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{{sermon}}
{{Christian music}} {{Christian music}}
'''Christian punk''' is a form of ] and a ] of ] with explicitly ] lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands. Christian punk bands that target a Christian audience, explicitly state their ]s, and use overt Christian imagery in their lyrics may be considered a part of the ] (CCM) industry; some observers would consider this music to fall outside the scope of Christian punk. In this view, "real" Christian punk is not targeted at a Christian audience at all. '''Christian punk''' is a form of ] and a ] of ] with explicitly ] lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands. Christian punk bands that target a Christian audience, explicitly state their ]s, and use overt Christian imagery in their lyrics may be considered a part of the ] (CCM) industry; some observers would consider this music to fall outside the scope of Christian punk. In this view, "real" Christian punk is not targeted at a Christian audience at all.

Revision as of 16:15, 16 October 2006

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Christian punk is a form of Christian alternative music and a subgenre of punk rock with explicitly Christian lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands. Christian punk bands that target a Christian audience, explicitly state their beliefs, and use overt Christian imagery in their lyrics may be considered a part of the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry; some observers would consider this music to fall outside the scope of Christian punk. In this view, "real" Christian punk is not targeted at a Christian audience at all.

Given the edginess of punk and some of its sub-genres, such as hardcore punk, many bands have been rejected by the Christian and CCM music industry. Some bands generally avoid specific mention of God or Jesus and may specifically reject the CCM label.

Related genres are Christian hardcore and metalcore, Christian rock, Christian alternative music and Christian metal.

History

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Origins

Christian punk's origins during the wider 1980s punk rock scene are somewhat obscure. As the Jesus Movement gave rise to cultural institutions such as Jesus People USA (JPUSA), these served as an incubator for various Christian subcultures including punk. Crashdog is one characteristically punk band that was rooted in JPUSA.

In the 1980's many bands performed at Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel in Orange County California. A particularly popular group with a cult following was Undercover (band), who proclaimed that "God Rules" with a combination of rockabilly and hardcore elements. Another early influential group were the Altar Boys.

The Crucified and to a lesser extent, Circle of Dust and Under Midnight were major players in proto Christian Punk.

The Cornerstone Festival provided an important venue for Christian punk bands.

See also: Christian hardcore

Growth of the scene

During the 1990s the underground scene grew, bands such as Officer Negative and Headnoise greatly influenced many bands. The term "JCHC" is often used by Christian punks, and it means "Jesus Christ Hard Core".

Emergence into the mainstream

In the 21st century developments in Christian punk parallels broader punk, with pop punk bands such as Relient K and FM Static very popular with the mainstream crowd, but they started as Christian bands, playing at church groups and youth gatherings.

Other bands with Christian roots that have become very popular within their genres are Zao (metalcore), Norma Jean (newer hardcore), and mewithoutyou (post-hardcore).

There are also secular bands that contain Christian songwriters who, despite the varying beliefs of the individual band members, sometimes write lyrics that have clear Christian themes. Thrice, Comeback Kid and Much The Same are good examples of such bands.

Key record labels include Tooth & Nail Records and its subsidiaries Solid State Records and BEC Recordings; The Militia Group, which signs groups that straddle the boundary between Christian and secular music; Flicker Records, owned and operated by the members of Audio Adrenaline; Gotee Records, owned and operated by TobyMac of dc Talk; and up-and-comer Mono vs. Stereo.

Fashion

Fashion is similar to normal punk fashion, but including the Christian fish symbol, the cross, a crown of thorns,the JCHC symbol, etc. Chi Rho is a popular symbol amongst more anarcho-Christian bands, such as The Psalters . However, The Psalters are not considered, to the extent of the Christian Punk genre, to be a true "Christian Punk band." In Europe the most used symbol is the anarchy symbol, modified as it might become an A and Ω. This is the Greek alphabet symbol for "Alpha" & "Omega" (the English equivalent is "A" and "Z".); meaning the first and last which in turn is to represent God and/or Jesus. Refer to the book of Revelation 1:8, 21:6, & 22:13. Rev. 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Basically, the symbol is a visual play on the "anarchy" symbol but with a different meaning and intent.

Christian and Punk

Acceptance of Christian punk is at times challenged both amongst members of the punk subculture and in some Christian churches. For people active in both punk and Christianity it is not a question but a lived experience. There are strong elements of anti-authoritarianism in both. Challenging the uncritical acceptance of social norms in the church and the world.

One illustration of this is seen in the concept of "anticonformity" to the world. This can be seen in a lot of Christian punk music, including the song "Anticonformity" by Krystal Meyers. Within this perspective, the Christian's view of anticonformity is different from the punk view. The Christian's reason for anticonformity is found in the book of Romans in the Bible: "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed..." The Bible tells Christians not to conform, and punks are also strong non-conformists.

Some may still argue that punk is anti-religious and thus in opposition to Christianity. Their argument is generally that the practice of Christianity (or any established religion) is, by definition, conformity to rules set forth by someone other than the individual for him or herself. One response to this claim is that punk rock encourages people to think for themselves, and that a Christian's choice to obey God's Word is his or her own decision to make, regardless of what others (including punks) would think of it.

Some Christians also do not agree with organized religion. They say that real Christianity is not a religion because it's not supposed to be about rituals and rules. They believe true Christianity's a relationship with Jesus, not a religion. Many Christian punks are against religion like other punks, yet they are strongly in support of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ separate from rules and tradition.

Contrary to popular belief, Christian Punks are not a sub-culture of Marxism or a form of anarchy or communism. This believe was often held by extreme conservatives during the 1970s and 1980s, however, this was only used because of the clash between conservatives and the Jesus Movement. Evangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart used this term in order to associate the Jesus Movement as anti-Christian. The Vast Majority (infact, almost the entire scene of Christian Punk bands) do not advocate anarchy or communism, example of bands that do not advocate communism or anarchy include: Relient K, MxPx, Dogwood, Hawk Nelson, Stellar Kart, and more. The Psalters, are one of the few exclusions, as they openly advocate the ideas of Karl Marx. The Psalters are an anarcho-punk band, but some politicised Christian punk bands are liberals or socialists. A good example are the liberal band, Crashdog.

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