I have grown to love Gungor. They are a very musically gifted band led by Michael and Lisa Gungor. I love the creativity and intentional quality that they add in a world where so much music is shallow and lacking depth. Many contemporary songs are musically written as just shells to carry forward some lyrics. The music lacks creativity and I found something different in Gungor. So I was disappointed to read this article this morning sharing quotes and snippets from the couple explaining their slide into disbelief (or maybe better, distrust) in the truth of the Word of God.
If you read the article then you are aware that they perceive the big issue to be a literal interpretation of Scripture versus an allegorical or moralistic interpretation of Scripture. But what I find ironic is that belief must precede action in the Christian faith. In other words, the moral life flows out of the reality of the Biblical narrative. If these are merely man made stories, then Scripture amounts to men telling men what to do to be better. And if that is what we believe then we are left with religion in terms of man seeking to be moral and pleasing to some deity.
Scripture, however, when understood in the historical and cultural context as revelation or the self disclosure of God, means something so profound, that it changes everything. If God has spoken in our history! If He took the time to reveal truth to us in our past, then this means that God is engaged in our lives.
As a student of God’s Word, I do not believe that Scripture exists primarily to tell us what do, how to behave, or how to be kind. It tells us who God is and who we are in light of His glory. Gungor reduces the Word to a bunch of nice moral lessons that exist to make us nicer.
I agree with the conclusion that we should be nicer! But, I take issue with the notion that the Word exists ONLY to tell us to be nicer. Scripture is the self-disclosure of Almighty God in human history through the writings of prophets and Holy Men. If we diminish the Bible to a bunch of good stories, we sideline God and make it all about us.
I do not intend to burn/delete all my Gungor music. They are gifted musicians, and God has given them amazing talent. I am not going to rant against them or criticize them for their honesty about their beliefs. But I did want to write to challenge this notion, that Scripture can be viewed as a bunch of good moral stories without any consequences.
The “T” in ReCAST stands for Truth. And it is my conviction and experience that when Scripture is taken as true revelation of God, it has the power to transform lives.
Yea it is a shame… I really like their music too but now can only see them as misguided people. To me, they seem to have gone off the deep end with some of their new thinking.