When it gets specific…
As many of you will know, Derek Webb is one of my favourite musicians. Not only is he a superb artist, but the theology driving his lyrics is second to none; a rare combination in Christian music. Derek is certainly controversial, and I think the controversy has gained him more attention that he might otherwise have attracted. There are many Christians who have become disenfranchised with evangelicalism in recent years, and I think many of these folks have seen Derek as a kindred spirit. I wonder, however, if such people find more in common with Derek’s critique of evangelicalism than his positive statements about the church and the gospel.
On his solo debut album, Derek recorded songs about the church–her beauty, her sinfulness, and her need for reformation according to the Good News of Jesus. In “Nobody Loves Me”, speaking of the need to conform the church to God’s Word, Derek sang,
So I’ll do whatever it takes
To fit us into this wedding gown
I’ll use words that rattle your nerves
words like ’sin’ and ‘faith alone’ now…
It is not uncommon for churches today to shy away from such “religiously charged” words as “sin” and “faith alone”. And yet, they are thoroughly biblical concepts, and thoroughly necessary to be conformed to the Bible. Derek’s outspokenness gained him many fans.
Fast-forward a few years. Derek continues to write songs that cut to the heart of sinners like myself; he draws blood with the law and completes the surgery with the gospel. And yet, his lyrics aren’t quite the same. If anything, they are more personal; he began applying the gospel specifically. One of his most recent songs proclaims, “sell your SUV” and, “Jesus isn’t a Republican”. As you’d expect, this caused some uneasiness, to say the least. Many people accused him of softening up, lessening his focus on the gospel. One former-fan said, “I’m longing for the days when he ’sings songs that rattle your nerves, words like sin and faith alone’”.
Now, regardless of your views on politics and the environment, the question I want to ask is this: “what happens when words like ’sin’ and ‘faith alone’ don’t rattle my nerves anymore?” I’ve been a theological student for long enough now that I can debate the nature, origin, and effects of sin with just about anyone. I can explain the historical and theological significance of the doctrine of sola fide, if you care to know (and I can even reference the Latin 
). But there are certainly times when the general concepts don’t rattle my nerves in the least. What am I supposed to do when when my intellectual knowledge of my own sinfulness doesn’t shake me to the core?
The answer is that I need to get specific. The abstract concepts are entirely useful and necessary, but I need to be aware of the specifics of my sin; the specific sins I commit, in addition to the general awareness that I am a sinner. There are many of us who are happy enough to say, “yeah man, I’m a sinner.” But if I can’t name my particular sins, then I am only a theoretical sinner with a theoretical saviour. I have to get to the specifics if I am to be rattled to the bone. The specific issues Derek mentioned in this song (SUV’s and politics) are a subject for another time; what is essential, however, is that these issues be brought to our attention. We need the specifics.
What, then, does this have to do with my previous post on neutrality? Quite simply, both posts deal with specifics. I am fascinated by the concept of truth and how truth is defined and substantiated in the Bible. I am fascinated with the concept of absolute truth and the standards according to which such truth is measured. I have been considering writing about such topics for a while, but I get the impression that most people aren’t the geek that I am and might not find the ideas as interesting as I do. I could have simply written about the Word of God as the supreme standard of truth. Every evangelical, by definition, would agree that the Bible is the absolute truth of God. But what about the specifics? It is one thing to affirm that the Bible is true, or even that the Bible is Truth. It is another issue to discuss the standards of biblical truth against the backdrop of cultural events. How does biblical truth relate to the standards of law in the US? Specific questions are harder to answer, but they also have the tendency to rattle more nerves.