Amazon.com discussion: why does christian rock suck? – christian music Discussion Forum

I found this interesting discussion on Amazon.com, I really agree with this quote “We should be praising these musicians for reaching people who have never heard the word Jesus used in a way that is not blasphemous, not criticizing them for not being “Christian” enough“…
It’s been argued quite a bit.

Here’s an excerpt:

K. Meyers says:

Casting Crowns? Pfft. They've got a great ministry, but the music is just lame. I swear, every song they've put out sounds like a carbon copy of some MercyMe or Coldplay song (with the exception of the two good songs they've put out, being “Voice of Truth” and “Who Am I?”)

My problem with the Christian Music Industry is that in reality, it is an empire of ourselves but record labels act like it's this big ministry. Whatever. That's why you are marketed to….Christians. That's why the people who come to your concert and buy your records are…Christians. That's why the people who don't even know you exist are…nonbelievers. Not to say that it isn't a ministry, because it has shown me many fantastic artists who have changed my life through music, but all in all, many CCM artists aren't really reaching anybody who needs to hear the Word of God, and if there are ever artists who do break into the mainstream market they are seen as “sellouts” regardless of their behavior or even their message. Stephen Christian, the frontman for Anberlin (which is a band who gets criticized by nonbelievers for being too outspoken about their faith and by Christians for not being outspoken enough) has a great point about this fact. He claims that the true sellouts are those who write certain things and put them in a song for the sole purpose of selling, and that if he were to put the name of Jesus in the song a bunch of times just so it would sell, it would be the worst thing you could do…selling God for money (he's said many times how this makes him sick when people don't sing about God because they want to honor Him, but simply to make money). He also has said that in reality, there is no such thing as a secular job and that if you are using your God-given talents to honor Him in any way, then you are living a life of worship. Because think about it, what if you are a Christian but you are a plumber? You aren't going to be walking around all the time saying “Jesus loves you man, now what pipes do you want fixed?” It's silly. Christians hold their fellow believers who are musicians to these rediculous standards and they place too much importance on how many times they say “God” in a song and not enough on whether or not they make great music and/or live Godly lives.

Sorry, but this is an issue that frustrates me. We should be praising these musicians for reaching people who have never heard the word Jesus used in a way that is not blasphemous, not criticizing them for not being “Christian” enough. The worst part is, many people who do the criticizing are the ones who turn off nonbelievers and have never brought anybody to Christ.

via Amazon.com: why does christian rock suck? – christian music Discussion Forum.