The Book
of Matthew
AP Magazine -
November 2005
1.1 You don't typically see any Jewish of Muslim punk bands; why is Christianity the only religion actively praised in rock?
1.2 I don't if the Christian faith is right for doing it, but a logical explanation can be found by looking at the modern Christian church in America. If compared to Judaism or Islam, the Christian church is quite a bit more modernized. Often, they meet in big expensive buildings that resemble arenas more than temples. Starbucks is served before the sermon, and Papa John's dominates the Friday night lock-ins. Not to say that other religions don't do this stuff; it's just more common with the Christian church, especially in suburban America. This causes the Christian to mirror consumer America as a whole.
2.1 Is it fair to make money off your faith? Should Christianity be a selling point?
2.2. I like to believe that the goal of writing about your faith is not about fiscal gain. I feel like people write songs about their beliefs because they find it to be satisfying lyrical material. Audiences that purchase the music should be doing it because they like it -- keeping in mind that your favorite thing about a band can be the lyrics -- and not just because the band shares their faith in God. So as long as people aren't intentionally buying music they don't like, there isn't a problem. However there is one thing Christian music that I find completely disgusting. There are artists that make music that is formulated to appeal to Christians merely to cash in on the market. They write contrived, cookie-cutter Christian lyrics because they know that it will be successful to that specific audience. I consider this to be borderline blasphemy.
3.1 Punk rock was based off the idea of not falling into a predetermined belief system, which Christianity obviously is. So is it possible to be Christian and "punk?"
3.2 Ha. Well I'm not going to pretend for a second that I know anything about punk rock. But I think its origins come from angst-ridden people that wanted to make some waves in society by addressing our culture's flaws. Political correctness, and rules in general, went out the window. Christians, though perceived as clean-cut do-gooders, are still subjected to mockery and ridicule by certain groups of people. Lots of people think Christians are weak and foolish. By ignoring what society deems as "cool," and writing songs about what you believe, you counterattack those accusations and stereotypes. It's not quite flipping the bird to society, but I wouldn't say its falling in line, either.