So, if you listen to Top 40 radio, chance are you’ve heard Mackelmore’s newest song – The Same Love.
It’s a lyrically interesting song, for sure. And Mac, if I may refer to him as such, makes some good points.
- We’re all God’s children
- Stereotypes are bad
- Preaching hate, especially from the pulpit, is always wrong
- Americans, as a general rule, have a hard time with things they don’t know/understand
Had he left it to these few claims, he would have had a good case for his argument.
But no.
Here is the lyric that drives me the most bonkers:
The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing God, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don’t know
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago
I don’t know
A quick Google search or fact check would lead you to the fact that, no, the Bible wasn’t written 3,500 years ago. Parts of the Old Testament most likely were, but not the whole Bible itself.
Now you might be saying, “Jared, quit being so nit picky, he’s trying to make a point.” Yes, he is trying to make a point. However, if his point has merit, it should be able to stand on its own two feet. It shouldn’t need to be embellished, or in same cases, outright falsified.
I had the same problem with a video I stumbled on to called “Hey Jesus Culture, Jesus Is Not a Chick”.
I won’t waste my time proving that the lyric is clearly, “my heart is enlarged for you” (see http://www.jesusculture.com/media/albums/Lyrics-for-Jesus-Culture-with-Martin-Smith-Live-from-New-York.pdf).
I had several discussions with Todd, and could never get him to admit that at best he was being misleading with his video, and at worst it was an outright lie. Never mind the fact that the relationship with the Church is described throughout the New Testament as that of Husband and wife. Facts – they always seem to get in the way.
A (potential) lie told to prove a point. If the point is so strong, why include false evidence to back it up / make it stronger?
If a point / argument is valid, it should be able to stand on its own two feet, whether you’re trying to argue the validity of homosexual love or prove that Jesus Culture is in love with Jesus Christ.