No Compromise
12/30/2022
From wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_music came an answer to my puzzlement over why there exists criticism of Christian artists by “superior Christians” who apparently have the purist of walks with God and the most excellent understanding of what constitutes proper expressions of the way of Christ-like living…
While I recognize Born Again Believers may be tempted to compromise Biblical ideals for various reasons, such as succumbing to peer pressure, or attempting to make the confrontation of the Gospel more socially acceptable, easier to swallow, but criticisms in a judgmental way do not fulfill Jesus’ purposes, either. The Biblical directive is to pray for one another. It is written in James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.” So, if you are one of those superior Christians, or if you are truly a righteous person, you should rather be following the apostle James direction. Pray for one another.
Several Christian artists have come under heavy criticism by others who claim the same title of “Christian,” and why, is baffling to me. Those critics have added nothing to my life while the artists that they come down on have been encouraging and correcting and upbuilding to me in a personal way. The essence of what I am trying to convey is in this paraphrase of Matthew 18:15–16, “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him — work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again.” The Message Paraphrased Bible.
Notwithstanding, perhaps every person claiming that they have been born again should listen to the late Keith Green’s composition, No Compromise. What I am trying to say then is rather than taking criticisms of someone to a soapbox and blabbing your opinion to the world or to another gossip next door, go directly to the person you are so very concerned about, and talk directly to them alone. This is applicable to everyone, Christian or not.
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Anyways, as described in the reference below from this site, wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_music, “Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience… In some contexts the term “crossover” can have negative connotations associated with cultural appropriation, implying the dilution of a music’s distinctive qualities to appeal to mass tastes. For example, in the early years of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African-American musicians were re-recorded by white artists such as Pat Boone in a more toned-down style, often with changed lyrics, that lacked the hard edge of the original versions. These covers were popular with a much broader audience. Crossover frequently results from the appearance of the music in a film soundtrack. For instance, Sacred Harp music experienced a spurt of crossover popularity as a result of its appearance in the 2003 film Cold Mountain, and bluegrass music experienced a revival due to the reception of 2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?.”
Therefore, whether a song is played in the genre of jazz, the blues, rock ’n’ roll, pop, as a hymn, or whatever, it is the words that truly matter. The appeal of any genre to particular audiences is merely the vehicle of transporting ideas from one person to another.
To sum this all up, and to all people Christian or not, Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1–5.
