Thursday, August 09, 2007

Skewering CCM

I came across this interesting blog (now defunct) which, among other things, specializes in skewering the Contemporary Christian Music industry. And I think that industry has long needed skewering and has been overdue for it. The blogger was very blunt, even gruff. Here's a sample of his bluntness:
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christian music websites should edify the body of Christ, or that the body of Christ should look to such establishments (particularly those hosted by Wordpress) for encouragement. I’m being ridiculous, obviously, but this sort of love-and-peace "nobody can tell the truth" attitude is one reason why Christian music is so bad. Look at the way Christian musicians are often presented: they are inspirational figures who hear from God and, like some sort of musical oracle, transform the spirit into this revelatory source of power — to encourage / challenge / mystify your spiritual walk. We’re bothered by that myth, which is nothing more than professional marketing (and to be fair, the CCM industry and media are far more guilty of this than the artists themselves). This music defaults on the grandiose promises on which it is sold, and anyone who has studied art for the most limited amount of time will tell you that. It’s not impressive, not challenging, not theological, not genius, not spiritual, and very rarely even intelligent. And to say so is not to unleash a malicious, slanderous rant, it is to simply state a fact. So is pretending that Christian music is something it’s not (which is essentially lying) somehow helping the body of Christ? Is it somehow some sacred operation that needs reverence and protection?
Though it is blunt, I think it is truthful. Finally, someone has the courage to point out that the "emperor has no clothes".