My grandparents believed Elvis was of the Devil. My parents believe Marilyn Manson is of the Devil. I'm pretty sure Lady Gaga IS the Devil. And probably, my great-grandparents thought, Oh I don't know, Lawerence Welk was the spawn of Satan. Every generation latches onto one or two artists as symbols of the inevitable apocalypse to come. If Will.I.am isn't enough evidence for you, then you are one of those fabled eternal optimists.
This essay is about music. I've been working on this one for awhile. The original tone has changed because I am attempting to ease up on the combative rhetoric that I'm so used to. That said, I do feel the need to explain a few things, in the name of self-awareness.
I am a music snob. That's being polite; I am more accurately a music jerk. I like what I like and hate most of everything else, and I think everyone else should hate everything I hate with equal passion. So, I'm going to say things in the paragraphs to come that will sound like universal absolutes that are, in fact, only matters of opinion. And I don't think the people with differing opinions are stupid, evil or unpatriotic. I just think those people are wrong. And that's okay. Let's get started.
When I was fifteen, I had an experience at one of my many church camps, I can't remember if it was Galilee or Happening, that led me to make the decision that God wanted me to give up all secular forms of art, including music. So, I sold all my cd's, changed my presets and attempted to purge my life from the Satanic influence of secular music. Of course, when I was fifteen I ALSO thought it was a great idea to wear 7 cross necklaces at a time and big, black Buddy Holly-style glasses. (that's right, I did it first, Hipsters)
Here's what I learned from my self-sacrificial fast from non-Christian music: Christian music is TERRIBLE! (@ Andy Bryan et al, this excludes Handel, Isaac Watts and, of course, Charles Wesley) And it hasn't gotten any better. It's still terrible. Musically, artistically, poetically, theologically. Terrible.
Before you churchy folks get all up in my grill, do something for me. Listen to the worst thing Pearl Jam ever did, which is a toss-up between the albums No Code and Binaural, and then listen to Audio Adrenaline's greatest hits. Listen to the worst thing Dave Matthews Band ever did, which is clearly Busted Stuff, then listen to the best song David Crowder Band ever put out. Jack Johnson and Shane and Shane (not really the same other than acoustic guitars, but I couldn't think of anything else). Mariah Carey and Amy Grant. Jay-Z and T-Bone or whoever the Christian rapper is. There's no comparison! Christian artists are simply and (again, in my opinion, so relax) CLEARLY just not as good.
Beyond a question of personal taste, Christian music is musically, poetically and theologically immature. Please write something that's not DAG or CFG. And, okay already, I get it, "Love" rhymes with "Above". Any images of God other than King or Shepherd? Music fans: expand your horizons. Musicians: write better worship music!
Now, I'm no musical genius. (At least on guitar, I mean, I have been playing drums for 90% of my life) I know how hard it is to write words without using "He" or "Him" language and have it 1. make sense and 2. sound good. I know how hard it is to write songs with more than three chords that a congregation can sing. I know how hard it is to write thoughtfully theological songs that are also catchy. It's hard. But can we please offer more to musical history than Jars of Clay or Switchfoot? Are these really the best we can do?
A deeper question than just my music-snoberific dislike for the sounds of Christian music is this admittedly non-pervasive attitude among some Christians that anything outside the Christian community is all evil and can't possibly have anything to do with the voice of God. I got in trouble once for talking about Harry Potter in a children's sermon 'cause wizards are evil. What's interesting is that believing that wizards are evil necessitates believing that wizards are REAL. Come on, people.
Don't put any limits on what, who, when, where or how God can use the things in this world to speak to us. I have felt the presence of God in a church camp worship experience AND at a Tool concert. I have heard God speak through Eric Clapton's guitar, Bob Dylan's words and Metallica's pyrotechnics!
The point is not that Christian music sucks, pardon my french, even though it does! I just want to make a plea: please don't lock your children in a cave of over-protection and deny them the life-changing experience of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Black Keys and, yes, even the Harry Potter movies because they aren't explicitly Christian. It works a couple ways: putting limits on how God speaks and putting limits on the experiences that make up a full life.
Don't limit yourself and don't limit God. And, please, don't tell me that Harry Potter is taking all our children to hell in a handbasket.
Recommendations: (excluding the obvious)
Heavy rock: Clutch
Normal rock: Band of Horses, Kings of Leon, Black Keys, My Morning Jacket
Country rock: anything that has anything to do with Buddy Miller or T. Bone Burnett, Wilco, Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes
Just miles, leagues, fathoms above anything that's happening in the Christian music world.
Peace, B
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Letdown
The tree has been kicked to the curb, shoved in the closet or sunk in the pond. The lights have been retangled. And, most disturbing to my friend EC, the soft rock stations are back to playing the NOT Christmas Mariah Carey songs. It's over. 12 days. Done. And it's not like there's anything excited coming up. Yay! Presidents' Day!
It is complicated to live in the space between "every word of Scripture is absolutely true" and "the Bible is bogus" during the Christmas season. On the one hand, there is no Christianity without Christmas. No faith at all. The incarnation (in-carn-ation; becoming in-fleshed) is a necessary component of the process of salvation. The incarnation is irrational. The divine becomes human-it is totally wild, but, by definition, faith has to be part irrational. On the other hand, magic stars? Pregnant virgins?
And then there's the Scripture itself. Two gospels give the birth story, two do not. The two that do, Matthew and Luke, hardly agree on any detail.
Matthew: Angel appears to Joseph, no census, no inn, no manger, no animals. The story of Herod's pursuit of the King of the Jews. The visit of the "wise men", no number of men, just number of gifts, and no "kings".
Luke: Angels appear to Mary, Mary's friend (not brother or uncle), and the shepherds. This is the census, trip to Bethlehem, the inn and the manger (still no animals).
Neither version lists December 25th as Jesus' birthday, probably because the calender we use today didn't exist.
The truth (remember: I whole-heartedly believe the truth of Scripture, just not the facts) we can take from the birth narratives given in the Bible is Jesus is the incarnation of God (Word, Logos, Christ) born for the salvation of the Jews and Gentiles alike, of all people, rich and poor, everybody! Matthew is very concerned with sharing the Gospel with the Hebrew people AND the Gentiles (non-Hebrew people), which is why he included the "wise men from the East", probably not of Jewish heritage. Luke is principally concerned with bringing the Gospel to the marginalized people, the poor, the women, which is why he included the shepherds and conversations between Mary and Elizabeth.
So, conclusion number one: Jesus was clearly born (we have sources outside the Bible that speak of a powerful prophet and leader named Jesus from the same time as the Bible says he lived), probably in Joseph's hometown Bethlehem, and probably not on December 25th. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the whole world, east to west, wise men to poor shepherds. (This is the belief part) Christmas is a celebration and commemoration of the power of God's grace through the incarnation.
I've been thinking about The Letdown. That moment when we wake up and realize that Christmas is over and it is, in fact, still winter.
I think the letdown is primarily because the cultural, secular Christmas season goes away. The Santas, the elves, the radio stations...it all just stops. And we've been bombarded with the Santa and Rudolph version of Christmas everywhere we go since the day after Halloween and then...it's gone. Still winter, still cold, still grey, but not Christmas.
But there's no date in the Biblical accounts of the Christmas story and there's no end to the incarnation. The incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth is not an event that happened. Just like the Christian church has taken the celebration of Easter and created symbols of the resurrection every Sunday morning (set up as "little Easters" by the early church) and really with every new sunrise, maybe it's time that we remember the birth of Jesus, and with it the incarnation, all year round. Every day you wake up as a human being, you are a celebration of the incarnation. Every second of every day that human beings walk in this world, we are connected to the kingdom of the divine through the full personhood and full divinity of Jesus.
So conclusion number two: the incarnation-not the mixture of two Biblical accounts, early Christian traditional accounts and totally fictional...um...fiction accounts-but the mystic, mysterious, infinitely powerful TRUE incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth is eternal. The inevitable letdown that comes after the Christmas season is understandable in cultural terms, but in spiritual, theological, ecclesiological (church-y) terms, it's kind of not needed.
Live your Christian, Christmas, incarnational identity every second of every day.
Merry Christmas, Brad
P.S. I was hoping I was easing into this kind of thinking, but I've already lost a reader after one essay. If you disagree, disagree. But ask me why I think the way I think and, please, understand why you believe what you believe. Also, I miss my seminary community and the conversations we had, so PLEASE guys, ENGAGE!
It is complicated to live in the space between "every word of Scripture is absolutely true" and "the Bible is bogus" during the Christmas season. On the one hand, there is no Christianity without Christmas. No faith at all. The incarnation (in-carn-ation; becoming in-fleshed) is a necessary component of the process of salvation. The incarnation is irrational. The divine becomes human-it is totally wild, but, by definition, faith has to be part irrational. On the other hand, magic stars? Pregnant virgins?
And then there's the Scripture itself. Two gospels give the birth story, two do not. The two that do, Matthew and Luke, hardly agree on any detail.
Matthew: Angel appears to Joseph, no census, no inn, no manger, no animals. The story of Herod's pursuit of the King of the Jews. The visit of the "wise men", no number of men, just number of gifts, and no "kings".
Luke: Angels appear to Mary, Mary's friend (not brother or uncle), and the shepherds. This is the census, trip to Bethlehem, the inn and the manger (still no animals).
Neither version lists December 25th as Jesus' birthday, probably because the calender we use today didn't exist.
The truth (remember: I whole-heartedly believe the truth of Scripture, just not the facts) we can take from the birth narratives given in the Bible is Jesus is the incarnation of God (Word, Logos, Christ) born for the salvation of the Jews and Gentiles alike, of all people, rich and poor, everybody! Matthew is very concerned with sharing the Gospel with the Hebrew people AND the Gentiles (non-Hebrew people), which is why he included the "wise men from the East", probably not of Jewish heritage. Luke is principally concerned with bringing the Gospel to the marginalized people, the poor, the women, which is why he included the shepherds and conversations between Mary and Elizabeth.
So, conclusion number one: Jesus was clearly born (we have sources outside the Bible that speak of a powerful prophet and leader named Jesus from the same time as the Bible says he lived), probably in Joseph's hometown Bethlehem, and probably not on December 25th. Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the whole world, east to west, wise men to poor shepherds. (This is the belief part) Christmas is a celebration and commemoration of the power of God's grace through the incarnation.
I've been thinking about The Letdown. That moment when we wake up and realize that Christmas is over and it is, in fact, still winter.
I think the letdown is primarily because the cultural, secular Christmas season goes away. The Santas, the elves, the radio stations...it all just stops. And we've been bombarded with the Santa and Rudolph version of Christmas everywhere we go since the day after Halloween and then...it's gone. Still winter, still cold, still grey, but not Christmas.
But there's no date in the Biblical accounts of the Christmas story and there's no end to the incarnation. The incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth is not an event that happened. Just like the Christian church has taken the celebration of Easter and created symbols of the resurrection every Sunday morning (set up as "little Easters" by the early church) and really with every new sunrise, maybe it's time that we remember the birth of Jesus, and with it the incarnation, all year round. Every day you wake up as a human being, you are a celebration of the incarnation. Every second of every day that human beings walk in this world, we are connected to the kingdom of the divine through the full personhood and full divinity of Jesus.
So conclusion number two: the incarnation-not the mixture of two Biblical accounts, early Christian traditional accounts and totally fictional...um...fiction accounts-but the mystic, mysterious, infinitely powerful TRUE incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth is eternal. The inevitable letdown that comes after the Christmas season is understandable in cultural terms, but in spiritual, theological, ecclesiological (church-y) terms, it's kind of not needed.
Live your Christian, Christmas, incarnational identity every second of every day.
Merry Christmas, Brad
P.S. I was hoping I was easing into this kind of thinking, but I've already lost a reader after one essay. If you disagree, disagree. But ask me why I think the way I think and, please, understand why you believe what you believe. Also, I miss my seminary community and the conversations we had, so PLEASE guys, ENGAGE!
My Motivations
I have been asked about my reasons for doing this. Both the blog in general and the specific voice of these essays. It's pretty simple.
1. To engage my mind, heart, soul and strength in something other than gas station sandwiches and heavy metal drumming.
2. To speak to the people, as I believe the thousands of people, who have rejected or are rejecting the gospel based on the thought that it's either Pat Robertson or it's not Christian.
3. To answer the couple people who I care about very much who have told me I should get back to writing.
And why a blog? Why make it so public and not just do a devotional and a journal? Because it keeps me accountable. As things stand right now, I do not have a church home. Doing these little essays will afford me the opportunity to crack open the Bible and contemplate stuff. So, even if you disagree with every word I say and think I'm a nut, if you don't see a post every week, call me on it.
Anyway, on to business...
1. To engage my mind, heart, soul and strength in something other than gas station sandwiches and heavy metal drumming.
2. To speak to the people, as I believe the thousands of people, who have rejected or are rejecting the gospel based on the thought that it's either Pat Robertson or it's not Christian.
3. To answer the couple people who I care about very much who have told me I should get back to writing.
And why a blog? Why make it so public and not just do a devotional and a journal? Because it keeps me accountable. As things stand right now, I do not have a church home. Doing these little essays will afford me the opportunity to crack open the Bible and contemplate stuff. So, even if you disagree with every word I say and think I'm a nut, if you don't see a post every week, call me on it.
Anyway, on to business...
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