Identity Suppression?

Imagine a preacher trying to preach without clearly identifying his message. What would have happened if Peter and the rest of the disciples would have suppressed their true identity, and instead of preaching the hallmarks of the Apostolic faith, resorted to philosophy, non-evasive lectures, and double entendre’ speech? I’m safely assuming the results would not include a called out group of people who “turned the world upside down.” The reason the early church chose such an aggressive stance doctrinally and evangelistically was due to their understanding of Jesus’ teaching and lifestyle of how one should present the gospel without “watering” it down. Jesus was radical in his paradigm busting, e.g., he never had a problem reaching out to the lowest strata of society, yet he did not conform to their social mores (He did not become what they were to reach them). He never attempted to “soft sell,” use deceptive tactics, or “store front” his ministry. He wasn’t arrogant in His delivery, as the religious crowd called him a drunkard and sluggard, yet the people he associated with knew what he was about, and it didn’t take long for his audience to figure it out.

What does all that have to do with music?

Interestingly, this is a style for which some musicians and artists steer clear. They suppress the name Jesus, and all the other tenets of faith, for a strategy that attempts to draw in a larger crowd. So, you might hear their official line as “we are not a Christian group, band, etc., we just have a worldview that happens to be influenced by a Christian worldview.” Hence, the lyrics are positive and can be accepted by a mainstream audience, who will adapt and fit it into their own worldview (and maybe they will get interested and seek to know more with the end result being a life change). At face value this seems okay…after all, positive lyrics are much better than negative, carnal, secular values. However, the real benefactors are the band, group, or artists. With such a strategy they garner both Christian and secular audiences. The secular audience will be accepting as long as the religious envelope is not pushed. To build and maintain a larger audience base, without alienating the Christian segment nor the secular audience, the resulting equation is identity suppression for the sake of acceptance. Don’t really say who you are. Ensconce your worldview into your songs like a puzzle, because ultimately, the results will generate a bigger audience to “you.”

I don’t like such a purposeful musical approach. There is something refreshing to me to hear someone just come right out and respectfully (key word there) take a stand for what they believe, knowing that there will be some who will choose to shun the message and some who will listen. This seems to me to be the tactic of Jesus. He was never interested in a fan base. As a matter of fact, they made him nervous because he knew there were many following only because of the miracles, signs, and wonders. He was not about identity suppression, but identity expression. He was God incarnate in Christ Jesus and he certainly did not soft sell it.