Secular Music and God

Religious musicians are by no means the only ones singing about God. It seems to be a question that a lot of artists grapple with – rappers, rock, soul, pop – it is everywhere. Even artists such as Green Day, who started their career with songs about masturbation, have dedicated creative energy to the subject penning an entire rock opera that explores the idea of faith in a changing world.

One of my favourite examples of this was recently used in an episode of Glee, but I remember it from long before that. Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” (which was written by Eric Bazilian) poses some really interesting questions about a person’s relationship with God – both as a concept and as an actuality.

My favourite question in the song is “If God had a face, what would it look like? And would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets.” I find it an interesting question because there are two sides to it – if God was in front of you, and explained to the non-believer that all of these things do exist, you would be obligated to believe – it would be a concrete actuality, rather than a leap of faith. But still, there is the moment of doubt – would you want to believe – and I think that is harder to grapple with. For some, the leap of faith is a badge of honour, and for others (like myself) the grey area of uncertainty is a little comforting. I am okay with not knowing for sure – and truthfully, I do believe if there is a God, I don’t know that anyone is truly smart enough to totally understand God or God’s plan. It is a comforting way of dealing with many different religious and spiritual influences, without negating any as false, but also not wholly accepting any as true.

The fact that these songs make it into the Billboard Top 100 and are recycled over a decade later on a popular television show is a testament to how powerful the subject is. Even those without a clear Christian or religious agenda think and meditate on this complicated subject, and grapple with how to fit it in to their own world view.

I know within my own music choices, these songs are the ones I usually find the most thought provoking.

And now, one more song that I feel speaks to a Christ figure that I quite enjoy!