Editorial - Music
THE VALUE OF MODERN CHRISTIAN MUSIC, part 1: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus..."
I was very disturbed by the divisive spirit of the article
emailed this article to me, asking for me to comment on it,
so I felt the need to address the issues individually:
The first section of the article is titled: "CHRISTIAN MUSIC
SHOULD PRAISE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, NOT MAN".
I agree 100%. If music claims to be "Christian" but glorifies
and worships man rather than God, then it is indeed NOT
Christian, but rather an abomination to the LORD God.
I would agree with the author that many of today's CCM
artists are indeed "in it" for the glory, the riches, and the
fame. However, I believe very strongly that the author of the
article is throwing out the baby with the proverbial bathwater.
One of the first statements the author makes is that
"CHRISTian means "a follower, believer of Jesus Christ".
And if it is truly Christian music, it should testify, praise and sing about the Lord Jesus Christ." This is the distinction between a "Christian band" and a "band of Christians". To qualify as a "Christian band", the primary purpose of the band must be actively Christian. A group of Christians getting together and "jamming" is not a Christian band, but rather a "band of Christians." I'll discuss further in part 2, the purposes (plural) of Christian music, because the author has really screwed this one up.
For part 1, I want to address the author's insistence that all Christian music must contain the word "Jesus". In his article, the author arbitrarily condemned certain CCM artists by name because many of their songs don't mention the word "Jesus" or "God".
The first statement is absolutely true, that "CHRISTian means "a follower, believer of Jesus Christ"; but not ALL Christian music must mention the word "Jesus". There is much more to ministering the Word of God than saying, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." If we were only to share that Jesus saves without addressing issues of life from a Christian perspective (for example MARRIAGE, RAISING CHILDREN, DEATH, SUFFERING, ALCOHOLISM, DRUGS, etc.), we would be trying to live on milk and never graduating to the meat.
In I Corinthians 3:1-3, the Apostle Paul addresses the importance of this Bible Truth:
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?"
Spiritual babies need the milk (the basics) of Christianity to build their foundation...
He continues in Hebrews 5:13-14...
"For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
Everybody knows that a toddler has to be weaned from a mother's milk to solid foods.Otherwise, he will never grow properly. Likewise, we must graduate from the spiritual milk of "Jesus loves me" to the meat of Christian doctrines. Yes, it's important for Christian music to proclaim Jesus, but there's a lot more to the Word of God than the four Gospels. Or would you have us burn the Old Testament and the New Testament from the book of Acts to Revelation? Are the red letters in the Bible the only part we need to read?
The author claims:
Michael W. Smith's album, Change Your World, has 2819 words Jesus occurs ZERO!
Michael W. Smith's album, I'll Lead You Home, has 2046 words Jesus occurs ZERO!
Michael W. Smith's album, Live the Life, has over 1100 words Jesus occurs you guessed
it ZERO!
There is NOTHING CHRISTian about Michael W. Smith's music!
First of all, this is not an accurate way of determining whether something is "Christian". For example, I submit to you some traditional hymns:
The song ROCK OF AGES has 110 words. Jesus occurs ZERO!
AMAZING GRACE has 114 words. Jesus occurs ZERO!
AT THE CROSS has 298 words. Jesus occurs ZERO!
JUST AS I AM has 124 words. Jesus occurs you gussed it ZERO!
By the author's definition, then we would have to declare that "there is nothing Christian about these hymns." Can you see the error in this logic? No? Well, the author seems to respect the hymn-writer, Fanny Crosby. Since he labeled her as "the greatest hymn writer that ever lived," let's look at some of her hymns:
REDEEMED has 111 words. The word Jesus occurs only once.
NEAR THE CROSS has 167 words. Again, Jesus occurs only once.
In BLESSED ASSURANCE, Jesus occurs only once.
PASS ME NOT has 157 words. In this beloved Fanny Crosby hymn, Jesus occurs ZERO!
I AM THINE O LORD has 254 words. In this beloved hymn written by the so-called "greatest hymn writer that ever lived," Jesus occurs you guessed it ZERO!
No, I'm not bashing Fanny Crosby or these hymns. These are wonderful Christian hymns. But the songs that the author was condemning meets the same criteria for being "Christian".
Still don't see the folly in the author's methods? Then I submit to you the Word of God itself, the Holy Bible. In the KJV, there are
In the entire King James Version of the Bible, the word "God" appears 4,787 times. In the context that there are a total of 790,691 words* in that same Bible, this shows that the word "God" is mentioned only 0.6054198163% of the time... that's ZERO point six percent... not even one percent!
In the New Testament (KJV), the word "Jesus" appears 984 times out of 180,384 words*. This is a measley 0.5455029271%. That's slightly more than half of one percent! In the Old Testament, the word "Jesus" appears ZERO times.
Does this mean that the Old Testament has any less value because it never mentions Jesus? Of course not!
Since the author of the article in question attacked and
misrepresented the music of Michael W. Smith, I thought
I'd present you with the actual facts. I don't have the
album "Change Your World," but I do have "I'll Lead You
Home" and "Live the Life". Here are some excerpts from
those albums the author has labeled as unchristian:
O Father hear my call /
I know You will catch me when I fall /
Oh I pray that You'll hold me now /
Hold me / And take my fear away /
I'm crying save me /
Oh I know that you can hear me /
Hear me crying out for love /
Oh I know that you can feel my cry for love...
- I'LL LEAD YOU HOME Track #1: "Cry for Love"
Is this Christian?
Wasn't it long ago /
Wasn't it a New England coast /
Wasn't it the standard /
People praying to the Son and the Father and the Holy Ghost /
One Nation Over God / Is that what we've now become? /
The founding fathers left a noble legacy /
To their sons and daughters /
Look at what we've done / Look at what we've done....
- I'LL LEAD YOU HOME Track #2 "Breakdown"
Is this Christian?
The third track, "AS IT IS IN HEAVEN" is his rendition of the Lord's Prayer, which is quoted directly from the Bible. Is this Christian?
EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM IS CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!
And, to offer a song from the album LIVE THE LIFE, I offer the title track:
We're passengers aboard the train /
Silent little lambs amidst the pain /
That's no longer good enough /
And when it's time to speak our faith /
We use a language no one can explain /
That's no longer good enough /
And God knows it's a shame /
'Cause if we look to pass the blame /
We are not the worthy bearers of His Name /
For the world to know the truth /
There can be no greater proof /
Than to live the life / Live the life /
There's no love that's quite as pure /
There's no pain we can't endure /
If we live the life / Live the life /
Be a light for all to see / For every act of love will set you free...
- LIVE THE LIFE Track #3 "Live the Life"
By the way, I absolutely love that song! It's message is so deep! Again, EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM IS CHRISTIAN. And the reason I chose to quote this one, rather than others on this album, is the fact that he nails it right on the head. The gentleman who wrote the article attacking this Christian musician and others is looking to pass the blame. I don't know the reason. Perhaps he is jealous or contentious. Perhaps he's run into some wolves in sheep's clothing and they've turned him off to the real deal. Or maybe he's just simply deceived and ignorant of the truth. Whatever the reason, he is wrong... dead wrong. He is attacking ministers of the Gospel and, therefore, attacking Christ Himself. Today's CCM artists are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a language the people today can understand. Sure, there are those so-called "Christian" bands who are not in it for the Gospel, but you can't burn the whole crop because of a few "bad apples."
Now, I can excuse the ignorance of sheep who have not been presented with all the facts. Anyone who would stumble across this gentleman's article, and had not actually heard the songs the author attacked, could easily be misled in ignorance. However, when presented with the actual facts, one is forced to see the truth. Ignorance is not always a valid defense, especially when it comes to your soul.
What I cannot excuse is the wolf that comes to devour the sheep. Don't be deceived by the wolves who would seek to divide and conquer the Body of Christ. The author falsified information and misrepresented the truth. I don't see how anyone who had actually listened to any of the songs on these albums could present the author's claims in an honest evaluation. His entire article not only misquoted scripture and misrepresented the Word of God and His faithful disciples, it was full of malice, guile, and strife.
I can come to only one of two conclusions: The author of the original article is either (1) a bold-faced liar and a disciple of Satan or (2) a spiritual baby who doesn't understand the Word of God. If it is the former, then I pray that Satan will lose his grip on him and his followers. If it is the latter, then I pray that they will return to the proverbial bottle lest they continue choking on the meat of God's Word. Either way, I pray that they may see the Truth and reject the Prince of Lies who is deceiving them.
"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" (I Peter 2:1-2)
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* The totals cited for the number of words in the Bible were acquired by using the King James text file and notetab lite. All chapter numbers, etc. are removed. The specific occurances of individual words were acquired by using Bible Gateway's online Bible searchtool.
