Modern Christian Music Has DARK Secrets Nobody is Seeing...

The question here is not a question of style. The question here is not a question of preference. I'm not arguing that there needs to be a reformation in our style, or that there needs to be a reformation in our preference.

I'm arguing that there needs to be a reformation in our substance. There needs to be a reformation in our framing. There needs to be a reformation in our thinking. There needs to be a reformation in our presuppositions about worship.

Because now we have adopted what I like to call the affective principle of worship. And the affective principle of worship goes like this. If somebody likes it and it makes them feel close to God, it's good.

That's all that's required. If people are blessed by it, if it's meaningful to them, and if it facilitates an encounter, if it facilitates an experience with God, then it is acceptable. And anyone who says otherwise is judgmental and legalistic and mean.

And we know the eleventh commandment is, Thou shalt be nice, and we don't believe the other ten. Amen, somebody.

There's something very disturbing happening in the world of contemporary Christian music. We're going to look at some controversies that have happened recently, and then we'll share some concluding thoughts.

Dante Bowe, Lil Nas X, and Bad Bunny

So make sure you stick around until the end to hear them. Dante Boe is a five-time Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling Christian music artist affiliated with Elevation Worship, Bethel Music, and Maverick City Music.

Dante Boe was recently dropped by Maverick City Music, probably because of his recent controversial endorsements of more than one secular music artist who produced blatantly non-Christian music. Listen to what Boe says about Lil Nas X here.

I'm excited to see the performance tonight.

What are you looking forward to seeing him perform?

Is Lil Nas X performing tonight? I'm looking forward to seeing that. That's going to be cool, probably.

If you are unfamiliar with Lil Nas X, he produced a music video for his song Montero, which includes Lil Nas X pole dancing down to hell and giving the devil a lap dance. The obvious question we are asking is, why would one of the most popular Christian music artists today be endorsing someone as blatantly anti-Christian as Lil Nas X?

This incident seems to suggest that Boe has an unhealthy admiration for things in the world that are not just non-Christian, but blasphemously anti-Christian. And this video footage of Boe dancing and singing along to a song by Bad Bunny was posted by Boe onto Instagram.

If you're unfamiliar with Bad Bunny, Bad Bunny recently won the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards Artist of the Year. And during the VMAs event, Bad Bunny blatantly promoted homosexuality by kissing both a man and a woman during his performance.

Again, the problem is that one of the most popular Christian music artists in the United States is promoting the music of a secular music artist who is not just non-Christian, but blatantly anti-Christian and promoting anti-Christian morality.

Because of Boe's behavior, Maverick City Music related a statement that said, Due to behavior that is inconsistent with our core values and beliefs, we have decided to put a pause on our professional relationship with Dante Boe.

Decisions like these are not easy because of the level of nuance, both professionally and personally, but we felt it necessary to address. After the split, Boe posted an apology to Instagram that said, This platform of success I enjoy is a blessing that is both gifted to me and shared with you, my faith community, family, friends, supporters, and fellow artists.

I sincerely apologize for the impact of my behavior and that it has offended many people on the platform we share together. This experience has been a very real reminder of the importance of being incredibly intentional with how I utilize and engage with the tools social platforms provide.

However, soon after he posted this apology, without any explanation, Boe deleted his apology from Instagram. Of course, we are glad that Boe has issued an apology for the poor example he has set in promoting artists like Lil Nas X and Bad Bunny.

At the same time, we might ask whether someone like Boe should be leading thousands of Christians in worship. Kirk Franklin is a gospel singer who has won 16 Grammy Awards. In 2021, Kirk's son, Karion, released audio from a phone call he had with Kirk.

Now, I wouldn't consider Karion a victim here, but Kirk's profanity, language, and anger here is what's concerning. Thankfully, Kirk did apologize about this incident, which he posted to Twitter. Of course, we accept Kirk's apology and understand that nobody is perfect.

But again, like with Boe, it seems that there are some major character, language, and anger issues that Kirk needs to work through, and I wonder if Christians are prioritizing musical talent over character when they choose who will be their worship leaders.

Kirk Franklin and Confusing Worship Lyrics

Kirk was also the subject of controversy for the lyrics in this clip. Kirk sings, the lion and the lamb will bow down to the goat. Of course, the first thing we think of when we hear the lion and the lamb is Jesus, who is the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

And Jesus teaches about a distinction between sheep, which represents the true followers of God, and goats, which represent false believers. So Kirk's lyrics here are quite disturbing. Kirk responded to the controversy saying, In hip-hop, who is the greatest, G-O-A-T, has always been a discussion.

Metaphorically, I position those considered great as lions and lambs, and how they will someday bow down to Jesus, who is the greatest of all times. It's hyperbole, not theology. But the problem is that Kirk's lyrics were not, the lions and the lambs will bow down to the goat, but rather the lion and the lamb, singular.

It seems that at best, Kirk's lyrics here are extremely sloppy and confusing. Lauren Daigle is an extremely popular Christian singer who has won numerous awards and nominations. However, something that has been disturbing to note is that when Daigle has a choice between standing firm upon the Bible's teachings or compromising to please the culture, Daigle seems to choose the latter.

Lauren Daigle and Homosexuality

When asked about her beliefs concerning homosexuality, Daigle said this,.

Do you feel that homosexuality is a sin? You know, I can't honestly answer on that. I have too many people that I love that they are homosexual. I don't know. I can't say one way or the other. I'm not God.

So when people ask questions like that, that's what my go-to is. I just say, read the Bible and find out for yourself. And when you find out, let me know, because I'm learning.

Daigle is extremely popular, even within the secular world. She has been interviewed and endorsed by Ellen DeGeneres, who is an open lesbian and LGBTQ activist. I wonder if Ellen would be so willing to endorse Daigle if she did not compromise concerning the Bible's clear teachings about homosexuality.

Lecrae, Black Lives Matter, and Biblical Compromise

Lecrae is another very popular rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. Like with Daigle, many have noticed a disturbing trend of Lecrae choosing to compromise concerning clear biblical teaching rather than risk popularity with the culture.

When asked about the issue of homosexuality, Lecrae refused to give a clear answer concerning what he believes or what the Bible teaches.

I don't condemn him. You know what I'm saying? Like, if anything, we'll dialogue so that I can have a better understanding. Because I don't profess to be like, I got this all figured out and I know the way this should be.

It's especially sad to see Lecrae compromise like this because he is known for saying, if you live for their acceptance, you'll die from their rejection. Well, unfortunately, it seems that Lecrae is living for the culture's acceptance because he's afraid of their rejection.

In a song titled Deconstruction, Lecrae raps, I deconstructed long before people knew what to call it, and criticizes Vodie Bockham, saying, right before the fall of 2015, I was all off it. Involved killing Michael Brown.

Had me feeling down. Tweeted about it. Christians called me clown. I was losing ground. And Vodie was a hero of mine. Met with him plenty times. This time when he spoke, it cut me deeper than I realized.

Doubled down. Spoke about my pain. I was met with blame. And says, Ta-Nehisi got me thinking. Now I'm going all in. It seems that Lecrae has chosen to side with the Black Lives Matter narrative and activist against teachers like Vodie Bockham, who have exposed their lies.

I don't believe that. The problem I see is that there is this celebration of criminality. There's this acceptance of criminality and thuggery. And that's a problem. This was a young man who engaged in a violent robbery and then engaged the police officer in a violent confrontation and lost his life.

Kanye West, Joel Osteen, and the Prosperity Gospel

There's also Kanye West, whom Christians were extremely excited about when he converted to Christianity and produced the album Jesus is King. But since then, there have been numerous troubling signs concerning Kanye's Christian faith.

Kanye seems to clearly be a proponent of the heretical prosperity gospel, defending and promoting Joel Osteen.

There's a lot of people in the Christian community that try to give Joel a hard time because when you turn on the radio, he keeps on showing you how good God is.

And Kanye said this to James Corden.

So you think your awakening, your spiritual awakening, is part of my success? Absolutely.

In addition to this, Kanye's choice of girlfriends after his divorce with Kim Kardashian seems to have nothing to do with whether they are Christian or not. Irina Shayk, Julia Fox, Chaney Jones, and now Julianna Nalew are all known for immodesty and sexual immorality, not for being Christians.

And of course, there is the more recent controversy concerning anti-Semitism that Kanye has been in the news for. Again, the question we are asking is, why are there so many theological and character issues with so many of the biggest names in Christian music?

Chris Llewellyn, Trans Ideology, and Hate Speech

Chris Llewellyn is the frontman and lead singer of the popular Christian band, The Wren Collective. Llewellyn recently posted this on Instagram. However you feel about the implications for sports, a wider conversation for sure, calling a trans woman a man is hateful, unkind.

Don't participate in this kind of hate speech. History won't be kind to you. So Llewellyn is calling it hate speech to tell people the truth that women can't become men and men can't become women. And Llewellyn is leading countless Christians with his worship music.

Again, this is quite disturbing. And we are asking, why are so many popular Christian music artists doing things like this? Gungor is a popular Christian group founded by Michael and Lisa Gungor. According to the Christian Post, Michael Gungor fully embraced atheism for a year.

And in 2014, Gungor rattled the Christian music community when he revealed that he and Lisa, who are the faces of the musical collective, don't literally believe in stories from the Bible on topics such as creation, including Adam and Eve and the flood.

In college, Gungor songs were recently sung as worship by the Christian music groups I was a part of. Again, why is this happening to so many of the most popular Christian music artists? Dan Hasselty, the lead singer of the popular Christian band, Jars of Clay.

Has likewise come under much criticism for what he has said about gay marriage in the LGBTQ community. Hasselty tweeted, not meaning to stir things up, but, is there a non-speculative or non-slippery slope reason why gays shouldn't marry?

I don't hear one. I'm trying to make sense of the conservative argument, but it doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny. Feels akin to women's suffrage. I just don't see a negative effect to allowing gay marriage.

No societal breakdown. No war on traditional marriage. Anyone? Of course, Christians have already provided plenty of answers to Hasselty's questions.

Well, I think because the state has a responsibility to uphold the right. Even the Bible says that the government exists to protect the people from what is evil. Well, I'm just saying, what does the state do?

It protects us, right? It protects us from what destroys. We enter into the abortion debate. The state makes laws about abortion. Why? Because it wants to protect what is valuable to our society and that is the reproduction process.

This goes upstream in some sense, Larry, past the point of conception to a point where there can't even be conception.

And of course, there are Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation music, which we've talked about in other videos, where the churches behind the music teach theology that is extremely problematic. All of these churches both gloss over the seriousness of sin and partner with other false teachers, such as Joel Osteen, T .D. Jakes, and Joyce Meyer.

Christian Music, False Teaching, and Cultural Compromise

Again, it's extremely disturbing that the most visible and popular Christian music artists today have so many concerning issues about them. In the midst of so much compromise and deconstruction from so many popular Christian music artists, one popular Christian artist who has not compromised is John Cooper, the lead vocalist and co-founder of the popular Christian band, Skillet.

In response to what has been happening in the culture and within much of contemporary Christian music, Cooper has chosen to become a lot more vocal in speaking up for truth. Regarding popular Christians who have compromised or have deconstructed, Cooper says this,.

Does the world, non-believing culture, hate ex-Christians? Have you ever seen an ex-Christian influencer make the secular culture angry because of his or her stance on a culture war issue such as abortion?

Of course not. Because ex-Christian influencers tend to align with everything culturally popular and acceptable. And you can bet whenever the next faux pas begins to have culture tipping point power, they will be on the right side of history, but the wrong side of the Bible, on that argument too.

Believe me, it is tempting to be able to be a spiritual person who may still kind of be into Jesus, but not really, but sometimes even though God isn't real person, and also be embraced by the world. Cooper is completely right.

It seems abundantly clear that the reason so many of the most popular Christian music artists are compromising concerning the Bible's clear teachings is because the Bible's teachings are unpopular, and they want to be popular and accepted by the culture.

Whether it's Dante Bow, who endorses some of the most blatantly anti-Christian secular music artists in the culture, or Kirk Franklin, who is unconcerned about using extremely confusing and sloppy lyrics, or Lauren Daigle or Lecrae, who refuse to clearly state what the Bible teaches about homosexuality, or Kanye West, who prioritizes wealth and beautiful women over the true gospel, or Chris Llewellyn, who has fully embraced the culture's false definition of hate speech, or Dan Hasselty, who has embraced the culture's arguments for gay marriage.

All of these popular Christian music artists have not prioritized the true gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible over and above all worldly and secular influences. This is especially a temptation within the contemporary Christian music industry, since acceptance from and popularity with the culture means greater success from a worldly perspective.

But it's especially evil for those who have placed themselves in a position of leadership within the world of Christian music to lead their followers into compromise with the secular world.

Currently, turning the church into a racist, feminist, homosexual battleground by picking up the philosophies of the darkness is a violation of this simple command. The kingdom of light joining the bitter, vengeful, graceless philosophy, the godless philosophy, spawned out of 300 years ago of God-hating, Christ-rejecting, anti-family, anti-Christian atheists who were driven by sexual perversion.

Bringing the kingdom of light into any connection to that is unthinkable.

Unthinkable. We live in a world today that worships and glorifies celebrities, excitement and glamour. And many Christians have brought this kind of idolatry into the church, where musical talent and ability is valued above biblical faithfulness and character.

If you're going to throw that reality out, then you're going to have to come in with a new invention to prop the whole thing up. And I think that worship today has been influenced more than any other thing by our culture of entertainment.

Today, it's the people who are the most exciting, who can impress others with their musical abilities, and who can best control an audience who are thrown front and center in churches and Christian worship, rather than those who are the most theological, most faithful to the scriptures, and most obedient to God's moral law.

So, Christians, instead of prioritizing musicians who can impress the culture and the world, let's instead prioritize simple faithfulness to the clear teachings of scripture. Even if the culture and the world hates us for this.

Because although compromise might make us more acceptable to the culture and world, it will only lead to the destruction of countless souls.

Worship as Substance, Not Emotion

This was not a matter of preference. This was a matter of fundamental presuppositions. This was a matter of fundamental understanding about who God is and how we meet Him in worship. On the one hand, there is the idea that says we need an emotional experience.

We need an emotional catharsis. We need to focus in on what it is that will create the environment that will allow us to feel the way we want to feel, or we ought to feel, or would like to feel. And everything needs to be designed around that.

And the other says, here's who God is, regardless of the circumstances. And here's what God says about Himself, about worship, and about death. And it will be enough.

It will be enough. Thank you so much for watching until the end. If you liked this video, hitting the subscribe button helps this channel reach more people with the truth. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.