[thesteve]

Originally Posted by Mattlock

I thought Re:Think was owned by Sparrow...

was it? I don't know. I know they were distributor for Switchfoot, but I wasn't sure if they were related.

[Jeffrey]

Part of the issue is that an artist signing to a Christian label is therefore publicly associating themselves or at least the main forces of the project (as was the case with Ninety Pound Wuss, I believe, where the core members were believers) with the core tenets of the Christian faith. I may not agree with the artistic or social merit of artists on Forefront, Sparrow, BEC, what have you (for argument's sake, I am not condemning those bands), but I can safely assume they have on some trustworthy level evidenced faith in Christ.

There are exceptions (POD comes to mind, and certainly Phillips, Craig, and Dean, whose members are Oneness pentacostals though that doesn't come up too often in the music from what I can tell), but these exceptions prove the rule.

When a secular artist claims Christ, it requires a bit more to earn my trust. It's easy to associate with Christ and talk about connections to your faith in the early stages of your career (Evanescence comes to mind), but what about when album two or three role around? This isn't a dig on The Fray (what I've read has impressed me), but it's all about discretion.

If I meet a stranger in the aisles of K-Mart who tells me they're a Christian, am I wrong to be more wary than I would a stranger I meet in the pews of a Bible-believing church, who points out their name in the bulletin under one of the ministries when I ask about their involvement?

Do we fall into the trap of wanting so badly to be able to lay to claim secular artists as public figures who are members of the kingdom that we assume the best of every secular artist who associates with Christ?

On a site like CGR, sooner or later there have to be rules, and rules can occasionally leave bad tastes in some mouths. But they're there for order, and are open to polite debate. I for one don't like that there are certain topics that can only be lightly discussed in Advice (though I see they're becoming more lenient and better policed by mods there), but I understand that it is a rule in place.

CGR claims to be Christian Guitar resources, and when listed for sale has played up its association with the Christian music industry. I think it's safe to only include artists with clear ties to Christian labels in their past or present incarnation. Exceptions should be debated in the Christian music forum with mod involvement before their albums are listed in the database.

Who knows, we may do that for The Fray, and end up keeping this. But I would rather respect their wishes and not kept them in a database associated with the Christian scene.

[earlessdog]

There will be no CD review for The Fray unless there is hard evidence that they profess to be a christian band not christian members in a secular band. Thread closed.
Any questions, please feel free to pm me.