mardi 28 octobre 2003
Music cont.
Wow guys, thanks for the comments you made on the music post!
While I don't listen to non-Christian music much, I would have to say that their overall quality is usually better than Christian music, which saddens me. It shows that we're being mediocre with the talents that God has given us to use for His glory. I mean, back then for example, the Sistine Chapel was an example of amazing artistic excellence to everyone who saw it. People could see the devotion and energy that Michelangelo spent in making sure that the end result looked like nothing seen on earth before - giving people a glimpse of the beauty and majesty of God. Why is it that the standards for anything Christian nowadays is so much lower than that of the world's? People aren't inspired when they see average art nor are they inspired when they hear sub-par music. A lot of Christian music nowadays simply mimic styles they've heard in the secular world and just replace them with Christian words. Why would the world want to hear anything like that? That's what their own music is for. Why can't creativity and originality play a part in Christian music then? Then it can be something new that people will want to listen to, the music, which will then lead to the life-giving and transforming power of the words in the lyrics.
That said, I do love great Christian music and I really respect the veterans who have adapted their music to the culture throughout the years to make it relevant to music listeners but as a whole, this subculture is getting too cozy with its mediocrity in music excellence.
Secondly, I agree with what Tracy said, about listening to secular music in order to understand what youth are being influenced by. I love that Youth Specialties has done stuff like "Videos That Teach", incorporating popular media into themes and ideas that you can use to help your youth learn more about God, etc. And I know that Group Magazine has articles that use recent secular music as discussion starters for kids which is a fantastic idea. It's really rare that kids will listen solely to Christian music so I'm trying to listen to more secular music so that I'll get a glimpse into their world.
Lastly, Christian music should be written about all parts of life. It's as if they've separated the sacred from the secular in their lives, which is not what God wants us to do. He wants to encompass everything in our lives! I remember hearing that some Christian radio stations wouldn't play anything by Jake because they had a few songs on their album that were about girls. Give me a break; they're guys!! Girls are obviously a big part of their life, so if they have a song or two about them, big deal! In fact, I thought it was really brave that they did that. Their music was later picked up by MuchMusic and teens could listen to positive music about how guys viewed girls rather than other stuff out there where non-Christian guys were singing about girls as sex objects or worse. Yet, some parts of the Christian world backlashed against them because their album wasn't all songs about God. Yes, God is important but it's better that these Christian artists sing about life where faith is integrated in everything they do rather than sing songs for the sake of counting how many mentions of "Jesus" were made on the album. So going from this theme, why can't Christian artists sing about pain, loss of a loved one, rape, the effects of divorce or abortion, being abused, etc.? It's as if they're denying that any of this even exists. All I'm saying is that if Christian music doesn't reflect more realistically what living as a Christian is truly like (pain as well as joy), then people aren't going to pay much attention to what they are singing about.
*Note: I am not thinking of praise and worship music when I mention Christian music in general. I love praising God (hence the title of this blog) and I am thankful for all the great songs and hymns that have been written to praise Him. When I mention Christian music, I am talking about bands that well, create music that are Christian themed or based. ie. dc Talk, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, etc.
Whoa, that was a long speel. I better go do some homework now before I post anymore and it gets even longer and harder to read! Thanks for bearing with me, you deserve an award for that :)
Libellés : media
