Oxymoron: the Atheist Christian Musician

I hesitated for some time to write this article, but even as I have hesitated, I have grown increasingly convinced of the necessity to bring attention to a recent billboard article about Trey Pearson. If you do not know, Trey Pearson is a member of the band Everyday Sunday who recently came out as gay. What was intriguing and heart-breaking about the article, however, was not really about Trey Pearson. The article recounts Pearson’s experience at Joshua Fest, a three day Christian music festival in Northern California.

The entire article is worth your time, but two things really jump out. First is the apparent outcry from other CCM participants of the festival (and the conflicted emotions of its organizer) when Joshua Fest made the decision to strike Pearson from the performance. Second was this paragraph discussing Five Iron Frenzy’s decision to invite Pearson on stage to sing their last song:

The band’s singer, Reese Roper, says that “we had all talked as a band about just dropping off of [the festival], just to make a statement, like if you’re not gonna let him play, then we’re not gonna play. We don’t like to deal with that kind of intolerance. Especially to me, if you’re espousing being full of the love of Christ, that’s just not how you do it.” In the end, “I think it was very positive. I see on our Facebook page just a lot of people saying, ‘Thanks for doing that.’ I really wish we could do more. I feel like the church is just hemorrhaging over this issue, and it bothers me so much to know that what we choose to do with the love of Christ is to ostracize people. If you talk to the guys in my mind, I think there’s a gamut of feelings about homosexuality and whether or not it’s sinful, or what a sin is” — from Verdecchio, who has become an atheist since joining the band, partly due to his changing feelings about the church’s treatment of homosexuality, to other members who maintain more traditionally evangelical viewpoints. “Personally,” says Roper, “I feel like the Bible is not clear enough on it to say. But I do know that it is clear that we are to love each other as Christ loved us, and I don’t think the church is doing that.”

Yes, you read that right, the drummer for a “Christian” band is an atheist and the lead singer considers those who adhere to the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality to be intolerant and unloving. This seems like it should be satire, but it is true.

This is not an attempt to suggest that all Christian musicians are bad or that all Christian music is problematic (See Trevin Wax’s helpful article). It is my attempt. however, to suggest that we not rush to judge music based on the labels that it is given by the music industry and that we urge the Christian music industry to produce and promote music that is actually Christian.

Stories like the Billboard article cited above remind me of the recent history of evangelicalism. Joshua Fest understood full well that the vast majority of Christians who would attend its festival were committed to a biblical view of sexuality, and as a result decided not to have Pearson included as a part of the line up. But, the musical elites playing the festival “understood” that the people in the pews were ignorant and had not kept up with the times (hear my sarcastic tone).

In the middle of the twentieth century, the same thing took place at many evangelical seminaries and universities. The intellectual elites at these institutions had jettisoned many of the core beliefs of evangelical Christianity, but could not share their actual beliefs with the normal people in the pews of the churches that paid their bills. Instead, they worked stealthily to promote their liberal agenda and attempted to change the beliefs of the church one student at a time.

Likewise, if Five Iron Frenzy advertises their affirmation of homosexuality or that their drummer doesn’t believe in Jesus, they will lose their audience. Youth pastors are not going to promote non-Christian bands.

As Christians, we must demand more. We must demand more from the Christian music industry. Christian musicians should be regularly involved in a local church and should have accountability to protect them from temptation in their travel. We must demand music that is specifically Christian (Can we ask DC Talk one more time to get back together?). In addition to demanding Christian music, we must support those who are doing it right. Buy their albums, attend their concerts, and when possible and appropriate sing their songs in your worship services.

The danger is real. Music shapes our beliefs. Augustine had concerns about music and its negative effects on the church 1600 years ago. Luther used music to reshape the theology of the church during the Reformation. Music teaches and informs the church. The music that we expose ourselves to changes how we think and ultimately who we are. To promote music in the name of Christ that does not represent historic Christian beliefs is dangerous to the church.

Further, let us not suppose that their may not be wolves among the sheep of the “Christian” music industry. Just as the intellectual elites of the mid-twentieth century sought to reshape the church by training up liberal pastors and leaders, there are almost certainly musical elites who would hope to reshape the church’s view on sexuality and other issues through their musical impact.

It is an oxymoron (and perhaps the height of hypocrisy) for an atheist to perform as a Christian musician. But, it is the epitome of foolishness for we as Christians to identify the dangers present in much of CCM and turn a blind eye.