The Goings On

I didn't pass out of any French classes. I wasn't really expecting to, but I thought there was a slight chance I would. It's ok though. I'll just have to take some summer classes to graduate on time (if I want to study in L.A. for a semester).

I interviewed Dr. Cramer today about the values of music from a Christian perspective. He said something that really resonated with me... The evangelical sub-culture of this generation has cheapened music and is constantly trying to imitate what Christians call "secular" music. Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) has de-valued the extremely real struggles everyone faces on a daily basis. The simplistic lyrics and easy chord progressions do not fully examine life in its entire struggle and beauty.

There are Christian artists, and then there are artists who are Christians. To me, it seems these so-called "Christian artists" attach themselves to teaching a watered-down Sunday school version of the gospel through blantantly uncreative lyrics. They model themselves off of the "cooler secular/ mainstream" groups of the time. Where is the originality and the strive to create something different? Where is the strive to search for that beauty God has laid before us to discover? Artists who are Christians, on the other hand, do not categorize themselves as writing CCM. They are believers who create innovative music and share on a relational level their familiar struggles with faith and life in general.

Then there are bands such as Radiohead. Not Christians. But is there value in their music? Absolutely. Not only is the music they create an extreme example of God-given gifts, but Thom Yorke's usually melancholy and hopeless lyrics examine the reality of life's dark side. Who can say they have never struggled at all? Just because Radiohead is a "secular" group does not mean they cannot relate to Christians in a very real manner.

What is the deal with the word "secular" anyway? Only Christians use that term, and when they do, they separate themselves from the rest of society. Aren't we all created in the image of God? Many Christians may believe it is a good idea to separate the "filth of mainstream" from "the great moral values of Christianity", but we are creating a division.

The beauty we speak is universal. There is beauty and value to be found outside of this box we have created for ourselves.