While these musicians aren't classified as Christian artists, their songs often feature biblical themes. Their Christian faith is at the heart of their music, and they aren't afraid to place it at the heart of each song. Many of us have sung their songs a million times without even knowing they had a Christian message. Here are four songs you probably didn't realize were Christian. If you doubt these songs are Christian or simply didn't know it, it may be time to take another listen. You'll hear the song in a whole new way.
"Are You Gonna Go My Way?" by Lenny Kravitz
I was born long ago / I am the chosen, I'm the one / I have come to save the day /, And I won't leave until I'm done / So that's why you've got to try / You got to breathe and have some fun / Though I'm not paid I play this game/And I won't stop until I'm done / But what I really want to know is / Are you gonna go my way?
Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way" is about Jesus Christ and how God gives us the choice to turn to Him. The song is a creative interpretation of Jesus' second coming, asking the listener if they are going to follow Jesus or not. Kravitz is a devout Christian, and he has written about his faith and included spiritual themes in his music throughout his career."Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot
Maybe redemption has stories to tell/ Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell / Where you can run to escape from yourself? / Where are you gonna go? / Where are you gonna go? / Salvation is here.
Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" is about the different stages of life and a Christian theme about how we stumble, particularly during challenging times in our lives. But God dares us to move and lift ourselves back up. Switchfoot began as a Christian band and frequently included faith themes throughout their music.
"You Found Me" by the Fray
Lost and insecure/ You found me, you found me / Lying on the floor / Surrounded, surrounded / Why'd you have to wait? / Where were you? Where were you? / Just a little late / You found me, you found me /
The group's faith is central in many of their songs. The concept for "You Found Me" was generated after the band's frontman, Isaac Slade, was thinking through why bad things happened to good people after seeing his friends dealing with crises in their lives. He explained: "It's about the disappointment, the heartache, the letdown that comes with life. Sometimes, you're let down; sometimes, you're the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust and who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I'm still right in the thick of it."
Slade continued, "There are some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so, and can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing and hoping in the unseen. Sometimes, the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually, they just looks black as night. This song is about that feeling and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."
"Until the End of the World" by U2
We ate the food, we drank the wine/ Everybody having a good time/ Except you/ You were talking about the end of the world.
U2's "Until the End of the World" is about the Last Supper, from Judas Iscariot's perspective, the apostle who betrayed Jesus. The lyrics describe a fictional dialogue between Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot, journeying from the breaking of bread to Judas' suicide after being overwhelmed by guilt. U2 has never shied away from expressing themes of faith in their music and is a powerful example of spirituality meeting beautiful music.
“Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today/To get through this thing called life/Electric word life, it means forever, and that's a mighty long time/, But I'm here to tell you, there's something else/The afterworld, a world of never-ending happiness.
The song opens with Prince sermonizing over a church organ. However, most people missed the religious message amid the lyrics about intimacy and purple bananas. The song is a plea to make the most of life without giving in to the devil’s temptations, enigmatically characterized as a “de-elevator” who’s trying to “bring us down.” For those on the path of righteousness, the afterworld is the reward, “a world of never-ending happiness where you can always see the sun, day or night.” Prince recorded songs that were more explicitly religious, including a jazz-funk Jehovah’s Witness concept album called “The Rainbow Children,” but he never made faith sound this much fun after this song.
The idea seems to be that secular songs with a religious theme are automatically terrible or don’t fit in the charts. As they say, the devil has all the best tunes. However, these songs are only a few examples of mainstream artists turning their faith into great pop songs.
