Comments on: Why I don’t like Christian music

By: Mark Banks

Mark Banks — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:47:55 +0000

I like and collect Kombi’s. But I also love Jesus.
Does that mean I collect ‘Christian Kombi’s’?

C’mon man, we all know the first believers in the New Testament were nicknamed Christians but today that word means so many different things to so many different people.

I write and record my own songs and have started to share them on my blog, but it’s not ‘Christian Music’ any more than you can have a ‘Christian School’ or a ‘Christian Kombi’. Its just songs written by a bloke that loves Jesus and wants to share the inspiration and hope He brings with others.

Maybe you are just getting hung up on the CCM label?

By: jamie

jamie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:50:34 +0000

i have to agree when it comes to christian music, strangely enough, i am a catholic, i don’t know what it is, but it seems to make me feel awkward when i hear someone under the title of christian music.
i agree with you 100% on the fact that christ should not be made into a sub culture of everything. but i must say that i do admire when a person is christian, and doesn’t make christian music. makes a song dedicated to god and christ, especially if through out their life they have struggled greatly. one song in particular being by dmx
its called lord give me a sign. this man grew up in group homes, was a thug, had an extremely rough life, and describes his brutal lifestyle through his music, but you can see that he always makes room for god.
it just seems real to me, when someone can do that, after a life full of sin. the words said actually have value and emotion, rather than being just words by themselves. i’d just like to add, that alot of christian music seems to have a very western pre-school sound. i dont like that.
god is love i know thats the message, but what about the music for adults aswell?!

By: April

April — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:31:14 +0000

Sorry, but you are so wrong. I’m a christian and I wear jeans and tank tops to church. I listen to christian and secular “normal” music. My favorite band is Staind! I read non christian and christian books. I hate the organ and I hate the movie passion of the christ and left behind. My favorite movies are a variety like The Princess Bride, Star Wars, and X-files. X-Files is my favorite show! Yet, I am a christian. Maybe you have just not been to a truly christian church. Unfortunetly there are many out there where there are many hypocrits. My church doesn’t play boring old put you to sleep hyms ( though there’s nothing wrong with that) but plays upbeat songs with electric guitars and every thing! And the music is played from the heart. Not everyone is a pessimist and feels he has to curse god all the time. Some actually like to be optimistic and praise him. Nothing wrong with that.

By: Jabes

Jabes — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:18:08 +0000

“What happens to that person who goes down the checklist of things they’ve changed in their lives and yet they are still struggling? Their experience is telling them something is wrong. That’s where the disaster happens. They have put their faith in externals and not the essential aspects of faith in Christ. ”

This stood out to me while I was reading the comments.
All I can say is: AMEN! That’s my life right there. So many Christians have “checklists” for their Christian walk, but it just felt pointless. Like Paul said, “I was the Jewish of the Jews…but I count it all lost” compared to Christ. It’s not the externals but the internal and Eternal.

Truly, God bless you for this incredible blog. I have learned so much and God has challenged me to think. May God bless you!

Jabes

By: rm

rm — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:20:24 +0000

I haven’t read the whole article and I haven’t read the comments, but you already contradicted yourself in the second paragraph. U2 and Lifehouse may not have a Christian Label however must not listen to their lyrics dude. Um…. both proclaim Christ. For a Christian to claim that they don’t listen to Christian music and worship our King, it’s people like you that give us a bad rap and call us hypocrites. you get no sympathy from me. what do you think Christ will say to you when you reach his throne? …. and all awhile all you can do is bow is in glory/

By: Eric Stephens

Eric Stephens — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:26:35 +0000

The whole sub-culture thread in your post speaks volumes of truth. While our hearts must be separate/consecrated towards Christ, we as individuals have never been called to create a Christian ghetto. I imagine my life a few years ago when it was Christian everything. School, church, even the Boy Scout troop.

And what makes music Christian anyway???

By: Not to bring this back up, but . . . : The Submerging Influence

Not to bring this back up, but . . . : The Submerging Influence — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 04:55:48 +0000

[...] would seem that someone agrees with me about the current state of contemporary Christian [...]

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:33:19 +0000

Hey Michael,

I just stumbled across this entry and thought you might enjoy this video: http://www.revveduptv.com/?p=8

A kindred brother who has very similar feelings toward Christian music.

By: C Michael Patton

C Michael Patton — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:25:46 +0000

Well, one thing you are right about is that this is obviously a hot topic. I certainly did not expect to receive this type of response.

My intention with this post was to say something that needed to be said and use overstatement to do so. I agree with you that not all Christian music is bad and, most certainly, not all secular music is bad. My main point in the end is that we need to be careful with the creation of any sub-culture that either keeps Christians from engaging in and enjoying the world or makes the world feel as if in order to be Christian you have to listen to this type of music.

As a parent, I applaud your desire to protect your children and encourage you to continue. At the same time, I hope that we don’t make our children buy into this sub-culture mentality that makes them unable to discern what is truly evil and keeps them from having a sincere and relevant witness.

Thanks for the post and the interest. Maybe we can do this again as I continue to ponder what you and others have said.

I hope you continue to post!

By: Andreadavisphd

Andreadavisphd — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:03:00 +0000

I see the good in your critique but really disagree. The same problem with rejecting non-Christian music resides in rejecting Christian music because it creates a sub-culture of insincerity. What we need is Christian music which is authentic and sincere. Have you heard Brian Webb? Sara Groves? Chris Rice? Derek Webb? or others who try to be honest in their Christian music?
I think we need a subculture of Christian music because as a parent of young teens, I am concerned about the vulnerability of teens to the parenting-via-pop-culture phenomenon so prevalent. I am glad that I became a Christian at age 11 and could choose an inspiring/reorienting sub-culture to raise me spiritually in contrast to the in-my-face pop-culture inadequate values which also raised me…….
Alternatively, I just spent a bunch of time and money to take my teen to a Christian rock concert of 4 bands in Rock the Boat at Universal Studios amphitheatre and it was almost not worth it because we couldn’t hear any of the words at all, so while it was interesting, our faith was not strengthened by the message because we couldn’t hear it, and some of the bands were indistinguishable from other bands in their lyrics……
Would you please find some contemporary Christian music you think is really helpful/corrective/prophetic/inspiring and share it with us on your blog and have us discuss that stuff. So we know what we are critiquing. Saying we don’t like Christian music is almost as specific as saying we don’t like non-Christian music…….Your post on this issue got me fired up enough to register and respond, so……this is a hot topic.