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Christian punk is a form of Christian alternative music and a subgenre of punk rock played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian, their lyrics reflect their faith and they see their audience as the general public. This includes bands like Officer Negative and Headnoise. The extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands.

Christian punk bands that target a Christian audience, explicitly state their beliefs, use Christian imagery in their lyrics may be considered a part of the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry.

Given the edginess of punk and some of its sub-genres, such as hardcore punk, many bands have been rejected by the Christian and CCM music industry. Some bands generally avoid specific mention of God or Jesus and may specifically reject the CCM label.

Related genres are Christian hardcore and metalcore, Christian rock, Christian alternative music and Christian metal.

History

Origins

Christian punk's origins during the wider 1980s punk rock scene are somewhat obscure. As the Jesus Movement gave rise to cultural institutions such as Jesus People USA (JPUSA), these served as an incubator for various Christian subcultures including punk. Crashdog is one characteristically punk band that was rooted in JPUSA.

In the 1980's many bands performed at Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel in Orange County California. A particularly popular group with a cult following was Undercover (band), who proclaimed that "God Rules" with a combination of rockabilly and hardcore elements. Another early influential group were the Altar Boys.

The Crucified and to a lesser extent, Circle of Dust and Under Midnight were major players in proto Christian Punk.

The Cornerstone Festival provided an important venue for Christian punk bands.

Growth of the scene

During the 1990s the underground scene grew, bands such as Officer Negative greatly influenced many bands. The term "JCHC" is often used by Christian punks, and it means "Jesus Christ Hard Core".

Emergence into the mainstream

In the 21st century developments in Christian punk parallels broader punk, with pop/punk bands such as Relient K and FM Static very popular with the mainstream crowd, but they started as Christian bands, playing at church groups and youth gatherings.

Other bands with Christian roots that have become very popular within their genres are Zao (metalcore), Norma Jean (newer hardcore), and mewithoutyou (post-hardcore).

There are also secular bands that contain Christian songwriters who, despite the varying beliefs of the individual band members, sometimes write lyrics that have clear Christian themes. Thrice, Comeback Kid and Much The Same are good examples of such bands.

Key record labels include Tooth & Nail Records and its subsidiaries Solid State Records and BEC Recordings; The Militia Group, which signs groups that straddle the boundary between Christian and secular music; Flicker Records, owned and operated by the members of Audio Adrenaline; Gotee Records, owned and operated by TobyMac of dc Talk; and up-and-comer Mono vs. Stereo.

Fashion

Fashion is similar to normal punk fashion, with the Christian fish symbol, the cross, a crown of thorns,the JCHC symbol, etc. Chi Rho is a popular symbol amongst more anarcho-Christian bands, such as The Psalters *. In Europe the most used symbol is the anarchy symbol, modified as it might become an A and Ω. This is the Greek alphabet symbol for "Alpha" & "Omega" (the English equivalent is "A" and "Z".); meaning the first and last which in turn is to represent God and/or Jesus. Refer to the book of Revelations 1:8, 21:6, & 22:13. Rev. 1:8 says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Basically, the symbol is a visual play on the "anarchy" symbol but with a different meaning and intent. However, it does have a resonance with Christian anarchism itself.

Christian and Punk

Acceptance of Christian punk is at times challenged both amongst members of the punk subculture and in some Christian churches. Can a person be Christian and punk? For people active in both punk and Christianity it is not a question but a lived experience. There are strong elements of anti-authoritarianism in both. Challenging the uncritical acceptance of social norms in the church and the world.

One illustration of this is seen in the concept of "anticonformity" to the world. This can be seen in a lot of Christian punk music, including the song "Anticonformity" by Krystal Meyers. Within this perspective, the Christian's view of anticonformity is different from the punk view. The Christian's reason for anticonformity is found in the book of Romans in the Bible: "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed..." The Bible tells Christians not to conform, and punks are also strong non-conformists.

Some may still argue that punk is anti-religious and thus in opposition to Christianity. Their argument is generally that the practice of Christianity (or any established religion) is, by definition, conformity to rules set forth by someone other than the individual for him or herself. One valid response to this claim is that punk rock encourages people to think for themselves, and that a Christian's choice to obey God's Word is his or her own decision to make, regardless of what others (including punks) would think of it.

Many Christians also do not agree with organized religion. They say that real Christianity is not a religion because it's not supposed to be about rituals and rules. They believe true Christianity's a relationship with Jesus, not a religion. Many Christian punks are against religion like other punks, yet they are strongly in support of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ separate from rules and tradition.

A significant number of Christian punks and indie kids may be involved in Christian socialism, Communism, Anarcho-Christianity and some variations on queer and liberation theology. Others may be involved in christian variations of deep ecology.

Some punks even go as far as say that they're "Post Christian", having a world view based on Jesus's teachings but not believing in his deity or divinity. Instead, they believe in Jesus's ideas but have a broader atheistic, agnostic or humanist worldview that also draw on other theorists. They would possibly include Heidigger, Marx, Camus, Jung, Derrida and late-christian theologians such as, John Shelby Spong (to name a few). They would acknowledge the importance of religion and its contribution to art and culture, but will hold a critical eye towards it as well. Having an atheistic world view, Post Christian punks and indie kids would consider the magical and supernatural elements as purely metaphor.

Record labels

See also

External links

Christian rock genres | Punk genres | Punk | Christianity | Kristen punk

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Christian punk".

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