Electric guitars, drum sets, giant colorful screens, maybe some smoke machines or LED lighting if there’s money leftover, all for the crowd of worshipers raising their hands, palms outstretched. Christian worship music has become more focused on showmanship over the years, and its message, particularly in contemporary worship music performed largely in evangelical churches, has become centered around the life, or more so the death, of Jesus. Through investigating the lyrics of contemporary worship songs and understanding how and why contemporary worship music operates the way it does, we can determine that its portrayal of Jesus is one that highlights Jesus’ nobility, grace, and promise of salvation while attempting to maintain relevance in …show more content…
The contemporary worship music image of Jesus is most comparable to Prothero’s “Sweet Savior” Jesus, born in the Evangelical Century and becoming a loving, “feminized” version of Jesus, and the “Superstar” Jesus, a friendly, down-to-earth result of the “Jesus Freaks” movement in the 60s, which was the inspiration of contemporary worship music. Using these two already-defined Jesuses, and combining them with some other aspects of contemporary worship music, I have defined contemporary worship music’s portrayal of Jesus as the “King within reach,” a Jesus who is accessible, praiseworthy, and full of grace. Jesus as defined by contemporary worship music is a muddled project, as many pieces of contemporary worship can be used to interpret his portrait. However, due to the evidence from its lyrical emphasis on certain names and characteristics of Jesus, part of that portrait must include his apparent and praiseworthy authority for the churches (and Spotify users, of course) that play contemporary worship music. Overall, the grace and promise of salvation portrayed by the lyrics are consistent with mainly evangelical Christianity as
McKibben is a writer, educator, environmentalist, and currently a scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont. He served as an editor of important articles for the Harvard Crimson, and, in 2005, he wrote “The Christian Paradox: How a Faithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong” (264). All of his background information gives the impression that McKibben is an educated and environmentally conscious person who has envisioned a better future for America. As a member of the Christian community, McKibben has received direct
Christian white men barbarically mistreated Native Americans. In William Apess’ essay “An Indian 's Looking-Glass For The White Men” he contradicts the Christian faith. Apess was a profound Methodist minister, author, and religious leader who lived in Massachusetts. Using his vast expertise on religion with pious homilies, Apess intricately highlights the injustice towards Native Americans in his sermon. Furthermore, Apess is propitious for Native Americans; he argues in favor for them and feels compassionate
Compare and Contrast Spanish Essay Christmas is a holiday filled with tradition, family, and happiness, but what most people don’t know is that Christmas is celebrated all over the world, not just the United States. Latin American countries are especially passionate about Christmas. The way Hispanic people celebrate changes throughout each country. Each one has its own unique Christmas culture. In this essay I am going to write about some of these different countries, and tell how each one is similar
Lord’s Supper is one of the most important aspect of our worship services. Jesus described this as a remembrance meal and the instructions that He gave to us was a centerpoint in the first century worship assemblies. In this essay I would like to do an exegesis of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and how our modern day church should follow it. The headline in the New American Standard bible in which I use and will use for this essay labels this part of scripture as Conduct at the Lord’s Supper. One can see
uses nature to demonstrate his main character's unwillingness to participate in life. Another point we'll examine is the use of anger and survival and how it can be used as a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers. Next, we'II look at Jesus Christ as a metaphor for how we experience life and how traditional church values contradict each other when it comes to the acceptance of human beings. Finally, we'll briefly take an historic look at how the Depression gave blacks an even playing
Comparing Grover's Growing Up White In America and McBride's Work, What Color Is Jesus? Racial issues have been predominant for the last fifty years. The two authors Bonnie Kay Grover and James McBride share their racial views in their respective works “Growing Up White In America” and “What Color Is Jesus?” Each author has a different view on exactly what race is and how it is used. Bonnie Kae Grover is a white female who believes that race has been used as a weapon. Specifically, she
The Gospel of John An Essay Written for A Humanities Course That Studies the Bible As A Historical Document THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: "The Man from Heaven," "Bread of Life," "Light of The World," "Living Water," .... and of course, "Son of Man." This is who Jesus is in The Gospel of John. Jesus' life is portrayed very differently from the other Synoptic Gospels; he lives completely within symbolism, and glorification.
According to Phillip Lopate, “the personal essayist must above all be a reliable narrator; we must trust his or her core of sincerity” (1994). The personal essay relies heavily on the author’s ethos. It could be argued that it may be hard to establish credibility when the information presented in a personal essay is based on opinions, ideologies, or personal experiences. Lopate refutes this, however, by emphasizing that security must be found in the conveyance of ideas. An essayist must acknowledge
” and no one stops to think much more then “This guy is crazy!”. Where is the proof in that? This is one of the major problems people have when trying to understand a higher power. This essay will consist of mind bending proof that we walk by each day, and the changing effects of having faith in Jesus Christ. It’s safe to say that many people of this age believe in a higher power, as did many hundreds of years ago. In fact Adolf Hitler wanted to kill every living Jew because they thought
Waldo Emerson was a philosopher and transcendentalist of the 19th century, composing controversial, philosophical and religious essays in order to inform people. Emerson was a strong influence on other personalities of his time, including American figures such as; “Henry Thoreau” and “Walt Whitman”. “Emerson’s father (William Emerson) influenced the good taste of Emerson’s essays due to he was a man of the church.” William died because of a stomach cancer just two weeks before Ralph Waldo fulfilled eight
change for Minority ethnic groups and the 99% or the people is a common theme in both poems I analyzed in this essay. First “Shine, Perishing Republic” by Robinson Jeffers Is focused more on an American nightmare perspective speaking of the corruption of this country and subjection of the people, but at the same time wanting there to be change to said corruption
Martin Luther King Jr. versus Henry David Thoreau *Works Cited Not Included There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. Two such cases occurred during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau. Both men courageously confronted the mighty us government; both spent time in jail as a result of their defiant actions; both men stood for a belief in a better future, and both presented their dreams
punishment; God installed capital punishment as a valid punishment for murderers to halt further divide from him. However once Jesus came into the world he began to teach his followers not to kill, or avenge themselves. Jesus Christ encouraged all his followers to turn the other cheek and even did this himself before crucifixion. Randy Alcorn strongly states that although Jesus taught that we are not to seek vengeance, but instead show mercy and turn the other cheek, the Word of God seems to clearly
Me Talk Pretty One Day is an essays collection by David Sedaris, prominent American comedian and author, that explores his identity through stories of his childhood, cultural background, sexuality, and family. These factors shaped who he is today and reflect on the how he managed to make his way to find his place in the world. One of the major revolving themes throughout the collection is the relationship between Sedaris and language. This relationship represents his obstacle of speech impairment
century romantic literature is the essay “Self-Reliance”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson believed in transcendentalism, the idea that everyone has access to and can discover truth, or God, through development of themselves; spiritually and intellectually. In his essay “Self-Reliance” Emerson challenges Americans to create their own cultures and customs, branching out from the social norms. Emerson uses various strategies to inspire nationalism within Americans by encouraging them to not conform