In which I am unapologetic for not blogging.

Yup, still here. Just trying to figure out what's best to blog about.

Some thoughts about "God, Our Mother" by the Liturgists

I'm starting to wonder how seriously the Liturgists take theology. They certainly understand things from anthropomorphism. But then they try to view theology through the lens of anthropology and say some things that are close to heresy. They continue to question not just musical boundaries but also what should be core tenets of the Christian faith. How much more will they continue to emerge?



Though I find Gungor's (and the Liturgists') music to be pretentious some moments, I genuinely enjoy their music, and their thoughts, and their honesty. They weave a tapestry of art that seems to transcend the barriers of lyric and harmony and melody. Their music is moving, because it is greater than the sum of its parts. My bones to pick come not out of self-righteousness, but from a dedicated listener who has some honest worry for the theology of not just the individual members of the band, but also the individual followers and listeners of the band. They have the unique position of being palatable to both the contemporary church and the emergent. They have significant secular crossover as well.

Michael Gungor and his bands have always seemed like button-pushers. In some respects, this is a good thing. They see a problem in the Christian music industry. One, that it is an "industry" at all. Two, Christian music is generally bad or identifiable in very blase ways. Three, they find that many Christian music artists aren't very intellectually honest. So in one sense, I applaud them for sticking up for the purpose of music as they see it, and defining their music on their own terms. The problem is that they also end up defining a lot of other non-art-centric, non-culture-centric things as well.

This wouldn't be a problem if I didn't see the amount of weight their words carry on their readers and listeners. This wouldn't be a problem if they were being "intellectually honest" with their agenda. I get it. All people have an agenda. I have agenda to at least air-out some boiling thoughts in my mind. They have an agenda to at least make some sort of living creating music. But they also seem to have another agenda in mind, with all the preaching (and yes, it is preaching) that they are doing in their music.

For most Christian artists, this agenda is usually something like trying to express or ascribe holiness, or love, or attributes to God. Not that God is given any real holiness, or love, or attributes based on what we say about Him. It's just part of what it means to witness. If you're a Christian, and you tell people you believe in God, people will begin to at least understand some small portion of God by your actions, whether that understanding is flawed because it's being seen through a flawed person, or that understanding is redeened because it's being seen through a redeemed person. And people gain both good understanding and bad understanding from the same observed person. The good, from the Holy Spirit within us that causes and motivates us to glorify Him and be at peace with all men, the bad coming from the sin nature within us that causes and motivates us to glorify ourselves and be at enmity with God.

Michael Gungor says he is being honest when his band releases an album called "God, Our Mother".

So, I get it. Assigning a sex to God seems superfluous. So here are some common arguments we've seen for God as mother.

1. God doesn't have a real gender. The Bible uses accommodating language when it calls God "Father" or personifies 'Him' in a male pattern. But it is accommodation, not denotation. So God is not literally a Father in any biological sense. More in a experiential or spiritual sense. Maybe existential.

2. God is not always described sex/gender exclusive. The Bible says in some verses, like Hosea 13:8, that God is like a bear robbed of her cubs. Or Isaiah 66:13, "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem". The Bible also refers to God in some (read: most) verses as being "Father" and he is referred to with male pronouns.

3. God is not a man. The Bible says God is spirit, not flesh. Exodus 20:4, tells the Israelites not to carve images of any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. This commandment was also understood as to not carve an idol that one imagined was an image of God. Romans 8:9: You, however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. John 4:24: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

There are probably other, more intellectually long-winded arguments one can make for the "Motherhood" of God, but I think this may be enough for now. So I'll try and refute some of these points, or at least show that they don't make sense, especially in light of sola scriptura.

1. God doesn't have a real gender.

So this is a true statement. But it isn't true because he has two genders. And it isn't true because He isn't a biological father. And despite these concepts which would have had a very long time to stew in the hearts and minds of Israel and other believers, Scripture still constantly refers to God as He, Him, Father. Scripture constantly refers to those who belong to God with the adjective His. Why then did scripture make this distinction? And why does Scripture use accommodating language to refer to God as He, Him, Father?

Because God accommodated to Israel in this way. If we subscribe to verbal plenary inspiration (the theological position that God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired men to write the books and letters of the Bible perfectly), then the Bible was written by God through the hands of men, and that God himself chose to be referred to with male pronouns. The New Testament, Jesus uses this God-given accommodating language and refers to God as Father because that is how God commanded people to refer to Him. In Acts and the epistles, all Jesus' followers refer to God with masculine pronouns.

To make the assumption that God would be pleased for people to refer to Him as Her is a very bold step, if we believe in any regard the tenets of regulative principle. If God never referred to himself with a feminine pronoun, why would any believer dare to refer to God with feminine pronouns directly?

2. God is not always described sex/gender exclusive.

This is also a true statement. God is not described as only masculine/feminine. There are even some verses like Hosea 13:8, or multiple verses in Isaiah, or Jeremiah, that seem to support the assumption that it is good to call God Mother.

The problem with the assumption is that it is anthropomorphism. What is that?

Miriam-Webster defines anthropomorphism as this: an interpretation of what is not human or person in terms of human or personal characteristics.

Genesis says that man and woman are created in God's image. Genesis 1:26-27. God refers to the entirety of humanity as "man" in verse 26, and then refers to the individual parts as "male and female". So both men and women, male and female, bear God's image. The problem is when we attempt to make God bear "man and woman's" image. That's anthropomorphism. If God is a Spirit, he cannot be described in human terms. The opposite, however, is true. You can describe the number "one" as a "number". But you cannot describe "number" as "one".

So when The Liturgists say "God, Our Mother", they are describing God in human terms. But they aren't saying "God is like our Mother", they are saying "God, our mother". It isn't metaphorical, they are using the sentence literally. Why is it literal? Because God is described as a literal father.

At the beginning of their album, the Liturgists state: "a father is a man who raises a child, donates sperm during conception, or both". They are defining the term and idea of father based on human experience. They are defining father based on cultural presuppositions: God cannot be a literal Father because he does not temporally raise a child. He cannot be a literal Father because he does not donate sperm. Therefore, God is not a literal Father and people who hold to that position cannot defend God's Fatherhood because there is no literal corollary.

Let me state this clearly. God is called "Father" not because He is like a "father". Fathers are called "father" because they bear that image in God! 

Now the next statement wouldn't be half-true or problematic if the basis of God's accommodating masculinity wasn't established in point one. Let's replace male pronouns and nouns on this one.

God is called "Mother" not because She is like a "mother". Mothers are called "mother" because they bear that image in God!

Why is this untrue and problematic? Because the same scriptures that people use to say that God is mother generally use simile, not metaphor. And the distinction is sharp enough for it to not be unintentional. Let's take Hosea 13:8 for example.

I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
    I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
    as a wild beast would rip them open.

Do you see that God is like "a bear of robbed of her cubs"? Simile. Not a metaphor. Later in Hosea 13 God refers to Himself as a "He".

Deuteronomy: 32:18

You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,
    and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

But in this verse, God says "you forgot the God who gave you birth". That's a little interesting. How can a masculine God bear children? Still later in Deuteronomy 32 God refers to Himself as a "He".

How can a masculine God 'bear' children? If we bear in mind that human beings bear the image of God, then we see in human motherhood what we see in human fatherhood. Mothers are called "mother" because they bear that image in God. A mother birthing a child is bearing God's image in the act of creating man and woman. It's a reflection of what God has done. The same goes with human fathers raising a child or "donating sperm" to an egg. It (the act of birthing) is a reflection of what God does when He creates human beings.

If we can call men to pursue and love their wives as Jesus loves the church, why are similar analogies so easily ignored?

This isn't to diminish the worth of motherhood, of child-bearing and -rearing, of the process of pregnancy, or anything. This isn't to diminish the value of women, or to favor the value of men. This increases the value and worth of motherhood (and fatherhood). A woman gains her "mothering" characteristics by bearing God's image. A man gains his "fathering" characteristics by bearing God's image. Nevertheless, God accommodates with masculine pronouns. Why? Probably because He wishes to be viewed primarily as Father. This has no bearing on the worth, value, or usefulness or meaning on motherhood. I drive cars. It does not mean that I will not occasionally drive trucks. It does not mean that I look down on people who drive trucks.

The physical reality of motherhood and fatherhood find their complete end and design in the spiritual and existential reality of God. They are not whole without Him. They have no meaning without God defining that meaning. And He has done that, perfectly.

3. God is not a man.

Also true! God is also not a woman. God does not have a Male/Female gender because He is Spirit. But because He is Spirit, and because He defines creation, he can define himself to accommodate to others the way he would like. And scripture constantly, boldly refers to God with a masculine pronoun. So God does not have a real gender. But He has decided it best to describe himself as a Father.

Most of the issue with using this point is that we cannot define a spiritual God with human characteristics. God does not take on human aspects of existence, such as gender, race, age, disposition, personality, diversity, unity, etc.

People get those from God, not the other way around. God defined gender in such a way that echoed His image. God defined race in a way that echoed His image. God is not a man. But God created man. And God created man in His image. Man cannot re-create God into his image. The corollary: God is not a woman. But God created woman. And God created woman in His image. Woman cannot re-create God into her image.

A single mother fulfills the role of mother and father for her children. A single father fulfills the role of father and mother for his children. But God is not limited by gender, and He is not limited by resources or flesh the way that a mother or father would be. He fulfills both roles perfectly, for He defines them. And yet scripture refers to God with masculine pronouns directly, and may use some metaphors and similes when describing him with feminine pronouns.



When we call God "Mother" in preference of "Father", we are not ascribing him glory. Not because mother is somehow a lesser title than father. But because God commands us to call him so: Matthew 23:9 "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven."

His commandment is one of life, one that Christians should cling to, not question and take their hands off wondering if they can catch some other ledge to hang on to Christ with.

While the Liturgists may say

God our Father 
Giver of daily bread 
Blessing our hands and covering our heads. 

God our mother 
Leading us into peace 
Blessing and comforting all those in need ;


in scripture, Matthew 6:7-13 says

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil."

This was a long-winded post, so I will conclude.

Fathering finds its meet in God.
Mothering finds its meet in God.
Fathers are fathers because they bear God's image.
Mothers are mothers because they bear God's image.
Therefore, God's image is the shadow in which fatherhood and motherhood exist.
God created fathers and mothers and loves them equally.
God created children who need both earthly mothers and earthly fathers.
God redeemed His children who need God, who, though calling himself Father and fulfilling the role of Father, does fulfill the metaphorical role of mother spiritually speaking.
Therefore, birth, bearing, rearing, nurturing, providence, care, protection, provision, wisdom, teaching, instruction, discipline and all other responsibilities of fathers and mothers come inherently from God's image for which he created them to bear and reflect.
God still calls himself a Father, despite lending human motherhood some very distinct characteristics in respect to human fatherhood.
Therefore, God is not our Mother.
God is our Father.

May we always be defined by God's terms, and not seek to define God by our terms.

Nick

Music Recommendations: Indie Christmas Albums

I know I blog inconsistently so here I ask your forgiveness.

There has been so much good Christmas music come out this year that I can't hold it in any longer and am writing a blog to share the releases that I've enjoyed most and hopefully can recommend to you in good faith.

I'll start off first with Mars Hill Music's Citzens and their new release Repeat the Sounding Joy.

Citizens - Repeat The Sounding Joy

Repeat the Sounding Joy starts off sunny and major-key. It takes the trademark sound of the Seattle worship group's pseudo-disco-esque synth indie pop rock and add some eclecticism in the form of unconventional rock instruments like trumpets and throwback synthesizer and drum machine noises like the 80's are alive and forever. I'm not the largest fan of Citizens, but have an appreciation for the creativity they display with reckless abandon. Anthemic, poppy, 80'sy, Citizens take timeless hymns and transpose them to the timeliness of modern music. None is this so clear as in "Come and Stand Amazed", probably the standout track on the album. It is bookended with "Silent Night", which is the most contemporary arrangement on the album and allows the ears some respite from the rest of the decidedly polarizing album.

Pick up their album from iTunes or stream on Spotify, and learn more about them here: http://marshill.com/music/albums/repeat-the-sounding-joy

Page CXVI - Advent To Christmas

Next on the list is one part of a project I've been looking forward to eagerly since it was announced. Colorado Spring's Page CXVI started an indiegogo and raised money to create three albums, based on the liturgical calendar. First is Advent to Christmas, then they'll do an album on Lent, Palm Sunday, and Maundy Thursday, and then they will do a Good Friday and Easter album.

Page CXVI is another one of those criminally unknown and underrated "Christian" indie bands with good sounds. Starting off as the side project of the same members who play in The Autumn Film, Page CXVI states their mission to "make hymns known again". What makes them unique is their sole focus on hymns, old and new, and generally keeping the melody of the song while working creative music around that melody. While this is becoming standard fare for many admittedly good and creative groups, this can easily fall flat on the scale of interesting arrangement of old/ancient songs. However, Page CXVI has been able to release four albums loaded with hymns, a remix album by Noisetrade founder Derek Webb, and even a lullaby album for the children. There is nothing this side of liturgical indie piano rock that Page CXVI seemingly cannot do.

What makes this go beyond any other group's attempts to contextualize the music in hymns is the perceived delicacy of almost all aspects of the music. Latifah Phillips' voice, a very strong and powerful asset to the band, shrinks back and marches forward as the music calls for it. Page CXVI uses a very rare balance needed to make virtually every part of their songs interesting, necessary, joyful (even when the music is not necessarily expressing happiness). Expect nothing less from Advent to Christmas.

The album is a slow-rocker, with piano, wispy vocals, ethereal guitar effects, drumming, and a penchant for interesting minor chord transitions. While the music may be particularly different from what the old Baptist churches and organs would sound out, the melody is still there, making it easy to listen to and to sing along with. With the exception of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", most of the melodies in the most popular hymns are preserved. Possibly my favorite track (though this is not an easy decision!) is "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" just for the beauty and swooning of the guitar and bass, the syncopated drum beat, and arpeggiated piano. That being said, the entire album should probably be listened to, on repeat, for hours and hours on end. It is cohesive and coherent, and has the most beauty when you listen to it as a whole.
Advent to Christmas can be previewed here:



Page CXVI and their amazing music can be found online at http://pagecxvi.com/

Future of Forestry: Advent EP, Vol. 3

Next on the list is another indie rock band, known for their fuzzy rock anthems, veterans to the almighty Christmas EP. Future of Forestry's Advent EP, Vol. 3 turns up the funky, polyrhthymic Christmas music dial to 11, and does so unapologetically, all the while preserving the wonder of Advent hymns and the signature FOF tone that fans of the older EPs will be familiar with and happy to know that FOF hasn't softened through the years in providing music that inspires aesthetically and hearkens lyrically back to the honor of the old hymns.

Future of Forestry have always had a progressive, clean, expository style for playing their renditions of hymns. While Page CXVI and Citizens could be (unfairly) accused of 'playing it safe' with the accessibility of their music, naysayers should be pleasantly surprised by the musical scales of FOF, especially on "Carol of the Bells". Ultimately, there's nothing I can say that could speak to the musicianship found in this small five-track affair, but fans of FOF know what to expect. It's the logical continuation of their first two Advent EPs, and that is, by no means, a bad thing. If anthemic Christmas music is your itch, this album will scratch very nicely for you.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful, the first single, is available for free here:



The album is also available on iTunes, or in their online store: http://store.futureofforestry.com/product/advent-christmas-ep-vol-3-physical-cd-immediate-digital-download

The Brilliance - Advent Vol. 1, 2, and B Sides

Ever heard of Gungor? If you saw him on tour a couple years ago, you may have seen him accompanied by another small group full of good talent. Enter The Brilliance. Michael Gungor's younger brother David Gungor may not have the charisma of his big bro, but that doesn't stop his music from flowing through his inventive veins into the medium of guitar and voice. If you ask me, my vote actually goes in favor of the Brilliance, for what I think is a more honest attempt at musical innovation.

The Brilliance is David Gungor and John Arndt, two musicians hailing from Phoenix, AZ. David plays the guitar. John plays the piano. They tend to bring a five string quartet with them when on tour, and a drummer, and backup vocalist or three. They self-style themselves as experimental liturgical post rock, and generally promise to "slow-rock your face off". What this means is hard to put into words, but let's just say you're in for a treat if you dedicate the time to listen to what they have to offer (or, even better, see them perform live).

Their latest offering is Advent B Sides, which should by no means be considered an indicator of the quality of the music ("Joyful Joyful" is an exercise of surprise and beauty musically speaking), though in truth, I believe that their first two Advent volumes probably deserve some more attention (I know that breaks the rules).

Advent B-Sides is available right now for streaming on Spotify:



Also available online at bandcamp for purchase or preview: http://thebrilliancemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-brilliance-advent-b-sides

Advent Vol 1. is also available for streaming on Spotify:



Advent Vol 2. is available at Amazon MP3 and iTunes (no preview available, unfortunately).

The Oh Hello's - Family Christmas Album

Last major portion will probably be my favorite for this year. Hailing from the great state of Texas, The Oh Hello's has always been a strange bird in way of genrefication though most groups I've mentioned are likely just as problematic. I like to call this album a gloriously progressive indie pop folk Christmas hymn medley in four movements. They literally dropped the album at 10PM PDT December 9, and I've listened to it once and a half. But it is already my favorite.

Fans of their full-length debut may recall the small medley of "Come Thou Fount" that was found at the end of the record. Though it was not a full song by any means, it was like a taste of what was to come. Or what could be. Come Tuesday, they've released their Christmas EP upon an unsuspecting internet, in the form of The Oh Hello's Family Christmas Album.

It is a small four-piece wonder that takes you through the minor-key beginnings of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", to the end of the fields of experimental folk, a 5/4 exposition of "Joy To The World", the most moving rendition of the song I've ever come across. Things come full circle at the end of the last song, making a repeat play feel like the only option. Most striking about the entire work is that it works as a medley, meaning the songs really are movements, and flow from song to song. Even within the same track, you will hear a hymn, then another, then another, and then possibly another. This may take some getting used to, but ends up being the most interesting, and, in my opinion, best rendition of Christmas/Advent indie music this year has seen.

In typical Oh Hello's fashion, the album happens to coherently sing of the ideals of reconciliation, pain, suffering, hope, fulfillment, grace and forgiveness, all strung in the hymns of Advent, and somehow place this against the backdrop of bouncy, proggy, poppy folk. Polyrhthyms, instrumental and lyrical meter, abound in this album. It ends as elegantly as it starts, and is justifiably repeatable on whatever you plan on listening to it with.

The Oh Hello's Family Christmas Album can be found, downloaded, and donated to from here:



Thanks for reading!
Nick

The Valley Of Vision

Recently, my girlfriend gifted me a book from our church library, The Valley Of Vision, subtitled "A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions". I don't know if I have ever received a more precious gift.

My pastor usually reads one of the prayers found in this book as an opening prayer to the service on Sunday. I love this liturgy. It's inspiring, encouraging, honest, and useful in praying. Often I find myself opening up to any page and reading one of these prayers out loud before I fall asleep. I wanted to share the opening prayer in the book, as it is so rich and poetic and full of theology and speaks to the complexity of doctrine, and the simplicity of trusting the Lord, all at the same time. May it bless you as it blesses me.

The Valley Of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,

            where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;

            hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox

            that the way down is the way up,

            that to be low is to be high,

            that the broken heart is the healed heart,

            that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

            that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

            that to have nothing is to possess all,

            that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

            that to give is to receive,

            that the valley is the place of vision

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,

            and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,

            thy life in my death,

            thy joy in my sorrow,

            thy grace in my sin,

            thy riches in my poverty

            thy glory in my valley.

Amen.

Nick

Music Recommendation: Norma Jean

I've always been enamored by "Christian Metalcore" (quotes are tongue-in-cheek) kings Norma Jean. From the abrasive "Liarsenic" off of O God The Aftermath, which I first heard off of Tooth and Nail Record's huge One Dark Summer EP, which is more a sampler than an EP, featuring likely or definite singles from most of their up and coming bands, I was hooked. I grew up on UnderOATH's brand of metalcore/screamo when I first listened to They're Only Chasing Safety, an album I've come to be more annoyed with, especially in light of their later three releases. Norma Jean never hit that slump. And despite the abrupt change of vocalists (Josh Scogin left shortly after Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child to form The Chariot, leaving Cory Brandan to pick up the impossible hole left in the band's frontman roster), I never thought Norma Jean was an unnecessary continuation after the fact.

Norma Jean has consistently put out solid metal albums despite raging line-up changes. While O God The Aftermath will probably always hang low on my list of good metal, it was solid enough, showing some potential for progressive metal, but always felt a bit dry. It wasn't Botch enough. It wasn't Converge enough. It wasn't able to stand on its own. It relied too heavily on mathy distortion and not enough on Brandan's actual screaming/singing potential. It's a bit flat.

Redeemer is the album that should have had everybody's ears buzzing. It was the birth of the real Norma Jean. Instead of following in the footsteps of Bless The Martyr like O God had done, the boys put together songs, that while not as cohesive as a whole, stood out as just good songs. Redeemer held the spot for my favorite NJ album of the three that had already come out. It has a particular "Norma Jean" quality to it that I savor in my ears. Rougher production, a catchiness that belied the crunching squeals of the guitar. It sounds like what they would play live. When I saw them back in 2009, they didn't disappoint either.

After Redeemer, their drummer left, and was replaced by Chris Gaines. I blame unfamiliarity with the other band members for the jagged hamfisted way he seemed to play the drums on their next album. Don't get me wrong, the album is good. It's better than O God, but their prior work still held that spot in my heart. The Anti-Mother was rowdy and experimental, but still uncohesive. Apart from some very delightful guest vocalists from the likes of Helmet and Deftones, I wasn't terribly impressed with the album. It still had the "Norma Jean-ness" my ears craved, but it was still a slight disappointment.

Then comes the haymaker.

Meridional came out in 2010, and I finally had a reason to celebrate Norma Jean's experimentalism. And it didn't just come in the noise that pervades all things NJ, the whispering feedback that surrounds the musical space with dissonance. It also came with a pleasant surprise. Melody. It's a shame that they had one real single (according to Wikipedia, though I guess "Kill More Presidents" kinda counts too), but at least it was the best way to start out an album, guns blazing with "Leaderless And Self-Enlisted). Whereas Anti-Mother left me wondering why they chose Chris Gaines as the leading sticks-man, I now delighted in the sheer complexity and sense of the drumming. It was reserved, yet catchy, immediately present in the music. It didn't feel out-of-place. They completed the songs.

Meridional also benefited from coherence that is very rare in metal songs. Cory is almost spending equal time singing with his raspy voice as he is screaming and tearing your ears to metaphorical shreds. It's a welcome change in a genre that is dying. Cory Brandan may not have the most "chaotic" or "brutal" vocals for a band, but his stand out for being transcendent of the tropes most metalheads are familiar with. And if his yelling isn't a compelling case for freshening up metalcore's palette, then at least it will die with it as a swan song.

So anyways, I'm here to talk about Norma Jean's latest album, which was officially released today, 8/6/2013, Wrongdoers. It's a doozy. It's metalcore. It's experimental. It's natural. It's the way all ex-Solid State Records bands should record their resounding scoff at the previous label. Wrongdoers is the add-insult-to-injury magnum opus that only comrade bands like UnderOATH and The Chariot can truly claim to offer equivalent examples.

Cheery, guys. Real cheery.

Starting off heavy and experimetnal with "Hive Minds", and ending with "Sun Dies, Blood Moon", Douglasville-native metalheads should be proud of the entire playthrough. Norma Jean had found the knack for making cohesive albums in a decidedly incohesive genre with Meridional. They also edged closer to progressive metalcore, keeping the mathy sections in check so as not to lose the groove of the listener. Maybe because of this built trust, Wrongdoers is more impressive. It's like the logical conclusion to Meridional. In the same way that UnderOATH got more progressive, more experimental, more heavy, more desperate, more polarizing, and less compromised between Define The Great Line and Lost In The Sound of Separation, NJ raises the bar with their latest. The album never lets up. The few quiet parts of their songs are noisy, and ambient, eeriely featuring samples of hypnotism.

NJ also stayed away from the safe-zone of metalcore hallmarks. 4/4 breakdowns are rare, and never detract. They feel natural. They don't arbitrarily change the tempo of the tracks. NJ was never about breakdowns anyways, but it's worth noting there's no wasted space in tracks, and there's no wasted opportunity to extrapolate every chord progression present in this album. Wrongdoers is metalcore, mathcore, progressive, noise, post-hardcore, and experimental all at once. It works and it works damn well. It's an honest album from some honest-to-goodness hardcore kids that have grown up, and grown-up and mature fans of their music should be able to appreciate the gift of growth and maturity NJ has gained as a band.

So here's the strangest thing. Remember that "Norma Jean-ness" I keep talking about? It's a quality to their music. I always thought it had to do with the chemistry of the band members just knowing each other's musical totems so well that they were extremely cohesive. Turns out, this is not the case.

Norma Jean has had three members leave and then be replaced since Meridional, some of whom joined late 2012 or 2013. Cory's stuck around, along with the original guitarist from Luti-Kriss/Bless The Martyr-era Norma Jean. Other than that, there's a new bassist, new guitarist, and new drummer. How is that even possible? How can an album sound this good? Don't ask me. I can't begin to imagine or understand how.

What I do understand is that Wrongdoers is here to stay, and within one and a half playthroughs, has established itself in my mind as the best Norma Jean album to date, and one strong contender for my favorite metal album of the year.

Nick

P.S. Spotify has the entire album, along with a commentary album that features some short and sweet explanations about each song on the album. I don't know who thought of this, but I wish more bands did it.

Music Recommendation: Ascend The Hill

I won't always wax theological and philosophical, but I will say that the majority, or at least a major plurality, of popular Christian music leaves much to be desired. Whether it is the over-produced pop-music machine filling the airwaves with stale indie-glam worship numbers, or the psuedo-Christian alternative rock scene rushing in to pick up the pieces left in the wake of MTV and radio bygones, I have developed a skeptic ear for CCM and CCW bands and their questionable industry motivations.

That's not to speak judgement on the artists themselves, but you have to wonder how many different eras of music will be regurgitated by bands that ultimately sing the same songs and play the same chord progressions and change the instruments. Pop music will sell. Pop music is safe. Pop music is easy. It's pleasing to the ear in the sense that it is familiar and there is certain comfort in that. In other words, pop music is boring.

Enter Ascend The Hill.

About the time I came out of the closet as a five-point Calvinist (which has nothing to do with listening to hymns), I started going to a church in Roseville, CA. I was introduced to a number of good and interesting bands that do weird things like play hymns to the sound and noise of something you'd expect from an anthemic post rock band. After the nightmares of occasionally sitting in church with one hymnal to every other chair, struggling to sing along with songs I had never heard and had no comprehensive understanding of the words to, I was almost done with hymns. Come Thou Fount was okay. And anything else Sufjan Stevens decided to play was worthy, but other than that, I had no desire to learn or sing to hymns. They were old, and stale, and boring. I completely ignored the rich theology and doctrine present in their verses. It was hard to sing when you don't know the meaning of the song.

Ascend The Hill changed that. I heard their rendition of How Great Thou Art and decided I needed to give them a try. Thankfully, they give out their music freely on their website http://ascendthehillband.com/music so I took advantage of it by first downloading their album Hymns: Take The World But Give Me Jesus.

I was pleasantly surprised by this spacious effort to breathe new life into old hymns. Suddenly I had an anchor with which to start wading into the world of hymnals and songs written by the hands of theologians. They were not boring. They were new. They were exciting. They were creative.

I often say that Christians were created by a creative God, and therefore should strive to worship creatively. I'm glad I can source and reference good music to back up that sentiment. Creativity reflects God. If secular music, which is lyrically decrepit and riddled with worldly emotions, still draws creativity from the soul and glorifies God through the creativity of the gift of music, why can't Christian bands seem to get it right? 

Ascend The Hill do a lot of things so wonderfully, so right through their music. Instead of sticking to industry-standard chord-progressions, instead of writing catchy pop-hooks, and talking about how "love will keep us together if we just love each other enough", they take a hymn, maintain most of the common melody throughout the song, and then craft from there using musical freedom.

I'd like to justify this by saying that my interest isn't so much in the "fashion" of the music and the genre, but in the "creativity" that they used to make an old song sound new. It's the same "then sings my soul" I've always heard in church, but the music behind it, the unorthodox quality of the sound they've created, reminds me that God gave people particular freedoms in worshiping him through song. Do not worry, indie folk post rocker alternative shoegaze anything-as-long-as-it-isn't-K-Love-or-on-the-radio-or-TBN Christian, there is a big feast for the ears even if you're losing hope in the mainline Christian music industry.

Ascend The Hill is signed with Come And Live (http://comeandlive.com/), an interesting "non-profit community dedicated to proclaiming the good news of Jesus." They give out a lot of good music for free. Ascend the Hill's latest album, O Ransomed Son is available for free download, and they also ask that if you feel led, to donate. You'll be supporting a good cause and spreading the gospel at the same time.

http://www.comeandlive.com/CLD/AscendTheHill-Son/

Here's my favorite song from O Ransomed Son:

And yes, that is the Dustin Kensrue of (secular band but who cares?) Thrice, and The Modern Post (Mars Hill Music) : http://marshill.com/music/artists/the-modern-post

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the distortion!

Nick

Theology In Post-rock and the High Desert

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock bands are often without vocals. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-rock )

High desert refers to inland high-elevation deserts of the American West, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. Examples of high deserts in North America include the Great Basin Desert and the Mojave Desert. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_desert )

The romanticism of these article definitions on wikipedia defining post-rock and high desert is lacking, but it's the closest thing to reconciling two things that are not reconcilable using the same sense that I can reconcile. You hear music. You see the desert. You listen to one, but you inhabit the other.

Most of my life consisted of growing up in the high desert, especially the formative years. Moving from Flagstaff (really high desert) to Prescott Valley (just plain old mile high desert) is something I consider an important change of life. Flagstaff, life was dull, cold, the winter was harsh, the heat didn't last long enough. I lived in a trailer park in a three-bedroom trailer home, consisting on ramen for most of my young life. We moved to Prescott Valley because my dad opened up an auto-repair business there, and it made more sense to move than for him to commute. The entire time, God was preserving the family, and His grace was showering upon us in ways that I still don’t completely understand or remember.

Moving to Prescott Valley was a change of scenery. Instead of there being a lot of dirt and a lot of forest and a lot of Indian reservations, there was a lot of dirt and a lot of plains and a lot of dirt and a lot of dead grass and a lot more dirt. I grew up thinking the word valley meant "a plot of land consisting of mostly dead grass, some green here and there, but really nothing to look at." Moving to California really opened up my eyes in that regard.

When you live in Arizona your whole life and you see everything through the lens of Arizona's desert landscape, the ruggedness of the cactus, the old, but still living, and maybe yet a little dying wintergreen trees, the shrub one loose cigarette away from starting a fire, you tend to define all things by whether or not it is green. If it's green and deciduous, it's somewhere else. You won't find it in Arizona. But California has all this green stuff in the middle of their valleys. And it changes colors throughout the seasons. And some fruits and vegetables grow on it.

But I digress.

Really, the point of all this wikipedia-article referencing is that for a long time, I didn't know how to define the desert to people. "It's... hot. It's got a lot of dead-looking grass here and there. It's got a lot of lizards sometimes. It's dry. There's no water. What's a lake?" Similarly, I cannot define music in the post-rock genre to people with words. There are things that you love and hate about life, about the places you live, and the music you listen to, and some of that just isn't made to be defined by vocalization or the English language.

Doing a bit of psychoanalysis, I've come to realize that the reason I love "post-rock music" is because it is an aural analogy to the desert. Let me try to explain.

The desert, the high desert especially, is a wide space, with undiscovered and unseen wilderness. It represents death, dirt roads to forests, and winding, endless paths, waiting to be explored. Exploring the desert, even just walking around in fields or up on mountains, reveals things that you thought didn't exist. There is discovery in it. There's a yearning to continue walking, to continue finding. But it's visual. It's not aural. It's a landscape. Why are Arizona sunsets my favorite? It's unadulterated beauty despite the death that it is giving light to. The light fades, the sky turns shades of blue and red and orange and yellow and violet, and it disappears and gives way to the moon. And the stars. I often brag of the visible Milky Way when the moon is not present. I can put it into words, but it's so much better to just see it. God’s glory is clarified in the silent sky of the desert night.

Post-rock, similarly, is sometimes defined as having space. Not space in the sense that there are a lot of sights here and there, and in between is uninhabitable space. Space in the sense that your mind is opened to being in the middle of a journey. There is room for sound to grow. The noise that would be considered just noise in popular rock music, suddenly has life. It's not the grass that you're staring at in the desert. It's the mountains beyond the grass. The canyons and mesas are dipping in the sunset. It's begging to be explored. Post rock music is spacious aurally like the high desert is spacious visually. Amidst the noise and death of music in a post-rock song (or better yet, albums), there is life teeming at the edge of the consciousness. Your imagination explores and visualizes through the voice of music that doesn't speak with words. It speaks with heart. Maybe even the soul, should the Holy Spirit use it to minister to you.

Post-rock speaks a narrative without using etymological language. It works through the ceaseless imagination of not just the artists, but the listener. It's intimate. The knowledge of an album to each separate listener draws first out of the initiation of the artist, then the response of the hearer. In this sense, it is unique.

My first post-rock album purchase was All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone by Austin, Texas-native Explosions In The Sky. It was an impulse-buy at Wal-Mart after hearing from a friend that I just had to hear it to understand. I wasn't that old then. About age 16. It was summer vacation before starting 12th grade.

Age 16 wasn't a great year for me. I was coming to the painful conclusion that my parents were considering divorcing. There was no hope for the marriage. It was crashing and burning and I was being swept along in the wreckage. If there was ever a time when I can place the moment that I realized that God speaks through music, even without the words, even through the ambiguity of secular music, it was through this album. More than Brother, Sister by mewithoutYou, another impulse-buy from a liquidating Family Christian Bookstore, EITS drew the plot of their album, suffering through noise and confusion, suddenly bringing things to such clarity and emotion, and then ending with a dissonant crash of drums and piano.

It wasn't love at first listen, in the same sense that one person seeing Arizona's landscape from a plane or from the safety of Google Earth wouldn't really sense the romance or the depth of the desert. It took effort to listen to. But it was rewarding. I learned that music is not just a friend that speaks the same pains, joys, confusions, doubts and anxieties, loves, hatreds, and fears that you do. Music is not an idle speaker through which it preaches viewpoints and culture to you. Music is a tool. It came from God. The first record of human music comes from Adam, upon God's revealing Eve to him:

Genesis 2:23

English Standard Version (ESV)

23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.

Adam sings a song out of the creativity given to him by his creative Creator God.

What this says to me is that music is primarily creative and is a reflection of the image God created us with; that is, to say that music is first-and-foremost from the hand of God as part of our essence. The form matters not. What does is that it comes from God.

So in this line of thinking, Explosions in the Sky speaks of creation in a way that glorifies God. Sure, my bent is that most post-rock music will probably remind me of the desert, but it does that because it is creative and it primarily reminds me of the Creator. It doesn’t matter if they do it unwittingly, unwillingly, or unexpectedly. What matters is that it still brings worship to God. Words don’t always express worship. The fact that music can worship or lead to worship of God points to common grace, but also to the efficacious grace of God, and it also brings to mind that there is redemption in the Christian listening to music without words, maybe without worshipful intent. It’s a sanctifying listen. The Holy Spirit just does something from without the vibrations and resonance and dissonance of music, and uses it for the good of the listening believer. He ministers to the soul in a way that sometimes words don’t express.

Another thing about post-rock that reminds me of the high-desert is the fact that night falls, the moon rises, lonely and lost coyotes howl, and if you’re in the right place, you witness the sounds of things unseen echoing in the landscape that is before your eyes. The wind is blowing, and kicking up some dirt, and some pollen, and is moving things and setting the stage for new life to flourish. Jesus Christ speaks of the Holy Spirit in a similar way in John 3.

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus^[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again^[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^[c] 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind^[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

So do post-rock and the high desert point me to Jesus and the Spirit. It’s not a replacement to the continued direct worship of Christ that I’m called to as a Christian, but it is an effective supplement. A gracious dispensation of cognizance to the creativity of God. That He can choose to minister to me in ways that are so unexpected and so unorthodox and graciously lead me to His throne in worship and adoration, and to even do such a thing without the expression of verbal communication is overwhelming in itself. Words don’t do it justice.

Listening to post-rock reminds me of the old “home” I used to refer to as Arizona. I don’t think I want to move back. But the nostalgia is there, and it is good to be reminded that God is present elsewhere doing things in the space between structure and wilderness, even in the spaces that others perceive as dead or noisy. God is constantly creating resonance despite the dissonance, and post-rock music and the high desert are gracious reflections of that good, regenerative work in the hearts and souls of His believers.

And that's what I love most about post-rock music.

Cheers,

Nick