"Protest Against The Rising Tide Of Conformity"
I've been listening to Bob Dylan's new cd "Modern Times" and His old Cd "Saved". I must confess, I like his less in your face faith music more. His faith is woven all through his lyrics and biblical imagery is behind so much that he writes, past and present. The "christian" cds are obviously potent with His new found faith at that time and the evangelical zeal for sharing Christ is strong in them for sure. But It just seems so...pushed in some ways.
Maybe its my postmodern upbringing but I cringe at bull horn preaching outside of the pulpit. Using art as a "tool" is common among the chosen, but I find myself tired by such endeavors. Not that I don't believe in sharing Christ but the methods today seem so commercialized or packaged like a frozen tv dinner. Personal cooking is by far the most preferred choice for eating food. A loving cook is much more meaningful than a fast food worker hashing out some cheap grub. So often I feel that the treasure of Christ has been forced into a cardboard container and shrink wrapped for quick and easy consumption. Like all the mush at the local buffet, soft and mushy os anyone can swallow it. But soon it all tastes the same.
Art gets hijacked in the church, whether film, music, paintings or books, the message trumps the medium. Soon even people are not important just their spiritual guts. Who cares whether they have food or clothes or emotional needs...we just want to know if they are saved? We depersonalize humanity and reduce the human drama to accepting a few propositions of truth. We have taken a color filled existence and reduced it to a black and white experience. I don't like it and it often makes me slightly spiritually queasy.
I want prophets that are not looking for profits....be they spiritual or material. Bring back the oracles that speak to speak, sing to sing, paint to paint, write to write. Give the ones who are passionate about the WAY as much as the TRUTH and understand that TRUTH must be wed to LIFE to truly be lived.
2 comments:
Well said Eric, I couldn't agree more.
I never bought "Saved" for that reason. But his next album "Shot of Love" has some great "Christian" songs, "Every grain of sand" for example. You should check it out.
I too prefer the subtle. Not because I'm opposed to the message, but if one is yelling(figuratively) whatever you say just sounds annoying.
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