Every Artist is a Cannibal

Via Blogs4God I found an interesting article entitled If it Looks Like an Evangelical Skunk over at The Internet Monk which discusses art and the Evangelical Christian subculture. He mentions some specific criticisms of the subculture and the art being produced from within it, but the main point I got from it is contained in the following quotes:

Christians are not obligated to approve of all that comes sprouting forth from the evangelical subculture compost heap... we have an obligation, in the name of the integrity of truth, to call a skunk a skunk, even if he is carrying a Bible and singing "As the Deer."

I think Christians should freely express their criticisms of the mediocrity and distortion that emerges from the evangelical ghetto, and not be the least ashamed to do so. If we critique ourselves, that only speaks more to our confidence in the truth. It also shows (surprise) humility to acknowledge none of us are beyond criticism. It is a general observation of mine that Christians are woefully afraid of engaging in criticism of their own sub-culture as if that meant they were criticizing Jesus. Believe me, Jesus did not come up with all that Y2K nonsense. Or the script for the Omega Code.

I certainly agree with the Monk and have occaisonally voiced my frustrations with Contemporary Christian Music in particular. Scott recently voiced a similar opinion. One of the things that bothers me about CCM is that the artistry seems to take a back seat to getting across a clear, nice, warm-fuzzy message. And the lyrics are nothing much to speak of. Most of it is the "Jesus is my girlfriend/boyfriend" type lyrics or a "don't worry, be happy" mentality. Even many of the songs that are supposedly about struggle are little more than "I made it through, and you can too." Did any of these people actually write songs when they were right in the middle of the trial, when they didn't understand what God was up to or if He was paying attention at all? Or is it just that the CCM culture will not all!
ow unanswered questions? Give me Peace on Earth by U2 any day. I can relate to that. And so could the Psalmist. The only CCM song I can think of in that vein is Silence by Jars of Clay, and I would almost guarantee it'll never be a single on Christian radio. The primary reason Jars of Clay is my favorite CCM group is because they are unafriad to be transparent, admit desperation, and cry out to God in a real way.

Posted by John Hawbaker at May 19, 2003 12:04 PM | TrackBack