Is Christian music real???

DH"s logo is supposed to be a Demon's head with a bullet hole in it and I have no problem with their art. Shoot, some of the supposed classics of art are depictions of real life bloodshed, it's depicting life. Yes, it can go too far but let's be honest, it's a matter of opinion.

deathisgain wrote:

I've read that J.R.R. Tolkien didn't like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles, as he felt that it was too forced in the message. He felt that it should come natural in the telling. I love both the Chronicles and LOTR. I think what matters most is that their story telling is great. I feel the same with music. Lately I feel a discontent with Christian music because, it is either poorly produced or lyrically bad. And when I say bad, like they took no time to work on the lyrics. I feel like some of it becomes forced sounding.

This is where bands like Messenger get frustrated. We know that we hit that nail on the head. We know that a lot of people (in the 1000's) have heard our songs. But then we bump into people that are in our community that obviously haven't heard what we do - at least in its full depth.

I hope deathisgain hears the new album 'In To Win' soon. Because tracks like 'Take Flight', 'Blind Sided', 'Fear No Evil' all talk about the struggle we face in personal confrontation and offers real responses to those conflicts. (There's that word "real").

When I wrote the song 'Chained' for the 1st album, 'I'm Talking To You', I had no idea the response to the song's protagonist would be so far and wide! Believe me, people respond to that personal chaos story and I will continue to write these types of songs as long as God allows.
Note: Check out the song 'Roar' by Messenger   https://youtu.be/fhMBpfnN4xU

Is Christian music real? Lots of thoughts come to mind when pondering this questions, thoughts which I have thus far unsuccessfully coalesced into a good answer. So I'll just throw them up here like a Jackson Pollock painting.

- "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)


- "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands." (Psalm 100:1).


- Is the "Christian" artist ...
... seeking to glorify God or himself?

... inspiring people to seek Jesus, either as Savior (non-believers) or as Shepherd and Master (believers)?
... inspiring other Christians to worship and glorify God?


- As the listener, do I feel compelled to ...
... glorify God when hearing the song?
... worship God.
... ask for Jesus' salvation (non-believer) or leading (believer)?


- Are the lyrics of the song theologically correct? Do they stand up to biblical scrutiny? Even if they don't, or if they mostly do but miss the mark a little, was the artist deliberately off base, or does he just not know better? Is his heart in the right place?


- Is the artist a Christian? Or is God using a secular artist to speak? (Thinking of Twisted Sister's "The Beast" as I write this. )

These aren't meant to be my end-all definitive thoughts, nor do I think the answers to my questions here necessarily determine the "realness" of Christian music. They are just my thoughts, questions that come to mind from the OP's questions. In direct answer to the question: yes, Christian music is real. The proper questions, however, are ... 

- what is real about it?
- is it real to the artists?
- is it real to the listener?
- is it real to God?
- what is "real"?

For me, "real" would be this:  does the message feel forced or are they truly sharing their heart?  Are they making Christian art that the label says will sell without revealing their own doubts, fears, struggles?  Are they speaking of those struggles and seeking an answer from Jesus or showing how He already helped them?

deathisgain wrote:

I've read that J.R.R. Tolkien didn't like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles, as he felt that it was too forced in the message. He felt that it should come natural in the telling. I love both the Chronicles and LOTR. I think what matters most is that their story telling is great. I feel the same with music. Lately I feel a discontent with Christian music because, it is either poorly produced or lyrically bad. And when I say bad, like they took no time to work on the lyrics. I feel like some of it becomes forced sounding.

Lewis definitely had a point in mind when he was writing, and steered toward that point. Tolkien, OTOH, often said that the story was already written and he just "discovered" it (or something to that effect). I think both methods reach people, though in different ways at different times.

So as I've been reading this thread about whether Christian music is "real", I find myself wondering, does it matter if it is or isn't? As Jen5 has said, some of her very personal "real" songs don't resonate with others (though some do), and others of her "forced" works do resonate with others (but not with her). Does it mean the personal songs are objectively "better"? I don't think you can conclude that.

ChristTrekker wrote:

deathisgain wrote:

I've read that J.R.R. Tolkien didn't like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles, as he felt that it was too forced in the message. He felt that it should come natural in the telling. I love both the Chronicles and LOTR. I think what matters most is that their story telling is great. I feel the same with music. Lately I feel a discontent with Christian music because, it is either poorly produced or lyrically bad. And when I say bad, like they took no time to work on the lyrics. I feel like some of it becomes forced sounding.

Lewis definitely had a point in mind when he was writing, and steered toward that point. Tolkien, OTOH, often said that the story was already written and he just "discovered" it (or something to that effect). I think both methods reach people, though in different ways at different times.

So as I've been reading this thread about whether Christian music is "real", I find myself wondering, does it matter if it is or isn't? As Jen5 has said, some of her very personal "real" songs don't resonate with others (though some do), and others of her "forced" works do resonate with others (but not with her). Does it mean the personal songs are objectively "better"? I don't think you can conclude that.

So then we intentionally keep feeding forced drivel to the masses?  Isn't that sewhat like keeping people on the milk of scripture when they need meat but either don't see it or want it?

For the record, I see both sides here.  I am merely asking hard questions to try to get every angle that we can.  The truth will be somewhere in the middle.