Nine years later, it still doesn’t look to me like “Christian publishers”–or publishers in general–are able to meet the demand for Christian fiction.
But what is “Christian fiction”? I would say it’s fiction that’s informed by the truths of the Bible and written in God’s service. That would apply to “Christian anything.” Even–dare I say it?–“Christian politics.”
I think I’ve got to go with “anything and everything.”
Sadly, there are always people who will rush to a waiting market, without regard for quality and integrity. It’s shameful if they slap the label Christian on such products, when they may not truly reflect Christian values.
I’m afraid there’s a lot of that.
I realize that I’m am straying afield from Christian fiction, but it is a parallel subject.
Christian Rock strikes me this way. The formula is replace “baby” with “Jesus” and a Rock tune becomes Christian Rock. Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but I’ve heard some real garbage referred to as Christian Rock. While my main preference is towards Jazz and some Classical, I am open to Rock, at least the Rock that is not harsh, overbearing or dark sounding. I’ve played in bands that covered early ‘60s Rock, and found that there was a lot of good material out there.
So can God be praised with Rock? Well, I’m not fit to make that judgment, but keep in mind that Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman would have seemed outrageous in Stephen Foster’s day, which is to say that setting boundaries becomes a slippery slope.
A while back, I heard a harpist playing what is believed to be the manuscript of a song from ancient Israel, and I can say that it was pretty snappy. Contrary to popular opinion, Duane Eddy didn’t invent “twang”, although he may have perfected it.
So I don’t condemn Christian Rock, but I am skeptical of bands playing such music while adopting the dress, grooming and persona of secular Rock bands. I prefer to set myself apart from such trends, and wouldn’t want to present myself as singing praise to God while looking like a refugee from some ill fated Rock band.
Psalm 33 tells us:
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Doyle Dykes recent did a video about the late Duane Eddy, who was an early guitar hero, from the latter ‘50s, and considered the king of twangy guitar. He mentioned that playing skillfully on the strings could perhaps be translated to cover twangy guitar sounds. There was a bit of tongue in cheek going on here, but Dykes made a good point; skillfully played music can certainly be used in praise.
Duane Eddy, to the best of my knowledge, was a devout Christian by his later years, and is one of the kindest, most humble and most self effacing persons I have ever met. He was a groundbreaker, and even considered a rebel in his day, but at heart, he was simply a very talented man who showed modesty on his walk with God.
So, at least from my perspective, the best measure of Christian art is reflected in the life of the artist. A decent person, who seeks to live a Godly life will reflect this in their artistic expression, whether that be books about a place called Obann, Praise & Worship music, or a tall fellow who contributed his twangy guitar to good music that anyone could enjoy.
The same goes for all the various arts, doesn’t it?
Very much so.
I’ve been looked at, askance, because I don’t play Heavy Metal guitar, but there’s no Heavy Metal inside of me trying to get out. Those sounds, those feelings, those sentiments are not what I want to express.
While I appreciate music which praises God, I have never personally played Praise and Worship music in any organized setting. I have written songs, but never felt motivated to write songs of praise. I have come to the conclusion that I am simply not led in that direction, but if that ever changes, I’ll give it my best. It may be that God doesn’t want praise music with Jazz chords in it. 🙂
I agree with you. It is what is in the heart that counts most. When we desire to praise God, He will see that it comes out right, whether everyone likes it or not.
I always make a point of asking Him to bless my work and make it fruitful in His service–every day.
That is the most wise course.
Christian worship of God must follow the Bible. Different cultures and traditions can vary very much. Jesus said, they who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth – and I think our Heavenly Father is a better judge of that than we are.