What is Christian music?

No, it was what you asked. You asked "what kind of music would help get atheists to follow Christ?" My answer, since you had trouble reading between the lines, is "none."

So you don't like a band like Third Day?

I know of at least one Atheist who converted to Christianity after hearing a friend of mine playing "Seventh Angel" in their car.

Wait a sec, I did read between the lines, you said That implies that it would take music, and more to change thier mind.
But if you are now telling me none, then I thank you for your imput.
What kind of music do you listen too?

The few times i listened to them way down deep I found them to be shallow; kinda like a bad imitation of Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie.But that is only my impression. Perhaps others would like them.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Ok, these are the things I need to sort out.
Just because it isn't the deepest thing you ever heard, does that alone mean it can't be used as worship music. Shouldn't the deep feelings be coming from your heart?
Can't we just rejoice, and praise the Lord in a way that is familiar to us/them?I am sure people use Bach to meditate without believing in God, does that make Bach unsuitable for worshiping?If we listened to the worship music of 2000 years ago, would we get it?

I am touched and brought almost to tears every time I hear "Amazing Grace" done well.However, River, you seem to have little or no grasp of the mind set of the rationalist. This is not going to convince anyone. I may attend a organ recital in a cathedral but if what is said about Christian beliefs mimics the kind of thought processes demonstrated here on EvC then there is a good approximation of zero chance of any
"conversion" happening.These kind of discussions are what has moved my daughter's view of Christianity from a somewhat interested scepticism to an amused derision. I keep telling her that the fundamentalists are NOT representative of Christianity but she only see's the literalist presence on the web and, at best, is amused and about as often annoyed.It will take a heck of a lot more than music to make up for what has been done.

Nosy mentioned Amazing Grace. It is a great example. About a decade or so ago PBS did a special devoted to Amazing Grace. During the evening, a dozen or more performers gave their renditions of the hymn. Between, the story of the author, his life and times was recounted. In addition, individuals spoke of the hymn and what effect it had made in their lives.Music can be a tool for meditation. It can be used to focus, to isolate, to direct. It can aid concentration, can lift spirits, can subdue or raise anger. But it can also distract, trivialize and obscure.Music is nothing more than a tool. It can be used to dig, either a shallow trough or a cellar. It can be used to build, either a box to close things in or a plane to soar the heights. It can be used to gather, or to exclude.We have built a culture based on sound bites, instant gratification, short attention spans, minimal effort, image instead of reality. If we build a religion based on those things, will it have the depth, the foundation, needed to endure?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I'm a pretty hard core atheist, but like Nosy, I also love to listen to Amazing Grace. Another song that always makes me sit and listen is Swing Low Sweet Chariot.There are many 'Christian' songs that I find moving and that make me stop and listen - Christmas songs are nice, too. I would even walk into a church if I heard good music playing; however, music is not enough to make me convert.Today's contemporary Christian music is bland, emotionless, and just plain boring - it's the white bread of music. I watched a John Tesh concert the other night and it was HORRIBLE - I didn't hear anything other than words and his awful keyboard.Gospel is wonderful, though. It has so much emotion and you can feel their devotion. The difference? The rhythym of the music, the words, but mostly the way it is sung. You don't need to see the singer in order to know exactly how he or she feels - it's in his or her voice. Most white people are so afraid to show emotion - why?This message has been edited by roxrkool, 10-25-2004 11:35 AM

I pretty well agree with this summation of Christian pop music. I once asked this at another board where some were professed Christians who enjoyed Christian pop, and it sounds pretty much like syrupy pop-love songs using Jesus as the main ingredient.No one would answer me if the groups ever went off on a Jonathon Edwards's "Lake of Fire" type of song, so I presume they are mostly about the happy and positive ideas of Christianity and the songs don't dwell on Hell too much.As a strongly atheistic agnostic, I enjoy Handel's Messiah and Amazing Grace is a wonderfully moving song. They can be enjoyed as metaphorical representations of aspiration and forgiveness.

I only listen to classical music, like Mozart, Rachmaninov, and Beethoven, so my standards are pretty high. Let just say that christian music (the technicality of it at least) is almost at the bottom of the barrow as far as I'm concern.

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He's not dead. He's electroencephalographically challenged.

Whatever brings one 'closer' to god; when I believed as a christian, I attended a church in the 80's that held 'Metal' services. We would head bang to really heavy christian musci! It still sounded crappy as the secular stuff, but since it mentioned god, jesus and the bible, it was accepted. To echo Crash's reply, None. I would suggest if a song (or T-shirt or movie) led ANYONE to any god, then their motives should be called into question, since their alledged conversion could have been brought on by emotion. Then their faith, like the emotion it was based on, will fade. That's a matter of opinion; I still like Larry Norman and Tourniquet. In my opinion, it's these types of arguments that serve to divide the church.
How long should a man wear his hair?
How much makeup should a sister wear?
How 'hard' should our praise music be?
I have heard these arguments, and I would submit that it depends on the indivdual. Some people prefer Amy Grant, others prefer Morification.I do remember hearing Steve Via's interpretation of Amazing Grace (an instrumental) and without the words, I was moved. Whenever I hear the 80's song "When God Ran", I am again, moved.
But I am not moved to join a church, believe the bible or send in money to Rod Parsley.
I am also moved by Belle and Sebastian, The Gathering and a mulititude of other artists.

Yes, yes, I love Amazing Grace too. We worship to that song sometimes, usually the holidays, when the mind set becomes more traditional.The other day I heard something interesting, it was a contemporary song, that when the chorus was playing, and singing hallelujah over and over, they dubbed in Amazing Grace. It was so powerful, I almost cried.I am also not looking for any conversions to happen, but to maybe give an edge towards that happening. I would only hope that people would feel how I am worshiping God when I play for him. For years I did not like hymns or Christian music at all. I guess I rationalized in my mind that if it doesn't sound good to me, where's the passion? Then I heard something that sounded good to me, and I heard the passion, then I was baptized.Also just to clarify what is worship music for people, as my duty is to usher in the presense of the Lord, through my gifts that he gave me. That won't happen unless people are relating to it. But with an open mind and a heart for God, anything is possible.

Like several here, I really like well-done versions of Amazing Grace. I also have a version of The Lord's Prayer performed by Richard Tucker. It absolutely sends chills down my back every time I play it. And I have always loved Norman Greenbaum's version of Spirit in the Sky. But I'm not a big lyrics guy so the words in the songs do absolutely nothing to move me. For me, it is the totality of the music. This includes the lyrics, but I don't dwell upon them.I once did an installation on a house in the country where I saw about twenty cars parked there when I pulled up to the house. I wondered what was going on there untul I heard some singing in the barn. It turned out that it was a gospel choir practicing. When I finished what I was doing, I stayed there for a couple extra hours watching and listening to them. To say they were awesome doesn't do them justice. They had one lady there, in particular, who could hold her own if she was singing back and forth with Aretha. It was a moving experience.But did it move me religiously? Not one iota. The thought never occurred to me.Verzem

That is an awesome statement.Some of those new Christian songs are more complicated to play and say the same thing in different words. Just the beat has changed.