European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Christian Rock Praise the lord and Sling the bibles by Rosemary Sawyer still writer 1 onion film they just climbed off their harleys. The Metal mongers filter into i downtown Frankfurt Tiki it Hail. in Jean in sets plastered with pall lies screaming Iron Maiden Motley Crue and Slayer the hell s Angels twist squirm and Inch rib in Way into the auditorium. Their sweating bodies mull together just .1 few feel from the giant loudspeakers. As the band members leap on stage hundreds of the mostly male i t ii Hajji nine lit l their hands in Salute. Bui instead of i to usual two fingered sign of the Devil they Point Only one Index linger heavenward. It s int Way with this crowd Jesus. These hell s Angels today s Christian dam l limit their musical message to Rock arrangements of Esus loves me. Along Man and evangelical Songi they write Aboul social and moral issues. 1 he group Kez band formerly resurrection Sand of chit ago takes an ant i nuke in its t it1 1 like lyrics include Fri wild the inc missiles my them Low . It s All right Rio control no or i Row Rich nut Over Mere . You la tost1 your . Pop Singer Angle Lewis .1 newcomer to the Christian contemporary music ii old urges kit i to abstain from premarital so in her song Don j surrender. A Bay and girl in the i a k. Til a before you know it thirty Lavt gone too far oort t surrenders a the wire she heard Don t surrender to he stirred Don t surrender to the morn no or a please my child Don t it Rrt new. And following in the footsteps of their secular counterparts Christian pop stars also jumped on the Benefit bandwagon. In 1qb5, m Christian recording Arlisi dubbed cause Christian artists United to save the Earth recorded do something now. The single raised to help combat hunger in Africa. Las year 100 Christ Ian artists recorded of vhf Fife fight a song Loaid the pro life movement. In their struggle for relevance Wilh today s youth Christian Rock artists have drawn fiery darts from conservatives who claim i he re watering Down Lime Levi gospel tenets. Gies sen s Partin believes Singer Amy Grant sold out when she crossed Over to the secular am Label. He said he thinks she slopped singing about Esus to make it big. If a person is constantly singing Aboul Jesus and then gels a big record contract and Jesus name is never mentioned it s too obvious to me he Sam. Partin is not alone in his criticism of Grant s Success her May have topped billboard s \ 9b6 inspirational Chart but ill cover which features the Singer in a sexy Leopard skin jacket fuelled fundamentalist fire. Grant s lyrical he a and him a leave listeners wandering whether the pronouns Are meant to have capital or Small a however alongside seemingly ambiguous references to divine love there Are less Subtle references to Christ Sik h As in the Ming stepping in your shoes Only through you sin on innocent Shaykh a could you undo darkness Power to Htit us Eddie Huff youth missionary and pad Lime concert promoter of Christian music bands wishes critics of Christian Rock would judge the Arliss by their lies Yles not by their musical styles people can t sing for loss if it s nol in them he said i would rather people would come right out ind Lell me Hal they hate the style than condemn Christian music and musicians Christian Rock can placate parents whose teen age kids crave the loud and raucous sounds of Rock n Roll observes Huff who work in Augsburg with the International organization youth Wilh a Mission. It used to be Hal they the parents would Burn their kids records. Then the kids would sneak out and get into really heavy la
