Why Should Conservative Evangelicals Have All the Bad Music?
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Apparently this is not a parody of Emergent but real:
HT: Reclaiming the Mind
And just so I'm not accused of being unfair here, the following lyrics from a hit Point of Grace song are simply theologically incoherent:
HT: Reclaiming the Mind
And just so I'm not accused of being unfair here, the following lyrics from a hit Point of Grace song are simply theologically incoherent:
So give to the needy and Pray for the grievingIf you can figure that out, let me know!
Even when you don’t think that you can
Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
And make peace with God and Make peace with yourself
Oh yeah
Cause in the end there’s nobody else
posted by JT at Thursday, April 03, 2008
36 Comments:
Haha...while I appreciate the intentions behind it, hard not laugh at some of that. At the same time...it's also kind of sad.
You are mean
Todd likes POG
Incoherence - who cares?
That "prose" following a post from GKC is the ultimate in contrast.
Not everyone can live up to Keith Green, JT.
Can you still play the prodigal son suite?
My goodness, that was awful. I had to Rick Roll myself just to cleanse the palate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU&fmt=7
I thought the point was to win people by being culturally relevant. What culture is this garbage appealing to? Is "People with ruptured eardrums" a distinct people group, missiologically speaking?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3AdFA6WWJ7E
"I don't believe like them" repeated over and over. I could not help but think of the prayer in the temple. "Thank you Lord I am not like other men..." Not Christ mentioned. Just a generic deity and how they differ from others not like them.
Rather, it is just Christ who makes us to differ, not our faith, not our good will, nor our praxis. Jesus Christ is our salvation.
Forgive me guys, I'm not trying to sound stupid, but what's the big deal with this song? Is it just that the music isn't very good (which it isn't)? Or, are y'all laughing at the lyrics? To me, the lyrics didn't seem real controversial or crazy. Maybe a little weird, but not terrible. I wouldn't have listened to this song and thought, AGENDA, or EMERGENT. Am I just missing something? For real, I'm not being funny, could someone explain what is wrong with this song. I'd appreciate it. If you want, email me at riley.mac.byers@gmail.com. Thanks!
this is why I can't listen to main-stream christian music; it's just like going into Lifeway for me...there's no truth, no Gospel
I don't know what to say to this. Its a very peculiar music style, which I guess you can't really rail against since music is an art. Incidentally it does sound like 60's counter-culture hippie music, but to each his own. I can't imagine it being considered worship music.
The lyrics are certainly strange. The one issue I have with the lyrics theologically is the part where he says, "I'm an atheist when it comes to the view of a chosen few..."
Watch out world, JT's coming out with guns blazing.
It never occurred to me that "mystery" and "history" rhyme. Brilliant.
LOL
...I'll give 'em an "E" for Effort.
-gato-
That's wretched music, for sure, but I don't see much wrong with the lyrics. I can pretty much affirm that I don't believe what they don't believe. Sure, it's not the gospel but not every hymn is, either.
Speaking purely from a musical standpoint, would you rather listen to this song for the Free Will Song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrczyFvkv8Q
Some (on other sites) are blasting this song for being "anti-Islamic." I am sure that is not the intent, but perhaps the Emergent folks are discovering how difficult it is to be always "Politically Correct", a lesson many of us learned a long time ago.
Dan Erickson
"Because it’s not who you knew and it’s not what you did It’s how you Live."
This is the saddest and most doctrinally inconsistent part of the entire song. The fact of the matter is that on that day, it does matter who you know. I thought I was off my rocker for thinking the song was inconsistent and not doctrinally sound the first time I heard it but now I feel better that I am not the only one who see it that way. Thanks for the relief.
Great use of the Papyrus font. Although I'm a little confused, isn't it prerequisite to have a mac to be emergent.
This is hilarious...and so was the "Free Will" song. I like the hippie music better though :)
And the POG song...this line is great:
"Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you." I guess they live by karma. Good for them.
Oh, my gosh.
We were making fun of this kind of drek back in the '70's. It was passé, even then.
All Hail the Edgeless god
Sad. Sorry. Pretty bad.
I don't believe there's a God if God is such and such.
Sad.
Bad CCM? Here's a purgatorio worthy piece!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwtUTFmfMkE&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kpCvzgnfxI&feature=related
I had to turn it off when my ears started to bleed.
If the writers/performers of this song came across this post, I'm not sure that their impression would be that they were being treated with love. If there's something really off here that needs to be addressed for warning purposes, there's certainly a place for that. But what's the value of just making fun? If we're really closer to the truth than they, shouldn't that be expressed in greater love?
I'm not trying to cause trouble, just trying to run this through Eph 4:29.
I am not even going to comment on the video. It's just bad music - and a bad attempt at having "artsy lyrics".
However, I find the POG song a little more disturbing. I work in Mongolia among a Buddhist culture - and honestly there is absolutely NO difference between the POG lyrics and Buddhist theology. If you read those lyrics with Christian theological filter, they make no sense. However, if you read those lyrics from a Buddhist perspective they make perfect sense. It seems convoluted to us (or hopefully they do), but Buddhist theology by nature is convoluted. This is just good Buddhism. It's good works and Kharma.
I have never heard this song - nor do a I get much of a chance to listen to newer Christian Music - I am a bit "out of the loop" over here. However, if this song is typical, I suppose I am not missing much. It is disturbing to me that this stuff gets passed off as good Christian music, when in reality is simply bad Buddhist music.
"So give to the needy and Pray for the grieving"
Ok, that's fine
"Even when you don’t think that you can"
Lots of times we don't think we can, because we don't want to stretch.
"Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you"
Sounds like Ecclesiates. Or sowing in hope of a harvest to come. Biblical idea.
"So think of your fellow man"
Sure. Good stuff
"And make peace with God and Make peace with yourself"
I guess "peace with yourself" sounds iffy? Why? Is it better NOT to be at peace personally?
"Oh yeah"
Incoherent?
"Cause in the end there’s nobody else"
Nobody else but God? God and yourself? The latter is bad, but I can get the other one as overstatement.
So what's incoherent, Justin?
pduggie:
Do you really think it makes sense to say "make peace with (1) God and (2) with yourself," cause there's nobody else?
JT
@pduggie Please don't tell me that you actually think these lyrics are good...? I mean apart from the sordid theology - it's just bad lyric writing.
No, the lyrics aren't very good poetry.
"there's NOBODY else"?
Yes that's not entirely clear/lucid. But that's the last of the lines. The rest of it makes sense. Two lines of 7.
It may even be that he means to say
Think of 1) fellow man. Make peace with 2) God and 3) yourself.
There's nobody else (than those three). Of course, that's kind-of a pointless point: There's nobody else except everybody.
Or maybe it's just filler.
Do people actually use such a song in worship?
there's this girl I know who writes good songs and sings/plays guitar, you should check her out!
:-)
my music on myspace
That song was written and recorded (the version posted above) by none other than Brian McLaren himself. I actually kinda like the IDEA behind it: we are ALL Atheists regarding some picture of God.
I most enjoyed the medieval-sounding trumpets in that. It reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Sorry, but that was terrible music.
"I can't believe what they believe, but I believer in you".
Seems to me they just "won't" believe, not that they can't.
I hope he keeps it up. That way this emergent thing will deflate faster and we can move on to whatever is next on the crap-tastic evangelical conveyor belt.
"I actually kinda like the IDEA behind it: we are ALL Atheists regarding some picture of God."
Ummmm.no, actually we're not. Big difference between being untaught as a believer and being taught and refusing to believe...BIG DIFFERENCE.
I wish he'd do a new song, something like "I'm An Apostate".
That'd go over well...
I find it interesting that a movement that has been defined by not defining their beliefs and wanting to be "open minded" for "conversation" comes out with a song alienating themselves from several "beliefs" but still says nothing substantial about themselves... and THEN expect for the song to spark a revolution of hope (or whatever it was) where everything must change.
Change to what? Making sure everyone doesn't believe certain things but give them nothing to believe other than "God is Creator," which all Christians already believe?
Seems like they're singing in circles...
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