Christian Rock

As it approached midnight this past Saturday, my friend and I joined the rest of Madison Square Garden in ending a tremendous concert with parts of Psalm 40. We were not, however, at a “Christian rock” show, but at a mainstream rock and roll concert. Just as they have done for over twenty years, U2 closed their performance with “40”, a song comprised of direct quotations from Psalm 40. These Biblical references mix with U2’s own lyrics about waiting (“How long to sing this song?”). The title itself relates back to the Bible, which constantly uses the number forty as a symbol for a period of testing and waiting.

I am a huge U2 fan, and long before singing them live I had recognized that much of their music has religious themes, albeit not always exclusively Christian. However it only hit me last night that religion has clearly permeated the mainstream music industry. Over the past decade or so, more and more Christian rock groups have successfully entered the mainstream media, such as P.O.D. and Switchfoot. Perhaps even more so than television, music has a profound impact on its listeners by tapping directly into their souls. Undoubtedly the rise of Christian rock and its emergence onto the mainstream music scene has played a part in the religious revival taking place in our country right now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I felt compelled to go to church the day after the concert.