Coldplay, Kanye, and Church Music

Listening to the latest Coldplay release today, I am struck by how influenced it is by “church music.” There is no denying the fashion-ability of sacred art forms today. Kanye’s recent conversion (and most recent in a string of re-definitions) have got a lot of believers excited. Coldplay’s latest effort does not just employ church forms, but also wrestles with spiritual issues. At least two of the songs hint at direct prayers—cries to God. Then again, to the cynics that want to point out that art is merely holding its finger to the cultural wind and trying to appeal to the highly influential evangelical portion of the population, much of the “church music” influenced art today is speaking out against the fear, racism, and nationalism that is driving that trend.

So how do we respond to the current fashion?

First, with hope. It is easy to think that Kanye’s case is just the latest example of an artist going through a phase ala Dylan. And listening to interviews and observing some of Kanye’s performances there is no reason to think otherwise. He needs good discipleship and sound doctrine if he is going to make it. Prayer and time will tell.

Second, with interaction. The human heart is designed to worship and it appears that some of today’s biggest artists are looking to God to fulfill that focus. If we have a chance to interact with them in this time, we should take it with wisdom and well-seasoned words. Chris Martin has called himself a “pantheist” saying it means he believes in everything. That, I suppose is tantamount to believing in nothing. One assumes he does not accept the more troublesome and even evil religious doctrines such as the Muslin idea that jihad is a way to earn eternal favor, but how does he pick and choose what is acceptable. His lyrics and statements over the years lead one to think he believes in things that are “good,” “positive,” and “life-affirming.” But who judges that? In the end such “faith” is a belief in what one likes… a naïve way to look at life filled with hard truths. We need to interact with our culture in a way that shows Truth as a positive, even in the midst of an often unpleasant world.

Finally, with caution. One of the biggest idols these days is celebrity. And even though followers of Jesus should not engage in idolatry, the Christian sub-culture is just as obsessed with celebrity as the rest of the world—if not more so. For all our contention that we believe what we do because it is truth, we give much more credence to celebrities who embrace any form of Christianity. The truth is, those that really do find Jesus tend to fade from celebrity. (How could they not, if what Jesus told us about the world is true?) And those that merely pose for a while only let us down, so why place our security in them?