In group 4 this week we evaluated seven video songs, Alan Jackson’s “Where were You,” Sarah McLachalan’s “Ordinary Miracle,” Blackeyed Peas’ “Where is the love,” Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruin,” Randy Newman’s “God’s Song,” KanYe West’s “Jesus Walks,” and Brandi Carlile’s “Gray’s Anatomy.” Our focus was to distinguish Christian prayer, Christian rituals and other human rituals contained within these songs. These pop artists gave us a challenge in the week’s communications as a group.

The group thought that these videos might be used by a pastor or other church leader to help parishioners make sound choices when obtaining music for their families. I think we all indicated in one way or another that through prayer or other communicates with God these songs seek for answers to the problematic state of our country.

Alan Jackson quoted scripture in his song “Where were you” from 1 Corinthians 13: 13, “But now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” A ritual is a practice, service or procedure done as a rite, especially in regular intervals. In Jackson’s song the ritual of love was highlighted as it pertains to the tragedy and aftermath of the 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Sarah McLachalan’s “Ordinary Miracles pointed to general revelation or ordinary ritual that take place everyday like the raising and setting of the sun, the rain that falls and replenishes and refreshes the earth with water and the birth of a child, which is both ordinary and extra-ordinary as a human ritual.

The Blackeyed Peas’ song “Where is the love” comes full circle with the praying aspect of love for humanity. America cries out for answers when it is attacked by enemies outside our borders, and in like manner there’s an urban or inner city cry as an attack from within on its own makes; “Americans cry out to God for justice.” Bruce Springsteen’s My City of Ruin” lifts-up the ritual of pray for fallen brothers or sister of our land.

Randy Newman’s “God’s Song,” I think we all thought this song was highly disturbing as a song. Randy’s message was mixed-up it was hard to distinguish whether he was saying “God hates humanity or humanity needs God. KanYe West’s “Jesus Walks” here’s another cry to God about the destruction in the urban areas of our nation. Jesus is called on for answers and prayerful words of action are inserted within this song. Brandi Carlile’s song “Gray’s Anatomy,” this Brandi Carlie song used ritual through the use of story telling.  Sharing our stories to each other brings us in community and the opportunity to be in relationship as God would want us to.

All these songs have a prayerful cry to God for judgment and restoration, but true repentance for sin, a broken and contrite heart with humility in obeying God is lacking. It is only the sinful wicked ways of Satan that will make an individual, a group or a nation cry or pray to God for justice, peace and help in times of chaos. Secular songs can become Christian, but can these secular Christianize songs break the grip of sinfulness in our country?

(Published by Mary, on behalf of Carl)

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 10:57 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through this RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.