Creationism rocks!
I’m a guest poster today at Laughing in Purgatory. I’m writing about how Christian rock was used to sell Creationism. And I got so carried away that I forgot to include the most obvious example of all, “Evolution Redefined” by Geoff Moore & the Distance. So, exclusively for you:
All the classic Creationist tropes are there. The biology teacher is short, ugly, intolerant, and has a nasal voice, while the Christian girl is blonde, wholesome, and attractive. While the nasty, hobbity teacher is probably stolen from Mötley Crüe’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” video, the video’s plot is straight from the infamous anti-evolution Chick tract, “Big Daddy?” This is slightly ironic, since Chick tracts claim that Christian rock is demonic.
Anyway, you can learn all this and more in my post, so go and read it!
You can also check out Laughing in Purgatory on Facebook.
Related post: Christians rock too!
Posted on May 14, 2013, in Christianity, Creationism, Fundamentalism and tagged Chick tract, Christian rock, Creationism, Evolution, Geoff Moore, Mötley Crüe, music. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
Leaving Fundamentalism 
Nice guest-post Jonny. You have creationism covered from all angles! I remember, Even when I was a creationist I was embarrassed by ‘Big Daddy’. I managed a Christian bookstore and would not allow it to be stocked in my store.
I remember this! Shame I never saw the music video, though.
You might enjoy my “Big Daddy is Dead.”
http://bigdaddydies.blogspot.com/
It is a frame by frame debunking. It is a “work in progress.” I have just about finished Frame 7. Kent Hovind was essentially a co-author with Jack Chick in this, so there is a lot of lies to work through.
Jonny, Wow. This is a mind-blower for a raised-secular guy like me. I had a vague idea this stuff was probably out there, but I had never seen it. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry to clog up your comments, but I’ve just watched this video again in the cold light of morning. I can’t help but over-think it. Here’s what I’m thinking, with apologies for sounding pomo: This video does more than just repeat themes of anti-evolutionism. It also mimics the hopeless anti-authoritarianism Jonny mentioned in “Smokin in the Boys’ Room.” I came to know that song in its 1980s Motley Crue incarnation, not the 1970s original. In the Motley Crue version, at least, part of the refrain says, “Everybody knows that smokin ain’t allowed in school.” In the video, the quest of the protagonist is not to overcome or overthrow the school regime, only to find some refuge, some space in the interstices of school authority. By building a parallel anti-authoritarianism into its video, I wonder if Geoff and the Distance are inadvertently acknowledging the mainstream authority of evolution. That is, if “Evolution Redefined” grasps for the hip street cred of anti-authoritarianism, does it also cede the mainstream authority to evolution itself?
Too much caffeine, I know, and too much attention to a video. But I think this switch to the voice of a beleaguered minority is very widespread among late twentieth-century creationists. And conservative evangelical Protestants in general. One of the costs of claiming minority rights is the loss of claims of majoritarian control.
I’m sure you’re right, Adam. I made a similar point in my other post, “Christians Rock Too“. Rock n’ roll has always carried a strong thread of rebellion. One of the reasons Christian rock struggles for credibility is the inherent tension between playing rock music and reinforcing conservative values. Many Christian rock bands try to argue that they are the true counterculture, by not going with the ‘mainstream flow’ of immorality and unchristian values.
I had some examples in that post, but I’m sure there are better ones I’m just not thinking of right now.
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