Devil's Music in Disguise?: An Arguement for Contemporary Christian Music

One of my favorite songs released last year was Mary Mary’s “God in Me,” a hip-hop dance-inspired track. It was the group’s first single on the Billboard Hot 100 since 2000. Not only did “God in Me” hit the top of the gospel charts, it was also number 1 on the dance charts. The song’s remixes included artists such as Yung Joc and Ne-Yo. However, this song and its music video, which features shots of celebrities such as Kanye West and Common, gained as much controversy as it did praise. Critics say that Mary Mary’s style is becoming more and more secular.

However, according to an interview with Essence, one member, Tina Atkins-Campbell, says “Yes, we are aware of the trends, but we don’t force things or try to become something else. We write from our hearts and sing about what we believe in and stay true to who we are.” Her group-mate, Erica Atkins-Campbell, asks, “I wonder if they heard any of the other songs on the record or did they just see Kanye West in the video and get upset?”

This situation highlights the ongoing debate over Contemporary Christian music: does it really glorify Jesus or is it just secular music in disguise? That’s the question Steve Miller attempted to answer in his 1993 book “The Contemporary Christian Music Debate.” In a 1995 interview with British magazine Cross Rhythms, Miller explains where the idea for the book came from:    

“I attended a seminar as a youth where a respected Bible teacher condemned CCM as worldly and cited psychological studies which he said proved that contemporary music, particularly rock, was harmful to the mind and body, regardless of whether the lyrics were Christian or pagan. I took these claims seriously. If this music was harming people spiritually, I sincerely wanted to know and was willing to listen exclusively to whatever music was positive.”

In his book, Miller explores Christian music throughout history and found this interesting fact: hymns sung in traditional churches today were considered to be contemporary at the time they were written. Also, when new Christian songs were written using the style of the times, they were used outside of a church context. What we see here is a continuation of this process: churches aiming to reach those who didn’t grow up in a church environment and challenge those who did will explore using contemporary styles to do so.

In the case of “God in Me,” it seems to be working. My mother, who teaches Sunday School, asked her students what they believed the song meant. The students responded that if someone succeeds, it’s not because of that person’s abilities, but because of God working through him or her. If the song was written in the “traditional” sense, the kids probably wouldn’t understand that message. Miller warns that by rejecting contemporary forms, “…we risk losing a generation that is rejecting Jesus, often not because of his life and message, but because of the antiquated forms in which we are presenting him.”