Bands With Reformed Theology

What about Mormon bands?
I know a guy who moved to Idaho about a year ago and is likely to convert.

Staybrite wrote:What about Mormon bands?
I know a guy who moved to Idaho about a year ago and is likely to convert.

Hey what a coincidence I moved to Idaho around that time too.  Give me his name and I'll go smack some sense into him.  

Kerrick wrote:

Staybrite wrote:What about Mormon bands?
I know a guy who moved to Idaho about a year ago and is likely to convert.

Hey what a coincidence I moved to Idaho around that time too.  Give me his name and I'll go smack some sense into him.  

Hey, there you are!   (sorry, couldn't help myself)

Markus1987 wrote:

Andreas89 wrote:Gloriam Dei showcases really good theology, but when it comes to denomination I think they are lutheran.

You are absolutely right. Actually there is two priests in the band, guitarist Jarmo and their keyboardist and main songwriter Johannes.

I'm listening to them now on youtube and they sound very good.  Do you know if they released their album on CD or only digitally?  Also, do you know if their lyrics are available online to read?  Thanks!

Kerrick wrote:

I'm listening to them now on youtube and they sound very good.  Do you know if they released their album on CD or only digitally?  Also, do you know if their lyrics are available online to read?  Thanks!

Since Andreas and Markus are probably asleep now, I am designating myself the Finnish metal ambassador for today, lol 

CD's of "The Covenant" were only released independently, but like with Ancient Prophecy, they are only available from the band.

This is from the band's Facebook page, although it is from a few years ago:

"Now you can buy our cds digital copy in itunes or amazon.  But if you want physical CD you can order it direct for us. Send message to gloriamdeimetal@gmail.com tell your name, address and how many cds you want order."

And they also posted some of the lyrics on their FB page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GloriamDeiMusic/photos/?tab=album&album_id=267806896684837&ref=page_internal

Let us know how much for CD's if you contact them....

Oh awesome; thank you!  I'll check out the lyrics but upon a very brief glance, they look great.  I'll let you know if I try to order a CD.  Money's on the tighter side these days but if/when I order one, I'll definitely let y'all know.

Divine Symphony

alldatndensum wrote:There will always be more "isms" to divide the body of Christ as we argue over who is most/least correct as we all believe our interpretation came from the heart and mind of God.

This is really my concern with this topic.  Not necessarily reformed metal vs not reformed metal, but "Christian metal" vs "Christian theology metal".  Its just a preheat to the "more divide" oven.

I think its slim pickings as is with having someone 1) Christian 2) who can write music 3) its metal 4) has the funds for studio time ...and now 5) should have a theology degree for appropriate and accurate lyrics.  Gone would be the days of "is this a Christian band?" and the answer is yes or no.  Coming are the days of "Is this eroiuoist powieroubologist twice removed from auvonwugonthlism metal?  I'm looking for poierfquentologist with flambampology precursors to progkclmostist wonskestromeranifarianism metal instead".

Yes, those -ists, -isms and -ologies I just used are complete bunk.  I hate to say it, but I really don't like how closed and rhetorical most of these real ones are.  By closed I mean, if concepts A, B, C were coined into Ism-A, then if someone aligns with A, B, C and also D, the Ism-A folks always have a pile of "nope" to that, so then now A, B, C, D must be called Ism-B.  As for the rhetorical elements, in 2014, there were like 230 some -isms/ists that had been coined.  As of May 2020, there's over 450 of them.

I certainly don't want to insinuate that theology or the isms and ists are bad, or that folks shouldn't try to "understand God better", but way too many times over the years, what was first presented as "theology" to me, ended up actually being straight up sectarianism with elitist scholasticism instead.  (and I didn't make those last ists/isms up)

I don't think Christians should measure having a better faith, around having a better education than some layman who isn't as hip with the terminology.  "Oh you had to Google what millenarianism is?  Why don't you even know what you believe?
Well you need to git gud and "know God" better."  (I changed some details, but I kid you not, I had this type of interaction with a pastor online a few months ago.  I couldn't fire them from the conversation fast enough.)

As already stated in this thread, I also think its silly so many Christian extreme bands are about killing demons.  ...but I would take that, or simple "God is Good" type lyrics any day, over a tracklist of theological tryhard linguistics, tailored to a sect within a sect within a denomination within the Christian religion.

Hate to break it to you but your whole post is doing what say you don't like. Face it, you can't get away from it. 

I hate to break it to you, but saying my post is doing what I don't like, is like saying that tolerance is being intolerant of intolerance.

Eh, I'm not trying to fight.

I'm not trying to fight either.

Sorry, I disagree that pushing back to being judged is the same as being pushy with judging others.

Just venting annoyance and concern over what I've experienced through various interactions online, without wanting to blame anyone.

I'd like nothing better than being brothers and sisters in Christ, as enough to fellowship in the faith without contention.

CrimsonWarrior wrote:

Pro-Zak wrote:

Kerrick wrote:^True, but even in the most central/core aspects of Christianity, those nuances can be at the forefront.  For example, a song about getting saved would very possibly at least mention either God doing the saving or from one's own free will.  Likewise, warnings to prevent actions that might lead to losing one's salvation could make a pretty "metal" song if you're of the Arminian persuasion.

For me personally, I listen to a pretty broad spectrum of Christian bands, but of course I enjoy and am edified most by lyrics that match with my understanding of what is most correct theologically.

Why does it always have to be either or w/you people? As if the two are opposed to each other.

No one within the realm of orthodoxy is claiming that man does the work of salvation all on his own, and God does none of it. It's really just monergism vs. synergism - is the work of salvation God's and God's alone, or is it cooperation between God and man? Calvinism is the former, and Arminianism the latter. I remember seeing a quote that went something along the lines of "the only thing you contribute to your salvation is the sin that made it necessary." That's Reformed monergism in a nutshell. God chose a subset of humanity to save from sin before He even laid the foundation of the world. Jesus died to pay the penalty for all of their sins and rose for their justification, and God, through His sovereign control over the world, brings the gospel to them and gives them faith and saves them and adopts them as His own children. He sanctifies them and conforms them to the image of Christ, and ensures that not one of His sheep will be lost. This doesn't mean that we are to idly sit by, of course, but we humbly recognize that we did nothing of ourselves to earn God's favor or even initiate it - we would never have turned to Him if he hadn't regenerated us first. And so now we kill sin and resist the world, the flesh, and the devil, and seek to bring the gospel to others, that by God's grace they may repent and believe upon Jesus Christ.

That is a fantastic breakdown! I'm Reformed, Calvinist, whatever you want to call it, but this paragraph breaks my view down nearly pitch perfectly. I may have to steal that.

ThomasEversole wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:There will always be more "isms" to divide the body of Christ as we argue over who is most/least correct as we all believe our interpretation came from the heart and mind of God.

This is really my concern with this topic.  Not necessarily reformed metal vs not reformed metal, but "Christian metal" vs "Christian theology metal".  Its just a preheat to the "more divide" oven.

[gotta cut the text for brevity]

I 100% get that frustration, but you should try to understand where the desire for a "theological safe haven" in one's preferred style of music is coming from. Sometimes people just want to sit back and relax, and listen to their favourite music while being able to let their guard down. But there's certainly something to say for keeping yourself in a situation where you keep your critical thinking activated

Andreas89 wrote:But there's certainly something to say for keeping yourself in a situation where you keep your critical thinking activated

I work Sundays and other days, so getting to church is a bit of a barrier for me.  I'm a bit of a recluse, even more-so due to this plague.  Its not quite my intention to put myself in the disagreement pit to sharpen my wits...

I refuse to give up on Christianity online because that's about the only fellowship option I have right now.  Misanthropy is also a helluva mindset, so I don't want to blanket stereotype "online Christians" just because of my experience.  As a bit of a nomad to various online Christian communities, I'm truly saddened that I haven't encountered more joy in the Lord, loving God and each other.  Even teaching, which I'm more than willing to listen to other's doctrinal/denominational conclusions - not with the intent to enter to disagree - but to try to learn more about God.

Unfortunately, too many folks want to make it about comparing -ist sizes to see who's is bigger, and rubbing -isms together to start a fire so they can keep their education warm.  Then there's the "its ok to judge Trump because he's a white supremacist" Christians which also seem to be growing in number... (or its the same number of folks and they've gotten a lot louder lately, I can't quite tell...)

Oh goodness... this thread was simply for people of like-minded understandings of Scripture to discover bands whose lyrics they'll resonate with and be edified by more.

So instead of debating theology in this thread, let's continue it here.

(Good heavens, did he just re-open the Theology Realm?!?  Is he totally mad?!?  Probably, but let's see how it goes since these discussions here have been quite civil and this is important stuff!)

Kerrick wrote:
(Good heavens, did he just re-open the Theology Realm?!?  Is he totally mad?!?  Probably, but let's see how it goes since these discussions here have been quite civil and this is important stuff!)

Follower of Jesus wrote:

CrimsonWarrior wrote:

Pro-Zak wrote:

Kerrick wrote:^True, but even in the most central/core aspects of Christianity, those nuances can be at the forefront.  For example, a song about getting saved would very possibly at least mention either God doing the saving or from one's own free will.  Likewise, warnings to prevent actions that might lead to losing one's salvation could make a pretty "metal" song if you're of the Arminian persuasion.

For me personally, I listen to a pretty broad spectrum of Christian bands, but of course I enjoy and am edified most by lyrics that match with my understanding of what is most correct theologically.

Why does it always have to be either or w/you people? As if the two are opposed to each other.

No one within the realm of orthodoxy is claiming that man does the work of salvation all on his own, and God does none of it. It's really just monergism vs. synergism - is the work of salvation God's and God's alone, or is it cooperation between God and man? Calvinism is the former, and Arminianism the latter. I remember seeing a quote that went something along the lines of "the only thing you contribute to your salvation is the sin that made it necessary." That's Reformed monergism in a nutshell. God chose a subset of humanity to save from sin before He even laid the foundation of the world. Jesus died to pay the penalty for all of their sins and rose for their justification, and God, through His sovereign control over the world, brings the gospel to them and gives them faith and saves them and adopts them as His own children. He sanctifies them and conforms them to the image of Christ, and ensures that not one of His sheep will be lost. This doesn't mean that we are to idly sit by, of course, but we humbly recognize that we did nothing of ourselves to earn God's favor or even initiate it - we would never have turned to Him if he hadn't regenerated us first. And so now we kill sin and resist the world, the flesh, and the devil, and seek to bring the gospel to others, that by God's grace they may repent and believe upon Jesus Christ.

That is a fantastic breakdown! I'm Reformed, Calvinist, whatever you want to call it, but this paragraph breaks my view down nearly pitch perfectly. I may have to steal that.

Thanks, but I would modify it slightly. I wasn't clear enough that Calvinism is a form of monergism, and Arminianism of synergism. The way I originally phrased it made it sound like each of those are pairs of synonyms, but really they are each members of different categories.

I'm not totally familiar with the different theological viewpoints. I am Pentecostal but I take the authority of the Bible over any denominational or theological world view. Here are some of the things I believe:

1. The trinity, one God in 3 persons and Jesus being the physical representation of God with all 3 have a role in salvation.
2. God wants all to come to salvation even though through history many have and will reject him of their choosing. I don't believe Good chooses who will be saved as that negates the free will of people to accept Christ. Because God is Love his nature leaves it up to us to choose him.
3. Salvation is not earned but freely given. Once we are saved we are justified in Christ by double imputation. He takes our sins and he imputes in us his righteousness. As a person grows as a Christian he is sanctified more each day as he grows in Christ. 
4. Christ lived on earth and fulfilled the whole Old Testament Law for us on our behalf so we won't have to. He had to do this as the perfect lamb for the sacrifice even though he was sinless. 
5. All scripture is equally inspired but not equally applicable to our daily lives. Many of the sacrificial and ceremonial laws of the Old Testament don't apply to us today but its good to be familiar as they are a foreshadowing of what Christ did. 
6. The death and resurrection of Christ was both retroactive, current and proactive and affected everyone form Adam to the last person born.
7. If a person has never heard about the gospel, God or have as much knowledge as us they can still be saved. In the Bible, I'm not sure what verse, but it says he has written eternity in their hearts and he has appointed people to live in certain areas so all can be reached. Basically, everyone will or will have the potential or opportunity to respond to some form of salvation based on what they know. God also uses creation, dreams and visions, angelic messengers and their conscious as well. Missionaries are still needed as well. 

I don't want to start a debate with what I said and I can't determine what bands have these same views. As a spin off of this thread are songs that are deep lyrically that there can be an apologetics discussion on these songs like:

2000 Years - Barren Cross
The Reign Comes Down - Holy Soldier
Creed - Petra

If someone goes to a church because of a specific theological view, what is so crazy about wanting that theology reflected in your personal music that you listen to ?

What I have found in a lot of bands or artist that personally believe in Reformed theology, is a certain approach to the lyrics. What i mean is that they have a very high standard for scripture that is reflected in thier songs. A big theme within most Reformed artists is the sovereignty of God and that God is in control of everything. Kind of like when RC Sproul said that there is not one single molecule that is not under the authority of God. In general, a worldview that is truly informed by the Bible. If you want two good examples of a Reformed view reflected in the lyrics would be old Tourniquet and the OC Supertones. They may not have a song about " calvinism "  per se, but you could tell thier lyrics were not the typical christian fare.

That said, I can point you to lots of non metal music that is Reformed, but not much metal. The main song writer from Becoming The Achetype is a Calvinist. But other than what has already been mentioned, I cant think of too much more.

^Is Skillet metal? They have James White as their official theologian these days

Andreas89 wrote:^Is Skillet metal? They have James White as their official theologian these days

No. Not to me. But, im sure lots of elderly people might think they are.

I am Canadian Reformed and Baptist ( A CRAB!) and enjoy listening to messages from Ligonier as much as William Lane Craig. 

My favourite song of all time is by Tourniquet: Sola Christus 

Very Reformed in theology.

Old Member, new username...But I was part of a project a few years back that was reformed in viewpoint.

My collaborator ended up moving away to go to seminary and has since become a pastor, so not much time to revisit this project. 

We have free music on bandcamp and can be found on youtube.

http://hashemofficial.bandcamp.com

www.youtube.com/hashemmetal