Spiritual-Wrestling Music

The other day a friend of mine posted an article on Facebook that Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons made a statement that the groups just-released album wasn't intended to be an assertion of Christian faith, and that he "doesn't even call [himself] a Christian."

Though those who aren't Christians would probably naturally find it strange to be disappointed at such an announcement, to me, this is pretty disappointing, because I felt a sense of camaraderie with this singer in all the depth of his words. The imagery he used in his songs seemed so overtly Christian to me that it seemed almost impossible for him not to be a believer in Christ himself, plus there were the connections to the UK Vineyard Church through his parents and the fact that someone in my church said they had a connection to him through his family and knew that he was a Christian...but at the moment, it seems like it's not the case.

This was the response I posted on my friend's wall, the result of mulling over Mumford's statement:


This kind of reminds me of Amy Lee from Evanescence saying "I'm a Christian, but that in no way influences my work." There's obviously some element of dishonesty somewhere. 


I find it interesting that Marcus Mumford seems so bent on downplaying the role of Christianity in his band's music, yet he is also so bent on writing music that is overtly infused with Christian themes. Some people would say that the lyrics don't really have to do with Christianity in particular and are just vaguely spiritual, but I would disagree. Several songs on Sigh No More deal with the concept of grace, which is a distinctly Christian idea. There are also songs that very clearly seem to point to Jesus' parables, like the parable of the prodigal son in "Roll Away Your Stone" and the parable of the seeds in "Thistle & Weeds".


So what's going on is that Mumford's songwriting is actually hitting on some large Biblical truths, whether he likes to emphasize it or not. Part of me refuses to believe that the man who wrote all these songs could not have Jesus in his heart, and that he is at the moment only making a confused mistake (albeit a very public one) in expressing himself, or he is overdoing it on trying to align himself with the I-love-Jesus-but-hate-religion to the point that he's forgetting to acknowledge Jesus. I HOPE that's the case as opposed to the alternative.


I know I once wrote a song and before singing it to someone, I said, "This is a song about God but it isn't a Christian song." I was trying to keep my listener from disengaging, but in the process I was suggesting it didn't have to do with my Christianity, when it did, and very strongly so, and thus I was downplaying the very thing I ultimately hoped would shine through. After that incident I felt horrible--I felt like I had denied God. From now on I try to let my songs speak for themselves and I answer openly when asked about them...let my yes be my yes and my no be my no.


Does that mean I'm not a Christian, or that I wasn't a Christian? I hope not, or else the gospel isn't true. And so I hope is the case with Mumford. In fact, I see a large value in trying to deflect people's conceptions of what they think you are when they think you're a "Christian band"--because there are all sorts of things associated with that that would prevent people from actually being affected by your music. But ultimately you have to stop dodging the truth.


I wish someone would just ask Marcus Mumford, "OK, so your band isn't a 'Christian band'...but what do you believe about Jesus?" That's the heart of the matter. I hope he sees him as more than just another spiritual guy, because I definitely have formed a spiritual attachment to Mumford's songs in part because I thought they were inspired by the same beliefs I have. I'm arranging "The Cave" for [my university's Christian a cappella group, which I used to be a part of], and I was previously rather confident that there was some solidarity between the original songwriter and [the a cappella group's] purpose...now I'm not so sure, and that bums me out...but the fact of the matter is, as much as songs are subjective, there is also a certain objectivity to them. They must mean something, even if their writer didn't know what he was getting himself into. So I'm going to try to continue to enjoy Mumford & Sons' music for all that it is and hope that it communicates eternal truth to others, even if Marcus Mumford himself doesn't believe in that truth.


So...right now that is my outlook. One thing that has encouraged me in the fact that I have felt such a spiritual connection to Mumford & Sons' music and sort of reaffirms whether it's worthwhile to arrange an a cappella version of "The Cave" is a little bit of consideration of the philosophy of Eugene Peterson, who wrote The Message paraphrase translation of The Bible. One quote that kind of helps give an idea of his philosphy: "Every time a story is well-told, the gospel is served." This whole life we are living is an arena from which we understand what a story is, and all stories point to the greatest story ever told, the epic of God and the people he created, and his quest to redeem them. A song doesn't have to be overly churchy to point to that story, that story called the Gospel, or to point to the deep subplots within it that we encounter as the ins and outs of spiritual wrestling. When I listen to Mumford & Sons' music (which has helped me in my struggle to make sense of a deep internal conflict dealing with the debate of Calvinism and Arminianism) I conclude that it has arisen from a healthy wrestling with true spiritual matters, even if that wrestling has not yet borne fruit in the writers' hearts. I pray that it still will if that is indeed the case.