Surviving the Scrutiny...
Following is an excerpt from an article published on beliefnet.com, a Christian web-site, that discusses all sorts of trials and tribulations Christians have and Christian life in general. The article, is a discussion with Rob Beckley of Pillar, concerning the recent announcement Korn guitarist, Brian 'Head' Welch, has left the band because he has found God, and the trials he might face as a "new" Christian.
The reason I quote this article, is because I think Rob has a couple very good points that I certainly hope more 'Christians' would be aware of as they begin their casting of vocal objection regarding the way another 'Christian' lives their life.
Something to think about as you begin to cast judgment on another person (ohh, how I wish our court systems followed this as well), is Christ said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged..."—Matt. 7:1–5.
Later, in John 8:3-11, Christ writes in the sand and tells the accusers of an adulteress, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”. I have always believed that Jesus wrote the names of the accusers and their sins in the sand, and as each person saw their name being written, they left so as to avoid the shame of their sins being exposed to the rest of the accusers. Ask yourself, as you vocally challenge someone else for what you perceive as being their "sinful ways", imagining for a moment that they know yours as well, that perhaps you are sinful in thought, to such an extent as to make a sailor blush in shame, if you would like them to openly, publicly, and boastfully challenge you.
Am I a Jesus freak, here to use my presence on the web to influence or preach to the few who may come across my page? No, I'm simply a Christ believing person, far to aware of the impact and feeling another person's judgment can have on a fragile soul, especially one that is seeking after doing something as challenging as accepting the name of Christ in a non-believing world and environment. Whether you be Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or whatever, you to have most likely experienced at one time or another, a moment in your life, when your views and opinions did not match the feelings and beliefs of the mainstream around you; therefore, ask yourself, is it so hard to just support someone for their desire to be 'different'? You may not like or appreciate them for their 'differences', just as they may not like or appreciate you. But think of how many things you may possibly share in common, if nothing else the fact that you are able to both look and accept each other for being different, and realize, that's the beginning of the peace we all seek after.
The reason I quote this article, is because I think Rob has a couple very good points that I certainly hope more 'Christians' would be aware of as they begin their casting of vocal objection regarding the way another 'Christian' lives their life.
Something to think about as you begin to cast judgment on another person (ohh, how I wish our court systems followed this as well), is Christ said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged..."—Matt. 7:1–5.
Later, in John 8:3-11, Christ writes in the sand and tells the accusers of an adulteress, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”. I have always believed that Jesus wrote the names of the accusers and their sins in the sand, and as each person saw their name being written, they left so as to avoid the shame of their sins being exposed to the rest of the accusers. Ask yourself, as you vocally challenge someone else for what you perceive as being their "sinful ways", imagining for a moment that they know yours as well, that perhaps you are sinful in thought, to such an extent as to make a sailor blush in shame, if you would like them to openly, publicly, and boastfully challenge you.
Am I a Jesus freak, here to use my presence on the web to influence or preach to the few who may come across my page? No, I'm simply a Christ believing person, far to aware of the impact and feeling another person's judgment can have on a fragile soul, especially one that is seeking after doing something as challenging as accepting the name of Christ in a non-believing world and environment. Whether you be Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or whatever, you to have most likely experienced at one time or another, a moment in your life, when your views and opinions did not match the feelings and beliefs of the mainstream around you; therefore, ask yourself, is it so hard to just support someone for their desire to be 'different'? You may not like or appreciate them for their 'differences', just as they may not like or appreciate you. But think of how many things you may possibly share in common, if nothing else the fact that you are able to both look and accept each other for being different, and realize, that's the beginning of the peace we all seek after.
I would think that, as a Christian artist, you'd want to reach more people. Why only play for Christians who have already heard your message? Why not go into the bars and the clubs?
There are tons of different viewpoints. I was just reading on this website that was trashing Christian music about how [the music] is just all wrong. And they're talking about Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman and these artists are super contemporary, and how it's rock and roll and how it's evil. [The critics believe] if you're going to sing a song and it's going to be Christian music it's got to give praise to Jesus' name. I play music, that's my career and what I believe is obviously going to shine through a little bit. But I can praise God with my lifestyle and not necessarily just my music. And a lot of people have these viewpoints that you have to speak in this way and you have to use King James dialect when you talk and all your lyrics should speak about Jesus and praises to him and what he did. Well, why can't I just speak that in my life and be thankful? I don't have to make a public announcement that I'm thankful for what God has given me. I can personally thank him before I go on stage every day. I don't have to publicly announce every time I go on stage that I thank God for my talent and this is why I'm here. That's between me and Him. My impact on people's lives can be backstage with people like Korn. We used to hang out and talk with them all day. I believe we can make an impact on people one-on-one and if more people would have that attitude more people would be impacted. Because if I do it from stage, I'm going to turn off as many people as I turn on. The people who get turned on by it, they'll be pumped up for a day and then it will kind of fade away, because there's no substance there. If I was one-on-one talking to someone about what's happened to me or encouraging them, they're going to have more of an intimate encounter with God than they would at a big concert--where I could tell people to jump and they jump and [tell people to] scream and they scream and then [I say], “OK, now everybody come down here and accept Jesus.” It's kind of trite when you think about it.
You guys have had your fair share of criticism within the Christian community and outside of it—that you’ve sold out, etc. Why do you think people criticize you?
One, is just being uneducated. A lot of people can’t even tell you why they believe what they believe. [Two], just being naive. There are a lot of people who live in small towns or communities that don’t have that type of culture. Especially with [the band] living in the Bible Belt, we really see people who don’t know any other way. They don’t know that there are people out there struggling. They just don’t get it. And the third [reason] would be insecurities. I remember I had this long [email] conversation with this guy one time. We were playing a show at the Whiskey A Go-Go down on Sunset Boulevard [in L.A.] and he pretty much just blatantly ripped me a new one. “How can you possibly [play at a place like that]?” I straight up told him, “Don’t get mad at me because you’re not secure enough to stand up in front of people and cling to your faith.” So I guess it just comes from insecurities. He’s like, “You’re right, I couldn’t do it.”
Do you know if he was a Christian himself?
He was. He was a pastor and he thought it was wrong that we were going into clubs and bars and playing. I remember that night meeting some guys from this band that’s the opposite end of the spectrum--an openly Satanic band. I talked with [one of] the guys that night and he was like, “Yeah, that’s cool. You guys do your thing, we do ours.” From a Christian’s viewpoint, my goal in life is to impact people the way I’ve been impacted. And with that, I want to live my life in a way that’s going to impact people and be loving to people.
