What is Christian Music? (The Very Short Answer)

Last updated on: July 28, 2018 at 11:31 pm by Esther O’Reilly

What is Christian Music? (The Very Short Answer) 2018-07-28T23:31:59-04:00 Esther O’Reilly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This post really should be longer, and indeed there will likely be further installments on this topic to come. However, since I don’t have time for a longer installment at the moment, and since I’ve learned from wise advice and experience that the shorter posts tend to generate more comments anyway, this will be a short post. (But you have to provide the comments to prove my rule of thumb correct!) [Edit: Ummmm, assuming comments haven’t mysteriously been turned off, that is! Not sure how that happened this morning but it’s been fixed now.]

Kyle Boreing recently offered a well-worn answer to the question on Musicscribe, inspired by something he read from Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman. The nub of the rather vague quote Kyle cited appeared to be that “There is no such thing as Christian music.” Kyle clarified his terms a little better to concede that there can be explicitly Christian songs that deal with sacred themes and biblical stories, and on the flip side there are blatantly profane songs that are anti-Christian. This is trivially true. However, there remains in both his post and Foreman’s quote the same ambiguity that always arises in these discussions as between SONGS and MUSIC. On the one hand Kyle acknowledges the obvious fact that songs can contain a clear pro- or anti-Christian message, and on the other hand he says, “To call one type of music ‘Christian’ over another type of music is like saying ‘This donut is more spiritual than that bagel’,” which seems to be going back to music qua rhythm, melody, etc. But then ultimately he wants to claim that a story-song or some other song that’s not necessarily explicitly Christian might be just as “Christian” in its own way as long as it isn’t offensive.
In my view, Kyle is limiting his options. He dislikes “labels,” so he wants to avoid using words like “secular” or “non-Christian” for music he considers good. But isn’t this, in a subtle way, accepting the stigma that’s been attached to those labels? Why couldn’t we reclaim them as neutral modifiers, thereby retaining the clarity they bring to our conversations about music? Because otherwise, we run into awkwardness.
Think about it: What’s your favorite wholesome pop song? Mine is “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Now, is it a Christian song? Well, despite the fact that some people bizarrely seem to see it as some kind of message from God to man (I have the Godtube videos to prove it!) not particularly, no. And that’s okay. On my ipod, it’s in the “Pop” genre, where I put all the mainstream pop music that I listen to. I also have a CCM “label” for my favorite CCM artists, which is also okay. Now, I could potentially go through and figure out which CCM artists are pop, which are rock, etc., and make giant pop, rock, etc. playlists with all the mainstream and Christian artists together. Sometimes, I do make special playlists that bring them together, like my Questions and Answers series. But I don’t feel like doing a big artist dump for each genre, because I like the “labels” I use. They keep things tidier, and they make it easier for me to match my mood. Most of the CCM I have is more thoughtful and contemplative (Chris Rice, Fernando Ortega, Rich Mullins, etc.), but mainstream, classic pop/rock is what I listen to in the car for fun. It’s not that one is inferior to the other, it’s just that they’re different.
And that’s my point: Instead of awkwardly trying to say “no music is Christian” or “all music is Christian,” or whatever Jon Foreman is driving at (I know YOU didn’t put it that way Kyle, so don’t say I misquoted you!) how about if we refine our terminology? Let’s keep the “secular” (or “mainstream”) and “Christian” labels, because they’re useful and clear, but let’s make a further subdivision within both categories: worthwhile versus not worthwhile. Yes, I said both. I will take my mainstream, secular pop/rock oldies over whatever schlock my local CCM station is belching out any day of the week. And in fact, we do so every day, my trusty ipod and I. Christian music isn’t necessarily good music, and vice versa. But, both ways of categorizing what we listen to have their place.
So that is my very short answer to the whole debate. Ultimately, I’m probably saying the same thing Kyle was trying to say, only more clearly. At least, close to what he meant to say. There are still a few loose ends here where I suspect we will part ways. For example, what of Christian metal and holy hip-hop? To hear my full opinion on those topics, you will have to stay tuned!
By the way, while I’m talking about Kyle, I’ll put in a plug for his Kickstarter campaign. He’s recording a new solo album and needs to raise 10,000 dollars in 52 days. This is his first in eight years, and it will be fully produced with all-new songs. But, he needs help from loyal fellow southern gospel fans like you and me to get it done! Bring a nickel and tap your feet (or something) here.

Music

Music Commentary

Previous Post

December 9, 2013

Monday Morning Humor: Home Alone, Pug Puppy Version

Next Post

December 12, 2013 Christmas Top Fives: "Go Tell It On the Mountain"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 3 star 3.5 star 4 star 4.5 star Anatomy of a Song Behind the Songs Blog Stuff Book Reviews CCM CCM vs. SG CD Reviews Christians in Entertainment Christmas Essential 12 Christmas Favorites Christmas Top Fives Concert Reviews Concerts Culture Devotional Thoughts Faith and Culture From the Vault Fun Gospel Singers Gospel Songs Great Music Guest Posts Harmony Master Classes History Holidays Humor Hymns Interviews Marriage in the Movies Monday Morning Humor Movie Reviews Movies Music NQC Odds and Ends Old Movies, New Eyes Old Southern Gospel News Old Stuff Open Threads Other Genres Perfect Tenor Performances Polls Questions and Answers Recently Added SG vs. The Rest of the World Sing It Again Songs Songwriting Southern Gospel Surprise Sunday The Definitive Hymns Theology Toe-to-Toe Top 10 Lists Top 5 Top 5 Lists Two Sisters Review Uncategorized Video Posts Youtube Finds

Select a Month August 2026 February 2025 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 October 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 March 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 April 2018 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group follows the "Westminster Confession of Faith"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Presbyterians Baptists Lutherans Catholics