How Very UnChristian

[tealin]

Why ... does Christian Pop ... make me SO ANGRY??

Comments

[fani.livejournal.com]

It's not just you...

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Because the majority of it is a blatantly meaningless and commercialised public display of affection used in place of a truthful and humble act of worship?

[doomandnachos.livejournal.com]

It makes me more embarrassed than angry - it's just so earnest. Sappy. Insipid. Choose your own adjective!

I do think part of my hatred for Christian pop stems from the people I know who enjoy it - they can also be described with the aforementioned adjectives.

(Male Christian pop singers are always good for the lolz, as it's very hard for them not to sound totally Gay for Jesus. :D)

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

LOL Gay for Jesus ... wow, I love that. In so many ways. If only the soundtrack wasn't so obnoxious. Or was more obnoxious, in a way that would make it funny.

[floorlamps.livejournal.com]

My justification is generally because it's devoid of theology OR worship, and on top of that it's just... not very good music.

[lydaclunas.livejournal.com]

because it sucks.

[rblake77.livejournal.com]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

Because there is nothing truly faithful about faith-rock. Maybe it's the RC in me, but I cannot see how wavingyour hands in the air to pop music is inherently worshipful. Is it supposed to be antennae to God? PLEASE.

Plus, most of the genre is so incredibly arrogant. It contains lyrics like "I know I'm saved because..." Excuse me, ma'am, how can you be so sure? I am Christian, but I know one thing for sure: I'd rather become Buddhist than be that much of an ass about my Christianity.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Apparently swaying with your hands in the air can trigger an actual physiological change that can put one in a trance state or something similar, so it probably feels like a religious experience but is just some funny wiring in your body, like the way rocking can release calming endorphines. Confusing neurology/endocrinology and religion can be a dangerous thing ... same goes for mass hysteria and mob psychology.

RC high-five! Unfortunately I was subjected to this at a Youth Mass!

[fordanglia.livejournal.com]

I used to listen to it consistently when I was a fundie. There were like ... ten songs I would listen to over and over and try to force on my friends. 'GUYS THIS SHIT IS GOOD! AND IT'S CHRISTIAN!'

I don't think it was the message that had them saying no.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Because its every bit as arrogant as the so called faith it represents.

[octaveleap.livejournal.com]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... some of the best music EVER written is sacred Christian music, and Christian pop does both the faith and the music a terrible disservice.

[staedtler.livejournal.com]

A good deal of "Christian" artists believe that, to make it "Christian" music, a good 20% of the lyrics must be the word "Jesus." I think a good deal of us believe that's not all it takes, and are peeved at the complete insincerity of the resulting product.

Also, the tunes are cheesy and need to be more hair metal.

[aspectabund.livejournal.com]

Because it's annoying. And awkward. And it isn't very good, really.

It also sets my mind onto thinking of those hymns that HAD to have been written in the nineties - those ones that you heard at school masses that were trying desperately to be cool. If you went to a Catholic school, of course.

[hobbitnat.livejournal.com]

I don't like it cause alot of people take it WAaaaaay to seriously! my boss was listening to some and asked a question about the Bible, that was complete crap, and i told her so, and she said "well they said it in the song" Thats why i hate it. I mean I love like Chamber Music and Mo-Tab. But Christian Pop is really annoying. Probably because I hate Pop music in general, then you add people who want to wail their love to the lord in really odd song and dance=super weird.

[polaris-starz.livejournal.com]

I think it doesn't work because mass marketing religion cheapens it; there's no personality in it, no emotion. It's just "Yay, I love Jesus!" Even though I'm not religious, I think some religious music is beautiful-- Ave Maria, Amazing Grace.

But if I ever hear "Our God is an Awesome God" again, I may have to cut a bitch.

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

'O Come, All Ye Faithful' is an awful lot of fun to sing.

[polaris-starz.livejournal.com]

Christmas songs have always been my big exception to religious music. I like "Noel" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" best.

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

I like 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' as well, but 'O Come, All Ye Faithful' is always going to be my favourite.

[leksey-esor.livejournal.com]

I went to a Catholic Elementary school and we did all the actions to "Our God is an Awesome God." I still have nightmares about it.

[frabjous-mimes.livejournal.com]

Oooh... that's a bad one. The chorus isn't so bad, but the line about "He wasn't just putting on the ritz" rhymed with "Lightning in his fists" would make me laugh if it didn't make me cry first!

[http://users.livejournal.com/__lys_fleurx__/]

It annoys me so MUCH, you have no idea. they put no thought into it really its just happy songs that don't mean anything for preteens who's parents won't let them listen to anything else. My best friend emily is in a christian band and she hates it, so, you know it obviously sucks.

[hyel.livejournal.com]

I don't know, why does it? Is it that it tends to be crappy, or the lyrics are silly?

[ari-enchanted.livejournal.com]

When I was still Christian, I saw Switchfoot live before just before they became popular for about three minutes. The singer jumped off the stage and started brushing everyone's hands in typical rockstar behavior. I just thought, wait a minute, aren't you supposed to be about God and not yourself?

Also, the musicianship is typically shoddy and the message is only the most comfortable parts of Christianity. Rarely do they sing about witnessing or not sinning or whatever, it's all happy love and forgivness YAY!

[morbid-bunny.livejournal.com]

Because over 95% of it is stupid and not really worshipful at all. Also, a good deal of the lyrics are very strained -- you can only rhyme so much with God and Jesus.

I counsel at a Christian camp for a couple weeks every summer and get REALLY sick of half the music they play.

This isn't the case with all Christian music, though. Some religious music -- even some of the stuff we play with the kids (I counsel ages 8-13, depending on the camp) is absolutely beautiful. A couple of the songs bring tears to my eyes every time I hear them.

But, as far as Christian pop goes... ick. It makes me die a little inside.

[omarm-me.livejournal.com]

There is only one Christian band I kind of like, a German rap/pop/rock band called Söhne Manheims

I never even realised they were very religious, untill I bought the cd and read the sleeve notes. Could just be a clever marketing/conversion technic :)

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

They're a Christian band? I've only heard one of their songs - 'Und Wenn Ein Lied', I think it's called.

[omarm-me.livejournal.com]

I bought their cd "Noiz", and the notes were full off Jezus, God, and one of the songs was a version of a well known prayer. I was very surprised. Still, I like their songs. I suppose they are different from other christian bands, because their not very outspoken about it.

[omarm-me.livejournal.com]

"Wenn du schläfst" is my favourite :)

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

I'm not that familiar with their music; I've only heard the one I mentioned because the German assistant played it to us one day.

[frabjous-mimes.livejournal.com]

Because there is religious music out there that is deep and meaningful, and that isn't it. The youth mass in my church has become torture for me because of people waving their hands in the air, singing horrible rhymes with messed up beats and generic platitudes instead of the 2,000 years' worth of brilliant music at our disposal.

Plus, Christian pop seems to want to make you feel guilty if you're not transported with emotion at hearing it, so people seem to fake it so as not to look like Philistines.:|

[sinisterlysweet.livejournal.com]

If they really want religious and spiritual rock music, they should pick up a George Harrison album. I wouldn't mind musically religious people if they sounded like him.

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats Russian!Amish vegetarian rap.

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

WRATH I SAY.

[rumblecake.livejournal.com]

I hate listening to it and I don't fully know why...it's not because I'm not a Christian, really. I used to be and I hated it even then. I think it's because the singers don't go into the tougher aspects of faith. You hear other pop music and it's about lost love, or unfaithfulness, or drug addiction...but listening to Christian music, it's like they're trying to block out all the pain and suffering in the world by distracting themselves with religion, which is NOT what Christianity is about, if I remember correctly...

I guess it's sort of like when I see someone praying in a popular movie...it just strikes me as so forced and fake and manipulative.

[rebekah-weasley.livejournal.com]

Er, I hope you don't mind me asking this three days after you posted? I haven't really been on the internet (trying to avoid Harry Potter spoilers!)...
Anyways, what would you describe as Christian Pop? Well, maybe I should say who? Whatever the case, I'm not a very good judge of what type of genre a song is.
*shrugs*
Just curious!

[otakugal15.livejournal.com]

My beef with Christian Rock is that three of my cousins can ONLY listen to that and I could never really listen to what I liked around them. I'm not a Christian, I'm Agnostic. I have nothing AT ALL against songs like Amazing Grace, Christmas songs, or a lot of the Gospel songs (Elvis especially), but Christian Rock/Pop/etc just BUGS ME.

Back to the cousins, my aunt...She's a super conservative Christian and thinks any sort of rock/pop/r&b/techno/etc. is devil produced. I've come to really despise people like her, people who are so narrow-minded that all they can see is what is in front of them, and that's usually a Bible.

I have nothing against religion in anyway, but it's the narrow-minded that make me hate it.