Christian rock

Christian rock is a form of rock music played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian. The extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands.

Larry Norman was a Christian rock musician popular in the 1970s who challenged a view held by some conservative Christians (predominantly fundamentalists) that rock music was anti-Christian, with his song "Why should the Devil have all the good music". Such attitudes towards popular music have been found in many periods of history.

Christian rock bands that explicitly state their beliefs and use Christian imagery in their lyrics tend to be considered a part of the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry and play for a predominantly Christian market. Other bands perform music influenced by their faith but see their audience as the general public. They may generally avoid specific mention of God or Jesus. Such bands are sometimes rejected by the CCM rock scene and may specifically reject the CCM label.

There is a tendency among some Christian rock music fans to label rock music bands as Christian where their lyrics are seen as consistant with the fans' understanding of Christian belief, but this is generally not accepted by the contemporary Christian music industry.

Related genres are Christian alternative music, Christian metal and Christian punk.

Critiques of Christian rock

Some critics of Christian rock complain that Christian music trends are derivative of rock music and pop music in that they copy these styles and trends without creating original sounds of their own. " The stereotype is of some sort of derivative sanitized-for-your-protection version of whatever is popular on the radio, the musical equivalent of low-fat cheese " [1] Others respond that all music is in some way derivative of previous works.

Another critique of Christian Rock is that some critics also feel that in reaching out to the main stream listeners, Christian Rock waters down the Christian message and content into amorphous love songs. Amy Grant, for example, received criticism for her song, "Baby, Baby" because it [2] was not clear that she was singing to God or to a good looking man in the music video. Steve Camp, Christian music critic, complains that Christian music has become "yodels of a Christ-less, watered-down, pabulum-based, positive alternative, aura-fluff, cream of wheat, mush-kind-of-syrupy, God-as-my-girlfriend kind of thing." [3]. Others respond that expressions of unconditional love reminiscent of romantic love are consistent with God's agape love and the tradition of the biblical book, Song of Solomon.

The critiques of Christian Rock music are understandable, but are we as Christians not allowed to have our own kind of entertainment? We watch G and PG movies such as Finding Nemo and Napolean Dynamite, which have no references to God in them. So why should our music be any different? It is our way of not conforming to the world's way. We can look into our CD collection, and enjoy the kind of music we like knowing that the messages in them will not bring us down in our faith or go against our Christian values.

Christian Rock Festivals

There are multiple Christian rock festivals held worldwide every year, including the Cornerstone Festival, Ichthus, and Spirit West Coast. Christian rock can also be heard at other Christian festivals that are not exclusive to rock, such as the Creation Festival.