“The Hardway” by DC Talk

Song: “The Hardway”

Artist: DC Talk

Album: Free at Last (1992)

Track: 10

Besides “Jesus is Just Alright,” this tune was the big draw for the album.  It’s not the best song, but it’s the best ballad.  For a lot of people, those would be the same thing, but I’m more of a rocker myself, so I tend to like the songs like “Luv is a Verb” more than something like this.  However, the ballad is critical for a band like this, especially at that time.  Christian radio was hesitant to play songs with guitars or rhythm (only exaggerating slightly), so all bands had to put in something soft and pretty, even the Christian metal bands.

But musically, the song is fantastic.  Everything falls into place quite nicely here – the melody, the arrangement, the pace.  Let’s see if the theology does the same!

“Time Is . . .” by DC Talk

Song: “Time Is . . .”

Artist: DC Talk

Album: Free at Last (1992)

Track: 9

One of the hard rocker tracks.  Not the best song ever, but rocks pretty good, so worthwhile in that sense.  This is one of several tracks on the disc that is written in reference to a particular passage of Scripture, which is something I heartily applaud.  Most “Christian” music just has vague statements about Jesus being my bearded girlfriend, but DCT make a concerted effort to tie their work to the Bible.  Let’s see if they handle the text properly!

Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss (1971)

One of the things I want to do on this blog is not just review “Christian” “art” for theology, but also to point out when secular art really hits on something important.  In a lot of cases, unfortunately, I’m finding that the world expresses better theology, at least in part, than a lot of the Christian products we review here do.

The reason for this is simple.  The Bible teaches us that we all have an inherent understanding that there is a God and something of His nature.  In Romans, we find this statement: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (1:19-20).  Again, “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts” (2:15).

We are made in God’s image, and we reflect something of Him.  That is why we have concepts like justice, mercy, and love in even the most secular of places.  Evolution cannot explain things like morality, good, and evil, and yet we know that these things exist and that they are universal.

So it should come as no surprise to us when the world advocates Christian values without acknowledging that they are necessarily Christian.  When I wrote a book about Christianity and the show Firefly, some people criticized me because the creator of the show, Joss Whedon, is an atheist, so clearly didn’t mean to reflect Christian values in it.  But Christianity is true.  It is the only worldview that actually works.  So we should not be surprised when an atheist writer denies his atheism by writing about good and evil, love and justice.  We should actually expect him to do so.  Their understand of God’s revelation is incomplete, and damningly so, but there is an understanding there.

Which brings me to The Big Boss with Bruce Lee.  I’m a huge martial arts movie fan, so I really look forward to anything with Lee in it.  Even when the budget is very low and the plot is cheesy, it’s a pleasure to watch that guy do his thing.

Vacation

Hey all!

Going to be on vacation for the next week.  I've had some conflicts getting up two posts I had prepared for this last week, so I'll keep them in the hopper until my return!

“Free at Last” by DC Talk

Song: “Free at Last”

Artist: DC Talk

Album: Free at Last (1992)

Track: 8

Besides the rather goofy opening, this was actually one of my favorite tunes off of the album.  It has a very nice gospel / rock / rap blend that really represents the best DC Talk was doing at this particular time in their career.  It has always been and probably will always be one of my favorite tracks off the record.