Between Rock & A Hard Place!!
A Response...
I normally don’t jump on bandwagon commentary or criticism of theological points, ministries or what-have-you. Or even talk about Christian music. But this week has been interesting to say the least. This week the Christian rock/metal band ‘Skillet’ released a cover of the much beloved hymn “O Come…O Come…Immanuel”.
And oh boy!!! has it caused a furore in the realm of Christian social media.
The response one side of the spectrum has been - “Yeah it’s pretty good, I don’t mind it at all.” - all the way over to - “It’s blasphemy, they’re heretics”. And I wish I was joking about that last statement too - almost as if the song itself was holy scripture.
And I get it…rock, especially heavy rock/metal may not be your thing. Personally, I have a fairly eclectic range of music interests and tastes. But, I do enjoy Christian metal music. I have listened to Skillet off and on over the years since their rising to prominence in the mid-90’s. They aren’t my favourite Christian band - so this isn’t a fanboy post defending my musical heroes to the death.
Rather, this is all about the rise in legalism and egregious behaviour amongst some in the Christian social media space. And how lines are being drawn in the sand, when there really shouldn’t be.
So, here is the link to the song in question if you haven’t heard it yet…have a listen, even if rock isn’t your thing - then you will understand the context of what I’m about to discuss next.
Skillet - O Come...O Come...Immanuel
So, where does that leave us??? Like on a biblical, theological level…
The vehement and almost venomous responses of some ‘Christians’ against the song show their true heart nature. It shows that they do not truly have love for their fellow believer, but rather they carry a spirit akin to the legalistic pharisees of Jesus’ time. If anything their responses have been unbiblical.
At the very least they should have followed Paul’s framework for restoring a person who is known to be living unrepentant sin.
Galatians 6:1
"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."But no…these people went out guns blazing commenting on the appearance of the band members, the style/genre of their music - they were labelled as satanic and as heretics, and blasphemers. There was no grace, no mercy and certainly no reaching out to the band and asking why they chose that song to cover, and why they performed it as they did.
You know - like normal, rational dialogue between people.
Jesus is quite sincere and pointed in his response to people about what it looks like to actually follow HIM, and to be counted as one of HIS disciples.
John 13:35:
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”None of the actions of those who were speaking against the band and their interpretation of the song did so in a loving, brotherly manner. And if we as Christians should be a reflection of Christ to others - such behaviour is a stain on Jesus, as much as it is a blight on Christianity and the character of those who spoke so derogatorily about the band and the song.
Now…what about the genre of music? Is it Godly? Can it be used as a form of worship? Can it be a source of righteous truth?
Well let’s explore that a little bit shall we???
Firstly, to say a particular type of music is satanic denies the divine and supreme authority and power of Yahweh. If a certain form of music is satanic that means that Yahweh, the Holy Spirit and our saviour Jesus are powerless to act against it. And it stops Christians from utilising it as a form of witness and to provide righteous truth to those who may not access the inside of a church.
Secondly, the band itself - Skillet - always discusses Jesus and faith, and calls people to HIM during their concerts. Even in concerts where they are playing in a rotation filled with non-Christian bands, and predominantly unbelieving fans in the stands. They stand for biblical ideals on family, sexuality and many other aspects of life. Also, whilst many of their Christian musical brethren are ‘reconstructing’ their faith, or leaving it altogether - they have remained steadfast in their love, honour and faith in Jesus Christ as messiah. So, to accuse them of being satanic and heretics is disingenuous at best, it is blatantly untrue, and even ungodly at worst.
Christian heavy metal fits into biblical modes of worship as there are psalms which declare that we should worship accompanied by many musical instruments, by shouting and calling out to the Lord, and to do so with passion and vigour. Then there is the biblical genre of writing called the ‘Lament’ - which is a form of poetry and song which lays out the pain and struggle of life’s events in plain words and with all the human emotions associated with them - yet they always bring the reader/worshipper to a place of re-connection with Yahweh.
So. if you take the time to listen to the songs, understand the lyrics of many Christian metal bands - their song lyrics to precisely that.
But what does the Bible actually say???
In the Old Testament in particular, the Bible has much to say about worship and the forms of worship. In particular, the use of instruments, and how we use our voice.
So, here we go…..
The use of a wide range of instruments in worship is listed in the OT, one prime example is that of Psalm 150 which lists at least seven different instruments, on top of our voices - and it even says to use some of them loudly.
Psalm 150 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Perhaps we should see it from the perspective of the prophet Samuel…
1 Samuel 6:5 "Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals."
Or, from the book of 1 Chronicles, which again speaks of a range of instruments being used to worship Yahweh. In fact, these are instructions to the priestly Levitical order, rather than some loose guidelines.
1 Chronicles 15:16 "Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy."
Or, maybe we could hear from the Prophet Ezra, who linked the use of instruments to acts of dedication and worship.
Ezra 3:10-11 "When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid."
So, we can clearly see - even at a quick, cursive glance - that the Bible does indeed promote the use of multiple instruments in our worship. Now, what does it say about worship that is - well let’s say raucous?
Well we will once again turn to the Psalms, because well…they were written to music, and they have formed the heart of worship for both Jews and Christians for nearly 3,000 years. Here we see a repetitive pattern…
Psalm 95:1 - "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation." Psalm 98:4 - "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises." Psalm 100:1 - "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!"
At first glance, you might look at those verses and say “Yeah but it says - joyful - not growly angry voice.” True…but joy (in the biblical sense, not the modern psycho-social sense), is not an emotion - rather it is a heartfelt, spirit deep thankfulness for the mercy and grace of Yahweh, and its origins are in HIM, and HIM only. So, if a person expresses their joy at the glory, grace and mercy of Yahweh active in their life in a loud, energy-filled, passionate way - then so be it.
I could almost guarantee that if King David heard some of his psalms being sung in a heavy manner, that he would appreciate the musicality, and vocalisations in a way, because it honours God.
There is a perception out there - and I have to admit, I kinda agree with it - that modern worship music and the modern worship “service” has been highly feminised.
Maybe consider the Gregorian chant linked below (it’s in Latin by the way)…it is both respectful, haunting, and a lifting of the voice. It would not be a stretch to add modern electronic instruments to this to produce a similar sound (and lyrics) to many of the Christian heavy metal bands of the past 20-30 years.
A person, irrespective of which Christian background you come from, cannot create doctrine based off of their own personal perception or viewpoint on a thing. So, someone who claims that rock music is satanic because they do not like the genre of music - is not acting in love or truth.
If Yahweh - who knows everything about all things - thought for a moment that certain rhythms, tones, or even frequencies of sounds were of the devil himself, Yahweh would have warned us of them and stated them explicitly. yet, the opposite seems to be true of the scriptures.
Yahweh created music, Yahweh created us, and Yahweh created us to be creative as a representation of HIS creativity. So all music is of Yahweh. That said, everything has been corrupted since The Fall. Even the Bible has been used to justify racism and slavery - yet it is not of satan, nor is it wrong. The same measure can be applied to music - can music be used for satanic purposes, especially ungodly lyrics - absolutely yes…but that doesn’t make all music satanic.
Those who try to push their narrative and their structure of worship, and of their narrow viewpoints of various matters begin to sound more and more like the legalistic pharisees that Jesus spoke about.
I have to wonder if the same people who criticise Skillet for their cover of the song would be the same people who would have criticised Jesus for ministering to the Samaritans???
I certainly hope that the Body of Christ begins to act like what it is, rather than a group of spoilt little toddlers ranting and raving about whether they like chicken nuggets or not.
May Yahweh forgive us of our infantile behaviour, and return to the truth that is shown in HIS word.
NOTE: If Christians heavy rock/metal is something that interests you, and might help you, a family member or a friend - the following is a list of high quality Christians bands. These are just suggestions, and are my particular taste in Christian metal, there are many other bands of a similar ilk.
Wolves At The Gate
Demon Hunter
Projet 86
Red
Holy Name
POD
Skillet