a the name of a music band, or is it the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions?

Yes, that's right. A good example of that, intense, in post #25, an actual battle in her between light and dark, between Love and the path to death, very literally too.

 

[Tone]

It may very well be the name of a band, but I meant the psychological effect

Kathartik is better...

 

[Tone]

The reason why "Christian" music as a separate commercialized genre is so lame is because it is kinda like the product if incest. People give too much credit to popular culture, as if it sprung up out of nowhere. You can't have Rock or Rap or Pop without Christianity. They all grew out of IT...so why should people try to regraft, if you will, into the roots?

Just play the new sound...even better, come up with an original...and if you're good at it, it will be popular...if that's what you want.

 

[Tone]

Kathartik is better...

Or Katharziz...

 

[The_wanderer 40]

Kätharziz!

 

[derpytia]

In the modern context of contemporary Christian music, our mainstream listening consists of bland lyrics that just emphasize God's love for us, using broad terms & never being controversial.

But is that how it should be?

I was at my college's Christian Campus House worship with a local Episcopalian priest. The band was playing some of the usual sort of songs, and he mentioned, "You know, I've always wondered if Christian music shouldn't be so vanilla. Sometimes it's good like this, but sometimes I think we need to be challenged, using more incriminating words to get us to live better."

The usual mantra "Jesus loves me, I love Jesus, all is cool" is fine; I'm not debating declaring our love for the Son of God, not at all! But shouldn't there be more?

Take, for example, the song that many historians consider the first Christian rock song, "After Forever", with the opening lines, "Have you ever thought about your soul can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave"

Or another one by the same band, "Lord of this World":
"Your world was made for you by someone above
But you chose evil ways instead of love
You made me master of the world where you exist
The soul I took from you was not even missed yeah"

Is it fine for all mainstream Christian music to be vanilla? Or should we be humbled that it takes a band called Black Sabbath to teach us how to write Christian songs?

(Side note: When looking at the lyrics of Black Sabbath songs that sing about Satan, notice that it's all singing about the despair of life for the devil; Ozzy calls out "Oh, God, help me!" in Black Sabbath after singing about where he's going with Satan at the wheel.) (And here's another discussion that goes into more detail of Sabbath specifically: secular artists releasing Christian music)

Important: I am not debating Black Sabbath in particular, I'm only using them as an example for the broader topic of edgier lyrics in Christian songs. You may reference Sabbath, but do not derail this thread from a discussion on Christian lyrics to a discussion on 1 band.

May God bless us all!

Not all Christian music is smiles and rainbows.

I don't know if you've ever heard of the artist Plumb but a lot of her music deals with extremely heavy subjects. A lot of her music is her crying out to God during tragedy or admitting to sins and faults that plague her. And yet I've seen her get a lot of backlash from the Christian mainstream because a lot of her songs (not all) are really "edgy" or heavy instead of happy and uplifting. But those who appreciate her music (as I do) can see it for what it is -- an artistic expression of the struggle that is the Christian Walk.

If your walk is nothing but sunshine and rainbows then either you're not doing it right or your time of trial is on its way.

 

[HatGuy]

A mistake all too many churches make is to claim to be multicultural, while really being unicultural in worship style - including music. Bring in some world rhythms and sounds.

This!!

I'm a pastor at a church in Johannesburg, and we get to sing Zulu songs and Xhosa songs and use different rhythms. It's awesome.

I'm a big fan of world music - the fusion of western and other sounds together. One of my favourite artists is Paul Simon in this vein. There doesn't seem to be anyone new attempting this though.

 

[St_Worm2]

 

[GingerBeer]

"should Christian music be edgier?"

No, it ought to be more holy and consequently better.

 

[HatGuy]

"should Christian music be edgier?"

No, it ought to be more holy and consequently better.

How does music "be more holy"?

 

[GingerBeer]

How does music "be more holy"?

By sounding like this:

 

[HatGuy]

By sounding like this:

Not really - although I appreciate the style.

Music is very subjective. Choral singing may be more mysterious and certainly artistically good, especially done in the right sort of building and setting (and with the right talent), but it's not more holy.

When I went to visit St Paul's in London a few years ago and joined the evensong, it was an amazing experience. The way the church is designed, the beautiful voices, it was certainly an experience I connected with emotionally, and helped me connect emotionally with the Lord. The real thing is the mystery it invokes, at least for me. But I've had similar experiences with all sorts of music.

You must remember, there's definitely a Western fascination for choral music, as it's in our history. It invokes our history, too. It makes me wonder about the many centuries Christians have worshipped God. But to many African people here in Johannesburg, it's just Western music, and doesn't invoke anything (except maybe thoughts about colonialism).

Music is just an amazing thing - all styles, done with reverence to the Lord, are certainly holy, set apart for God's purposes. Holy is surely not a particular sound - it has to do with intent.