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Hello all. I'm working on a Master of Arts in Theology, and for one of my summer school classes, I'm writing on the topic of the Punk/rock attitude toward Christianity. So please, with as much honestly as possible (and please be brutal if you need/want to be):

What is your opinion of Christianity? Are you a Christian? Why or why not?

I used to be a hardcore christian and would only listen to hXc music and all that jazz.  Then I realized how hypocritical and mean organized religion was and have turned away from it.  I still believe in a power higher than myself, I hope there is an afterlife, and I respect people who hold christian beliefs (and have actually analyzed open-mindfully why they believe what they believe). 

Christianity has a lot of positive things going for it.  They preach love, acceptance, forgiveness, community involvement, and have a basic set of laws that can be used as a good guideline for everyday living.  However, many christians are also huge hypocrites.  They love... but only if you believe what they do.  They are accepting... as long as you're not muslim, gay, poor, or believe differently than them.  They forgive... but only if you ask for forgiveness and promise to conform to their ways.  They are involved in the community... but only to further spread their point of view.  Their laws work great... when not twisted and perverted to further an agenda.

I'm probably too jaded against organized religion (be it christian or otherwise), but I have a hard time moving past the congnitive dissonance that arises when I try to reconcile their message with their actions.

I used to be Christian. I've learned through the challenges of life to think for myself a bit. I don't judge anyone because I can't blame anyone. I grew up believing in a God and following a religion too. For a year I'd say I was an athiest, but now I consider myself Agnostic for other possibly more optimistic reasons. But anyways, there's an enormous universe out there. Just think about that. I don't want to go too far into what i'm hinting at because I tend to get very emotional about it and end up becoming someone I don't want to be. I have friends who are Christian and I don't wish to offend any of them.

If you're looking for a perspective on certain band's views of Christianity or religion in general, you should really look into the topics of the dredg album. They really kind of rip the whole idea a new asshole haha. I listen to several christian bands and I'll never talk shit on a band for their beliefs, nor should I care, but I have to admit, there are some ideas that dredg have brought up that make me very happy to be on the same page as them due to them being my favorite band.

I personally believe that Christianity is a joke, and the whole religion has been founded on a false premise and misinterpretations of what The Bible is actually about. The idea that some person created the entire universe, basically out of thin air is a ludicrous idea to me, clearly mankind evolved over a period of time - there are countless studies proving it. The biggest problem I have with many Christians is that all they know is what they've been taught from going to Church or their parents, and don't consider other possibilities. How can you truly believe in something when you don't know about the alternatives. I'm not trying to group all Christians into one category though, there are many open-minded ones as well; however, in my experience, I've come across more close-minded than open-minded ones.

Also, I'm not saying I don't believe in a "god," because there are odd spiritual and mystical happenings in this world that cannot be explained and I believe there is something/someone out there drive those happenings. I don't believe in the idea of religion though, going to Church and giving your hard earned money to the Church because "god" wants you to just seems absurd to me.

If you have any more questions or need more input, I'd be glad to contribute more.

I'd like to add, that I'm on the same page with Rick that Christianity has some great aspects to it - it's more the organized religion part of it, and the close-mindedness that bothers me. I think it's best to apply Christian-like values in your own life, but think for yourself and make your own decisions that aren't influenced by an outside party - i.e. the Church.

I'm a Christian and very proud of it actually. I went to Catholic school for 13 years, it was my choice to go to Catholic high school. After high school I had a bit of a rough patch in my faith. I was questioning things that had been taught to me for literally my entire life. But I feel that it's healthy to question your faith. As of now I call myself Christian and do not support organized religion at all. I do not lead a perfect Christian life obviously, I live w/ my girlfriend outside of marriage, I'm tattooed and pierced, I have abused drugs, I drink on a daily basis sometimes just so I can get drunk and have a good time, blah blah blah blah. However, if you ask anyone that knows me, including Chris and Nick who both know me well, I'm a good human being and I would bend over backwards for anyone. I've turned from my "wicked ways" and I feel that what God thinks of me should be between me and Him, and no one else.  I have developed the best relationship with my God and that's all that matters in my opinion. I go to church every Sunday, it's a non-denominational church.

I do not knock anyone's beliefs for maybe wanting to part of an organized religion or not believing in any religion or God at all. Organized religion exists because human beings have an innate need for
a ritual and social expression of their deeply-held beliefs. Even
some people who don't believe in God recognize that need within
themselves and seek to satisfy it. It's just a shame that the church has gotten so far away from what the original message is supposed to be. I agree with Rick when he says "...I have a hard time moving past the cognitive dissonance that arises when I try to reconcile their message with their actions."  They are hypocritical in many ways.

I get very frustrated when people say that Christianity and faith have no place in punk and hardcore. Punk and hardcore is about speaking your mind and expressing the things you love. Sharing what you hold so near and dear to your heart with the rest of the world. But the "scene" has taken such a far step away from what it was founded on (much like the church) that it has become cool to say you don't believe in God and that Christianity doesn't have a place in the scene. I even tried started a clothing line for hardcore kids in my local scene but it didn't take off to well, mostly because of  my lack of funds.

Like I said, I am not a perfect Christian, but I take great pride in my Faith and will defend it until the day I die.. and in my opinion,  THAT's punk rock.

I too would be more than happy to discuss this more if needed.

Wow! These are great responses, and I've yet to see the typical "F religion" response. For this paper, I'm working on the premise that Punk (I know I'm using sweeping generalizations, but this is a ten page paper, not a dissertation) might actually be a religion, using the defintion that religion is "a set of beliefs and standards people use to provide meaning and structure in their life".

Thanks everyone!

Bill is the "perfect" Christian in my eyes; he takes the good parts of Christianity to heart and avoids the rest of it. And I agree that faith has a place in hardcore/punk, Bill said it best - "Punk and hardcore is about speaking your mind and expressing the things you love." Regardless of my personal beliefs, I respect other peoples' faiths and enjoy hearing about it in music or any other forum; religion interests me.

Stephen Harris

Wow! These are great responses, and I've yet to see the typical "F religion" response. For this paper, I'm working on the premise that Punk (I know I'm using sweeping generalizations, but this is a ten page paper, not a dissertation) might actually be a religion, using the defintion that religion is "a set of beliefs and standards people use to provide meaning and structure in their life".

Thanks everyone!

That sounds like an interesting paper. You might want to think about summarizing it into an article on here when it's finished - would be cool to read it.

Nicholas Fritz

Stephen Harris

Wow! These are great responses, and I've yet to see the typical "F religion" response. For this paper, I'm working on the premise that Punk (I know I'm using sweeping generalizations, but this is a ten page paper, not a dissertation) might actually be a religion, using the defintion that religion is "a set of beliefs and standards people use to provide meaning and structure in their life".

Thanks everyone!

That sounds like an interesting paper. You might want to think about summarizing it into an article on here when it's finished - would be cool to read it.

That's a good idea, Nick. I'd also love to read this when it's completed haha.

Nicholas Fritz

Bill is the "perfect" Christian in my eyes; he takes the good parts of Christianity to heart and avoids the rest of it. And I agree that faith has a place in hardcore/punk, Bill said it best - "Punk and hardcore is about speaking your mind and expressing the things you love." Regardless of my personal beliefs, I respect other peoples' faiths and enjoy hearing about it in music or any other forum; religion interests me.

Thanks Nick! Here's a picture that references our covo on facebook and this one haha.
 

I too would like to read this when it's done.

Bill Lohr

Nicholas Fritz

Bill is the "perfect" Christian in my eyes; he takes the good parts of Christianity to heart and avoids the rest of it. And I agree that faith has a place in hardcore/punk, Bill said it best - "Punk and hardcore is about speaking your mind and expressing the things you love." Regardless of my personal beliefs, I respect other peoples' faiths and enjoy hearing about it in music or any other forum; religion interests me.

Thanks Nick! Here's a picture that references our covo on facebook and this one haha.
 

hahaha, i really was bitten in the face by a dog too...partially, why not a big dog lover.

I'll be sure to tweak the paper into an article once its done, just for my new friends at Decoy.

I actually plan on writing a dissertation on this if I ever get into a doctoral program. Then you can read the book

Haha, that would be awesome. What are you hoping to do as a career with a Master's or Doctorate in Theology?

I have been a Christian for the majority of my life. I've read the Bible all the way through about a dozen times. I belive everything Jesus said to be true. That being said, I definitely take some early passages to be lessons we are not supposed to take literally, and I think other portions need to be read under the lens of the time they were written and who they are written by and to. I have always been a stubborn asshole who can't even hear somebody say that the sky is blue without looking out the window to make sure--I've studied other religions and philosophy as grade-student, college-student, and presently--I always end up back where I started. I've encountered bullshit Christians as described above who would judge me on my tattoos, music taste, or dress style, but I'm not sure if what they are and what a Christian is supposed to be are anything close. I won't even go into politics.
As far as music goes, both my parents were huge rock fans:Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, Yes, the Who and especially Southern Rock like Skynyrd (probably why I'm obsessed with Drive-By Truckers)and Allman Brothers. My mom is a Christian and my father is not. I was always allowed to listen to whatever I wanted within reason. Growing up, I was definitely exposed to circles that went so far as to have breaking sessions for all their "non-Christian" CDs, events that always made me sad for the people falling for such crap.My CDs sat happily at home on the shelf (in retrospect, I guess I am blessed to have not had the kind of parents that would force me to partake in such an activity).
Being a Christian, I was and still am into any band whose music and lyrics I enjoy. If that band just happens to share religious viewpoints that I do and be awesome at making music (Project 86 comes to mind) then all the better.
Finally, as for punk, the speed and attitude have always appealed to me. I feel like believing what you believe in even if it is not particularly popular is certainly a punk ethos, and one I definitely appreciate.

Nicholas Fritz

Regardless of my personal beliefs, I respect other peoples' faiths...

Not to nitpick, but you referred to Christianity as a joke.

My parents are strongly-practicing Catholics, and I think that's had a lot to do with how loving and supportive they are and have always been. I think faith is a really great thing, but "religion" can be dangerous. There are many great aspects to most of the dominant religions; it's when people stray from the message and become rigid in their interpretations that problems arrive.

Maybe joke isn't the right word? I'm not trying to put it down, I'm just saying I think alot of the beliefs are ridiculous but I still have respect for what other people believe and I'm not putting anyone down. Just like if I believe that we are descendants of aliens instead of God, you may think that's absurd and not agree with it, but I would expect you to still respect it and not harass me about it. Even though faith and religion go hand in hand, I believe they're completely different things - faith I agree with, religion I don't. So to clarify, organized religion is a joke in my opinion - if that helps? Hope you weren't offended, but I think it's good to be open about what you believe, and I'm not trying to be disrespectful.

I don't and do respect people who have faith in "GOD" or "Jesus" To me the idea and concept of these man made characters are nice and they sound good but are false and often misunderstood. Man has taken the idea and thoughts of GOD and turned them into a device to control and enslave humans under fear and in turn has turned man against man. Millions of people have died and still to this day under the false concepts of a "GOD". If there is in fact any higher being or form of power, we as humans are apparently not smart enough to understand this almighty creator and we still have no idea what anything is really about at all. The Catholic/Christian/Jewish God is probably the biggest hate machine ever created. It hates homosexuals, IT hates freedom, IT hates free thought, IT hates choice of body and mind, IT hates progress. There's lots of beauty and amazing things in this world and there's so much more we could be doing if we'd mature as a race and put these big dick GODS aside. Its funny how terrible shit happens at all times all day and its just, "GOD works in mysterious ways". The belief of any after life at all sort of makes me stomach sick to begin with. I sort of just see GOD as a crutch for weak minded people and hey that's fine but if you ever try to preach it to me, I will punch you right in the face. With that said, I love you all go with Christ.

Here we go.  I was raised in a Catholic family and went to Catholic school (until 6th grade, when I decided I couldn't stand it anymore).  I never had qualms with the idea of "religion", it's the perception and the way people take it to the next level.  There are so many twists in the Catholic faith it is ridiculous.  My aunt's so called "real" Bible has COMPLETELY different views than others I have read.  Not saying you can't believe, but how can ANYONE ever say that their faith is the "right" faith when there is so many discrepencies in it.

This is what disgust me the most religion is people who put themselves up on this horse and think because they go to church, spread God's word, that they are better than you.  THAT THEY KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS.  Give me a fucking break.

I believe I'm a good person.  I do some things every now and again that is wrong, but overall I believe I'm a good-hearted person and that's good enough for me.  I don't need a fucking text to tell me otherwise.