Christian metal no longer confronts sin

Christian metal no longer confronts sin (for the most part), and when they do, they only pick issues that the world also considers sin. That way, there is no controversy and they can keep playing and not make enemies.

While watching "Pissed Off", one of the new songs from Fit For a King, I noticed that they are singin' and screamin' about war and it's victims. In and of itself, not a bad subject. But I notice they stop short of which war they are referring to. When they do this, they lead the listener to believe that all war is bad, and all war is not bad. (See "The Bible" and the reference to "The Book of the Wars of the Lord".)

Referencing war, abuse, and slavery (as For Today did in their song "Fight the Silence") is good, but to leave out the other major issues like child killing in the womb, homosexuality, gambling, addiction, etc. we are skirting the real issue, and that is trying to be relevant to the world. I see very few bands these days even try to preach Christ (Wolves at the Gate preach boldly).

I'm not saying that every band has to be a ministry band, but if they cross that line to address sin, you'll find that they only address sin that the world also feels is wrong. This way they sound awesome to the world and somehow still feel good about themselves. Remember the debacle For Today found themselves in when one of their members confronted homosexuals? They nearly lost everything during that battle and Mattie tried to speak it away. I doubt we'll see such a battle again.

Gone are the days of Sacred Warrior, Holy Soldier, Steve Taylor, and others openly confronting sin in their lyrics.

I agree.

New Creation wrote:Gone are the days of Sacred Warrior, Holy Soldier, Steve Taylor, and others openly confronting sin in their lyrics.

I agree, but I did enjoy FFAK's new song and will be looking forward to hearing the rest of the album.

Most modern bands are that way, I agree, its disappointing

New Creation wrote:Christian metal no longer confronts sin (for the most part), and when they do, they only pick issues that the world also considers sin. That way, there is no controversy and they can keep playing and not make enemies.

While watching "Pissed Off", one of the new songs from Fit For a King, I noticed that they are singin' and screamin' about war and it's victims. In and of itself, not a bad subject. But I notice they stop short of which war they are referring to. When they do this, they lead the listener to believe that all war is bad, and all war is not bad. (See "The Bible" and the reference to "The Book of the Wars of the Lord".)

Referencing war, abuse, and slavery (as For Today did in their song "Fight the Silence") is good, but to leave out the other major issues like child killing in the womb, homosexuality, gambling, addiction, etc. we are skirting the real issue, and that is trying to be relevant to the world. I see very few bands these days even try to preach Christ (Wolves at the Gate preach boldly).

I'm not saying that every band has to be a ministry band, but if they cross that line to address sin, you'll find that they only address sin that the world also feels is wrong. This way they sound awesome to the world and somehow still feel good about themselves. Remember the debacle For Today found themselves in when one of their members confronted homosexuals? They nearly lost everything during that battle and Mattie tried to speak it away. I doubt we'll see such a battle again.

Gone are the days of Sacred Warrior, Holy Soldier, Steve Taylor, and others openly confronting sin in their lyrics.

Great observation. Saltless salt metal. https://thecmr.forumotion.com/t9309-christian-metal#173974

not particularly surprising when they have come up in the modern church and the vast majority of the church does the same thing...

Yeah, that's what I was going to say.  It's epidemic among most Christians today because of the intense cultural pressure of political correctness.  If you have any sort of financial risk tied to your views, like a band or a business does, you need to be prepared to lose all of it should you say anything unacceptable.  Welcome to 21st century fascism, American style!

strangerhoncho wrote:Yeah, that's what I was going to say.  It's epidemic among most Christians today because of the intense cultural pressure of political correctness.  If you have any sort of financial risk tied to your views, like a band or a business does, you need to be prepared to lose all of it should you say anything unacceptable. 

Excellent point.

Welcome to 21st century fascism, American style!

Lol

strangerhoncho wrote:Yeah, that's what I was going to say.  It's epidemic among most Christians today because of the intense cultural pressure of political correctness.  If you have any sort of financial risk tied to your views, like a band or a business does, you need to be prepared to lose all of it should you say anything unacceptable.  Welcome to 21st century fascism, American style!

I would add in, above all those, bad theology...

crucifyd wrote:

strangerhoncho wrote:Yeah, that's what I was going to say.  It's epidemic among most Christians today because of the intense cultural pressure of political correctness.  If you have any sort of financial risk tied to your views, like a band or a business does, you need to be prepared to lose all of it should you say anything unacceptable.  Welcome to 21st century fascism, American style!

I would add in, above all those, bad theology...

True, but most of the time, bad theology is not at the same level as murder. I disagree with most of you theologically but won't let it get in the way of our interactions.

Why should we expect mediocre modern "metal" bands to do anything bold?

Metal bands and Christian bands shouldn't expect to have anything anyway.

Temple of Blood wrote:Why should we expect mediocre modern "metal" bands to do anything bold?

Metal bands and Christian bands shouldn't expect to have anything anyway.

Part of this is my problem. I sat out the Christian music scene for the better part of a decade while I was pastoring churches. I left in 2003 and didn't come back until 2012. A lot changed in that time. It's taken me 4 years to accept that.

I don't think even the best Christian metal has much business blanket-addressing sin.  We don't judge each other whether we're holding a bible or a mic, so why go there?

For one, no matter how much of a ministry a band thinks they are, first and foremost, its entertainment.  Using said entertainment for the sole purpose of telling people how screwed up they are is a bit heavy handed.

For two, abortion, homosexuality, human trafficking, political corruption, etc. I'm assuming don't have much to do with a lot of Christians, at least not the Christians on this forum - so why the eagerness to see the condemnation of it unleashed to others?  Anyone who thinks bluntly telling someone how wrong their living their life is how to get them to change it is from the dark ages.

For three, Christianity's best bet is attraction, not promotion or Catholic scare tactics.  God's grace, sobriety, love, peace, etc. are much better topics to bring people in.  If the moral of songs are how wrong you are, how wrong I am, how wrong the world is, crush the head of Satan... well that's rather negative and tacky, don't you think?

Lots of Christians wouldn't listen to lyrics that attacked their lifestyle of praying and attending church.  You expect lyrics attacking a sinful lifestyle will make a different impact to the sinner?

Before the CMR gank squad thinks I'm one of them there gull-dern sin(ner) lovers, I absolutely believe sin should be addressed, ASAP, specifically to the individual.  ...just not with someone just trying to enjoy some tunes. 

Come on people...

Psalm 5:5 "...thou hatest all workers of iniquity."

God hates all sinners and He loved them enough to do something about it, He sent His Son.

Romans 12:9 "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."

Paul is telling us to love completely and without hypocrisy. To love completely, we must abhor evil and cling to good. That is the only way to love.

It was when I realized I was a sinner, a bad person, that I knew I needed God. It was then, when I trusted His Son Jesus Christ, to save me from the Father's wrath, that I became a saint, a member of the Body of Christ.

People must know they are bad before they can be saved from the judgment.

ThomasEversole wrote:I don't think even the best Christian metal has much business blanket-addressing sin.  We don't judge each other whether we're holding a bible or a mic, so why go there?

For one, no matter how much of a ministry a band thinks they are, first and foremost, its entertainment.  Using said entertainment for the sole purpose of telling people how screwed up they are is a bit heavy handed.

For two, abortion, homosexuality, human trafficking, political corruption, etc. I'm assuming don't have much to do with a lot of Christians, at least not the Christians on this forum - so why the eagerness to see the condemnation of it unleashed to others?  Anyone who thinks bluntly telling someone how wrong their living their life is how to get them to change it is from the dark ages.

For three, Christianity's best bet is attraction, not promotion or Catholic scare tactics.  God's grace, sobriety, love, peace, etc. are much better topics to bring people in.  If the moral of songs are how wrong you are, how wrong I am, how wrong the world is, crush the head of Satan... well that's rather negative and tacky, don't you think?

Lots of Christians wouldn't listen to lyrics that attacked their lifestyle of praying and attending church.  You expect lyrics attacking a sinful lifestyle will make a different impact to the sinner?

Before the CMR gank squad thinks I'm one of them there gull-dern sin(ner) lovers, I absolutely believe sin should be addressed, ASAP, specifically to the individual.  ...just not with someone just trying to enjoy some tunes. 

Come on people...

I think, getting back to his principle observation, it's a matter of bands being phony in that they will decry a topic everyone agrees is bad and not touch others. Better to not say anything.

Another thing to consider is the evangelical preaching of the law. Without knowledge of the law, right and wrong, how is one to know that he is a sinner before God? A decrying of evil along with a gospel presentation is good. Evangelical music is a good venue for this.

A great point you bring up is being unnecessarily 'negative and tacky.' I think that it can be done right but if it isn't and it just is 'negative and tacky,' it's better not to say anything.

New Creation wrote:Psalm 5:5 "...thou hatest all workers of iniquity."

God hates all sinners and He loved them enough to do something about it, He sent His Son.

Romans 12:9 "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."

Paul is telling us to love completely and without hypocrisy. To love completely, we must abhor evil and cling to good. That is the only way to love.

New Creation wrote:It was when I realized I was a sinner, a bad person, that I knew I needed God. It was then, when I trusted His Son Jesus Christ, to save me from the Father's wrath, that I became a saint, a member of the Body of Christ.

People must know they are bad before they can be saved from the judgment.

Well, I can answer your last two posts with what I said here.

ThomasEversole wrote:
Before the CMR gank squad thinks I'm one of them there gull-dern sin(ner) lovers, I absolutely believe sin should be addressed, ASAP, specifically to the individual. ...just not with someone just trying to enjoy some tunes.

We both agree on addressing the sin/sinner, I just think its bad form to broadcast it publicly in song, any song.

d@v!d wrote:
I think, getting back to his principle observation, it's a matter of bands being phony in that they will decry a topic everyone agrees is bad and not touch others. Better to not say anything.

That didn't seem like "better to not say anything" was the principle observation when 3 bands (Sacred Warrior, Holy Soldier, Steve Taylor) got a congratulatory nod for broadcasting a form of hate towards sin/sinners.

These bands' music is as soft as their message.

Bands these days are desperate for likes/kudos/$$$ and would rather have that than put in the time/effort to create anything substantial, different, and/or truly provocative.

Different ministries have different visions and scopes for their focus. Some focus on addiction recovery such as xxx church, while the church down the street may have a focus on bringing people to Christ.

While I do think these subjects should be addressed, I don't think every band needs to be addressing it. Sometimes its best to take things one step at a time, or focus on bringing them into the fold first, then work on other issues.

ThomasEversole wrote:That didn't seem like "better to not say anything" was the principle observation when 3 bands (Sacred Warrior, Holy Soldier, Steve Taylor) got a congratulatory nod for broadcasting a form of hate towards sin/sinners.

Wait, from where do we get that these bands are broadcasting hate?

Blake wrote:Different ministries have different visions and scopes for their focus. Some focus on addiction recovery such as xxx church, while the church down the street may have a focus on bringing people to Christ.

While I do think these subjects should be addressed, I don't think every band needs to be addressing it. Sometimes its best to take things one step at a time, or focus on bringing them into the fold first, then work on other issues.

Yes, that too.

Men are so lost that they don't even know that they are lost. They need to discover that they are lost before they can be found.

Blake wrote:Different ministries have different visions and scopes for their focus. Some focus on addiction recovery such as xxx church, while the church down the street may have a focus on bringing people to Christ.

While I do think these subjects should be addressed, I don't think every band needs to be addressing it. Sometimes its best to take things one step at a time, or focus on bringing them into the fold first, then work on other issues.

This is well put, and I agree, not every band needs address every thing.

I just find it interesting that the bands that do choose to bring up bad stuff only choose things that the world similarly hates.

I think that we need to each evaluate as Christian artists what our goals, calling, target audience, etc.  Knowing all of this will help us to make art that achieves the end goal.  If you want to sing worship songs, then do so.  If you want to preach against sin, then do so.  If you want to tell stories that show sin and social ills to be bad but make you want to hear the song anyway, then do so.

We need all sorts of Christians, musicians or otherwise, to be open, honest, and real.  That will mean that some will unabashedly proclaim the gospel.  Others will serve quietly most of the time but answer questions when asked.  Others still will befriend people and be an influence over a period of time.  The message is still going out.  Some will call out sin.  Others will call out to the sinner.  In the long run, if we have checked our motives at the door and are simply following Jesus, our lives and our art will speak to whoever God chooses to reach with it.

With my new blues album, I have done some storying to make a point without being too heavy handed.  On other songs, I am more direct with my lyrics and will probably be labeled as preachy.  On others, I just went with a silly song that gives the album some extra accessibility for non-Christians.  I focus on some social ills, or sin, if you will like rape and severe child neglect.  In all of this, I am pointing people to Jesus while still taking the time to have fun.  My hopes are that I have made a gospel record that both Christians and non-Christians will listen to whether they agree with everything I say or not.  Glenn Kaiser does the same things minus the silly songs and he has a secular following.

Why did I bring my own project up?  Well, mostly because I think that it shows that we need a solid balance in what we call the Christian music scene.  That balance comes from knowing what the Lord wants you to do and sticking to it even if it means you will forever be relegated to the ranks of the unsigned and almost unknown.

alldatndensum wrote:We need all sorts of Christians, musicians or otherwise, to be open, honest, and real.  That will mean that some will unabashedly proclaim the gospel.  Others will serve quietly most of the time but answer questions when asked.  Others still will befriend people and be an influence over a period of time.  The message is still going out.  Some will call out sin.  Others will call out to the sinner.  In the long run, if we have checked our motives at the door and are simply following Jesus, our lives and our art will speak to whoever God chooses to reach with it.

These were my thoughts exactly, great comment alldat.