December 27, 1999 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - Contemporary Christian Music is flooding into the lives and churches of Christians who have heretofore been committed to an unhesitating, Bible-believing, fundamentalist stand, and it is bringing great changes, none of them for the good.

CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC IS EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS FOR TWO REASONS.

FIRST, CCM IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF ITS WORLDLY RHYTHMS. Contemporary Christian Music combines the world’s sensual music with Christian lyrics (using that term very broadly), and this is rebellion against the Word of God. The Bible commands us to "love not the world" (1 John 2:15-17) and warns that the love of the world is enmity against God (James 4:4). There is a warfare between the flesh and the Spirit in the believer’s life (Galatians 5:17), and music is a very powerful influence that can encourage either the flesh or the Spirit.

SECOND, CCM IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF ITS UNSCRIPTURAL LYRICS. In my book CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT (available from Way of Life Literature, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, 98277; 360-675-8311), I document the unscriptural character of CCM lyrics. Using extensive quotations from the lyrics to CCM songs, we demonstrate that CCM is filled with doctrinal error and a vague, unclear message. The message of Contemporary Christian Music is largely pentecostal, ecumenical, judge not-positive only, man-centered, experience-oriented, no-repentance, easy-believism, and anti-fundamentalist. This is why CCM brings great and rapid changes when it enters into an individual life, home, or church.

ONE OF THEMES THAT COMES ACROSS LOUDLY AND CLEARLY IN CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC IS A BRASH ANTI-FUNDAMENTALISM. Consider the following statement by two men who defend CCM:

"Could it be that the One who ‘makes all things new’ (Rev. 21:5) is also interested in new music? We think so, and yet, many Christians discriminate against the new and unfamiliar. It’s a sort of reverse snobbism which sometimes allows mediocrity under the guise of spirituality, while superficially rejecting even the best contemporary artistic works" (Dan and Steve Peters, What about Christian Rock?, p. 148).

This statement is very vicious toward Bible-believing people who warn against Christian rock music, and it is a statement filled with error. The authors pretend that those who speak against Christian rock are snobs who merely discriminate against the "unfamiliar." The truth is that large numbers of men and women who warn against Christian rock are godly saints who were heavily involved with rock music prior to their consecration to Christ and who are very familiar with Contemporary Christian Music styles. The authors of the previous statement further pretend that those who reject Contemporary Christian Music practice mediocrity, whereas large numbers of the latter are first-rate musicians and practice the highest standards of musical excellence. The authors of this statement also pretend that those who reject CCM do so "superficially." This is a slander against the many men who have diligently researched CCM in a sincere effort before the Lord to know the truth about this music. In preparation to write my book on CCM, for example, I examined the words and music literally to hundreds of CCM songs. Does that type of research produce a "superficial" view of one’s subject?

LARRY NORMAN

The attitude of the Christian rock crowd has been brashly anti-fundamentalist from the beginning. Larry Norman is considered the father of Christian rock music. His 1975 hit "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music," one of the theme songs of the CCM scene, promotes the strange philosophy that rock music is something good that Christians need, and that traditional Christian songs, hymns, and spiritual songs are boring "funeral marches." The song oozes with adolescent rebellion, which certainly has no place in the Christian life.

"I want the people to know/ that he saved my soul/ But I still like to listen to the radio/ THEY SAY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL IS WRONG/ we’ll give you one more chance/ I say I feel so good/ I gotta get up and dance. "I know what’s right/ I know what’s wrong/ I don’t confuse it/ All I’m really trying to say/ Is why should the Devil have all the good music?/ I feel good every day/ ’Cause Jesus is the rock/ and he rolled my blues away. "THEY SAY TO CUT MY HAIR/ THEY’RE DRIVING ME INSANE/ I grew it out long/ to make room for my brain/ But sometimes people don’t understand/ What’s a good boy doing in a rock ‘n’ roll band? "There’s nothing wrong with playing blues licks/ But IF YOU GOT A REASON/ TELL ME TO MY FACE / Why should the Devil have all the good music/ There’s nothing wrong with what I play/ ‘Cause Jesus is the rock/ and he rolled my blues away. "I ain’t knocking the hymns/ JUST GIVE ME A SONG THAT HAS A BEAT/ I ain’t knocking the hymns/ Just give me a song that moves my feet/ I DON’T LIKE NONE OF THOSE FUNERAL MARCHES/ I ain’t dead yet! …" (Larry Norman, "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?").

The philosophy behind this song is the philosophy behind the CCM scene as a whole. It is this: Worldly, sensual music is good and pleasant, and no matter what anyone says and no matter who we offend, we are going to rock and roll. We will dress as we please; we will live as we please. No one is going to judge us. When Larry Norman was in his early teens, his Christian father forbade him to listen to the radio because he was concerned about the influence of rock music on Larry’s life. Larry’s rebellious attitude toward this fatherly discipline is evident in his music. No one is going to tell him how to wear his hair or what kind of music he can listen to. I remember having precisely the same attitude. When I got out of the Army, I determined that I would never cut my hair again, and I grew it out like a woman’s. That was BEFORE I was saved, though!

AMY GRANT

The attitude of Amy Grant and her associates toward biblical fundamentalists is expressed in the following statement:

"[Amy] doesn’t want the conservative fundamentalists coming to the concerts. She wants young people who will get up and move to the beat, people who want to be pinned against the back wall by the volume for two hours. That’s what she gives them. ... She has never been the darling of the fundamentalists" (Don Butler, Gospel Music Association executive director, cited by Bob Millard, Amy Grant, p. 154).

Not only does the CCM crowd not care about what conservative Bible-believing Christians think about their music, they do even not want conservative Christians at their concerts. They want people who will dance and sway and yield their bodies to the sensual music.

Consider another example of the despicable manner in which those who support CCM look upon men and women of God who warn of the rock music and who attempt to protect God’s people from error.

"These men and others like them, who set themselves up as authorities, as experts in the eyes of many trusting souls, do great violence to the work of countless numbers of their brothers and sisters who are actively trying to do God’s will, using rock to speak to a dying world. In the end they do violence to God’s work, too. Their views are passed around, augmented and used like whips to herd people into corrals of conformity. Of course, this drives away as many as it herds together" (Steve Lawhead, Rock Reconsidered, p. 121).

According to Lawhead, those who warn of CCM are merely trying to manipulate people for their own purposes and to restrict the liberty of people for no good cause. This is slanderous and vicious and exposes the evil motives of those who try to defend this type of music. The truth is that large numbers of godly men and women warn about the dangers of CCM because they love people and are convinced that CCM is dangerous spiritually and morally. This is why they are willing to bear the constant reproach of the ecumenical "liberty" crowd. This is why they are willing to lift a voice against CCM even though it makes them unpopular and even though they lose church members because of their stance. Lawhead claims that to warn people of the dangers of CCM is to "do violence" to people. This is nonsense. No one has ever been injured in any sense by avoiding rock music, secular or "Christian."

JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT

John Michael Talbot is very bold to speak against fundamentalism. Those who create controversy over doctrine and who believe it is wrong to associate with false doctrine are labeled as a "fearful, excluding fundamentalism" by Talbot (Religious News Service, 1996).

DEGARMO AND KEY

Consider the words to "Don’t Stop the Music" by Degarmo and Key:

"I love to hear the music playing slow or fast/ I love the healing message from the distant past/ And if I rearrange it, it remains the same/ I’ll change the way I say it but never what I saw/ Don’t stop, don’t stop the music, you’ve got to let it play/ Don’t stop, don’t stop the music, play it in your own way ... I HEAR DISSENTING VOICES QUICK TO DISAGREE/ BUT I’M ON A MUSIC MISSION; THEY DON’T BOTHER ME/ I’ll sing those songs that set me free/ Cause kids want to rock" ("Don’t Stop the Music," Ed DeGarmo and Dana Key).

The Bible says, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" (Romans 14:19) and "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak" (Romans 14:21) and "Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification" (Romans 15:2). DeGarmo and Key are going to rock on "their own way" regardless of who they offend. The CCM rocker knows that he is using music that large numbers of Christian parents do not want their children to listen to and that large numbers of churches reject as worldly. Many of the hard Christian rock songs are described in magazines as numbers "your parents will hate." Such self-willed rebellion, such callousness toward offending godly people, has no place among those who name the name of Christ.

MARK LOWRY

In typical Contemporary Christian Music style, Mark Lowry (who sings with the Gaither Vocal Band) labels standards and ecclesiastical separation "legalism" --

"Legalism is as sickening today as it was 2000 years ago. It’s just wrong. On my new video [Remotely Controlled], that’s one thing I’m tryin’ to take a whack at. Legalism as I know it. And I thank God for the churches I grew up in ‘cause that’s where I found Christ, but there was a lot of baggage there. It’s true of every church. God is probably doing something in most of them. Some people need a charismatic experience. Some need a Calvinist doctrine. And just about the time I think I’ve got God put in my box, just about the time I’ve got Him figured out, He’s over there loving someone I wouldn’t be seen with, working through someone I wouldn’t associate with. I tell people at my concerts, ‘Isn’t that somethin’? We’ve got Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Pentecostals all under one roof! And you know what? Somebody’s wrong!’ That’s why eternity is gonna last so long. God’s gotta straighten us out" (Melissa Riddle, "Funny Face," interview with Mark Lowry, CCM Magazine, May 1996).

Lowry is correct in observing that there is a right and wrong when it comes to doctrine, but when he claims that God will straighten it all out in Heaven and implies that doctrine should not be divisive in this present world, he is ignoring the Bible’s warning about false gospels. The Word of God cautions that those who follow a false gospel are cursed (Galatians 1). It is impossible, therefore, that all of those mentioned by Lowry will be heaven in the first place. Many of those mentioned follow a sacramental faith-works gospel. Many liberals in Protestant denominations are following a universalistic "gospel" of the Fatherhood of God or a social gospel or a golden rule gospel. When Lowry says doctrinal confusion will be straightened out in Heaven, he is also ignoring the fact that it is the Christian’s job to defend sound Bible doctrine (Jude 3) and to separate from false doctrine (Romans 16:17). The preacher is not to allow any false doctrine whatsoever (1 Timothy 1:3).

Lowry continues his tirade against legalism:

"Preachers keep giving people a list of rules instead of ‘Love the Lord with all your heart, then do as you please’--because if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, what you do is gonna please God. It’s easier to say ‘don’t do this, don’t do that, do this, and do that,’ but you end up a Pharisee. They’re taking the easy way out. Man has always loved the law more than grace" (Lowry, Ibid.).

This sounds great, but if preaching the love of God is enough, why are the New Testament epistles filled with specific commandments? Lowry’s tirade against "legalism" is a smokescreen for his rebellion against Bible-believing, fundamentalist Christianity. To compare fundamentalists to Pharisees, as is so popular with the ecumenical crowd, is a slander. The Pharisee’s problem was his self-righteous pride and rejection of Jesus Christ. The Bible-believing fundamentalist is not self-righteous; he knows and acknowledges readily that he has no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. The Pharisees rejected the grace of Christ, whereas the fundamentalist exalts the grace of Christ. Legalism is replacing the grace of Christ with works salvation, as we see in the book of Galatians. Many of the denominations have done this, including the Roman Catholic Church, but this is not what the fundamentalist does. He teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone by Christ alone and that works follow as the evidence of salvation. Attempting to take all of the Lord’s commandments seriously and apply them to every area of life is not legalism; it is obedience (1 John 5:3).

SUPERTONES

The lyrics to the following song demonstrate the non-judgmental, anti-fundamentalist philosophy of the Supertones:

"I don’t care about your haircut, can’t we all just get along?/ Not just get along, but really love and care/ If your eyes are on the Lord you can’t see nobody’s hair" (Supertones, "Adonai," Adventures of the O.C. Supertones, 1996).

It’s not true that if your eyes are on the Lord you will not see things such as hair. Those that love the Lord want to obey the Bible in every detail. Jesus Christ said: "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (John 14:23). If hair is entirely unimportant in the Christian life, why does God’s Word address it (1 Corinthians 11)? Paul plainly stated that the woman is to have long hair and the man short hair to express their different positions in this world. According to the Bible, hair length even affects angels (1 Cor. 11:10). The rebellious ecumenical crowd, though, pretends that Christian love overlooks such things as clothing and hair length. I can love someone and still be concerned about his or her hair or dress.

MICHAEL W. SMITH

Michael W. Smith also holds the anti-fundamentalist attitude so common among Contemporary Christian Musicians:

"...you’re always going to have those very very conservative people. They say you can’t do this; you can’t do that ... you can’t drink; you can’t smoke. ... It’s a pretty bizarre way of thinking" (Michael W. Smith, The Birmingham News, Feb. 1993, p. 1B).

A man would have to be biblically ignorant to make such a statement. The Bible, including the New Testament, is filled with restrictions on man’s activities! Not only does the Bible contain vast numbers of plain restrictions, but it is also filled with principles that are to be applied to every area of the Christian life.

DENIECE WILLIAMS

Deniece Williams reveals her attitude toward biblical fundamentalism:

"The whole story of ‘Footloose’ is very close to my life. In the church I grew up in, you couldn’t go to dances, you couldn’t go to movies, and you couldn’t wear pants or sleeveless dresses. There were a lot of ‘Thou shalt not’s" (Deniece Williams, CCM Magazine, January 1987, p. 17).

This is the attitude which is common within Contemporary Christian Music. Those who attempt to apply the Word of God to daily living and to warn against sinful activities are considered legalistic Pharisees. As for the "Thou shalt not’s" we are reminded of the commandments of God in the New Testament Scriptures. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). There are denominations which ARE legalistic, in that they teach a works salvation. Some Pentecostal denominations, for example, teach that such things as jewelry or short hair on women will send them to Hell. The Roman Catholic Church intermingles sacraments, works, and faith for salvation. That is legalism, but it is not legalism to teach that the Christian is obligated to obey the Word of God in order to be fruitful and please the God who saved him.

TERI DESARIO

Teri Desario makes the following anti-fundamentalist statement:

"The Christian life is not a bunch of do’s and don’ts, but a life of what you can accomplish in Christ" (Dan and Steve Peters, What about Christian Rock?, p. 111).

This statement expresses a half-truth. It is true that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone by the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone and that it is not of works. Christians do not get right with God by obedience to commandments. At the same time, the Christian is saved to live a holy life in obedience to God. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-8). The New Testament is filled with commandments, with do’s and don’ts, which the Christian is to obey. I count 88 commandments in the book of Ephesians alone. We don’t keep them in our own strength, but we are definitely called upon to keep them. It is absolute rebellion to say that the Christian life has nothing to do with keeping commandments. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). The grace of Jesus Christ leads to obedience. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:11-12).

BROWN BANNISTER

Brown Bannister, the producer for Amy Grant, also displays his despite toward fundamentalist Bible-believing Christians in the following statement:

"That’s the problem I’m having with Christian music; it’s so formula-oriented. The praise stuff is great, but even the praise stuff is formula. It’s like all the same ‘Okay, let’s name all the names of God in the Bible’ and ‘Let’s say "I will lift my hands"’; … I guess you just kind of run out of things to say when you start talking about that stuff. You’re limited to a certain number of phrases that are biblical and scripturally-oriented. ... Its very confusing because of the nature of religious education and upbringing and THE SEPARATIST MENTALITY OF MOST CHURCHES AND THEIR CREEDS IN AMERICA AND THEIR OPINIONS ON CULTURE" (Brown Bannister, record producer and promoter, producer for Amy Grant, interview, CCM Magazine, October 1988, p. 13).

This influential Contemporary Christian Music producer doesn’t like the idea of being restricted by the Bible! He does not like the separatist mentality of churches. He doesn’t like churches to apply the Bible to culture. This is the anti-fundamentalist attitude which permeates CCM.

RICH MULLINS

The late Rich Mullins’ anti-fundamentalism attitude was evident in an interview with TLeM, April 1997, five months before his death in an automobile accident:

"Everything is spiritual. Which is another hang-up I have with Protestantism, and even more specifically with Evangelicalism. It’s more like Manicheism than anything else. This dualistic system that says that everything physical is evil, and the only good things are spiritual things. And I go, ‘Wow! John wrote a good bit of what he wrote to counter that kind of thinking.’ And yet, all these Bible-believing, Bible-thumping born-again-ers are going around professing the very thing that John tried to put out" (Brendt Waters, interview with Rich Mullins, conducted in April 1996, www.tlem.netcentral.net/features/9709/mullins.html).

This is an unscriptural and slanderous statement. Notice how Mullins spoke mockingly of "Bible-thumping born-again-ers." I would be afraid to mock that crowd, seeing that the Apostles and early Christians were definitely "Bible thumpers" and were definitely "born againers"! It is not surprising that Mullins turned to the Roman Catholic Church before his death. Mullins built a strawman by describing the "Bible-thumper’s" message as saying "that everything physical is evil and the only good things are spiritual things." I don’t know any Christian who is saying that everything physical is evil. Though there are doubtless those today who hold such a philosophy, they are primarily in pagan religions and are definitely not within the mainstream of evangelicalism or fundamentalism as Mullins claimed. The things of the world that God made are not evil, but when man takes those things and uses them for evil purposes, they become evil. A guitar or a drum or a piano is not evil in itself, but when it is used licentiously to stir up sensual passions, it is evil. The Bible plainly says that this world is fallen and under the dominion of sinful men and demons, and God’s people are to separate from the evil things of this world. The Bible makes a sharp distinction between the holy and the profane (Ezek. 22:26), between the world and God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). John said, "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).

DC TALK

The rap/rock group dc Talk was formed at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. Their antagonism toward biblical fundamentalists is evident in their music. The song "Time Ta Jam" on their 1989 debut album contained the following insolent lyrics:

"So hyper fundi, don’t be dismayed! Check out the lyrics when the record is played."

The term "hyper fundi" is a sarcastic reference to the fundamentalist who applies the Bible to cultural evils such as rock music. By the way, dc Talk, I have checked out the lyrics to your songs and I reject most of them as vague, man-centered, and heretical.

CAEDMON’S CALL

The anti-fundamentalist attitude of Caedmon’s Call is evident:

"It’s amazing how we can get caught up in these things. ‘Did he say that? I can’t believe he said that!’ Especially in the Baptist church we’re in, our whole idea of Biblical holiness is, ‘Don’t drink; don’t smoke; don’t cuss.’ True Biblical holiness is a lot more than that. … the whole Christian subculture in the Bible Belt that says, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t do that. You can’t talk about that.’ That kind of thing is no different from Jesus’ day [the Pharisees]. I’ve been in their position. I was a Pharisee for many years" (Rob Berman, a conversation with Cliff Young and Todd Bragg, TLeM, Lighthouse Electronic Magazine, 1996, http://tlem.netcentral.net/indie/960701/caedmons_call.html).

This statement is a mockery of biblical absolutes. It is impossible to take the Bible seriously without striving to be holy in every area of life, without applying biblical precepts to everything the Christian does. The New Testament is filled with commandments--with do’s and don’ts--with things the Christian can and cannot do. It has many commandments against drunkenness and cussing. The attitude expressed by Cliff Young of Caedmon’s Call is a smokescreen for rebellion against biblical holiness. He speaks of Baptist churches whose "whole idea of biblical holiness" is don’t drink, smoke, or cuss. I have attended, preached in, and studied Baptist churches for 25 years and I don’t know of one which limits its doctrine of holiness to a simplistic group of commandments. The rebel only hears that part, though. Young thinks that Phariseeism is a zeal for commandments. That was not the Pharisee’s problem. The Pharisee’s root problem was self-righteousness, pride, and the rejection of God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. The Bible-believing fundamentalists that I know (and I know thousands of them) are not self-righteous. They know that they have absolutely no righteousness in themselves, that in their flesh dwelleth no good thing. They are not Christ rejecters; they are Christ lovers. They know that apart from Jesus Christ they are nothing. Zero. They know that holiness is not external; it is the indwelling Spirit of God. To label the Bible-believing fundamentalist a Pharisee is a vicious slander.

PETRA

Petra’s anti-fundamentalist attitude is evident from their song entitled "Witch Hunt." It was written by Bob Hartman:

"Another witch hunt looking for evil wherever we can find it/ Off on a tangent, Hope the Lord won’t mind it/ Another witch hunt, Takin’ a break from all our gospel labor/ On a crusade but we forgot our saber/ ... So send out the dogs and tally ho/ ... No one is safe, No stone is left unturned/ And we won’t stop until somebody gets burned..." (Petra, "Witch Hunt")

According to the ecumenical, worldly CCM crowd, it is a witch hunt to judge things by the Word of God and to reprove sin and error. Petra sarcastically pretends that the only thing that is important is preaching the Gospel, and anything else, such as contending for the faith, is a waste of time which displeases the Lord. They slander the biblical fundamentalist as a person with a vain, hurtful agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Apostle Paul spent much of his time defending the Gospel from false teachers and protecting the churches from error. He gave much space to this in his epistles. Paul warned of false teachers and compromisers by name, for example, 10 times in 1 and 2 Timothy alone. Was Paul a witch hunter? At the end of his life he said that he had fought a good fight. What had he fought? He had fought against error. He had fought for the truth. He had fought against the Devil and the Devil’s men. The ecumenical CCM crowd is loving and tolerant toward almost anything except conservative Bible preaching.

DON FRANCISCO

Another example of the rebellious, anti-fundamentalist attitude that permeates CCM is the song "Freedom to Move" by Don Francisco. Note the words:

"I believe a believer has the freedom to move!/ Now tell me, mister, what you tryin’ to do?/ Those things you’re sayin’, man, they just ain’t true/ You wave the Bible and you scream and you shout/ But you don’t have a clue what you’re talkin’ about/ You been goin’ through the churches like a Nazi for Truth/ Sayin’ Christian rock music is destroyin’ the youth/ Slanderin’ your brothers that you don’t even know/ Ruinin’ reputations every place that you go/ You call it devil music, say it’s right from the pit/ Scarin’ parents everywhere right out of their wits/ They’re goin’ to your meetings, buyin’ books and buyin’ tapes/ But all your’re sellin’s legalism, guilt and sour grapes. … Just ‘cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s a sin! I know it isn’t heavy ministry, the lyrics are light/ But it’s got a funky rhythm and the band is really tight/ There’s a lot more to life than being down in the groove/ But I believe a believer has the freedom to move/ Won’t you get off your soapbox and take off your shoes/ You know it ain’t the rhythm, it’s the words that you use/ It’s not the drums or the electric guitar/ It’s all in the motives -- it’s in who you really are/ So crank me up some country or some rhythm and blues/ I really don’t care what kind of flavour you choose/ Let the lyrics stay clean, let the people all groove/ And say, ‘Thank you Jesus, for the freedom to move" (Don Francisco, "Freedom to Move," from the album Come Away, 1992).

PHIL KEAGGY

In an interview with Religious Broadcasting, Phil Keaggy boldly displayed his anti-fundamentalist attitude:

"I think also the unity that is so necessary in the body of Christ is important. I admire Charles Colson. He got a lot of flack for writing the book, The Body, and being associated with Catholics. I was raised Catholic and my mother’s influence was powerful in my life. I came to the Lord when she passed away. She sowed the seeds in my life for me to become a believer. There are divisive voices out there. PEOPLE WHO THRIVE ON DISUNITY ARE THE ONES [TO WHOM] YOU’VE GOT TO SAY, ‘I’M NOT GOING TO CONTEND WITH THIS, I’M NOT GOING TO ARGUE, I’M JUST GOING TO GO ABOUT MY BUSINESS’" ("Saran E. Smitha and Christine Pryor, "Integrity Times Two: Michael Card and Phil Keaggy," Religious Broadcasting, National Religious Broadcasters, July-August 1995).

The Christian life would be much simpler if one could follow Keaggy’s advice and not get involved in contentions about doctrine and Christian living, but faithfulness to the Word of God does not allow it. God requires that His people "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) and reprove the unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). Obedience to such commands does not allow me to follow Keaggy’s New Evangelical advice.

Keaggy’s unscriptural anti-fundamentalist attitude permeates the world of Contemporary Christian Music, and those who listen to CCM and allow it into their homes and churches are in great danger of being influenced by this attitude.