Contributing to the Conversation: “Calling Evil Good: The Lie of ‘Christian’ Rock and Roll” by Spencer Smith

I grew up during the era in which contemporary Christian music’s popularity skyrocketed, eclipsing hymns and choral music in church worship services and on the radio. I remember when Switchfoot released their first big single, “New Way to Be Human,” and I loved (and still love) the song “Love Song for a Savior” by Jars of Clay. I sang “Breakfast in Hell” and “Shine” at summer camp, both Newsboys hits, and I can still sing all the words to “Let It Reign” by Michael W. Smith.

I also remember when our youth group worship leader chose “Come Thou Fount” as our closing song one evening at youth group. I marveled at how revolutionary it felt to use such old-fashioned language and to sing in verse, and to repeat each verse only once, not realizing that “Come Thou Fount” was a well-known hymn.

Calling Evil Good

The book “Calling Evil Good: The Lie of ‘Christian’ Rock and Roll” by Spencer Smith takes a look at how rock and roll music influenced the contemporary Christian music industry. Smith begins with a history of rock and roll music and then moves on to a discussion of what he calls the sinner/saint culture. Spencer says about the artists that are part of the sinner/saint culture, “These people claim to be Christians and even pepper their language with supposed Christian cliches: ‘Thank God,’ ‘Grace of God,’ ‘Amen,’ ‘God Bless,’ And then live lives on par with the average lost person.” He analyzes the lives and music of Beyonce Knowles, Alice Cooper, and R. Kelly.

After this section of the book, Smith explains how rock and roll music began to influence the lives of Christian musicians. He discusses the testimonies of some Christian musicians, their song lyrics, and the morality behind their careers and the Christian music industry in general. He also discusses how music can affect our behavior, mood, and choices.

I agree with the general theme of the book–as Christians, we must think carefully about which type of music we listen to and why. Smith’s book provided me with a lot of interesting ideas to think through, and this process helped me cement some of my own ideas about how I view music and the Christian music industry. I enjoy reading books in which the author shares his or her opinions in truth and love; I could tell that Smith cares about his audience. He researched the book well, cites all of his sources at the end, and includes many Scripture references and direct quotes throughout the book.

I do, however, disagree with Smith’s overall argument; that is, if rock and roll music is bad, and rock and roll music influenced contemporary Christian music, then contemporary Christian music must be bad.

Defining Rock and Roll Music

I believe I would have gained more insight into Smith’s argument if he had defined what he means by ‘rock and roll music’ at the beginning of the book. When I think of rock and roll music, I think of Elvis Presley. Smith mentions Elvis when he traces the origins of rock and roll music from the call-and-respone music that was popular among enslaved people, to rhythm and blues, and finally to the combining of these two styles with traditional folk music in the 1950s. Later in the book, he includes Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Switchfoot in his lineup of Christian rock and roll artists, three artists I personally wouldn’t categorize as rock and roll, but rather pop/alternative contemporary Christian artists. He also writes about Larry Norman, who released “the very first Christian Rock and Roll album” in 1969 (pg. 18), and the band Stryper, who was “the first Christian band to be played on MTV” (pg. 28), two artists I’ve never heard of. This lack of definition confused me for the rest of the book.

Who, exactly, are Christian rock and roll artists? And what exactly does the author consider ‘rock and roll music’? Having a firm answer to both questions would have helped in my understanding of the book.

Singing in Church and Every Day Life

Next, I would have found Smith’s book more compelling if he had given the book some context. I found myself 1) agreeing with him that contemporary Christian music has been largely influenced by our culture, meaning we must be careful or simply avoid using it as part of a church worship service, but 2) disagreeing that a Christian should never listen to or sing contemporary Christian music in any situation ever.

On pg. 104, Smith discusses the band Switchfoot. Switchfoot is one of my favorite groups, and I’ve followed their music since I was in high school. Their lyrics can be spiritually vague sometimes, nevertheless, over the years I’ve gained a lot of truth about the world from Switchfoot’s songs. Here’s a good example from the song “Gone” off their album The Beautiful Letdown,

Today will soon be…/Gone, like yesterday is gone/Like history is gone/The world keeps spinning on/You’re going, going/Gone, like summer break is gone/Like Saturday is gone/Just try to prove me wrong and pretend like you’re immortal…/Life is more than money, time was never money/Time was never cash…/Life is more than fame and rock and roll and thrills/All the riches of the kings end up in wills/We’ve got information in the information age/But do we know what life is like outside of our convenient Lexus cages?/She said, he said, live like no tomorrow/Every moment that we borrow brings us closer/To the God who’s never been short of cash/Hey, Bono, I’m glad you asked/Life is still worth living.

All that being said, I would never desire to sing a Switchfoot song during a church worship service. Their songs aren’t meant for such a sacred purpose or occasion. They’re fun and insightful, but not worshipful. I like to listen to Swithfoot while I’m doing dishes, cleaning the house, or driving.

This brings to my mind the books the Rhetoric students read at the classical Christian school at which I teach. They read first-hand sources and novels from different cultures and different times in history, which of course means that they read about worldviews which don’t line up with a Christian worldivew. Why do they read such books? I like what Doug Wilson has to say about it: “A Christian literature program is one in which the students are taught to read great literature, and to think while they read, as Christians.” ¹

I apply the same principle to music. I like to listen to great music, from classical composers like Handel and Copland, to musicians like Johnny Cash, to contemporary composers like Patrick Doyle and John Williams. Smith misses this point entirely in his book. He sets up rigid parameters for Christians to follow instead of encouraging them to think while they listen.

Motivating Your Crowd

Finally, the book reads like he’s writing to an audience who already agrees with him. “He’s motivating his crowd,” as a friend once said to me. For this reason, his arguments fall flat in a few different spots and they weren’t strong enough to convince me of his overall position.

Here’s a good example of one of his weaker arguments. He compares contemporary Christian music to McDonald’s chicken nuggets, which have a notoriously low amount of poultry in them. Spencer says on pg. 81,

This same tactic is used by the ‘Christian’ Rock Industry. They take a TINY amount of Bible truth, add the ‘filler’ of Rock music, dance routine, smoke, mirrors, top notch graphic design, stylish musicians, tours, radio ads, trendy clothes, laser shows, fry it in the oil of ‘positive thinking,’ and serve it to the masses as ‘Christianity.’ Once you realize that the Churches of America have been on a steady diet of this since the 1960’s then you may realize why so many churches are ‘out of shape.'”

This argument is well-written, and I appreciate the McNugget analogy, however, Christian music artists cannot require that churches use their music. This means that church leaders are choosing to promote this type of Christian music. Therefore, the style of music a church uses in worship is not the cause of doctrinal drift, but rather a symptom. This type of Christian music would have died out long ago if no churches had chosen to promote it, purchase it, and use it in their worship services.

Concluding Thoughts

While I wouldn’t recommend the book to someone as an influential read, I would recommend the book to anyone who would like to interact with the topic of music in the life of a Christian. Good writing invites conversation, and I’ve had many conversations about this book with friends and family. I’m glad I read it, and I’m thankful that Smith’s thoughts spurred me on to think more thorougly about the type of music I listen to and why.

1. Wilson, Douglas. “The Why and How of Literature.” Repairing the Ruins, edited by Douglas Wilson, Canon Press, 1996, pg. 166. ↩