Compartmentalize your Music

[This post is filled with generalizations. You will be able to think of exceptions to my generalizations. I'm absolutely self-aware in this regard. With that being said, let the unfair, broad generalizations begin...]

On Sunday night, the Grammy's took place. I won't report on proceedings, because that is for other websites to do. But during Macklemore's performance of the song "Same Love," 34 people got married in front of the watching world by Queen Latifa. Some of these couples were straight, most of them were gay. The song itself is making a political and moral statement. Here's just a sample:

The right wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don't know
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago
I don't know

It was Andrew Fletcher who once said, "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws." In spite of the many problems and contradiction in the song, "Same Love" has become the public popular face of a quickly shifting morality in the northwestern hemisphere today. I watched the performance of this song on YouTube the next day, and I couldn't help but think that the performance was phoned-in and obnoxiously preachy. If conservatives are accused of shoving their morality "down the throat" of everybody else, liberals are now guilty of the same.

Tom Barnes (who I do not believe is a Christian of any sort), writing over at Policymic, seemed to see just how preachy the music and performance were, as well.

But just as pop music's social consciousness is becoming increasingly performed rather than felt, so too was this performance flawed. It was one of those deliberately crafted "beautiful" TV moments where the audience can see all the strings, but has to applaud because the "APPLAUSE" sign is on. 

Those 34 couples became stage props in the most absurd publicity stunting in the history of the Grammys. The performance lacked all the emotional subtly and storytelling mastery apparent in the track's music video and the lyrics themselves. Instead, it substituted these elements with show biz cheese. How was that performance supposed to support the cause? I can imagine no skeptical homophobe saying: "Yes, gay marriage should be legalized because I want to see more people mass married by pop musicians." That's because even the Grammys knows that, increasingly, people want to see their politics in their rap songs, and that they care less about genuine artistry.

Genuine artistic (that nebulous idea!) integrity, in other words, is taking a backseat, now, to message in mainstream music. You would be forgiven for reading the previous section and seeing simply a critique of an artist who is overstepping into sanctimonious territory. But then Barnes says something that everyone needs to hear about the musical climate of the day:

Either way, this is what audiences seem to want from music. They want hip-hop clean and poppy with smooth-tongued argumentative elegance. They want hopeful tracks like "Same Love" and swanky, light and playfully critical numbers like "Thrift Shop." This style won over albums that offered transcendent, visceral and artistic expressions, like Kendrick Lamar's good kid m.A.A.d. city, which is a more proper rap album when compared with The Heist, which is, at its core, a pop album. The Grammys seem to want to pretend that isn't the case.

The struggle between artistic integrity and preachy messages is not something that only exists in the rap music world, but the Christian music world, too. I get lots of flack from friends who don't like that I pick on Christian music. (This is going to be one of those posts. Sorry.) If you want to hear that the state of the Christian musical union is strong, go listen to something more positive and encouraging.

But as a Christian, I listen to commentary from this writer in the midst of the rap world and I immediately think of the music that I, as a Christian, am supposed to like. The stuff I'm expected to get behind. And even if I don't like it, I'm supposed to throw my support behind it because these "artists" have a good message, or worse yet, they "mean well." For many Christians, music is as invested with weight and importance as the word preached is supposed to be. This isn't surprising, considering the vast majority of Christians listen to far more music than they do Biblical preaching.

The fact is, Christian music artists are supposed to be artists, not necessarily preachers. This doesn't mean they can't have a biblical message, but it might mean more subtlety if one is to be a good artist. I can list on a couple of hands the names of artists who self-identify as Christian who, in my opinion (that dreaded subjective word!), seem to balance art and message well. But the stuff I hear on Christian radio, when I am subjected to it, is so overt, so shallow and preachy (on the message side), so sugary and mainstream (on the artistic side) that it really has jettisoned any pretentions of artistic integrity.

Many Christians are fine with music that is artistically shallow. They don't see the harm if the lyrics are good. Most hymns are in this category. As are my CDs of the Westminster Catechisms set to music. They're an excellent way to learn biblical truths or memorize Scripture, but this is far from good art and doesn't pretend to be.

This is not what gets played on Christian radio.  The lyrics of most mainstream songs are filled with platitudes so shallow that if we tried to dive into them our brains would be spilled across the bottom of the pool. There is no way to accurately or fairly paint an entire musical scene. There is variety out there. There is really, really good stuff out there. But when I turn on that positive and encouraging station (which, again, seems to represent the mainstream of what Christians in America are listening to), most of what I hear is the Christian equivalent of Sunday night's Grammy performance.

Is there a way out? Well, I'm no artist. In many ways, I'm like an armchair quarterback who knows a bad pass when I see one but could never throw the ball, myself. But my gut tells me that Christians need to start listening to good music and stop worrying so much about the message. ("Heresy!") And they need to make sure that the pastors in their churches are feeding them well from the Scriptures. This, of course, might require that Christians not be afraid to hear something they disagree with on the radio and to sort wheat from chaff as they're listening, but they should already be doing that.

Yes, I'm calling for Christians to compartmentalize. Christians need to know where they should expect to be spiritually fed and where they should not expect to be fed. I remember years ago, Rich Mullins (Christian musician par excellence) was speaking at a concert, and here's what he said:

It's so funny being a Christian musician. It always scares me when people think so highly of Christian music, Contemporary Christian music especially. Because I kinda go, I know a lot of us, and we don't know jack about anything. Not that I don't want you to buy our records and come to our concerts. I sure do. But you should come for entertainment. If you really want spiritual nourishment, you should go to church...you should read the Scriptures.

Christians today spend more time being "fed" through a medium trying to be a hybrid of "art" and "preaching" than they actually do with the God-given means for growth that's been provided. God has given the church three primary means of grace already: The Word (read and preached), Sacraments (baptism and the Lord's supper), and Prayer. Creating a functional fourth category of "Christian Music" has only resulted in a theologically diluted and artistically compromised category of music that is musically and theologically mainstream in the worst possible sense of the word.

Why Christians Should Listen to Punk Rock

Punk rock music is the true Christian art form. I know it's hard to believe, what with all that rebellion and screaming, but hear me out. Nancy Pearcey in her book, How Now Shall We Live? discusses classical music, and in so doing argues (I'm going from memory here since my copy of the book has gone the way of the buffalo) that classical music is an especially Christian form of art because it embraces narrative, motion, beauty, structure, and elegance; all of which are part and parcel of the Christian worldview. As her foil in the book, she sets up John Cage, the prince of musical disorder. His music, so she says, embodies chaos, detachment, and lawlessness (all of which reflect the ethos of the serpent in Genesis 3). Now, Nancy Pearcey is just wrong, and I'll tell you why. There is a far more superior musical art form to classical music: namely, punk rock. The author of this blog post is a fan of punk rock, and I like it for one simple reason: It is the Christian form of music.

First of all, not all music that is classical in form is Christian in content. Think of the Mephisto Waltzes by Franz Liszt. But even excluding disturbing exceptions like this, its form is all wrong, as well. Whereas classical music embodies order, law, structure, and beauty, punk rock embodies--not the world as it should be--but the world as it is. Also, punk music has a social awareness that would put Beethoven and his ministry to the deaf to shame.

Punk music has its feet firmly on earth and deals with the nitty gritty of a world in chaos, scrambling for some moment of sanity. Think of The Clash in their song "Straight to Hell." This song addresses in rather painful fashion the mistreatment of immigrants, as well as the love children of American G.I.s who procreated with the unfortunate female population of Vietnam during the war. Gritty, painful, dirty. Punk lives in the here and now--the already, rather than the not yet. Or consider a song by The Dropkick Murphys called "The State of Massachusetts," which faces head-on the effect that drug-abuse has on families.

These singers sound more like the Psalmist or Habakkuk and less like the sort of feel-good Christianity that gets day-in and day-out dumped out of the musical sugar jar we call K-LOVE. The world is plunged into sin, and Jesus Christ has brought hope. Yes, punk music reflects a genuine attempt to push back against authority, but Paul speaks in Colossians of the fact that Christ "disarmed the rulers and authorities." Jesus was the original punk (minus the wallet-chain). Things aren't right in the world as we know it, but Jesus Christ will one day come to consummate what he began in his incarnation. There's some already in there with the not-yet, but the structured, ordered, law-abiding nature of classical music misses out on the already and exchanges it for cherubs floating on clouds clutching harps.

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One thing that we see a lot of in our world today--especially when it comes to interchange between Christians and the cultural enjoyments they partake of, is an impulse towards baptizing our own particular preferences. Nancy Pearcey did it in How Now Shall We Live?, we just did it in the first part of our post above (for purposes of illustration), and bloggers and Facebookers the world over do it all the time. It's that human religious tendency to take something that we like, and to say, "You know? This makes sense to me when I look at it a certain way," and then jump to the conclusion that the music or the art or the movie or the political party that we enjoy may just have some warrant in Scripture.

This doesn't mean that we ought to despair ("Oh no! The Bible doesn't tell me which political party to join! What will I do!?"). Instead, it means we ought to be modest about our own views and preferences if Scripture doesn't speak to the matter. We use common sense, we use reason and thoughtfulness (all aspects of the imago dei) to arrive at correct conclusions. I do not need the Bible to tell me that the stock market crash of 1929 happened because of X, Y, or Z in order to arrive at a correct conclusion (obviously it was because the U.S. left the gold standard and started printing money, but that is beside the point and has nothing to do with Scriptural teaching).

This issue doesn't only affect politics. As seen above, it affects Christian attitudes towards music, as well. We shouldn't come at issues of music as people who are aesthetically relativistic. But we ought to acknowledge that the Bible just simply doesn't spell out musical forms. At all. Like, ever. The most we know is that the people of Israel celebrated using a range of instruments in the praise of God. We don't know if it sounded like a drum line, a flute sonata, or De-loused in the Comatorium. What we do know is that instruments were involved and there was some dancing. End of story. Anything that is "derived from Scripture" beyond this is almost always a mixture of speculation and taste, brewed together, and then served up to perfection as someone else's new normative standard.

But there is a way out of this conundrum, and it's something that many Christians are uncomfortable with. The Bible doesn't speak about everything that ever happened in the history of mankind. The Bible does not tell us who is funnier: Hugh Laurie or Stephen Fry. The Bible does not tell us if a certain kind of musical beat is sinful. The Bible does not tell us whether or not to shave our head or do the comb-over. The Bible doesn't tell us if we should have oatmeal for breakfast or eggs. There are just issues in life that the Bible doesn't directly teach on, and when it doesn't, that becomes an area where we ought to be extremely careful about making dogmatic declarations. Many a Christian are guilty of taking their pet peeves or their pet preferences, or even opinions they've arrived at via a very rational and thoughtful mental process and making it an issue of dogma.

The hard thing that we're calling for is a good bit of modesty about many of our views, recognizing that we do not need a "thus saith the LORD" in order to justify every decision or choice that we make in life. In other words, stop baptizing your preferences.

But seriously, God may not say so, but you should really start listening to punk music anyway.

Ke$ha's False Premises

In the past I have highlighted foolish worldly pop-culture 'thinking' before, and I propose to do it again.  I encountered a song on the radio the other day by a 'singer' (quotes emphasized) named Ke$ha.  I'm guessing this spelling was an unfortunate error on the part of the nurse filling out the birth certificate.  Anyway, I wanted to share some lyrics (though you'll thank me for not quoting all of them) from one of her songs:

I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums
Oh what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young
We're gonna die young
We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

What's of interest to me, and ought to be of interest to everyone is the conclusion drawn.  For Ke$ha, the prospect of dying young entails hedonistic premises and leads to hedonistic conclusions.  And yet the assumption here is that questions of the meaning of life, of why we're here, of what true and lasting pleasure are, of death and the afterlife are all secondary.  For Ke$ha, death is just an obstacle to more pleasure.  And I fear for many of us, and for her enthusiastic listeners, this is often the case.

I know it's just a really dumb song, and the people who listen to it claim not to care about the lyrics, but they deserve a contrast from the opposite end of the seriousness spectrum.  I have previously compared music lyrics to Edwards, and I'm about to do it again.  Jonathan Edwards was the picture of a man who wanted desperately not to waste his life.  I quote now from his resolutions:

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

For many, music functions for us as a way to escape the responsibilities of existence.  It is a means to forget about work and family and life and just lose oneself in the beat.  If music is used in this way, it becomes a tool of self-destruction because, like a drug, it deadens the soul to our deepest and most desperate needs, while at the same time leaving those needs completely unaddressed.

Lets take Ke$ha's advice and live like we're gonna die young.  But let's do something different because of it.  Don't waste your life, people.

Open Message to Derek Webb: Flea Stole Your Bass Part

Now Derek, I know you're not the litigious type. But if you were, you could probably receive enough royalties from the sale of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album that you could get as weird and experimental with your music as you could ever desire. Getting to the point: here is your song "Jena & Jimmy" from your great album Stockholm Syndrome:

You like that bass part? Well I do. And so does Flea, apparently:

All I'm saying is that there is a STRONG similarity between the bass part of "Jena & Jimmy" and the one on "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie." I'm not personally a fan of lawsuits over these sorts of things, and I know you aren't either, Derek. But at the very least you can feel gratified that you came up with this great bass part before Flea did.

[Edit: It should also be pointed out that if you expand the video for the Chili Peppers song to full screen you can see that they took (one might say "borrowed liberally") U2's music video idea from "Where the Streets Have No Name."]

Lightning Storm + Rich Mullins

About a week ago a huge lightningstorm passed southeast of our house. It was a late night, and I decided to step out side to videotape the lightning. Some of you may find something pleasing about this video. I've set it to the tune of Rich Mullins' song "Calling Out Your Name" which is fitting for two reasons: (a) he makes reference to feeling "the thunder in the sky/I see the sky about to rain" which fits the video, and (b) he's from Kansas, like me, and so I always feel like he's singing about my home. I'm self-centered like that.

"Not to us, but to Your Name be the Glory..."

We've discussed Reformed Hip Hop here at Bring the Books before. What can we say - we're suckers for good theology and hot beats. Anyway, Shai Linne has an upcoming album titled The Attributes of God. His first single from the new album, "The Glory of God" is available now from Lamp Mode Recordings, so do check it out.

Here is a snippet of some of the lyrics:

I can’t explain the half of it
Our brains can’t even fathom it
And language is inadequate
To characterize the Lord on the throne
With spiritual eyes, His story is known
From Him and through Him and to Him is everything
Surely to God be the glory alone!

Chorus:
Not to us, not to us
But to Your name be the glory!

To download the song and to look at the complete lyrics, check out the page at Lamp Mode. [Note: At the moment Lamp Mode's website seems to be a bit overwhelmed.]

Listening to Zbigniew Preisner

I have been receiving constant and uninterrupted (I wish) pleasure from listening to Requiem For My Friend, by Zbigniew Preisner which this song comes from. In my mind, this is the apotheosis of the entire work, and I'm sure some of you will take great delight in the climax of the song around the 1:30 mark.

To Lady Gaga: Being "Born This Way" is Not Enough

I am told that Lady GaGa's single "Born This Way" has rocketed to the top of the iTunes charts and is supposed to be some sort of generation-defining song. What interests me, after reading the lyrics and listening to the song is that through the song, she is attempting to cause her listeners to cut loose, to accept themselves as they are, and to remember that they do have an excuse for their behavior - after all, I was born this way! A very popular sentiment in our culture, to be sure.

There are Christians out there who are going to take their stand against the message of this song by arguing, "No, you aren't born this way! It was a choice!" They will then appeal to science and the fact there has never been found a "gay gene." Such a response is not only theologically awful, but it misses the larger issue.

Lets just grant for a moment that Lady GaGa is absolutely right, and without question, every person is "born this way." Does this mean that everyone should act out on any and all of their impulses? Is the presence of an impulse or a desire enough to determine that an action is moral or immoral?

Or one might even turn the ethic around on GaGa. If someone is intolerant and hateful, might they excuse themselves by simply claiming, "Sorry, but baby, I was born this way!"

It would not be difficult to demonstrate the absurdity of this type of sentiment. All one has to do is look at human behavior that nobody is willing to say is acceptable and then move back from there. Murder? Okay, murder still isn't okay, even if the murderer does have a human impulse to commit such an act. Rape? Okay, rape still isn't okay, even though Lady GaGa keeps telling us that being "born this way" is grounds for determining our ethical standards. Sodomy? Well, that is one of our culture's grey-areas, isn't it? It's certainly debatable in the public arena, although it shouldn't be in the Church. What about adultery - breaking marriage vows? Well, I know a lot of people who believe it was fine for them to have an affair and destroy their marriage, simply because of the presence of the desire.

If you think about it in theological terms, Gaga has just given the field to Augustine. Sorry, Pelagius! Better luck next time! But who could have guessed that by granting Augustine's doctrine of posse pecar, someone would have thought they could find an ethical shelter for human misbehavior!

Don't misunderstand me; this meandering post is not about cross-dressing, or sexual orientation, as some may think the song is about. I don't even think that's all that the song is about. Rather, the point I am making is to point out the morally suicidal ethic that underlies the sentiments of "Born This Way."

The truth is, everyone is born this way, and yet we are without excuse, because we are still willing in our disobedience to God, even if we are unwilling to acknowledge Him. Simply because our desires are bent and perverted (my own included) does not excuse us (Rom. 2:1). Rather, our desires confirm that we are in inescapable need of the Savior who can free us from the guilt of sin and enable us to have a principle of love for God, so that we can honor God in our ethical decisions.

A Change of Heart for Belle & Sebastian

My first exposure to Belle & Sebastian was their song 'If You're Feeling Sinister,' where lead singer Stuart Murdoch speaks about how irrelevant the church is to young people. Here are a few excerpts from the song's lyrics:

Hilary went to the Catholic Church because she wanted information
The vicar, or whatever, took her to one side and gave her confirmation
Saint Theresa's calling her, the church up on the hill is looking lovely
But it doesn't interest, the only things she wants to know is
How and why and when and where to go
How and why and when and where to follow

The song concludes:

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
Chances are you'll probably feel better
If you stayed and played with yourself

Needless to say, Murdoch portrayed the Catholic church in a not-so-flattering light. This song, in fact, caused me to think of B&S as a pretty godless band. More recently, however, NPR did an interview with Stuart Murdoch *where they asked him about the seeming lack of faith in 'If You're Feeling Sinister.' Murdoch responded:

Yes, a startling lack of faith. When I wrote that song, I was writing from the perspective of somebody who was trying to work things out. Put it this way, I was like a young, fairly hip, 19 or 20-year-old punk who was knocking about Glasgow. But I went to church. I didn’t see any other hipsters or punks at church, so I was maybe kind of writing about the folks that I knew, and my friends. And perhaps, sort of rightly so, I could see why there might be this wall, this divide between them and the church.

In 2004, Stuart Murdoch did an interview where he discussed his interest in attending church:

I'm not actually a Christian with a capital C. I'm still asking questions. But I had this time when I found myself singing all these old hymns in my kitchen and I couldn't work out why I was doing it. Then one Sunday morning I got up, looked at my watch, and thought, 'I wonder if I could make it to a church service?' It was so welcoming. It just felt like you were coming home. Twelve years later, I've never left.

In the more recent NPR interview, Murdoch then talks about how he now goes to church on a regular basis and has grown considerably less cynical:

I slipped quite easily into it and it’s a thing that’s never left me. And if you have a thing in your life, which is quiet obviously the biggest thing thats happening, you can’t stop thinking about it. And you really shouldn’t stop talking about it. Else, you know, we’re not in Communist Russia in the ’70s, you know...You know, I want to talk about the things that I’m feeling. And if I have a force working inside me and something I think about on an hourly basis, then that’s what I’m going to write about.

In a fine contrast, the new album from Belle & Sebastian (which you can listen to at NPR for free until tomorrow when the album is actually released) titled Write About Love has quite a few songs which portray a positive vision of God. I'm not saying that Stuart is a Reformed born again believer, but it is very encouraging to see people I once thought of as godless pagans surprising me. One song, in particular, is called "Ghost of Rockschool":

I’ve seen God in the sun
I’ve seen God in the street
God before bed and the promise of sleep
God in my dreams and the free ride of grace
...
Master I love from the ground above
There’s the stars below as my memory flows
Every picture frame is beating louder than time
Every clock in the hall is bending slowly
...
come on I insist have a drink have a sit in the bar
tell me all about your man and your hopes and the flaws of your life

you could love
after all that’s what you’re looking for
you can love
it’s a currency unspoken heart
but it’s hard to form a good opinion
if you’re gonna look at me that way
and it’s gonna cause a crisis
might just lose a little faith
don’t touch me
if you touch me, you could never go back
faith

come on I insist have a drink have a sit in the bar
tell me all about your man and your hopes and the flaws of your life

*Many thanks to Mollie from 'Get Religion' for bringing the interview to my attention.

Lecrae "Background" Video

Off of Lecrae's new album, Rehab.

Stephen the Levite: The Interview (Part 2 of 2)

Picking up on our interview from yesterday with Lamp Mode Hip Hop artist, Stephen the Levite:

BTB: It seems like you tackle a pretty wide range of Christian doctrines. Are there any doctrines that you've tried to rap about, but just couldn't make it happen, for one reason or another?

STL: I had this one song I attempted to write years ago where I compared the tower of Babel and Babylon to Hip Hop Culture. I started off talkin' about Nimrod and the tower, then moved to the time when Daniel and the three Hebrew boys were there and wouldn't bow to the idol, then tried to make my comparisons. It was a cool idea, but it just didn't sound good. In retrospect I think it just may have been too conspiracy-theory-ish and I'm glad the Lord never let me put it out.

BTB: In addition to doctrinal subjects, it seems like you have quite a passion for addressing the sort of cultural problems which are going on in the church - especially the more materialistic American church. What areas do you think are in greatest need of being addressed?

STL: Without repeating my answer for the first question, I'd say the need for the gospel to penetrate and affect the way we view and do culture is a huge need. I've never been so convinced of the fact that the gospel is the solution to the legalism that fleshes itself out culturally, and the road blocks that it creates for the church in trying to reach others with the gospel. In America we don't seem to do a lot of cross cultural mission work, but I think we would if we were more willing to be all things to all men like Paul was. But that won't happen until we understand how the gospel and culture work together for the mission.



BTB: Back to the Lamp Mode Records album The Church for a moment. When you are working on a conceptual album like that with so many other artists, how do you all decide who was going to address which subject; for example, how did you end up addressing the topic of church membership and church discipline?

Basically, we all got an email from the Brian, who works at the label with a list of the topics and I tried to respond as fast as i could to get the topics i wanted. They were topics I was the most passionate about so I made sure i was the early bird. But i think even from the label's side, when you have a deadline, it's best to have the artists write about something they want to write about. I think the project turned out as well as it did because everyone got topics that they were either passionate about or practically living out in their own lives. Artists need that freedom to be authentic.

BTB: Has there been any negative reaction to the rhetorical line "If you're not a part of a church/ how do you know that you're saved?"

STL: The first time I performed it, I definitely got some funny looks. People came to me afterward saying that they could see it on the face of others as well, but nobody's really come to me personally about it. I noticed from "...to die is gain" that even though a lot of people are out there that disagree, most of them won't tell you. Either they just avoid your music, or they are intimidated, or they are convicted and just don't want to talk about it. You're actually lucky to get people that disagree with you. Pluralism is such a part of the world's culture that it's easy for people in the church to personally interpret your songs in a way that's more comfortable to them. People who actually disagree with you will enjoy your music and never realize what you really mean.

BTB: More congratulations are in order as well, since I understand you're a new father! This does lead me to my first part of my last question. Any chance we'll be seeing any songs about catechizing your babies on your next album? Also, any idea when we might be seeing your next solo album?

STL: Ha! Probably not catechizing, I'm a little more organic in my approach to the scriptures. I didn't learn Christ that way, so I probably won't teach Him that way. My Pastor teaches his son that way though so I'm not dissing it or anything. My son's only 6 months old, so we're still trying to get him to talk and crawl and stuff, but we'll see.

I have an EP coming out in September called "The Forerunner EP" and hopefully I'll have a full length solo project out next year, the earlier the better.

[You can find the first part of our interview with Stephen here]

Stephen the Levite: The Interview (Part 1 of 2)

One of the greatest things I learned about when I first read Collin Hansen's book Young, Restless, and Reformed was of the existence of Calvinist Hip Hop. Artists such as Shai Linne, Hazakim, and Stephen the Levite faithfully proclaim the word of God in their music, and their message is being heard at events such as the Legacy Conference, which just concluded a week ago.

Stephen is signed to Lamp Mode Recordings. Interestingly enough, after I requested this interview from Stephen, I discovered that my co-blogger Josh Walker actually attended bible college with him, which, to me, was a funny coincidence. Stephen's first solo album, To Die is Gain... was released in '06, and he has a forthcoming EP called The Forerunner coming out in September. Lyrics to all of Stephen's songs can be found at his blog.

BTB: First of all, let me just say thank you for agreeing to speak with us. Let me also say, congratulations on your Lamp Mode collaboration 'The Church'. I saw that it made it into the top 10 and outsold Lil' Wayne's album on iTunes the week that it came out, which must have been a thrill. It's a tremendous album from beginning to end, but I especially appreciated the insights you brought with your contributions.

I guess to begin with, I wanted to talk about this Christian sub-culture that takes theology very seriously and yet tends to look down on musical and cultural engagement. There are a lot in the Reformed community who think that the idea of Christian Hip Hop is not just a bad idea, but actually wrong. What do you say to Christians who think that Hip Hop is the Devil's music and should have no place in the church?

STL: Well, and I mean this as respectfully as possible, it's culturalism.

It reminds me of the passage in Galatians 3 where the Apostle Paul rebukes Peter openly for trying to leave the Gentiles when the Jews showed up. It works against the gospel of peace, which should bring cultural reconciliation based on Galatians 3:28 and Ephesians 2, and demonizes the culture instead of redeeming it. It's no different than racism or classism. When you say that Hip Hop has no place in the church, you're really saying that Hip Hoppers don't belong in the church. The cultural supremacist is saying that in order to be holy, you have to drop your culture, your language, your clothing, your music, and all that identifies you with your origins and your people, and become like the suburban, European-American middle class. You might as well say we need to get circumcised. I know these are strong terms, but that's what it is.

BTB: There are a lot of Calvinistic undertones in your music. Can you tell us a little bit about the point at which you started to really recognize the sovereignty of God and then make that a serious part of your theology?

STL: My membership at Epiphany Fellowship was a major part of it. I wrestled with a lot of God-centered theology for years, but being at Epiphany and being taught there help me come to grips with the reality of it all. It became less about how the doctrine felt and more about whether it was true and in the Bible or not.

BTB: Who are some of your biggest theological influences?

STL: Obviously for me it's just the Bible. No book can keep my attention as well as the Scriptures do, so I don't read a lot of theology books or too many commentaries. I'm big on reading huge chunks of scripture and meditating on what I've read. But also my Pastor Eric Mason from Epiphany is a huge influence on my understanding of Scripture. Marriage also changed the way I viewed foundational stuff like the Godhead, church, government structure, the gospel. And lastly I'd say a book called "Missional Church" which also changed the way I read the Bible and viewed missiology.

BTB: Your song "DNA" (Demons and Angels) makes hay of Christian rappers who do over-the-top spiritual warfare in their songs, calling it "an embarassment." You conclude the first part of the song by saying, "so preach the gospel, and stop tryin' to prove/ that you’re God's Ghostbuster, and the Bible is a glock that you shoot." When I listened to this song for the first time, I laughed out loud. Do you intentionally try to employ humor in your songs, or is it just sort of a byproduct of dealing with theological errors?

STL: I think the topic itself was humorous. Not all theological error is funny, but I felt like this wasn't the kind of theological issue where it would be unkind to make light the opposing view. So I was a little sharper in the first half because I was dealing with rappers whom I feel fit under the teacher category and should know better. But at the same time, it wasn't a damnable heresy, so i felt the humor would help drive home the point of how silly some of it is, and hopefully get them to laugh as they agree.

Tomorrow we will post the conclusion of our interview with Stephen.

[You can find Part 2 of the Interview here]

Music for Theologians: Hammock

Back in the 90s, one of my favorite bands was Common Children. I still love Common Children, and I listen to their music with unavoidable nostalgia. With their last album, they took a decidedly dream-pop turn, and all their fans got a glorious taste of Marc Byrd's beautiful guitar work. Since then, Byrd has written songs such as "God of Wonders" and acted as producer for bands like The Glorious Unseen and even produced a tremendous album with his wife, Christine Glass.

In 2004, Byrd partnered with Andrew Thompson and began releasing albums of glorious ambient-shoegaze music under the name Hammock. Now, I mention this band in the context of doing theology because it is perfect music to listen to while working your way through a meaty text or struggling to finish Vos' Biblical Theology. It is at once gorgeous and emotive and yet unobtrusive.

I am a big time advocate of post-rock music because rather than entertain, it is music which enriches our immediate experiences. I am constantly in a worshipful mindset when I listen to Hammock. As I drive to the store, I turn this music on and am reminded that life is more than a series of material experiences; there is a transcendent element to Hammock's music which makes studying theology feel like the most important thing in the universe - which it is. Almost.

Like all music which is without lyrics, listeners of post-rock music can insert their own ideas or notions into the music, but lyric-less music can be redeemed by Christians just as much as it can ruined by pagans. Also, knowing that Byrd and Co. do approach the music they do with a Christian perspective in mind, for me, makes me feel somewhat justified in delighting in God while listening to the gorgeousness of it all.

If someone was to pick an album by Hammock to start with, I would suggest Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop an Echo. It is the most guitar-heavy (very ethereal guitar; not at all a U2 album by any stretch), shoegazerish album from them so far. Also, Amazon is selling the MP3 version of the album for $6.99 which is a great deal. However, their album Kenotic is a close second. I also would not shy away from recommending their newest album, which is also epically beautiful; it is called Chasing After Shadows...Living With the Ghosts. My favorite song off of the new album is called "Little Fly/Mouchette" which reminds me a great deal of Brian Eno's greatest piece of ambient work ever, "An Ending: Ascent." In fact, as of this moment as I write this, if you go to Amazon's Hammock page, you can see that the first song off of Chasing After Shadows... is available for free download.

Calling All Record Collectors: Was This As Good a Find as I Think It Is?

Linus is right. The only thing funner than going record shopping is actually finding an awesome and unexpected record in the bargain bin! I found a soundtrack to a movie I had never heard of from 1978 called That Summer!. From what I can gather, the film is about young people growing up in the 70s in England. The thing that caught my eye, however, is who is on the Soundtrack. Look at this track listing:

Ian Dury And The Blockheads - "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll"
Mink DeVille - "Spanish Stroll"
Elvis Costello - "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"
The Boomtown Rats - "She's So Modern"
Zones - "New Life"
The Only Ones - "Another Girl, Another Planet"
Wreckless Eric - "Whole Wide World"
Patti Smith Group - "Because The Night"
The Boomtown Rats - "Kicks"
The Ramones - "Rockaway Beach"
The Undertones - "Teenage Kicks"
Eddie And The Hot Rods - "Do Anything You Wanna Do"
Ian Dury And The Blockheads - "What A Waste"
Nick Lowe - "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass"
Elvis Costello - "Watching The Detectives"
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - "Blank Generation"

There is nothing second rate about this entire album! From beginning to end, it's fabulous. But then, even better, I opened the gatefold and looked inside and found that it's imported from the UK and printed on transparent yellow vinyl! Not only that, but apparently, as far as my search has shown so far, this album was never printed on CD, and was never released in any format in the United States, which makes me glow with extra excitement. As somebody who's a big fan of new-wave/punk, this was a terrific find. And at only a dollar, I consider this a complete and total steal.

I just wanted to share a totally non-theological aspect of my life with you all. Thanks for listening; now back to business.

'Been Thinkin' About the Blues: Blind Willie Johnson

I don't understand the blues. The blues come from a world I don't live in. I've never been discriminated against because of my color; I've never lived in abject poverty; my kids don't cry all the time, and I have never felt in danger of my wife leaving me. These are tremendously common themes in the blues, especially the delta blues from the early 20th century. Singer after singer, from Robert Johnson to Lonnie Johnson belted out heartfelt songs bemoaning their unfaithful lovers (see Lonnie Johnson's song "She's Makin' Whoopee In Hell Tonight" for a good example). Nowadays, these themes have become somewhat of a cliche, but there was a time when these ideas were fresh, untried topics for musical exploration.

When I peruse the Mississippi Delta Blues singers, one bluesman who bucked these thematic trends in particular stands out to me. My first exposure to Blind Willie Johnson was his song "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine," which is a cautionary song/sermon about reading the Bible that's in your house before it's too late. (Technically Willie isn't a Delta singer because he was from Texas, but his music had a strong influence on the Delta bluesmen, and he is often, therefore, grouped in with the Delta bluesmen.) The two things which struck me were his sorrowful, shaky, deep, gravelly voice and his simple yet extraordinarily insightful lyrics:

I have a bible in my home,
I have a bible in my home
If I don't read it my soul be lost

And sister she taught me how to read,
sister she taught me how to read
If I don't read it my soul be lost, nobody's fault but mine

The biggest obstacle to listening to Blind Willie is simply one of linguistics; the man mumbles and roars, he growls and he whispers. He seemingly does everything he can to keep from being clearly heard by doing his best Tom Waits meets late-career Bob Dylan impression. For those who turn up the volume and listen closely, they will be richly rewarded by a dearth of God-glorifying lyrics and tremendous bottleneck guitar playing. Many consider him one of the greatest bottleneck guitarists of all time.

This man recorded only 30 songs between 1927 and 1929, but each and every one was unique and stood on its own as a testament to awesome theology and amazing, world-shaking musicianship. His songs have been covered by the White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Nick Cave, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and many others. Ry Cooder described Willie's song "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)" as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all American music." And yet for all of the acclaim Blind Willie now enjoys, in life things were not so great for Blind Willie. Legend has it, Willie was blinded at a young age when his stepmother threw lye in his face as revenge against Willie's father who beat her when he caught her cheating on him. Subsequently, Willie's father would leave him on street corners, begging for food and money in exchange for his songs.

Not a lot is known about Blind Willie, but what is known is that he was a preacher who operated The House of Prayer in Beaumont, Texas. In addition to preaching on street corners to whoever would listen, Willie would play his music for passersby, and it was in his songs that listeners could find some of the greatest sermons.

One song, in particular, recorded in 1929, is called "God Moves On The Water." In the song, Willie tells of the sailing and sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The continual refrain in the song is, "God moves, God moves, ah, and the people had to run and pray."

A.G. Smith, mighty man, built a boat that he couldn't understand
Named it a name of God in a tin, without a "c", Lord, he pulled it in
God moves, ah, God moves, God moves, ah, and the people had to run and pray

Willie seems to be saying that God caused the sinking of the great ship as judgment on mankind's hubris. But even if he is not saying that the sinking of the Titanic was a form of judgment, he is at least acknowledging that it happened by the will of God. A very haunting and sad song whose theme is betrayed by a furiously upbeat guitar part.

Willie's life ended almost as sadly as it began. In 1945, Willie's house burned to the ground. With no other place to live, he returned to the burned out ruins of his home, sleeping on his wet mattress until he died several weeks later from pneumonia. He was subsequently buried in an unmarked grave.

Willie committed his most deeply held hopes to his recordings. On one song, "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes," Willie recounts the source of many of his sorrows in life, but then he remembers the one hope he has in Jesus:

My mother, she's in glory, thank God I'm on my way
Father, he's gone too, and sister she could not stay
I'm trusting Him everyday, to bear my burdens away

'Cause I just can't keep from crying sometimes
Well, I just can't keep from crying sometimes
When my heart's full of sorrow and my eyes are filled with tears
Lord, I just can't keep from crying sometimes

Rather than denying the reality or importance of sorrow in the Christian life, Willie acquiesces to the pain, accepting it and then turning it towards the creator, seeking his solace with God since he could find no comfort in this life.

Lord, in my time of dyin', don't want nobody to cry
All I want you to do, is take me when I die
Well, well, well, so I can die easy
Well, well, well, well, well, well, so I can die easy
Jesus goin' make up
Jesus goin' make up
Jesus goin' make my dyin' bed

The Unprofessional Music Review: Derek Webb's Stockholm Syndrome

Apparently the long fight between Derek Webb and his record label, INO Records, has reached a conclusion. No sooner had I decided his album would never be released than I got an email from Webb stating that his new album Stockholm Syndrome was available for pre-order and immediate download (even though the album doesn't officially hit until Sept. 1). Being the loyal Webb fan that I am, I grabbed it up and want to share what I've heard with all of you.

First, for those unfamiliar with the controversy, here is what I have been able to ascertain about the album's controversial release. I should initially mention that Webb is no stranger to controversy. When his first solo album came out, some retailers refused to carry it because of the song "Wedding Dress," where he introspects: "I am a whore I do confess / I put you on just like a wedding dress" in reference to being covered by Christ. Some people apparently think "whore" is an inappropriate word.

Anyway, it has been a few years, but on May 12th, Webb sent the following to those of us on his email list:

"It seems I've finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently I've crossed it...At this point we're not sure when the record will come out and in what form. The majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which I consider to be among the most important songs on the record …. Because of various legal/publishing issues we're having to be rather careful with how we do what we're going to do next."

The rumor was that Webb had written a song about the christian church's treatment and ostracization of homosexuals, and in the context of the song had used the truly forbidden "s-word" (all of this turned out to be absolutely true). Considering it too much for the label to handle, they refused to release the album without its being censored and Webb refused to release the album without the language, since he deemed it necessary for his artistic vision. Both Webb and INO were at an impasse, it seemed, until today when the news that the album was available for pre-purchase and download. Apparently, the album is now available in two versions: Webb's original uncensored version, and INO's cleaned-up retail version.

So how is the album? In my opinion, it is his finest work. Being a rock-n-roll man myself, I was a bit put off by the clearly experimental and electronic direction Webb has employed for this album. I'd almost call it a purely pop album if it didn't have so many splashes of Radiohead/Wilco-esque experimentalism to it. It took a complete listen through the album for me to be comfortable with this directional shift, and now I like it. Alot. Interestingly, the album veers between two seemingly distinct sounds - the digital and the analog - and marries them together very coherently.

A good example of this is the song "What You Give Up To Get It," where the digital drums initially launch the song into its full-blown beat before the hard-hitting bass guitar hits the mix. The production on the bass is such that you can almost hear the fingers snapping the bass strings, reminding you that this something beyond electronica. From time to time during the song you will be in the nitty-gritty drum-beat and then suddenly the song is awash in shimmering synths without sounding like a retro 80s throwback sound. Meanwhile, some of the songs struck me as being more hip-hop sounding. For example; track two is a song called "Black Eye," and I could swear the production sounded like it was done by famed DJ, Madlib.

So the album is experimental, in terms of Webb's back-catalog. But what are we in for lyrically? Well, thematically speaking, Derek is still a protest songwriter. By my own estimation, 10 out of the 14 songs on the album are protest numbers. The themes that he tackles are varied.

In "Freddie Please," Derek sings as a deceased homosexual watching a certain hateful reverend from Topeka protest at his funeral, lamenting, "Freddie Please/Why do you tell me you love me/When you hate me/Freddie Please." The same topic is up for discussion in "What Matters More" when Derek condemns the modern evangelical obsession with homosexuality: "You say you always treat others like you wanted to be/You must love being hated for your sexuality." This is the same song where Derek utters the terrifying "s-word," which was the source of so much controversy for his label. I'm not really interested in dialoguing on the whole question of whether profanity is ever acceptable in art, because I've already tread that ground several times before. However, if you're interested in someone's opinion that I happen to agree with, you can read someone else's post on Jeff Wright Jr.'s blog.

Webb also tackles the issue of the Christian and the state on the song "The State," where he laments the evangelical agenda attempting to marry church and state in an unholy matrimony. Webb seems to be saying in the song that people used to appeal to their neighbor's sense of morality and persuade them on the level of conscience, but now people try to pass laws enforcing goodness and morality. "There were no eyes/Up in the skies/Looking down into my bed/There was no government/Without our consent/That was the day before/I married my conscience to the state."

On "The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum," Derek deals with a cavalcade of contemporary problems in the church. On "false fire" in the church service:

I don't want the Spirit/I want the kick drum/I know how it works, so I'm not dumb/Like sex without love/Like peace without the dumb/I don't want the Spirit/You know I want a kick drum"

On contemporary hopes that God does, in fact, grade on the curve:

I don't want the Son/I want a jury of peers/Like lies without the truth/Like wine without the fruit/Like a skydive without the chute/I don't want the Son/You know I want a jury of peers"

On the love of God's benefits over the love of God himself:

I don't want the Father/I want a vending machine/Like heaven without gates/Like hell without flames/Like life without pain/I don't want the Father/You know I want a vending machine"

My opinion is that Derek Webb's songwriting has never been wiser or more tightly focused. I know that many in the church will be offended by what Webb has to say and by the way that he often says it, but he is dealing with a very conservative and very stuffy bunch of people who take a lot of shaking for them to wake up.

On the personal side of things, I am simply excited to have a theologically Reformed, politically libertarian singer/songwriter out there with whom I can consistently agree in nearly every controversial area and be entertained by. I hope there is a lot of interaction in the church because of Derek's album, and my hope is it will create more light than heat.

You can get the album from Derek's website.

My 10 Favorite Discoveries of 2008

1. The music of The Gaslight Anthem
2. Audiobooks
3. Ron Paul and the Liberty Movement
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. My new son, Amos
6. Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover
7. Discovering that it's okay to ride your bike to work
8. Learning how economics works from the studs at Mises.org
9. Rock Band is a family activity
10. Finding out that collecting vinyl records is a cheap and fun hobby

My Turn For a U2 Post

Master Stellman may have claimed the honor of biggest U2 fan involved with Bring the Books (Josh certainly isn't in the running). Though this post will probably not be a successful bid, it is, I am afraid, my own attempt at throwing my hat into the U2-loving race. Rather than write something original or insightful about my favorite U2 album (Achtung, Baby!), I instead want to share an interesting quote from Bono about the struggle to stay faithful to his wife, Ali, while he was out on the road - particularly during the rather riotous Zoo TV tour:

But it's not easy to deal with money, it's not easy to deal with fame, it's not easy to deal with women throwing themselves at you, even being married, perhaps especially being married. No matter how strong you are, no matter how upright, these are real hurdles that you have to figure out how to get over. I will never forget the time Adam saw me in a headlock with some starlet and said to me, "It's fun. It's exciting having sex with someone you don't know. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't. It's a great adventure getting to know somebody. But as rare as it is to fall in love, it's not as rare as real love, I will die for you love, I will be there when you're sick and when you're frail love. Now that's rare. I would give everything, all these experiences that I'm having, all these different and extraordinary women, I'd give them all up for what you have." I remember Adam telling me that. And if there was one reason for having him as best man at my wedding, that was it, that one conversation.

I can't speak from my own experience, since I literally married the first woman I ever dated, but the more I observe people around me, the more I think Adam Clayton's words to Bono are true. I am surrounded by people who are single, and they're looking for love, and they're discontended being alone. And these people compromise themselves, they sleep with their girlfriends, they date and they date and they date, and there is literally nothing but depression and regret. There is no real satisfaction in using God's gifts improperly, and I don't have to experience it for myself because I see it demonstrated for me day in and day out.

I try to avoid sentimentality as much as possible (irony provides a certain safety net), but the more I see the single people around me living promiscuously and settling for third best in their lives, and giving up on their standards and ideals, the more convinced I am that I am married to the greatest woman on the planet. The more convinced I become that marriage really works.

The Radio: Stupidity Celebrated

Today, I was working with someone who likes to listen to mainstream radio, and since my iPod almost always rules the radio (I hate the radio) I decided I should let someone else listen to what they want to for the day. Now, I absolutely detest any music on the radio, unless it is from before 1989 and I hate… HATE commercials. That’s just my taste. I listen to talk radio and the music from my iPod, that’s it. But today, as I was saying, I took off my radio dictator hat. And oh boy, do I still hate radio. But one thing really stood out to me; a song by Timbaland with the most appalling name I’ve ever heard: “This Is The Way I Are.”

Were I physically able, I would have thrown the radio out the window of the truck in a fit of frustrated rage. I realize this is the mainstream, and part of how you stand out in the mainstream is by being different, but since when was it considered cool to present yourself as mentally disabled, unable to speak a sentence as simple as “This is the way I am”? Even in the hip-hop world, proper grammar is at least loosely admired. This isn’t even Ebonics or some other language; it is just plain celebrated idiocy. This is a generation which is eschewing grammar and spelling in favor of shorthand instant messaging spellings. Our children will be better at texting on their phones than they are at using a keyboard or writing by hand. Does that concern anyone else the way it concerns me? I am definitely getting old-fashioned. I see shades of my father all over this blog.

I consider myself a realist, and as such, I have some perspective on this matter. My perspective is; get ready, thinking people. Because it’s about to get a whole lot cooler to appear a whole lot stupider. The mainstream has celebrated idiocy and ignorance for years, but by and large, the message to young people has been one celebrating genius and intellectual achievement. This is just the tip of the iceberg, because as I said, the current zeitgeist says stupidity equals credibility. There are various reasons for this, but one of them is that intelligent people tend not to shoot straight, and this generation places a very high value on honesty and “being real.” Smart people put too much spin into their speech and are perceived as being dishonest. Is there truth to this? Of course there is… in small measure, but the assumption that stupid (or “simple”) people don’t lie or spin their words is off the mark.

The other mistaken assumption is that these people who are presenting themselves as “down to earth straight shooters” are exactly that. On the contrary, these are simply people who have learned to speak the language of the day. Now, I’m sure a lot of these people are genuinely mentally deficient, but the vast majority of them are simply smart enough to speak the way their audience demands: postmodern, ignorant, no concern for grammar, and so on and so forth.

This is precisely why we should train our children to be wary of the mainstream and to always consider themselves outside of it. This does not mean that they should not be aware of it, of course. But we should always remember that we are outsiders looking in (“In the world, but not of the world,” as the saying goes). Sometimes, to see what the sharks are doing, you’ve got to get into the water. As believers, let us remember that Reason is important and not peripheral. After all, even though you’re getting in with sharks, it’s nice to do so with a cage.

"Jesus Died For Someone's Sins But Not Mine"

"Jesus died for somebodys sins but not mine
Meltin in a pot of thieves
Wild card up my sleeve
Thick heart of stone
My sins my own
They belong to me, me"

Patti Smith "Gloria"

I appreciate the brutal honesty in Patti Smith's words here. I would, however, say that it is never correct for someone to say words like these, believer or not. The reason is that there is a high level of presumption which says that they know they will never become a Christian, never find forgiveness, and never recognize a need for their sins to be atoned for. Biblically speaking, no one may ever be presumptuous enough to declare that "my sins my own/they belong to me, me." Maybe. Maybe your sins are your own, and you will atone for them yourself. But maybe you will someday come to faith in Jesus and find that He has atoned for you already. Guard your words, Patti Smith, for you do not know what the future holds.

What a disservice we do to unbelievers when we (in the spirit of hypothetical universalism) tell them that Jesus died for their sins. These are people who do not want an atonement; they probably do not even believe they need an atonement. And this atonement actually does nothing for the indifferent pagan.

Nowhere in Scripture do we ever find someone being told to repent on the basis that Jesus has already provided atonement for them. Everywhere, we find that people are told to repent and believe in Jesus - essentially - on principle. Repent because eternal life is at stake. Repent and believe for the forgiveness of sins. But no one is told in the Bible, "Believe in Jesus because he died for your sins." Go ahead, look it up; try to find it just once.

I actually worked with a fellow named Chris* who once told me that he didn't need to become a Christian. I asked why, and he said, "Well all my life, I've been told by people that Jesus died for my sins. I thought about it one day and realized that if Jesus died for my sins, then I'm off the hook; whether I become a Christian or not." My response was stunned silence, because universalism makes way more sense than hypothetical universalism, and I realized this in that moment. (Actually, later, I told him that he had no reason to believe that Jesus died for his sins, and that those people who told him that were well meaning idiots who thought that "Jesus died for your sins" was the Ace up their sleeve. Sorry, hypothetical universalists.)

Think about it: Jesus provides atonement for you. What fear should you have of hell? On what basis will you be sent to hell if your sins are atoned for? On what basis?

*This is an absolutely true story.