With God On Our Side

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book reviews

377

Steven Félix-Jäger

With God on Our Side(Eugene,or: Wipf & Stock, 2017). x + 172 pp. $24.00

paperback.

In 1972, Larry Norman wrote the lyrics to “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music” for his album Only Visiting This Planet. In it, he questions why it is wrong to listen to rock’n’roll and grow his hair out long. His countercultural approach to the church’s understanding of what it meant to play “Christian” music is one that has reverberated through the decades that followed. InWith God on Our Side: A Transformational Theology of Rock and Roll, Steven Félix- Jäger brings his owncounterculturalapproach to theology. Félix-Jäger examines rock and roll through a theological lens, exploring the ways in which theology might inform our understanding of rock and roll, as well as how rock and roll might inform our understanding of theology and what it truly means to be “countercultural.”

Félix-Jäger’s main argument is that as a genre, rock and roll is countercultural in that it speaks against the status quo of dominant culture. According to Félix-Jäger, rock music “is an artistic outlet that allows devotees the freedom to express religious and spiritual concerns about God in relation to humans and the world” (2). After offering some definitions of terms and addressing the limitations of the project, the book dives into its main topic: exploring a transformational theology of rock and roll. A brief history of rock music’s origins (Chapter 1), as well as the Christian response to rock music (Chapter 2) begins the journey, followed by chapters on each of the main “sub-genres” of rock music: folk rock, heavy metal, southern rock, punk rock, grunge rock, and alternative rock. In each chapter, Félix-Jäger follows the same basic formula: identify the origin of the subgenre and the major player(s), address the larger question/issue it is responding to, connect with theologians who address the same or similar questions, and then highlight a Christian rock artist within that subgenre who is addressing the counter-cultural issue in a theologically cogent way. For example, within the chapter on grunge rock, Félix-Jäger identifies the issue as the search for the authentic self, and orients the theological discussion in Paul Tillich and Augustine’s Confessions. He then compares Kurt Cobain’s struggle to reveal an “authentic self” along with facing the repercussions of fame and fortune against Christian rock band Skillet. Félix-Jäger argues that within this search for existential validation, Skillet works to help young people recognize “who the protagonist truly is and wants to be only exists when he is in right relations with God” (151).

At less than 200 pages,With God on Our Side is not intimidating, and while the chapters may seem a bit formulaic, the repetitiveness serves to make the

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book reviews

topic approachable for someone outside of academic theology. One does not need to be a student of rock and roll or theology to gain an appreciation for both as countercultural movements through Félix-Jäger’s arguments. The book can serve as a good introduction to theology for someone who is looking to gain a deeper academic understanding but is nervous about studying academic theology. The contextualization of theological questions into the rock and roll context is an easy jump to make. Félix-Jäger’s presentation of both rock and roll and theology as countercultural movements is easily understood. The book provides enough context for both elements (the historical track of rock and roll and the theologians presented in each chapter) that one does not have to be a dedicated student of either to understand the author’s conclusions and arguments.

Félix-Jäger’s discussion of the Christian music industry’s propensity toward enculturating its own was spot on, although the same argument could be made for the rock genres he discusses. The tension within the Contemporary Christian Music (ccm) scene regarding its desire to speak into counter culture and be set apart as “Christian” is one that many believers also struggle with at an individual level (Chapter 2). It would have been beneficial if Félix-Jäger had continued that conversation more overtly in each of his chapters. He did draw some connections to this struggle within each subgenre as he identified the Christian rock groups who he felt were making some sort of difference within their audience, and given the limited scope of the book, perhaps this is too much to ask. The topic could definitely present further research and consideration.

A surprising result of reading With God on Our Side was the discussion on the heavy metal music scene (Chapter 4). Félix-Jäger’s representation of the subgenre as a “prophetic act” and the ministry of Christian heavy metal bands who are “speaking a message of energizing hope to a marginalized group” (69) was an aspect of that genre many have not previously considered or engaged. The connection to Bruggemann’s “prophetic imagination” and Moltmann’s eschatology were approaches that seemed improbable originally, but once made, offered a new understanding of this particular culture. That, perhaps, is part of Félix-Jäger’s greater project: to offer a transformational understanding of these artists who shape our culture more than we realize, and to give a theological framework within which to consider them. On that account, he has most definitely succeeded.

Lindsey L. Croston

Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida

llcroston@seu.edu

PNEUMA 39 (2017) 365–424

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