Article on Christian music's next wave

[ikojo]

There's a pic with the article of students at the US Merchant Marine Academy in praise while attending a Passion Experience concert.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/17/national/17MUSI.html?8hpib


Even before the music started Thursday night, the 3,000 young people who filled the Beacon Theater in Manhattan for a free event called the Passion Experience were getting loud.

"We love Jesus, how about you," chanted a group in one corner, inciting a competitive echo from across the room. As the first band plugged in, the audience sang along, repeating choruses of praise from four giant video screens: "You are my drink," they sang. "You are my feast."

--snipping--

"They'll see college students that look like them, wear their clothes and believe," said Ms. Giglio, 39. "This generation has a desire to be more extreme in its faith. Going to church is not enough to survive on earth. They need to be in a living, breathing conversation with God."

[Bertha Venation]

1. To each his own. eom

[ikojo]

2. What concerns me is when someone says

"this generation has a desire to be more extreme in their faith." That's all we need is more extreme religious people.

[Bertha Venation]

3. it's disconcerting but

EVERY generation has had its newly-minted religious zealots, fresh from the latest terrifying altar call. I got saved when I was six, and then between the ages of twelve and fifteen answered at least four other altar calls. Altar calls are designed to scare the bejesus (sorry) out of people -- show people a vision of their own destruction, then offer them the cure -- and who is more vulnerable than adolescents?

Thing is, ikojo, many of those newly-minted zealots will outgrow it. In time they'll find that Jesus Christ is a worthy figure to emulate, much like Gandhi or King, but that for the rest of it, they bought a leather-bound crock of fairy tales. It took me a long time to wake up; it began when I was 23 and wasn't complete until age 30.

But many of them will wake up. I don't think we've got an especial lot to fear from this new crop. Religious extremism ebbs and flows. I think our best bet is just to speak out LOUDLY (like at the march next weekend) when the zealots try to push our government into their tiny little box.

[brainshrub]

4. Christian pop music seems to always be about 6 years behind the times.

They sound even more formulaic than boy-bands.

[rustydog]

5. Then after the concert, they went out to beat up some "queers"

Just having some good old fashioned born-again fun.
These new-fangled Christians don't get stoned, they cast them!

God, this is Rustydog...why did you pick George What-in-the-fuck-am-I-doing Bush as president?