Lyrics and music.

What do you think about the lyrics written by Christian artists?
Are they still strong or bands are hidden the word of God?
They prefer more radio friendly songs.

There are some that are very up-front about their lyrics - like Promise Land, Mission of One, Ultimatum - and there are some that are not.  Does it bother me for some bands that aren't up-front with their stance? Not really.  If they're making music how they feel God is calling them to, then that is how they should create their music.

Where as lyrics long ago were "JESUS JESUS JESUS", today it's far and few between to hear lyrics that are sold out and strongly Christian. They're out there, but not as bold as yester-year.  
It's like a relationship with Christ - starts out strong and unashamed, then grows a bit quieter over the years... Idk, just seems that Christian lyrics today are nothing like the 80s and 90s. Maybe it's just me.

It seems like more and more of the church (at least in America) is trying to blend in with the culture, and music is following that same trend. It's often done with the premise that if we are too preachy, we alienate people. I think that thinking is 100% wrong. If we don't hold out Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we're not offering anything of value. The gospel that we're trying to take to the world is that all of us are sinners and have violated God's holy word, but that he loves us so much he made a way to be reconciled to him by sending his own son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins; and that in the resurrection, proved his victory over death and promises to raise us up at the last day. That message is almost nonexistent in most of today's "Christian" music. Today's CCM and rock seems to mostly be about God meeting our felt needs. Hard rock and heavy metal seems to be a lot of words without really saying anything that anyone could interpret as the gospel. There are exceptions, of course, but overall this is the general course of most of it. It's sad to me.

Thecracy sums up how I would like most bands to write!

I love Skillet, but the lyrics are so washout that it's difficult to work out what they're singing about.  I realise it's probably a marketing ploy by those in charge, and I'm fine with that.  But I just want bold lyrics that are clear!

I said the lyrics are bold enough and I have another opinion which is...

What is the intent of the song/band?  Must all "Christian" songs be worship songs?  Must they all be for evangelical purposes?  Is the Christian music scene any different from the church proper in that there are many different parts of the body?  My answer to those questions would be 'no.'  Is it wrong for Christians to use their musical gifts to encourage other Christians?  Or sing about life experiences?

I am very grateful for bands like Theocracy who are extremely bold in their lyrics and would love for more bands to be that way.  But at the same time, I really appreciate bands that sing about the many other facets of God, our relationship with Him, life, and such too.  For example, Aletheian.  They have lyrics such as this which are extremely bold:

Aletheian wrote:

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, go with you.
There is great power that makes all things new,
the blood of the eternal covenant through which God raised the Lord Christ Jesus from death.
Therefore, give honor, thanks, and praise to the glory of the Father and the Son.
Go forth in the certainty of faith, in the knowledge of love, and in the vision of hope;
and may God work in you what is pleasing to Him,
through Christ Jesus, to whom be the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

But also songs such as this:

Aletheian wrote:

(An unobtrusive observation from the outside, of the steady degradation of blossoming life.)

All consumed with fire, raging on the injustice defiling this home, the devastation is two-fold. Malevolent darkness upstaged by the beauty of innocent eyes and radiant smiles. Actuality saps the luster from my life, degenerative secret leaves my eyes vacant and dull. All that I am I offer in absolution, my blood to mark the door that this shadow of death may pass over. My lots cast back, not my place to absolve. Limited by knowledge to just watch this horror unfold, lamentation waits for a breakthrough.

How can I mourn for your plight when your persistent fervor testifies that you’re determined to fight? The bravery of your endurance of hope shows strength far exceeding the faith I’ve failed to hold. This bitter contempt constricting my path, I’ve never observed in your embrace of fate. I pray that your peace and vibrancy of life will live on through mine in your absence.

This song is about two children the band knew who had a degenerative disease that would kill them before they ever reached adulthood.  Their faith, acceptance, and strength was a huge influence and inspiration on the band.  As a "Christian band," should Aletheian not have written that song???  I certainly don't think so!  Is it not bold enough?  Not enough JPM?

Back to the church body metaphor, would it make sense for churches to only sing worship songs, do alter-calls for salvation, and sing more worship songs?  Is God only there to worship and not have a relationship with?  Because with statements such as "Christian bands' lyrics aren't bold enough" seems to imply that the only purpose for "Christian music" is to worship and evangelize.  Maybe I'm drawing conclusions that I shouldn't but that's what it seems to me.  What about the cerebral, emotional, and theological aspects of knowing Him?  What about encouraging others through music?

Maybe I just totally misunderstood the topic of this discussion, but those are some of my thoughts anyways...

I agree ^ I just think it's "different" now.  
I came to faith just when Contemporary Christian music began to explode. Seemed the majority of 80s and early 90s bands were very vocal about their faith. That's a good thing. While many other bands out of the Church were expressing themselves in prose or from a POV that the world is ugly, depressing. That's also a good thing. 
The difference I see in today's lyrics is the majority are into prose, vague, dark/light lyrics, compared to a small amount of bands that are bold and full of JPMs. Nothing wrong with it in general, as music is to be enjoyed. If someone wants lots of JPMs, praise and worship is a huge market still. 
I think a lot of things factor in here. First, we know that the road to redemption is not heavily traveled, meaning, a lot of bands signing onto Christian labels, are not Christian, or not ALL Christians. Second, labels are pushing artists to cross-over... face it, it's a business and the artists are workers who would like to be paid more (that's not to mention the many believers who barely get by financially and don't compromise their lyrics -They're out there). Third, the Bible says as time marches on, people will fall away and things will get watered down (or straight up denied).

I think a lot of bands that want to be a Christian band these days are coming out of different backgrounds with different levels of beliefs - face it, this isn't just a symptom in music, churches today are watering down things and becoming more accepting of worldly things such as homosexuality and abortion... this confuses a lot of believers.  A lot of the Black and White thought that was big in the 70s, 80s and 90s began to dissipate in the late 90s.

I think the lyrics of the 80's and 90's were more bold than some lyrics are now.
There still are bands who write strong lyrics and it shows they are a Christian band.
Mission Of One is one of those bands.
Maybe the Christian music is changing??

After walking with Christ for a short 25 years, I watched SO many drift from hardcore Christianity to a complacency and even seen many wander away from the faith. I've seen churches water down the message and exalt "building funds", I've seen the church go from intolerant of sin to embracing many sins, going from "Black and White" on issues in Scripture to 666 shades of grey (made that one up myself     )... But in all seriousness, my self included, we need to get back to the basics, be more black and white on our Foundational Truths, and take those "Not of This World" stickers OFF our $60,000 Trucks.  

Preach it brotha'!

I've been wanting to comment for a few days, but have been extremely busy.  Here are my thoughts.

Yes, bands in the 80's and 90's were "bolder" in their message. I think this had to do with the fact that pretty much every band was an "evangelical" band. Most songs addressed the message of the cross in some way or another due to it's being geared toward the secular market. Today, there is more of a "Christian entertainment" factor as there is a large market for it. Those of us who became Christians years ago still listen to this style, but we know that "Jesus Saves" is the beginning,  not the end. The principles of Christian living can be expressed in ways that might not be needing the salvation message. Compassion,  commitment,  forgiveness, kindness are all Godly principles that can be expressed to speak into lives and help people. 

Having said all that,  I also agree that some bands aren't very bold, almost ashamed of their faith. We have to let God deal with them. Either way, I would still prefer less bold bands to the the very bold garbage that comes from some bands.

 

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Today, there is more of a "Christian entertainment" factor as there is a large market for it.

That's true, and I'm thankful for that.

I think that bands and artists used to be more upfront and bold.  These newer bands, well, not so much.

There are a couple of factors that play into this:

1.  THE LABELS.  Many years ago, most of the labels were owned by Christians.  Today, they are mostly owned by the secular labels who just want to sell product.  They sign artists who are willing to surf the line between the Christian and non-Christian markets.  It's a money making thing for the labels, not ministry.

2.  THE ENTERTAINMENT FACTOR.  Many Christians and artists want everything to be a great show for you and so they design everything to look and sound almost the same as their secular counterparts.  You have to ascribe any spiritual weight to many of the lyrics and decide what they are about.  It's just a show.

3.THE STATE OF WESTERNIZED CHRISTIANITY.  As the church slides more and more into this lackadaisical apathetic state, we just accept whatever is thrown at us.  We don't want to do ministry, share the gospel with people because of fear, and rarely have encounters with the Lord.  We don't read our Bibles, pray, attend church, etc., but we want to wear the "Christian" tag.  It makes us comfortable.  It has infected the local church member, the corporate church (all denominations), our pulpits and pastors, and also the artistic realm.  Until a massive revival breaks throughout Christianity, we are going to see more and more of this as we move closer to the End.

^^Well said.

Paul encourages us in his letter to the Ephesians to "be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;"  Therefore I think our lyrics need to be upfront.  I don't have a problem with allegory or a song that's just fun but as believers in music our message needs to be clear.


I believe come Judgement Day that musicians are going to be held up to the same standard as teachers.

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I believe come Judgement Day that musicians are going to be held up to the same standard as teachers.

I've always thought the same thing, since they're up on a stage with a huge audience listening to their "teachings" in lyrics. Sure, people enjoy the music, but a message is given in every song, Christian, secular or any other philosophical ideas... so in a sense, bands are like preacher/teachers and the audience is like a congregation of followers.
I think if more artists took this to heart, they may be more careful with their writing.

I love to read your posts about lyrics and music.

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

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I believe come Judgement Day that musicians are going to be held up to the same standard as teachers.

I've always thought the same thing, since they're up on a stage with a huge audience listening to their "teachings" in lyrics. Sure, people enjoy the music, but a message is given in every song, Christian, secular or any other philosophical ideas... so in a sense, bands are like preacher/teachers and the audience is like a congregation of followers.
I think if more artists took this to heart, they may be more careful with their writing.

To be honest, I think that ALL CHRISTIANS will be held to the same standard.  Why?  We are ALL teachers and preachers and pastors.  The people that God puts in our lives are our congregation, so to speak, and we are responsible for living our lives in a manner where we get to share the Word of God with them.  We will be the street preachers who affect the lives of the people we encounter just as much, if not more, than many pastors.  This thought scares me as it shows that I do pretty good when I am at work (in the church) and I suck royally when I am away.

I think lyrics and Christian music are used by God to show people the truth about Him.

I have found that bands that are on Independent labels tend to be bolder lyrically than bands who are on mainstream labels