Keeping God in the American Culture as Depicted in the Audio Adrenaline Song, Can't Take God Away

Beginning in the 1980's, religious fundamentalists and some parents' groups have waged a persistent campaign to limit the variety of cultural messages available to American youth by attacking the content of some of the music industry's creative products. These attacks have taken numerous forms, including a call by

Since the founding of America, there has been concern with the church manipulating government. The separation of Church and State was to make sure the church did not become more powerful than government. In spite of wanting a separation of church and state, The United States of America became one nation under God. The earliest test of the separation of church and state with respect to education is McCollum versus Board of Education. This was a landmark case the United States Supreme Court in 1948 ended the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction. “The court case which prohibited the state from sponsoring specific prayers in public schools was Engel v. Vitale, decided in 1962 by an 8-1 vote.” (Cline p) It is unconstitutional to compose a school prayer and make students repeat it daily. Although these cases protect our religious freedoms, there is some fear that expelling God from public school has adverse effects. God can still be present; teachers can lead by example and teach behaviors and ethics that

This song is a wakeup call for America to set a better example for the next generation. People are hurting other people. Some are paranoid of what will happen next. Life should not be scary, but there are people afraid to walk out and be among the chaos. Everybody is against one another, and they are not willing to compromise. “It’s time we stop” and look at what we are doing and what has become of us. There are wars for ignorant reasons, there are people hurting, there are innocent children watching, WAKE UP AMERICA! The riots and wars are not worth all of this pain and suffering.

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

The voice of the song is very serious. However, there is also a sad voice in there too. “In Thirty Three in Germany when Hitler came to play, Liberty was gradually eroded day by day. Till they gassed and shot deserters. While the decent people cowered, And thought the things they never dared to say.”

Music is an inseparable element of Black life and therefore Black worship. The Black Church understands worship to be a communal act of adoration towards God that may involve praise or petition via song, dance, music (use of instruments), recitation, meditation, chanting, and or prayer (Mason, 2016). According to James Cone, Black music is unity music because it unites…the hope and despair;…and it moves the people towards the direction of total liberation; and confronts the individual with the truth of black existence and affirms that black being is possible only in the communal context (p. 5). It is with this understanding that black people worship through music and without this understanding worship and music are diluted. J. Wendell Mapson articulated this idea in his book, The Ministry of Music in the Black Church, when he noted that purpose of worship is forfeited when singing music that has no relationship to everyday life, and the worshipper becomes disconnected from the way music and worship have historically served blacks (41). In this same vain, James Cone asserted that Black music is theological because it reveals how God moves people towards unity and self-determination.

Southern traditions are considered to be very static and unchanging. Additionally, this line reveals the importance of religion in the South. People in the South feel pretty strongly about religion because it is the main premise of their guiding morals. This song is a nice way to sum up the main themes of being “Southern.” They could be described as tradition, self-reliance, moral values, religion, and the importance of the place.

The subject of God is rarely talked about in modern society compared to traditional times because like in Kanye West’s song, Jesus Walks, “ If I talk about God my record won’t get played.” The unknown in society is scary to people which connects to the denial that God exists. As well as, the continuation of the inner human struggles. It is hard to look down at the world, and believe there is a God with all the evil in the world. In contrast, Kanye West declares that people are constantly at war with their environment, and believes the root of all conflict lies internally. A rap song that talks about God but has references to terrorism and racism which are both conflicts that this modern society deals with. The four-minute music video is a collection of stories of reprehensible characters; crafted into a modern biblical visual to signify the inner and outer conflicts of mankind.

The song could help them feel like they are closer to freedom, even if that mean going to heaven or Canada.

This song represent the ninth amendment because he should allow to have his privacy even though it is not written in the Constitution.

This song implies that individual’s are violating the norms and values of society. They start the song with a verse that expresses

All faith-based hymns were not necessarily peaceful and loving, however; ballads such as “God Save the South!” by R.S.A. proclaimed the South’s divine right to succession with lyrics such as

In the introduction of the song the culprit questions his life and the choices he has made. But the truth is that we cannot close our eyes and forget about our actions; evil or good. We must deal with the consequences

They are a prime example of how life might look when something is missing, but the induvial cannot figure out what it is that is missing. A Christian can easily point out that Christ is the missing element. Again, it largely depends on the individual how the details of the conversation might unfold. Examining their heart and their life can be helpful. Furthermore, it is easy to find at least one idol tucked away. An idol is anything which takes center stage in God’s place. Personally, I find that music can be helpful because it can allow a pause in the conversation. The lyrics can convict an individual and can allow them the time they need to think without silence feeling awkward. Jimmy Needham phrased idolatry perfectly, “Anything I want with all my heart, can't stop thinking of is an idol, or give all my love is an idol” (Clear The Stage, 2012). Clear the Stage, by Jimmy Needham can be used with “The Lottery” to examine idolatry and sin.

In John Van Sloten’s The Day Metallica Came to Church, he takes a seemingly unholy, non-Christian, however you want to say it, aspect of life, in this case the band Metallica, and make an argument for why even it is God glorifying. Metallica is a very popular heavy metal band that on the surfaces seems like it has absolutely nothing to do with God or the church. Van Sloten however, finds a way to argue they have a lot more to do with God than a lot of people, even the band itself, thinks. So much so to deliver a sermon on it in his church in Calgary. This sermon and idea also lead to this book on which he extends his ideas about Metallica to several other aspects of life that we often keep separate from God. We as Christians like to live compartmentalized