Comments on: Can A Christian Sing The Blues?

By: Michaela S

Michaela S — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:05:00 +0000

If we didn’t have sorrow or pain, then we wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the moments of joy. We don’t go asking for the sorrow or the pain; it just comes.

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:28:01 +0000

On a related subject I heard a lady who taught literature at a Christian college say that she tells her students not to read Christian fiction because Christians don’t write fiction all that well. — Lonely Pilgrim

Heard something similar on a radio interview inthe Eighties; a writing instructor at Biola claimed that he used Christian fiction mostly as examples of “How NOT to write.”

As somebody who’s been in SF fandom since 1975 and has become either dumb or crazy enough to make a go at writing the stuff, I concur. After cutting my teeth on the likes of Cordwainer Smith (acknowledged as a Christian SF great by everybody except Christians), the only way I can describe CBA-approved Christian (TM) fiction is LAME. Lame as in “failure of imagination” and “thinking small”.

When the only science allowed in your SF is Young Earth Creation Science; when the only future permitted is the one from Late Great Planet Earth and Left Behind; don’t expect Hugo-level material.

By: SottoVoce

SottoVoce — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:27:51 +0000

“Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” –The Princess Bride

Makes one think.

By: lonelypilgrim

lonelypilgrim — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:28:14 +0000

jmj – Thank you. Kerry Livgren once said that more people came to Christ from the songs he wrote prior to becoming a Christian (Dust in the Wind, Carry on Wayward Son, Miracles out of Nowhere) than the ones he wrote after becoming a Christian.

On a related subject I heard a lady who taught literature at a Christian college say that she tells her students not to read Christian fiction because Christians don’t write fiction all that well. She said that they were better off reading the classics by unbelievers.

As to having a song of despair that doesn’t have a happy ending, try Psalm 88.

By: tanegeel

tanegeel — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:59:12 +0000

On this score, I’ve been grateful to be a recovering alcoholic. People who have destroyed their lives with addictions and desperately want to try another path are not given to bullsh*t. While some recovery groups in churches are run by the Smilin’ Jesus crew, many people I’ve met had enough of the stuffing knocked out of them to be honest.
The ignorance of the lament reminds me of the psychologist’s concept of validation. The Psalmist feels that God has abandoned him. That is a valid feeling that any honest believer has shared and should be acknowledged as such. It may not be actually true, but a feeling is real and God is not afraid of our feelings (like some other Christians are).
Jacob the patriarch wrestled with God. He WRESTLED with him. I’ve seen a few matches and they aren’t about happy thoughts, they’re about fighting…

By: j. Michael Jones

j. Michael Jones — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:42:09 +0000

I like it lonelypilgrim! I’ve noticed the same, how real, true to real, human life these “secular” lyrics are.

I led the HS class last year (briefly . . . before I got booted) and the thing I had kids do was to bring in their favorite lyrics. We discussed them, what the poet/lyricist was trying to say etc.

Wouldn’t it be great to go to a church service where there was at least one song that was, “Hey God . . . where the hell are you?! I’m dying down here and the Heavens seem empty to me. Where the hell are you God … are you in Vegas?” Then the song ends without resolution (where life suddenly works out perfectly because I suddenly trusted God correctly).

I don’t feel in despair in my life right now, but I have in the past and will probably again in the future . . . we need to know how to lament.

By: lonelypilgrim

lonelypilgrim — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:55:27 +0000

To illustrate my point above about ssecular music being better than Christian music in this regard, consider these lyrics:

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on.
Don’t let yourself go,
Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes.

That’s from “Everybody Hurts” by REM. Let’s just say I’m probably not going to hear a whole lot that is similar to that on Christian Radio or in church this Sunday.

By: Don C.

Don C. — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:34:00 +0000

Bravo, Michael. During and some months after my divorce, I often asked God “Why?” There were more than a few times I was screaming at him. But, when I needed the support of fellow Christians more than at any other time in my life, I was afraid to ask for it, because I felt that they’d tell me that I wasn’t trusting Him enough, wasn’t praying enough, or wasn’t doing something else enough. I already felt the whole situation was my fault (it wasn’t, totally), and I didn’t want to hear it from anyone else.

It’s sad, but I got more support from my non-believing friends.

By: Kiran

Kiran — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:31:59 +0000

Perhaps one reason lament gets ignored and people think they have to be happy all the time to be Christians is because they hear that Christ will give us joy, and they equate joy with happiness, which it is not.

By: George C

George C — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:41:53 +0000

The Bible is way less uptight than the average American church; or to use the theological term: full of crap.