emery@fluke.UUCP (John Emery) (02/14/86)
This is the voyage of the word of God.
Its mission: to seek out new life and
one new civilization, to boldly go where
no man of God has dared gone before.
O.K. brothers, grab on to your hats; the first review of the christian
rock group Stryper is about to take place. Some time ago on the net the
group was mentioned and not much was said. I learned about this group
(and christian rock in general) from the contemporary christian music radio
station I listen to. On Weekend nights they run a program called eternal rock.
Well, recently my curiousity got the best of me. I was in a christian music
store thumbing past some of my favorites such as Keith Green, Sandti Patti,
Amy Grant, Petra, etc... when I came upon the Yellow and Black Attack ---
------>Stryper. I thought to myself, "should I or shouldn't I?" Next thing
I knew, I was walking up to the cash register with the album in my hand (I
waited til closing time). Everything went amazingly smooth. No one
screamed; no one yelled "Heretic". They even told me to come back again!
In all seriousness, this is what I think of the album.
The album I bought was their recent release "Soldiers Under Command."
The group is made up of four young guys in their early twenties. Two
of them are brothers. They seem like a typical hard rock group with
the long hair and their yellow and black attire (their trademark).
Looking at the album cover, you'd never be able to tell they were christian
except for the words Isaiah 53:5 under their name (...for by his stripes
we are healed. That's where they derive their name: Stryper). Also on the
back under Special Thanks they say: "Thanks God! We knew you could pull it
off!"
The lyrics:
Although much of their music is hard rock, their lyrics are clear and their
message is strong:
"We are the soldiers under God's command
We hold his two-edged sword within our hands
We're not afraid to stand up for what's right
We win without sin, it's not by our might
And we're fighting all the sin
And the good book, it says we'll win!"
The title track continues on with an invitation to the listener:
"Are you a soldier under God's command
Help fight the good fight, join up while you can
The battle that's waging is fought so easily
Through Him, without sin there is victory."
This style is used in a few of their other songs, giving their testimony
and then inviting the listener to do the same. In another example the
song starts out:
"I was looking for the answer all the time
Always looking, never finding
I was empty inside
.
.
Reaching out for shelter
Then He set me free."
If you're looking for the answer
now is the time
To stop looking and start finding
that feeling inside.
.
.
He'll provide the shelter
Then He will set you free."
Another message they stress is that they do like rock and roll music, but
their rock is different:
"We're gonna rock for something new
We're gonna rock for something true
Tonight's the night so let's lift up our hands:
Jesus, King, King of Kings
Jesus, makes me wanna sing."
and
"They say that rock-n-roll is strong
But God's the rock that makes us roll
Don't need no drugs to help us on
We've got His power in our souls."
They sing of unity:
"Let's bring, bring in the new
And do away with the old
A new love, a new love that's true
A love that's never cold
A love that never dies
A love that fills our souls
Together as one
We'll stand for the world to see
Together as one
We'll shine bright throughout eternity."
and,
"One big family
That will live eternally
Together forever
And all you've got to do
Is receive the one who died for you."
Their music:
Like I said earlier, much of their music is hard rock. Three or four of
their songs are more like ballads. In these songs, the lead singer reminds
me of the lead singer of the secular rock group Styx (Dennis DeYoung).
He has quite a range and I seem to like the quality of his voice. Their
harmonies are pretty tight and seem to blend together. The best thing is
that their music compares with any of the most popular rock groups. An
avid rocker will not reject them for their music and can't say that it
musically doesn't live up to secular rock.
General thoughts:
Styper is definately trying to reach a particular group: Those who have
been drawn into the almost idolatrist following of hard rock or heavy
metal music. For me, it's a great witnessing tool. Before becoming a
christian, I was in this trap. Most of my old time friends and younger
relatives are still into this music which in itself is not the problem,
but only a result of it. The real answer is leading them to Christ.
As the Apostle Paul writes:
"To the Jews I became like a Jews, to win the Jews. To those under the
law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the
law), so as to win those under the law. .....I have become all things
to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Cor. 9:20-22
Though there are probably a few christians that would disagree with me, I
personally believe that this group (and many other christian rock groups)
is a part of the body of Christ, sent into world, but not part of it.
I feel God is using them to bring the message of Christ to these captive
rock fans. As always, every spirit must be tested by the word of God and
the fruits of their work. But we must remember, as stated in the above
passage, that sometimes we must become "in form" like those we are trying
to reach, but like Christ "in spirit." For Jesus did not come to us in
the glory of God, but became like us in the humility of human flesh.
John Emery
--
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!emery
---
"...and if have faith that can move mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:3
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest
of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13