In a car riding home from a few hours of door to door work with other Roskam interns, we were on the topic of music and I brought up the fact that I like Christian rap. The reaction from my non-Christian audience was quite comical. “What?”, “There’s such thing as that?” and other statements of confusion were immediately uttered.
As a Christian, a lot of the music I listen to is Christian. Not all of it, but most. And so it’s interesting to explore different genres of Christian music in places that might be unexpected. For example, Christian rap. Now, to some, that may seem like an oxymoron. Many Christians in society have a knee-jerk bad reaction to any forms of rap, which has been given a bad name by many secular rappers, whose music is admittedly disgusting. However, this doesn’t mean that all rap is bad, and actually, when one really listens to the lyrics, they’re as Christian as that of Michael W. Smith, Hillsong, and all the other worship bands and artist out there.
Another reason why I like Christian rap is that it’s creative. What I mean is, some worship songs are really really simple and really really repetitive. Now, let me emphasize here that there is a spiritual and Biblical benefit to repetition, as it can really have someone focus on the lyrics of the song that put them in a position of better worship to Christ. However, as one who is not as spiritually “turned on” so to speak by music, it’s nice to have people singing lyrics about how God has changed their lives and actually producing full trains of thought. Sometimes I think that anyone can make a worship song, you just have to get a chorus and a verse or two and just repeat it to death for 4 minutes. Again, for some people, that might really help them focus on Christ, but for me, I can appreciate all the thought and creativity that has to be put into a Christian rap song, simply because it requires more lyrics and often a rhyme scheme.
So essentially, I think Christian rap is massively misunderstood and has been given a bad name, yet in reality, it is an awesome way to not only worship, but to hear the testimonies of so many people who God worked incredible miracles in.
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Who I is?
Yes, the inevitable post of selfishness where I talk all about me. As much as I like myself, the post is somewhat obligatory. I’d rather talk about what I think. However, it is important to understand where I’m coming from and what I believe because all these things with certainly color my writing and be quite evident in it.
So first and foremost, I am a Christian. I have been one since I was 4 years old and it is the most central aspect of my life. This of course is easy to say, but hard to live out. It’s a constant struggle for me to put Christ and what He wants to do with me before myself and my desires. My favorite verse sums up myself quite nicely. 1 Corinthians 15:10 says: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. This verse really means a lot to me because I have been given much. I can easily credit my accomplishments to myself, but it is God and His grace working through me that has enabled me to be who I am. I want to be the person who in this life, works their tail off serving Christ and doing my best, all through the power of God.
I also have very strong political views. I will not hesitate to say that I’m a conservative Republican and I actually am interning for my Congressman, Rep. Peter Roskam of the 6th IL Congressional District. So some of my posts now and in the future might involve interesting things that have happened while volunteering there.
My laptop (An IBM ThinkPad T40) is one of my most treasured electronic companions. I use it all the time and have really poured quite a bit of my life on it, considering all the Documents, pictures, and other things loaded on it. However, it is getting old and worn, so I’m hoping to get one in the next few years, depending on how much money I can acquire.
I also love photography. My Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 point and shoot has served me well for over two years and I’ve taken thousands of pictures with it. If you ask my friends, they’d say I’m obsessed with taking pictures and it occasionally annoys them when I shoot them relentlessly at camp and pretty much everywhere.
I also love to read. I’ve always been a reader, whether of books or online articles. I’m hoping that I can find a widget or some custom thing to have a “Currently reading” section somewhere on this blog. My reading style can be quite odd though, as I read extremely fast, so my comprehension isn’t all that fantastic. At least with novels and exciting books, I want to read to know what happens, so I try to find out as fast as possible. I also like academic reading of AP textbooks and other things that will help me for the classes and tests and make me feel smart too.
My favorite music is another odd thing. I really don’t have too many favorites. I am not that loyal to artists and usually only like 1 or a few songs of theirs. I do like Taylor Swift a lot though. Her songs are really well done and her voice is fantastic. I like all sorts of Christian music, but Hillsong’s worship music is just phenomenal. Also, some Christian rap songs are really cool too, but more on that later.
Well, that should be all. I’m done. There are better and more exciting things to write about and I’m sure you’ll see further aspects of my life and personality come out as this blog continues.
So first and foremost, I am a Christian. I have been one since I was 4 years old and it is the most central aspect of my life. This of course is easy to say, but hard to live out. It’s a constant struggle for me to put Christ and what He wants to do with me before myself and my desires. My favorite verse sums up myself quite nicely. 1 Corinthians 15:10 says: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. This verse really means a lot to me because I have been given much. I can easily credit my accomplishments to myself, but it is God and His grace working through me that has enabled me to be who I am. I want to be the person who in this life, works their tail off serving Christ and doing my best, all through the power of God.
I also have very strong political views. I will not hesitate to say that I’m a conservative Republican and I actually am interning for my Congressman, Rep. Peter Roskam of the 6th IL Congressional District. So some of my posts now and in the future might involve interesting things that have happened while volunteering there.
My laptop (An IBM ThinkPad T40) is one of my most treasured electronic companions. I use it all the time and have really poured quite a bit of my life on it, considering all the Documents, pictures, and other things loaded on it. However, it is getting old and worn, so I’m hoping to get one in the next few years, depending on how much money I can acquire.
I also love photography. My Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 point and shoot has served me well for over two years and I’ve taken thousands of pictures with it. If you ask my friends, they’d say I’m obsessed with taking pictures and it occasionally annoys them when I shoot them relentlessly at camp and pretty much everywhere.
I also love to read. I’ve always been a reader, whether of books or online articles. I’m hoping that I can find a widget or some custom thing to have a “Currently reading” section somewhere on this blog. My reading style can be quite odd though, as I read extremely fast, so my comprehension isn’t all that fantastic. At least with novels and exciting books, I want to read to know what happens, so I try to find out as fast as possible. I also like academic reading of AP textbooks and other things that will help me for the classes and tests and make me feel smart too.
My favorite music is another odd thing. I really don’t have too many favorites. I am not that loyal to artists and usually only like 1 or a few songs of theirs. I do like Taylor Swift a lot though. Her songs are really well done and her voice is fantastic. I like all sorts of Christian music, but Hillsong’s worship music is just phenomenal. Also, some Christian rap songs are really cool too, but more on that later.
Well, that should be all. I’m done. There are better and more exciting things to write about and I’m sure you’ll see further aspects of my life and personality come out as this blog continues.
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