From: ajw@cbnews.cb.att.com (andrew.j.whitman)
Subject: Re: are T-Bone and Sam backslidden
Organization: AT&T
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 14:51:56 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.171022.5756@tse.uucp> mattias@tse.uucp (Mattias Hembruch x0830) writes:
>In article <80662@hydra.gatech.EDU> gt6704a@prism.gatech.EDU (WHITE,BRENT LANE) writes:
>>In article <1993Jan19.043233.5405@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, bgeerdes@nyx.cs.du.edu (Bruce Geerdes) writes:
>>> 
>>> My point isn't to judge her faith; I'd just like to be shown where you see
>>> Sam's faith shine through her songs.  
>>But seriously, I would ask you to consider the themes in her music and draw
>>your own conclusions. I don't own many albums that have explicitly Christian
>>songs or messages; yet I find that the message of the gospel pervades
>>much of the best of my record collection, secular or otherwise. 
>
>Interesting.. I keep hearing (reading?) people say that THEY find songs to have
>spiritual meanings even though the artist has not said anything about being
>a Christian, or at least attempting to 'reflect' their faith through their
>songs..

In this case, the artist has *said* that she's a Christian, has recorded
a number of albums for Christian labels in the past, has continued to
play some of those CCM songs in concerts for "secular" audiences, and has 
continued to write songs that reflect a Christian worldview, even after
leaving CCM and moving on to a "secular" label.

What do you want her to do?  What kind of evidence of the Christian faith
would you like to see?

I haven't seen anyone attributing Christian beliefs to artists who haven't
claimed to be Christians themselves.  It's one thing to engage in 
wishful thinking and to read in spiritual intent when the artist
has made no claims to Christian beliefs.  But that's simply not the case
with Sam Phillips.  And frankly, it's a mystery to me how someone
could listen to "The Indescribable Wow" or "Cruel Inventions" and 
*not* hear a reflection of her faith.  She uses metaphors and similes
that have incredible Christian resonance.  Listen to "Flame" or 
"Out of Time" or "Lying" or "Where the Colors Don't Go."  There are
images there that simply don't "fit" with standard boy/girl love
songs, but which make perfect sense when understood as love songs 
to God.  

>(maybe bad wording). All I'd like to point out is that when Kansas did 
>"Dust in the Wind", many people took this as definite proof that Kerry
>Livgren was a Christian.. BZZZZT. WRONGO. He even says it surprised him to
>hear people say that. He wrote the song out of 'utter despair' because he felt
>that there was nothing more.. I haven't heard the song personally, and really
>don't care to hear it because we should let old past die..

Well, I'm equally amazed that anyone could interpret "Dust in the Wind"
as a song written by a Christian.  The chorus is "All we are is dust in
the wind."  I hadn't realized that nihilistic despair and Christianity
were compatible beliefs.  No wonder Kerry was surprised when he heard
about that "definitive proof."  

I agree with your basic point that it *is* possible to engage in wishful
thinking and to read in spiritual connotations in songs where the artist
intended no such meaning.  But in Sam Phillips' case, I think the 
"reading in" is entirely justified.  From the beginning of her recording
career Leslie/Sam has claimed to be a Christian.  She left CCM in a
huff, and had some fairly nasty parting shots about the stifling
nature of the Christian recording industry (comments that I can 
basically agree with, even though I regret the tone in which they
were delivered).  But she abandoned CCM, not Christianity, and 
they are not one and the same.  Some of us even think that they 
have relatively little to do with one another.  And I see plenty
of evidence that she's continuing to reflect her Christian faith
in her music without feeling the need to blind people in the glare.  

>Mattias
>
>-- 
>Mattias Hembruch
>>> My views do not necessarily reflect those of the TSE. <<
>E-mail: mattias@tse.asd.tse.ca

Andy Whitman
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio
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