For the past six months or so, I’ve been strugging with the concept of defining what “Christian Music” is. Is Christian Music everything that CCM tells me is Christian Music? Is it anything I’d hear on a Christian radio station? Is it any music that mentions Jesus, God, or the devil? Is it music that proclaims a Christian worldview, however subtle? What is it?
This issue of defining Christian Music didn’t really become important until I started The Blah Blah. When you’ve got a blog with a tagline – “A Christian Music MP3 Blog,” it’s kind of important to know what is meant by the term “Christian Music.”
For the next few Thursdays, I’ll be posting various opposing views on Christian Music, with the goal of bringing something of an idea of what is meant by the whole thing. Since I don’t know what I believe yet, most of the opposing views will come from myself, but I hope to have some guest posters give their input as well.
Today, for the first post on Defining Christian Music, I offer the idea that perhaps it doesn’t even matter. It’s probably not a good tactic to open a series of discussions with the thought that the whole series of discussions is irrelevent, but this is the thought I’m stuck with right now, so this is what you get.
A few days ago, I remembered a family I know who supports their church ministry through a carpentry business. This got me thinking. The dad, who does most of the work, is a Christian carpenter. Are the chairs, tables, stools, and benches he makes therefore Christian furniture? Does anybody care?
Nobody cares.
I’ve never heard of anybody looking at buying furniture saying to themselves, “Well, I need to know whether it was made by a Christian or not, because I really like to sit in chairs made by people who share my worldview. I will upon occasion sit in a Buddhist or Muslim manufactured chair, but I always feel a bit out of place, so I prefer to deal primarily with Christian carpenters.”
That’d be ridiculous! If I were to buy a chair I’d look for 1) Does it work? Is it functional? Or is it falling apart? 2) Is it comfortable, or does it feel like sitting on a solid slab of sliver-filled concrete? 3) Does it look good? Does it match my jeans? Does it make my butt look big? (Note: those last two are an example of what I call “humor.”) 4) Is it a good price? Or am I waisting my money on it? And I really do want to know the answer to 5) Has it been employed in some sort of satanic, occultic, voodoo, or pagan ritual?
Can you tell which of the chairs to your left is the Christian chair?
The question of whether or not the chair was made by a Christian is largely irrelevent. I personally prefer to support Christian business owners out of a feeling of common brotherhood, but that’s a side-point not related to the product itself.
When I purchase furniture, I don’t ask myself if it has been made by a Christian. When I purchase groceries I don’t ask if they’ve been grown and picked by a Christian. When I buy a plunger, I don’t ask if it’s been packaged by a Christian. When I buy a computer I don’t ask if the motherboard has been soldered by a Christian.
Why not? Because it really doesn’t have an effect on my enjoyment of the product.
So what about music? If it doesn’t even matter when selecting a chair, does it matter when selecting music to listen to? For me, the answer is yes. Music is spiritual by nature. Many scientists, philosophers, musicians, professors, and theologians agree on that, so I won’t try to convince you here. A chair is not so spiritual by nature. It exists in the physical world for physical purposes (to sit on). Music has a spiritual component that exists for spiritual purposes.
Because of the spiritual component to music, I do want to know if it has been made by someone who shares my spiritual views on life. I want to know whether it’s Christian Music or not.
If the music is not made by a Christian, that doesn’t mean I won’t listen to it, but I’ll listen to it with a different filter on. If it’s made by a Buddhist, I’ll potentially have to filter out certain things I don’t agree with. If it’s made by an Atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Secularist, or whatever, I’ll have to do the same. If it’s made by a Christian, I’ll still need a filter, but it’s a different filter and hopefully there’ll be less to catch in it.
What are your thoughts on this? If you’re a Christian reader, is it important to you to know if you’re listening to music made by Christians? If you’re not a Christian reader, why not? Get with the program! Just kidding. 
If you’re not a Christian, is the spiritual character of the music important to you too? Or do you think us Christians get way too hung up on things that don’t matter? Please leave some comments with your thoughts on the whole issue.
24 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 8, 2007 at 9:55 am
mudpuppy
I’ve heard music by Christians that weren’t very spiritually uplifting, and were quite the opposite actually. For the most part, I look for lyrics that speak to what I’m dealing with spiritually. They don’t even have to be the intended meanings of the artist.
Take The Reason by Hoobastank for example. We’ve played that at church, but I have no idea if their intended meaning was focused on God.
I think Mute Math has broken the mold of what it means to be Christian music outside of the CCM industry. (Well, U2 is probably the front-runner here, but they were never claimed by the CCM industry).
Great discussion.
November 8, 2007 at 10:38 am
jakestimp
Good points. I’ve defnitely felt more depressed after listening to certain Christian songs than listening to a song like “The Reason” by Hoobastank. That song is a perfect example of a non-Christian song that’s more Christian than many Christian songs out there.
Maybe the deciding factor is not so much whether the group is Christian or not, but what the lyrics and music do for you. Do you get stirred up to love God and people more, or do you feel like crawling into a cave and drawing pictures of UFO abductions while muttering about the collapse of the Western world?
I still like to know what spiritual standpoint the artists have, for a frame of reference for myself, but maybe it’s not so important.
November 8, 2007 at 12:37 pm
worshipkitchen
Good dialog here. We retreat into Christian worlds where we serve Christian people Christian meals and by Christian books at Christian bookstores where you can get Christian music as well… it is a bit rediculous.
There is a place for true Christian Worship music, and there needs to be a place for this. It is different than a “Christian” rock song or rap song or something like that. I believe there is a difining difference for music that facilitates the movement of the Holy Spirit in true Christian Worship. Maybe we don’t need to put a title or tag on it that it’s Christian, and we don’t need to warn peolple from it.. but it is different that from what some people will describe as a “spiritual experience” from a Hendrix solo. Just some thoughts here. I’m not going to run to a Christian Cafe and drink some Christian coffee for lunch….I’m going by Starbucks instead. It’s better tasting.
Thanks for the good dialog here TheBlahBlah.
November 8, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Ryan Jones
WHAT? The chair on the left is obviously the Christian chair! I can’t believe you didn’t see that. (Heathen!)
Though I have to be honest, even the chair on the Left is a little bit shaky on its Christology. I suspect that if you jump on it enough, it will simply collapse into heretical Arianism. So please be gentle.
November 8, 2007 at 5:21 pm
jakestimp
Interesting note on the chairs: They are actually both Christian chairs. They’re made from recycled Playstation 2 consoles. Since Playstation is the enemy of X-Box, and X-Box is from Microsoft, and Microsoft is the Devil, then Playstation is the enemy of the Devil. Christians are also the enemy of the Devil, so therefore Playstation is Christian and any chairs made from recycled Playstations must also be Christian.
That sucks because I really like X-Box 360, but I just don’t wanna serve the devil, you know.
November 8, 2007 at 5:25 pm
jakestimp
Worshipkitchen, thanks for the comments. I want to post more on this later, but I’ve been thinking that maybe there shouldn’t be a distinction between “Christian music” and “secular music,” but that we still need a genre called “Christian worship music.”
On the other hand, I sort of like the idea of not putting any labels on it. It’d be interesting to see what would happen. Can you imagine how cool it would be for David Crowder Band to open for the Dave Matthews Band or Delirous? to open for U2? Of course, that’ll only happen if worship bands are judged for their music and not just stuck away in a corner as “that worship band.”
November 8, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Capio
Fantastic post!
just have to say a few things. I really believe in the whole christian band AND christians in a band thing. I hate it when people are demanding spiritual substance from people who say they are christians, but choose to tone those parts down, partially due to the christian-chair-case. Even though music is entering the spiritual I believe it has to be accepted that it’s OK to start a group because you want to make it big. Im not saying there aren’t issues there but i do believe we need to let the poeple who want to entertain entertain, and not force them to preach. On the other hand i think it’s kind of frustrating that so few really great artists choose to write openly about their relationship with God. So Im saying we shouldn’t and can’t make people preach, artists doing it that way arent doing anything wrong, it’s just that
On the whole “some secular artists are more uplifting than some christian artists” deal i say: I DON’T want uplifting subjects, for the case of encouragement. I want to hear people singing about the things i face in my life, in my faith, in my relationship with God. LIFE! And life is full of joy, wonder, harmony, grace, being close to God, experiencing his love and all his heart, but life is allso about trial, disbelief, about giving up, about experiencing God as distant, and being angry with him. just think about what we are saying here: We want christian artist to sing about jesus and stuff, but they have to sing about it this way, and in this context, and in this light. It has to make us feel good. thats not life. thats really shallow.
Three recommendations
- This Beautiful Mess – Temper the Wind to Shorn the Lambs
an awesome album more or less about what it is to have a hard time with God
- This Beautiful Mess – Away With the Swine
The follow-up album dealing with a relationship with an intimate and caring God
- Mark Solomon – Simplicity
An auto-biography by the vocalist from Savesacre, about his life and about why they chose to leave the CCM industry
November 8, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Ben
I think there’s a definite difference (in style, purpose, and spirit mostly) between “music made by Christians” and “Christian worship music.” The term “Christian music” seems to be used to cover both things, and yet they’re very different. And so that makes it especially difficult to define “Christian music.”
The category “music made by Christians” is fairly easily-defined. You just ask the musicians if they’re Christians and then (assuming you’re all-knowing or you can read minds and judge hearts) decide whether to believe them or not. (But, as I write this, I’m wondering, “What does it mean to be music made by Christians”? Does that mean that a Christian is playing a song he or another Christian created? Or does it mean that the Christian is playing just any song?)
The term “Christian worship music” isn’t so easily defined. I’ve worshiped Jesus while listening to everything from African Muslim/animist drumming to System of a Down and Three Days’ Grace. And yet, as hard as I try, I haven’t been able to worship while Godsmack’s “Serenity” is playing. Why not? Is there something different spiritually? Or is there something different musically that just doesn’t “do it for me”? Why does certain music more easily connect me with God? And why is it that what works for me doesn’t necessarily work for Joe Shmoe down the street (i.e. hymns versus choruses versus psalms…)?
This comment ended up being mostly questions, not much of anything concrete… Oh well…
November 9, 2007 at 8:02 am
jakestimp
Thanks for your comments, Ben and Capio.
Capio, thanks for the recommendations! I just found out about This Beautiful Mess not long ago and I love what they’re doing, and I was addicted to Stavesacre when I was a new Christian 8 years ago, so I’ll definitely check out Mark Solomon’s autobiography. I just read a review and it looks really good.
I agree that not every Christian artist should preach. Who should and who shouldn’t is obviously between God and the artist. I just want freedom for artists to discuss their spiritual views. I want to know what they believe, partly so I know what “filter” to put on and partly just out of curiosity.
I don’t want artists to feel they have to resort to preachy Christianese stereotypes in their songs, just so they get an evangelical message across. This is personal opinion, but if an artist is gonna preach, either do it in between songs or write good songs that happen to preach, not a sermon that happens to rhyme.
Ben, thanks for the thoughts, you good looking guy (note: he’s my twin brother, for all you unaware). I think you’d have to define “Christian worship music” as music that was created with the express purpose of creating a worship experience between the listener and Jesus. Otherwise, like you said, the door would be wide open for anything to be included.
November 9, 2007 at 10:11 am
Mish-Mash « The Original Mud Puppy
[...] » Yesterday Jake started a great conversation about defining christian music, and its necessity (or lack thereof). —Link [...]
November 9, 2007 at 11:33 am
thejambi
Yeah, this is an awesome thing to discuss, I think. First of all, the point that music is spiritual is important, and I think that makes it matter to everyone, regardless of religious beliefs (this is given that you care about lyrics a bit).
I personally listen to music that at least comes from Christians, although much of it may not be “Christian music.” I agree that there is a “Christian worship music,” and along with that I think there should be something like a “Christian life music.” In that category I would put songs that I can relate to as a Christian (but even if I wasn’t, I could probably still relate.. just visit my blog, for example, because I don’t write much strictly Christian things, but they do come from a Christian life).
There are just a few thoughts, hopefully I’ll be back again (I’m in class now..). Thanks for starting up a good conversation
- Zach
November 10, 2007 at 3:44 pm
An MP3 Blog in Search of a Tagline « The Blah Blah
[...] you yell, “Heretic!” you can read some of my thoughts here, and read a comment by Damien Jurado here touching on it. Basically though, I’m not sure [...]
November 10, 2007 at 3:56 pm
jakestimp
Thanks for your comments, Zach, and I enjoyed your writings on your blog. Good stuff.
I’d say more but I’ve still got way too much floating around in my head, so I’ll do another post next Thursday that will hopefully inspire some more dialogue.
Thanks everybody for your thoughts!
November 12, 2007 at 9:50 am
Jaybrams
I find it amusing that people (not necessarily those who have jumped in on this discussion) have issue with “secular” music but have no problem with most movies. The truth is that the majority of movies we watch are not Christian in content or nature. The director may or may not be Christian, the actors may or may not be Christian, and on down through the “third assistant to the secondary key grip.”
Yet we can go to a movie that has nothing to do with Christianity and draw all these parrallels to Christ or Christian living and preach about how Neo and the first Matrix is a beautiful picture of God’s sacrifice to us… only to stuff our foot firmly in our mouth when the second and third come out and there is far more eastern / new age overtones than christian ones.
When I was a teenager (the ’90s), there was a huge push to only listen to “christian” music, most of which sucked at the time. We had a speaker come to our youth group and give us these comparison charts “if you like ___ than listen to ___,” mostly comparisons that were totally off base. But he did say something that stuck with me and actually was counterproductive to his message…
(paraphrased) “Some of the most damaging songs come from Christian bands and some of the most uplifting songs come from secular ones.”
For me, i want music that I enjoy and lyrics that are deep and meaningful. There are many “worship” songs that have great music and shallow lyrics. Just as there are many secular songs that are the same. And if the lyrics are deep and meaningful, i can even overlook styles that I don’t usually enjoy.
Christ was drawn to those that are hurt, yet we are supposed to gaurd our ears from the very artists who are willing to express those hurts? Again, drawing from the late ’90s / early ’00s, Staind, Papa Roach, Eminem, etc… though I wouldn’t recommend all of there stuff, much of it is very real and draws me to pray for them. It also gives me insight to how people I live next to or people who look to drown their sorrows in alcohol may be feeling.
And finally, i think there are a lot of “christian” artists who are making strides to crossover. Mutemath, Switchfoot, (i believe, but haven’t heard it) Daughtery, Red, Lifehouse, NeedToBreathe… I can’t turn on the TV or walk through a walmart or target without hearing one of their songs… i’ve rambled enough
November 12, 2007 at 11:12 am
jakestimp
Well said, Jaybrams.
November 12, 2007 at 4:40 pm
jessie
i like jaybrams comments about movies…i was totally gonna write something about that. one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen (i mean fallen asleep to) is “one night with the king.” ohmigosh, it was awful. for those of you who haven’t had the displeasure to watch it, it’s based (full of flaws) on the story of esther. this was a movie made for christians, and it, well, sucked. there are other christian movies that aren’t as bad, like luther or the gospel of john, but they don’t have the epic, awe-inspiring qualities of braveheart or lord of the rings or whatever. but then there have been some cool movies made by christians that have been a hit in the secular world, like bruce almighty. i don’t think we as christians should go and support en masse any christian movie that comes out just because it’s christian, but we should support and promote those that are quality movies. i’d be embarrassed if christian films were all “one night” quality; in the same way i’m kind of embarrassed of “top 40 christian” music played on most mainstream christian stations. i totally made fun of it as a non-christian, not because it was christian, but because it was lame!
i think it’s important to have christian music, but make it good so that christians who like good music don’t have to go listening to defiling secular music to hear it. that’s why we have cool blogs, like the blah blah though! 
it’s like the college radio stations of the christian music world.
November 12, 2007 at 10:04 pm
jakestimp
Can you tell she’s my wife?
Thanks for the comments. Interesting thought about not blindly supporting music just because it’s Christian but because it’s good and it’s Christian.
I don’t think Bruce Almighty was made by Christians, though, was it?
November 12, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Anonymous
i saw an interview with the director of bruce almighty, and he said he was a christian in it. it was a while ago, so i can’t recall where i saw it, though.
November 13, 2007 at 2:13 pm
JJ
Good questions being asked in this blog. Check out this blog on this subject – http://ids.org/ids/?p=202
November 14, 2007 at 7:32 am
jakestimp
Thanks, JJ, for another site on the whole issue. Stay tuned, everybody, for another post and more discussion tomorrow of what the heck to do with this “Christian Music” thing.
November 15, 2007 at 9:13 am
Defining Christian Music, pt. 2 - What’s in a Name? « The Blah Blah
[...] Last week, I discussed the idea of Christian music and proposed that perhaps the whole thing didn’t even matter. Maybe the faith of the artists is irrelevent. I came to the conclusion that, for myself, I want to know what the musicians believe, partly out of curiosity and partly so I know how to interpret the songs. I’ll still listen to you if you’re not a Christian, but I like to know that. [...]
December 8, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Matt
I think people struggle with this whole discussion because the world we live in is so compartmentalized. We have our personal life, our public life, our family life, etc… And for people there is a need to have words, ideas and labels for the different aspects of the world we live in. Despite the fact that there are absolutes not everything in the world is cut and dry. Much of the world we live in is full of contradiction.
It’s fun to classify things and put them into groups, but not everyone will agree on those classifications. Just think of when Christian Ska came out and people tried to classify it. There are definitely groups and genres, but there are also a lot of groups and genres that transcend and cross over the different lines that are set up.
The thing we need to remember is that God can speak through anything. It doesn’t have to be made by a Christian. But at the same time I’m not looking to musicians or movies for deep spiritual advice. You can see God’s image in all sorts of things made by people who don’t love God. So what I’m saying is that you need to pick and choose what brings you closer to God. If somebody or something Christian or not takes you away from God then you need to walk away from it.
The documentary Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? has some good discussion about this. This Christian carpenter thing is overblown a bit. You’ll hear this argument all the time at Cornerstone and it’s a nice thought, but I don’t think people understand that the analogy doesn’t work. On one hand sure you don’t care who made the chair you’re sitting in, but if music is spiritual do we care about what kind of people are making the words and images that are entering into our souls on a regular basis? Not only that but the carpenter who is a Christian should be doing it as unto the Lord the same thing God calls pastors and musicians to do. There’s nothing wrong with not preaching or writing songs that aren’t about God. But I think people need to remember that it’s important to make music for God first and foremost and not primarily for personal gain or fame. And we should remember that God is a person and he speaks to us all in different ways.
This is a great subject and I think it’s important that Christians use critical thinking. If we really sat down and looked at it we would see that many of us are not that different from the non-believers, but that our lives should be different in so many ways. There are things in the culture that should be debated and discussed by Christians and there are also things that Christians shouldn’t be watching, listening to or recommending for other people to listen to. But it’s not about legalism, it’s about learning to walk with God and know what his heart is on things. You know like, “What would Jesus listen to? What would Jesus watch? Are my actions offending Jesus? Just some things to consider.
February 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Brandi
i believe too often our society puts set titles, or labels things- this includes music. the genre christian music, doesnt serve a purpose of saying GOD, CHRIST, or any other spirituality word- the purpose of christian music is to bring in a positive message in all fields of life that can reach people, and bring them more in a positive mindset. Christian musice deals with life situations that we as christians, and as all people of the world deal with, because although we may have commited our life to a deeper life (a relationship with CHRIST) we are still in this world technically, dealing with stuff. However I do not believe that just because your not a christian artist that you can not give a positive message that can bring you to GOD. I myself enjoy listening to other music- I believe you can find GOD speaking to you in many ways- he is a GOD that is everything, therefore he is not limated. I do not enjoy listening to songs that degrate relationships, and people, songs that encourage sex, discourage my love (GOD), or anything that speaks against what I believe GOD tells me is right! To sum it up I believe that not only “christian” music is “Christian”- OOD can be every-where, he cant be limated. Too often we try to limate and put a label on GOD through saying what is religious or not, GOD is a GOD who isnt just in one “genre”, job, clique, GOD is life you can see him everywhere- you can even know how holy, and perfect he is by listening to forms of “absence of GOD.” “Christian” music, can be heard outside of its label
April 17, 2008 at 9:18 am
Jason Z.
As a radio Disc Jockey for more than 13 years in Oklahoma City, reading your article is nothing new or genius. Christians in today’s America would not associate with the Jesus of the Bible.(be honest with yourselves people) Who knows if Jesus even makes the distinction between one type of music or another. Does it bring glory to His name? Does it move the Kingdom on earth? After spending some years in Nashville(the Christian Music Mecca of the world and a place where they have enough churches to populate all 8-9 planets!)
I can tell you from experience first hand that some of the artist you have listed on your blog smoke, drink, cuss, are addicted to porn and sin just like ALL of the rest of us. I believe that if a song brings you in contact with God and ushers in His Grace, then listen to it. If you don’t like a song(or tv program for that matter) use the things God created you with(in His Image)..your hands and TURN IT OFF! It is better to believe that God is not real and His son is not real than to believe they both exist without Holiness.