Song: “Socially
Acceptable”
Artist: DC Talk
Album: Free at
Last (1992)
Track: 7
I’m really not at all looking forward to reviewing this
song, not because I’m expecting the theology to be bad, but simply because I
don’t like it. Musically, it always felt
like filler to me, and I normally skipped it while playing through the album, and
was doing so even ten years ago, when my musical tastes were less developed as
they are now. But, we’ve committed to
give each artist a full hearing on this blog, which means reviewing the
theology of all the songs and not just the good ones. So here we go!
The Good
Oddly enough, this song may actually have more application
now than it did at the time. It is a
song about the sliding morality of America.
The diagnosis of the problem here is sometimes right on. They first say to not blame it on race. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m hearing less of
that now than it was in the early 90s, and perhaps this could have been fleshed
out more, but the effort is a good one – to cut away excuses and get to the
real issue.
The highlight of the song is the second verse, where DC Talk
really cuts to the heart of what we might call “popular opinion morality.” Well, says the world, most of the people
think this is okay, so it must be.
That’s a logical fallacy, called argumentum
ad populum, which is often employed, but illegitimate. Providentially, as I write this, I am only 12
hours removed from a conversation with someone who appealed to this very
argument to support his understanding of morality.
But the moral law is not something based on what the most
people feel at the time. If that were
the case, then American slavery and the Holocaust were okay. But as Christians, we know better. The moral law is based on the truth and
character of God, not on our fallen opinions.
Morals are universal and unchanging, and whether or not we’re “okay”
with something doesn’t make it okay.
I wish they had fleshed this out a bit more. The second verse touches on these issues, but
the lyrics are fairly poor and not at all thorough, so there is something that
gets lost here. Still, the point is
important.
Neither Good nor Bad
The main frustration of this song, besides the aural
inferiority of it, is the fact that the lyrics just don’t amount to much. It’s hasty, and the points never come through
very well. Even in the second verse,
where the heart of the matter is being stated, we wallow a bit in mediocrity
and then abandon the point too soon. I
understand that the structure of the song does not allow for more lines. I’ve faced that same issue before in composing. That being said, recasting the lyrics and
focusing them more would allow for a fuller treatment of the issue rather than
hinting at several issues.
Secondly, and this is a matter of taste, I know it’s easier
to rhyme “God” when you spell it out “G-O-D,” but the song actually does that
twice. It’s ironic that the solution to
the problem isn’t actually explicitly stated except in a quote earlier in the
song (“In God We Trust”). It’s not
something I’d put in the “Bad” column, but it’s noteworthy.
The Bad
The bad here is very simple – the solution to the
problem. When we get to the end, DCT
gives us their plan, that we need to turn “to the principles found in the
Word. A little G-O-D could be society’s
cure. … Pray for America.”
Prayer is critical, much needed in America today. Getting back to the principles in the
Word? Well, to an extent, yes that is good,
but it’s a partial solution, and it’s a temporary one without actual heart
change.
The Reformers noted three uses of the Moral Law. The one that DCT is referring to is the
restraint of evil. Even unbelievers, to
an extent, are restrained from doing evil out of fear. That’s a very good thing, because otherwise
we’d have a lot more murders, rapes, etc.
But another use of the Law is to convict us of sin and drive us to the
Cross for forgiveness.
That’s the better solution here – the Gospel, not just the
Law. The principles found in the Word
can dress up society and make us look better, but it will not cleanse the
heart. The Gospel does that. Society’s true cure here is to repent, to
turn from its sin, and to confess faith in Christ. People need to have their hearts of stone
removed and replaced with hearts of flesh.
The last use of the Law is to teach Christians how they
should live. By the power of the Spirit,
regenerate people want to do good. The
Bible teaches us how to do that. This is
the place we want to be, because this is what would clean out the wickedness
and sin from society. Not completely, of
course. We will sin. But we will be freed from bondage to sin and
made able to follow God. The path
advocated here in the song produces whitewashed tombs – nice on the outside,
but filled with rotting corpses.
Overall
The song suffers from a lack of real focus and a lack of a
real solution. I commend their effort to
shine light on the problem, but the path they lay for us leaves us no better
off, just looking nicer.
