“Listen” by Sent By Ravens, Saturday, October 15, 2022

Sent By Ravens released two LPs on Tooth & Nail Records before going on an indefinite hiatus ten years ago. When fewer and fewer of their label mates claimed to be a Christian Rock band, Sent By Ravens fully embraced the genre. The band’s name comes from 1 Kings 17:6 when the prophet Elijah fled to the wilderness under threat of death from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. According to the story, Elijah was fed by ravens carrying bread to him. 

YOUR WORDS WON’T ALWAYS BE GRACEFUL. Sent By Raven’s second record Mean What You Say is a response to hate hidden behind the mask of Christian rhetoric, specifically Westboro Baptist Church, the hate group that protests funerals in order to gain attention and condemn others they see who are not living to the standards of God as dictated through their narrow reading of the scriptures.  As so many Christian Rock bands broke up or changed their worldview, Mean What You Say examines the state of Christianity in early ‘10s. This was a time before mainstream Christianity was completely intertwined with right-wing politics, but there were certainly clues of what would happen. Groups like Westboro Baptist Church were seen as fringe groups, but the mainstream of Christianity was starting to look more and more extreme as attitudes towards race, gender, and sexuality were changing. Reacting to televangelists and mega church pastors is as old as Christian Rock itself. Stryper and Audio Adrenaline and others were subjects of sermons and wrote songs against whom they called false prophets. “Listen” is a song about the failures of a mega church pastor. He has lost sight of the central message he preaches, the love of God. The song serves as a warning that after the preacher’s death, the institution that he founded too will die. 

WHEN WILL YOU LISTEN? Since my blog has been on such a Christian Rock kick lately, and to be honest I blog about Christian Rock a lot, I decided to start a playlist of songs that I find spiritual. I didn’t want to exclude “secular” songs, though. My beliefs have developed over the years, so I wanted to include some of the tracks that fit my spiritual journey. This playlist is nowhere near comprehensive. I only added tracks working back until May. I might finish it later. I intended this playlist to be something that I could play when I wanted to think about God or existence. I hope that these songs help you in some way. Here’s the playlist:

Listen to “Spiritual” on Spotify

Read the lyrics on Genius.



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