CCM by theology

[dms1972]

Is it possible to class CCM by the theology of the artists. I suspect because songs are often written by others it may be difficult in some cases. But I read a thread that suggested some groups and singers who were reformed / calvinist . A lot of the early CCM arose out of the Jesus movement of the 1970s which I don't know if that had any definite theological leanings.

What about other theologies - eg. Arminian, Lutheran etc?

 

[WolfGate]

Yeah, that would be difficult. You could go and look at bios for the song writers. CCM is particularly difficult, and I'm not sure how valuable it would be, because songs tend to be more theologically generic, often Christian living-ish.

Praise and Worship is a bit easier in many cased because often those songs come out of specific churches, where it is easier to determine their theological beliefs. Even then, though, almost all the song lyrics are written to applicable to the larger Church, so you will rarely find something distinctively Calvinistic, or Pentacostal, etc. It does happen, though.

In both cases, I would tend to say read the lyrics. If the song is theologically appropriate to your beliefs, then it should be fine for your use.

 

[dms1972]

What about the singers themselves - rather than the songs which I agree are often theologically generic?

 

[WolfGate]

I'm not sure I understand why you would like to do that. However, the best chance you would have would be to research where they attend church. That would give you some ability to do that.

 

[PloverWing]

Is it possible to class CCM by the theology of the artists. I suspect because songs are often written by others it may be difficult in some cases. But I read a thread that suggested some groups and singers who were reformed / calvinist . A lot of the early CCM arose out of the Jesus movement of the 1970s which I don't know if that had any definite theological leanings.

What about other theologies - eg. Arminian, Lutheran etc?

What I know of CCM is mostly the early stuff from the 1970s and early 80s. I stopped keeping up with CCM after that, though I've followed two artists from those early years (John Michael Talbot and Ken Medema) who have continued to create music.

I'd say to listen to the lyrics in order to identify the theology of the songwriter. I remember a strong Evangelical slant in some of those 1970s songs, in the sense of a) emphasizing the importance of making a decision for Christ and b) emphasizing the importance of taking one's faith seriously, and not just drifting along with one's parents, church, etc. Some of them had a Dispensationalist/Rapture theme, expecting the imminent return of Jesus; "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" is famous, but there were others, too. John Michael Talbot is Catholic, and there's Catholic language and imagery in some of his songs. A number of Ken Medema's songs have themes of social justice and compassion towards marginalized people, which resonates well with my own theology.

I haven't followed most of CCM since the 80s, so someone else will have to weigh in on the more recent artists. The Jesus movement and its music was a countercultural thing; I expect that CCM becoming an "industry" must have changed that, but I haven't actually investigated the details.

 

[WolfGate]

I haven't followed most of CCM since the 80s, so someone else will have to weigh in on the more recent artists. The Jesus movement and its music was a countercultural thing; I expect that CCM becoming an "industry" must have changed that, but I haven't actually investigated the details.

Your assumption is correct. Today's CCM is very formulaic, with artists and song styles fitting a certain rather narrow mold. Most variation comes in topics, as lyrics range from bible based to Christian living topics to lyrics that could be as much about a lover as about Christ. The P&W world is better, but songs there are, of course, intended to be sung in church by congregations so there is only so much variation that can be done.

 

[PloverWing]

Today's CCM is very formulaic, with artists and song styles fitting a certain rather narrow mold.

There is significant irony here.

 

[dms1972]

I'm not sure I understand why you would like to do that. However, the best chance you would have would be to research where they attend church. That would give you some ability to do that.

I am interested to know were they are coming from and what their spirituality is and how it influences their songs, what they sing about.

 

[WolfGate]

I am interested to know were they are coming from and what their spirituality is and how it influences their songs, what they sing about.

Got it - that makes sense. Yeah, I'd say do internet searches on them. Many are also involved with local churches and it shows up on the churches website, or sometimes their Wikipedia page if the writer is well known enough.

 

[GreekOrthodox]

John Crist has the formula for CCM hit songs (So does Eric Cartman)