SOTM

Do you ever find yourself listening to a song over and over and over again? I do. It's crazy how the songs come and go. Right now my Song of the Moment is "Skin and Bones" by the lovely Jars of Clay. It's been about six months now since Inland, their most recent CD was released, and I am getting more and more into it each time I listen to it. And strangely enough, the song that was originally my favorite now has a co-favorite, which is "Skin and Bones."

I think this song speaks to a larger current issues that I've been thinking about lately. Last summer, Relient K released a new CD that I adored but drew a lot of criticism for "unChristian" themes. Similarly, Jars of Clay will post a picture of them drinking a beer after a show and they are slammed for not being "Christian." They've spoken a lot about their transition away from CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) and about their foray into indie recording. They've also been really open about their process, their struggles, the issues that they're wrestling with as individuals and as a band and how to navigate the very scary realm that is the Christian community. People can be so quick to label bands as "Christian" and then when expectations aren't lived up to, these bands are condemned. I think that Relient K's new album is wonderful- it's poppy and peppy and upbeat and exactly what I want to listen to when I'm driving around in the summer. Are there songs that may be unquestionable? Maybe? Is it shocking that PTL stands for Part-Time Lover instead of Praise the Lord? Perhaps. Are these songs autobiographical for the members of the band? Who knows and honestly, who cares? It can be so easy to take lyrics so literally and assume that this is what the band members are doing. So what if they so? So what if they're not? Why does it matter? If you want to listen to something, listen to it. If you don't, then don't. But don't condemn and judge and say the band is going to hell. That's ridiculous.

Two weeks or so ago, Jars of Clay was in Australia and while on the way home, Dan watched "Twelve Years a Slave." For the record, let me say I haven't seen it yet. But I know what it's about. Then, in a series of tweets, he became to ruminate on the history of slavery, comparing it to gay marriage, and questioning the conservative argument of gay marriage. This extended into a dialogue about what Scripture says about it and he made a somewhat unclear statement about what Scripture does and does not say. He never said he does not believe in Scripture but that, along with his questions about supporting gay marriage caused a, excuse my language, s***storm. Sadly, most of it was condemning without a real discussion of the issues or an opportunity to clarify. Now, I will say that Twitter is not the best place to hold a debate. On the other hand, having to express your thoughts succinctly in 140 characters forces you to get straight to the matter at hand, so I can see why Dan might have chosen to do so.

He did, several days later, clarify things on his blog, which you can read here: http://danhaseltine.com/

I bring this up not because I want to have a debate on gay marriage but because I am frustrated with the responses of Christians. That quote attributed to Gandhi, but maybe not said by him, is so true: I like your Christ but I dislike your Christians because they are so unlike your Christ. So true! It's unbelievable how Christians are so often the first to condemn, even though Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. Christians are the first to attack, to bring down, the restrict, instead of to love, to accept, to support. Do you really think that with all the lepers, cripples, blind people, outcasts, etc. that Jesus healed, he would look at a gay couple and send them to hell? Especially if they followed him and loved him? Will we ever know for certain? No, of course not. But we can look at his track record and make a pretty strong case for his acceptance. Christianity should be boiled down to four words: Love God, Love Others. We're not loving others if we're stopping them from being with the person they love. We're not loving others if we equate gays with pedophiles. We're not loving others if we condemn to hell those that don't agree without. And we're certainly not loving God when we do these things.

This world would be a far better place if more of us loved God and loved others. It would be a far better place if we respectfully listened to those we disagreed with. It would be a far better place if we allowed our love to be stronger than our hate.