And it’s “prodigal”, but we knew what you meant.

And, in Joseph’s carpenter shop, did Jesus ever hit his thumb with a hammer? And if so, what was his verbal reaction?

There I go, being wacky, again.

61. Wade, Oh man, you have me going back to re-read my post to make sure what I typed since you agreed with me LOL. ;)

As far as the other, it has been my experience that people often only look at one side of God. Some see the side of justice, law and works while others the side of grace However, both sides exist. God set laws and those are still true (I am excluding the laws about sacrifices and the like which were replaced.) We couldn’t measure up to all of the laws and live spotless, sinless lives which is where Christ and grace come in.

However, many use grace as a catch all to basically say that we accept Christ and then can go on our merry way, do what we want, and have the get out of hell free card. Although God knows we can never be perfect on our own, He also can make us more like Him, but we have to do our part. He won’t force us. He gives us free will.

As far as spiritualizing things here, I think once again there are those who only see one side of it. Of course God made all and is everywhere. However, one side seems to want to remove God totally from the conversation while another wants to put him in every situation. Now, I am not about to say that God should be removed from any aspect of our lives, but I don’t know if we should force Him into things. I doubt if He cares which style of music we like the best, or what style of clothes we buy (modesty aside.) I guess one way that I think God gets included here that is not necessary is when someone critiques the art that the performer puts out and is lambasted as if they are attacking the performer’s standing with Christ, their intentions, or even the message itself. I don’t have any reason to doubt the sincerity of the say the Inspirations or McKameys, but face it, performances by either do not stand up to the quality of the Gaither Vocal Band, Gold City, or probably most of the those in the “professional” side of the industry,
The most authentic, well-intended, super Christian can sing off key, with poor quality and some cannot sing at all. This doesn’t diminish them as people, Christians or their effectiveness at leading people to Christ. Their lack of talent in singing might prevent them from reaching people with music (here I am not talking about the McKameys or Inspos, because they aren’t horrible, here I am talking about those who cannot sing a note or have a three note range.) Of course, the message contained is still true and God is more than able to speak through them, he did through a donkey for goodness sake.

However, generally, the package it is wrapped in is what first attracts people to the message. If the best lyrics known to man has a horrible melody, with lousy instrumentation and sung with no semblance of pitch or quality people will likely not stick around long enough to hear the message. It would be like having a diamond ring in the middle of cow dung. Unless someone knows it is there, they aren’t sticking around long enough to go looking for it. That, coupled with the fact that when music is payed for, or even within earshot of people, they have a right to critique it.

They think that if you don’t beat ppl over the head with the bible and get saved every Sunday when you sin that you should not be allowed to comment on the music.

SGFan & dr joe blow are so low that they beat the blog owner up w/ stuff that has nothing to do with the music in attempt to shame & embarrass him.

They will jump back on here saying that was not their intent…when they do they are telling a lie.

The tone of some of the comments seem almost accusatory, as if I don’t have the right to care about this music because I’m not what some would consider a “true Christian.” If the point of the music is the message, then wouldn’t it be a good thing for us so-called “sinners” to be listening?

As for Doug’s original topic, it IS comforting to know that sometimes it’s not just the saints singing for Jesus. Sometimes it is a misfit or an outcast or a struggler–someone just like me. It gives that all-important message in the music much more resonance.