Not long ago a student told me that I should listen to more Christian music so I would be up on things. I explained that was a good idea but every time I try I get so upset that I need a couple years off. Well, last night I was feeling optimistic on my way to church, so I turned on my local Christian radio station and joined a rousing Platonic anthem already in progress. An artist named Mandisa was singing about her bad day, but it was going to be okay because
It’s only the world I’m living in
It’s only today I’ve been given
There ain’t no way I’m giving in
Cause it’s only the world (only the world)
I know the best is still yet to come
Cause even when my days in the world are done
There’s gonna be so much more than only the world for me
Do do do do do do do do do, yeah it’s only the world
Near the end Mandisa sang, “Heaven is a place where the tears on every face will be wiped away, And I can’t wait to go.” Then she caught herself, because actually she very much wants to wait, so she signed off with “but for now it’s enough to know this is only temporary, this is only, Yeah, Alright!”
Do do do do do do do do do, yeah it’s only the world
Do do do do do do do do do, yeah it’s only the world
I wish I had turned the radio to something more edifying, like NPR’s discussion of the Detroit bankruptcy, because the next song was shockingly straight Pelagianism. The song is “Who you are” from a group named Unspoken, and it repeats this chorus:
You can never fall too hard,
So fast, so far
That you can’t get back
When you’re lost
Where you are is never too late,
So bad, so much
That you can’t change
Who you are, ooo-oooh
You can change who you are, ooo-oooh
I doubt that most Christians noticed the problem because the song once mentions forgiveness and right before the end mentions the need for Jesus and the cross. But then again, so did Pelagius. This chorus is straight Dr. Phil, Oprah, and Chuck Finney. You would never hear it from Augustine, Luther, Calvin, or Jesus.
I turned the radio off then because I didn’t like where this was headed. After Platonism and Pelagianism, what might be next? It’s tough to teach people sound doctrine when popular Christian songs teach heresy. Both of these songs are catchy, so their lethal lyrics are already buried in many Christians’ hearts. Good luck digging that out.
I guess the lesson here is that we must always listen with discernment, especially when it’s Christian musicians who are doing the talking. See you in 2015.
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