When we hear the phrase “Christian Rock”, many Christians often associate it with bands such as Skillet, Casting Crowns, or Switchfoot. Although, what exactly does Christian rock mean? Is it rock music made by Christians? If that was so, any music made by a Christian could be considered Christian music. However, that is not the case, as Christian music is different from secular music made by someone who calls themselves a Christian. So, the question sparks: what truly differentiates a Christian band from a band of Christians?
In reality, there are many musicians who are Christian, but make secular music. One would never immediately assume Ozzy Osbourne, frontman of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, was a Christian. But, in a 1986 interview with Spin Magazine, he revealed he was.
“I’m a Christian,” Ozzy told Spin Magazine. “I was christened as a Christian. I went to Sunday school.”
When I first read this, I was surprised. Black Sabbath was one of the founding fathers of heavy metal, and had been associated with Satanic symbolism by fans since their upbringing. So, it never really occurred to me that Ozzy Osbourne, the “Prince of Darkness”, even believed in transcendence, the existence in spirituality. But, reading into Black Sabbath’s song, “War Pigs”, it started to make sense.
In the final verse, Osbourne sings, “Day of judgement, God is calling / On their knees the war pigs crawling / Begging mercy for their sins / Satan’s laughing, spread his wings / Oh lord, yeah!”
While the anti-war song does contain imagery of Satan, it also expresses God being the one to judge warmongers. Does this make Black Sabbath the most hardcore Christian band ever? Of course not. It exemplifies how Osbourne may believe in transcendence and judgement. This is a common trope in other musicians who believe in it. Some would argue Black Sabbath could believe in transcendence, but praise the other end: Satanism. However, none of their music express such a concept, and that is apparent in a lot of secular art made by Christians. Even U2 is suspect of making subtle nods to transcendence and faith into their music.
Minister and theology professor Gary Tyra teaches the importance of Christianity in a practical application. He says that the majority of Christian art focuses on four categories: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
Tyra stated, “Christian art tends to focus on the redemption aspect. Christians who make art focus on realities of life and existence. They talk about experiences, life, and reality that ring true for others.”
When asked if the form of music Christians play influences their message, he said, “I do want to ask any artist “what’s your motive?” I think we all have a motive. Maybe it’s a will to influence, so if your motive is to inspire, I’m okay.”
This is where major differences between Christian bands and bands made of Christians arise: the message. Christian bands often attempt to inspire their listeners from a faith-based perspective. This could range from how God has saved the musicians from dark times in their life, to the impact God has had in their lives. On the other hand, bands made of Christians focus more on earthly concepts such as love, mental health, and experiences.
One of Christian rock band Skillet’s most popular streamed songs is “Awake and Alive”, which outwardly conveys how God has saved the speakers’ lives and redeemed them in a dark time.
The first verse states, “It’s getting harder to stay awake / And my strength is fading fast / You breathe into me at last.”
This represents how God has saved the speaker, and has given them a new purpose to move forward in life. The majority of Skillet’s music is based around these subjects. Compare this to Kings of Leon, a very popular band in the mid-2000s. One of their most popular songs of all time is “Sex on Fire,” a song explicitly about the speaker having sex with a woman. The lyrics focus heavily on how passionate the speaker feels about the act with her, and, for lack of better words, how good it feels. When I was doing research for this story, I found out that three out of four of the members of Kings of Leon were Christians. Members Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill are brothers raised Pentecostal. So, evidently enough, they fall into the “band of Christians” category, as most of their music is secular.
Professor Tyra also feels that art as a whole can be used to indirectly express transcendentalism and spirituality.
“The guy who directed “The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It was a horror movie, but the guy who directed it was a Biola grad (a well-known Christian university in California). He made the movie to question whether Emily Rose was mentally ill or truly possessed by evil. It made people question the idea of transcendence.”
So, according to Tyra, art by a Christian does not have to strictly convey Biblical doctrine. Christians are taught that their number one calling in life is to praise God in our talents and skills.
I asked him if he felt musicians who are Christian defy that by not incorporating their faith into their art.
He responded, “Not necessarily. If that band of Christians write and make music with the honor of God without ever mentioning his name, I think that’s great. I don’t think our lifestyle [as Christians] should be all about words, but I do think there needs to be some words to say ‘hey, I’m not just a great guy, I’m a Christian.’”
When it comes to music, the difference between what makes music Christian music and music made by someone who is Christian is the intention. If the intention is to be senile or depressive, that can be, as Professor Tyra stated, “theologically problematic.”
Professor Tyra stated, “It’s not just about actions. It’s our actions and words that go hand in hand.” As he said before, it is what you outwardly say about your intentions that differentiate the two. If one outwardly states that they are a Christian band, and are making music to spread God’s word, then they are a Christian band. If they make music more for worldly ideas (love, drugs, addiction, etc.), but state they are a Christian, then they’ll fall into the “band of Christians” category.
A major difference between a Christian band and a band of Christians is what the lyrics convey. The message the group sends is the gateway to what the audience will interpret. If a band releases music mainly about political propaganda like Rage Against the Machine, they will associate that band with political activism. The same will go for love, mental illness, Christian faith, and more. Lyrics and the sound used to convey them are the keys to any band’s relationship with their audience.
Kyle Durham, English professor and director of Vanguard University’s Writing Center, was the guitarist and lyricist for a metal band when he was in college.
When asked about the background of his band, Durham stated, “I knew that I wanted to be in a hardcore metal band one way or the other, and I knew that I didn’t want to be a standard template. At that stage [2008 to 2009], people were starting to get fed up with obvious hardcore and obvious metal… so we really wanted to try something different.”
Durham is also a Christian, and so his faith affected the music he played and wrote. “I felt an overwhelming desire to say what I wanted to say but have that formed with the value structure I was raised with. So, it was either vaguely or loosely Christian, or it was a story.” While in the band, he got a lot of pressure to make it a Christian band, or make it a non-Christian, purely metal band.
This is something that many Christian musicians may struggle with, as not every Christian wants to write music solely from their faith, but they also feel like they’re doing a disservice to God by not writing about it. However, Durham felt as though he found a silver lining between the two.
He was inspired by the band Thrice, who he feels flowed back and forth from a Christian band and a band of Christians. Dustin Kensrue, their lead singer, was a worship leader at the Mars Hill Church in Orange County. Durham said, “If that guy [Kensrue] can do it, so can I. I don’t have to go full on Air1 Rock, and I also didn’t have to go and pretend I’m not a Christian or deny something I don’t feel like I need to deny.”
Coincidentally enough, Durham’s brother was in a band of Christians and a Christian band. Falling Cycle, as Durham stated, was more so Christians in a band, whereas Sinai Beach was “distinctly a Christian band.” With songs like “To the Church” and “Serpent’s Letter”, Sinai Beach represented themselves as a Christian band through their lyrics, and a metal band through their sound. Using heavy drums, distorted guitar and growl-style vocals, Sinai Beach’s “Serpent’s Letter” was an angry calling out towards the devil, expressing hatred for him and unwillingness to forgive him.
While some Christians are comfortable with expressing their faith in their art, others may feel like it is more of a responsibility, and might try to stray away from doing so. Durham feels as though Christian artists don’t have a responsibility to spread the word of God through their art.
Durham said, “We should be spreading the gospel without guilt, mandate, or anybody else telling us what to do. If we do it because we want somebody else to be happy, how is that different than storing up your crowns in heaven? We should use our gifts for God, but we should do so organically and because we want to, not because we feel we ought to.”
All in all, Durham felt the major difference between a band of Christians and a Christian band tailored specifically to music boils down to the industry. “In terms of wanting to be in a band and their mission being to spread the word of God, and wanting to be in a band and spread the word of God, but wanting to also write songs about girls dumping them, I think both are completely doable.”
Durham finished by saying, “I do think there is a difference, but I don’t think there has to be.”
When it comes down to it, Christian music compared to music made by Christians fall down to the actions, and the words for those actions. A Christian song can represent having faith in God and urging others to follow in Him. A secular song made by a Christian can express the pain they felt during their heartbreak. The intention is what matters. Is it to inspire? To express their faith? Or to express their emotions? People, including Christians, write music on countless subjects. It’s the words, actions, and interpretation that count.
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