Book: "Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Movement"

[supernova8610]

http://www.amazon.com/Left-Contemporary-...0852345178

Has anyone here heard of this book? One of my fb friends just posted that on her page, along with a supporting comment about how it was such an eye opener & how it was nice to have something to back up what she already believed. Not sure what to say.. *facepalm*

I've posted this in the fundybook thread too, but thought it may/may not warrant its own thread so it could be discussed.

Btw... the person who posted this is fundy. She listens to mainly the traditional gospel hymns usually sung in fundy churches and... wait for it... secular music as well. She just tends to have something against CCM.

[pastor's wife]

I think I OWN that book! I did read it several years ago when I still agreed with it.

I would no longer agree with his position. I just spent some time reading the one and two-star reviews on amazon.com about this book. They cite the author's circular reasoning and his equating his personal experience and attitudes while playing CCM with EVERY contemporary musician.

I grow SOOO weary of people claiming that CCM is shallow. The praise and worship music to which I listen is moving, passionate, truthful, and Scriptural.

And as one responder to a review said in answer to those who criticize CCM for being seven words repeated eleven times: How about these lyrics?


Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Yup. That's no contemporary song. That's the Hallelujah chorus.

I am SOOO glad that I've realized my freedom in Christ to worship using contemporary music. It has blessed my soul deeply. I still love hymns and find so many of them beautiful, but I cannot falsely characterize CCM as sinful anymore.

While I strongly believe that every Christian has the right to worship as he feels led and certainly to avoid that which is a temptation to him, I also strongly believe that it is a SIN for the traditionalists to say that those who enjoy contemporary music are being unbiblical. How clear does Ps. 150 have to get?

[supernova8610]

(03-16-2012 12:57 AM)pastors wife Wrote:  While I strongly believe that every Christian has the right to worship as he feels led and certainly to avoid that which is a temptation to him, I also strongly believe that it is a SIN for the traditionalists to say that those who enjoy contemporary music are being unbiblical. How clear does Ps. 150 have to get?

I absolutely agree with you.

[supernova8610]

Someone did a rebuttal: http://training-resources.org/why_i_left.html

[beensetfree]

Fundamentalist Review

Did someone here leave that Fundamentalist response BEFORE defecting and finding SFL?

That said I do have plenty of problems with "worship" as it's usually played out in Evangelicalism. More on that later.

[pastor's wife]

Supernova, that was a good review, answering Lucarini's points.

This quote really resonated:

Quote:Unfortunately, this is a fairly common but erroneous occurrence today in Christianity: someone realizes their own error and then assumes that everyone else must be guilty of the same.

Don't we who grew up IFB know this!!!

[redhot]

We had a teacher at our school who was a recent graduate of Fundy U. They had a baby girl, and we commented that they had chosen a cute name. He replied, "Yeah, well, unfortunately we didn't realize that her initials were CCM until after her name was on the birth certificate. I wish it wasn't too late to change it, as I don't want my daughter associated with such ungodliness."

[Elijah Craig]

I'm not aware of any CCM song that I'd even mention in the same sentence as Handel's Messiah.

The book is a hack job from what I recall.

[pastor's wife]

(03-16-2012 04:58 PM)Elijah Craig Wrote:  I'm not aware of any CCM song that I'd even mention in the same sentence as Handel's Messiah.

Well, of course, the Messiah is a masterpiece. But my point is that fundies are extremely hypocritical about their attacks. They lambaste repetition as if it in itself is evil when nearly every Gospel song in their hymnal uses repetition and when the Bible reports that the angels around the throne endlessly repeat "Holy! Holy! Holy!"

Quote:The book is a hack job from what I recall.

And yet a lot of fundies LOVE it.

[Darrell]

Quote:The book is a hack job from what I recall.

I only remember it from seeing it at the PCC Campus Bookstore.

I didn't buy it.