“Do you believe that Jesus died in the sense that if you had been there that day, you could have rubbed your finger on the cross and got a splinter in it?”

–Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There

I read that simple, elegant question as a senior in high school, and it’s stuck with me for almost seven years now. How profoundly that illustrates the unique historical revelation of the Gospels; instead of revealing himself through a lengthy vision or message that could only be seen/translated by one lucky individual, God showed up on earth to be seen, heard, even touched by anyone who was able. The disciples’ letters in the New Testament often reaffirm this sensory proof; 1 John refers to “[t]hat which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched.”

They saw a man walking over the deep sea; they saw the blind and lame healed; but most importantly, they saw a dead man–dead from an extremely thorough, conclusive form of murder–alive, still sporting his wounds but eating and drinking, walking and talking. Their insistence upon claiming they sensed these things led virtually all of them to a life of constant persecution and eventually execution.

It’s with that in mind that I present the end result of my obsession with Schaeffer’s question, “I Could Get a Splinter,” a song that’s far too serious for me, given all the anti-hipster hipster cred I’ve built up with constant sarcasm and above-it-all potshots. I hope that this song, as well as its B-side, “Who Could Have Known,” help you feel a little bit of wonder at the Incarnation and how God became a man so that we could be forgiven for constantly choosing our self-destructive autonomy over his perfection. (more…)

When we find ourselves in difficult times, it is easy for us to lose hope…to wonder “why?”…to want to give up the fight.  But every now and then, when we least expect it, God shows up in a big way to let us know He is with us and is in control…always…and I am reminded of these lyrics from the song “Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crowns:  “…as the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain, ‘I’m with you’…”

On the morning of 1 July 2011…that “whisper became a shout.”

What started out as a regular weekly spotlight on one of our great culture warriors at BigDawg Music Mafia – this time on the amazing music of our good friend Chip Murray, a truly gifted singer/songwriter who also happens to be a delightful, down-to-earth blogger – has turned out to be so much more.   We are reminded not only of God’s incredible Grace, but we are also reminded of the sacrifices of our fallen brothers and sisters that enable us to celebrate our freedom.   May this story–Chip’s story–lift your spirits and give you hope.

It is a pleasure and an honor to introduce our friend, Chip Murray.

Chip’s Biography:

Chip got his first guitar (a Stella) at the tender age of 13.  It may have been a cheap guitar, but he quickly found it to be a great tool of expression and a very cool way to connect with people.  Growing up in the turbulent 60’s, the guitar became his life raft and steady friend through the whitewaters of adolescence…. And while the rest of the world seemed to be finding themselves, making their marks and staking their claims, he was tasting the silent sweetness of nowhere.  And yet, by 35 he had lived everywhere from Boulder to Reseda, to Morgan City and the Houston suburb of Bacliff.  He lived, worked, loved, fought, and danced with “the people” on every coast of this great land.  He became one of them, assimilating their culture by inhaling their music and stories into his heart and soul… “Gone Wishin‘,” the debut CD from his band Cavern was his first public “exhale” and but a glimpse of what’s inside.  From “Devil in Me” to “Deja Vu Blues,” Gone Wishin’ is a metaphor for our journey from the darkness to the light….and after “we rest on the wind, we’ll come right back to our mothers again.”- Gibran. (more…)

Gary Eaton and Shelli Eaton, the talented songwriters behind Retracto’s theme song, have penned a fabulous tune based around a phrase I use to describe the incessant water-carrying done by the left: administration fellation. They’re a fantastic band, an amalgam of alt-country and rock’n'roll and I’m hoping that they start selling their music so I can buy it, I enjoy their sound that much.

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From Baseball Crank, a very insightful look at why Bruce Springsteen’s been able to hold on to the affection of many conservatives even with his open political support of liberal causes and politicians; and what distinguishes the Boss from those entertainers who can’t.

Baseball Crank:

When New Jersey’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, was sworn into office, he chose to celebrate at his inauguration by joining a Bruce Springsteen cover band in singing the Boss’ signature anthem, ‘Born to Run’. Governor Christie hails from Bruce’s home state of New Jersey, and his zealous Springsteen fandom is perhaps unusually dedicated for a politician. But it also symbolizes a paradox: while Springsteen has long been open about his left-wing political views and has hit the campaign trail for the last two Democratic presidential candidates, he remains enduringly popular with a broad segment of conservatives and Republicans. In part, that’s for the obvious reason: Bruce is a rock legend with a ton of fans, so we should be unsurprised that he would have fans of every political persuasion. It’s also partly demographic; Bruce’s fans tend to be disproportionately white and, increasingly, older, and those are more conservative groups than the population at large. But my own anecdotal sense is that Bruce’s fanbase is – if anything – more conservative-leaning than you would explain by those factors alone, and certainly not markedly more liberal. Speaking as a conservative and a longtime Springsteen diehard, let me offer some theories as to why that is. This is not an essay dedicated to claiming Springsteen for the Right, or arguing that he’s unwittingly some sort of crypto-conservative, although I do note at a few points conservative themes in his writing and his life. Rather, my argument is that the things that appeal to fans of Bruce Springsteen and his music are, quite logically, most appealing to conservatives.

Generally, we conservatives have pretty low expectations, politically, for our pop-culture icons. We understand that most of them don’t agree with us on politics or policy. So, what we look for are artists who have some tolerance and respect for us, some themes in common with our worldview, and sometimes being one of the good guys on something. Bruce delivers on all counts.

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Sounds as though Crow did nothing more than to add fascist, left-wing talking points to every other flat, tuneless song Ms. One-Square-of-Toilet-Paper’s ever written.

Is the title, “Say What You Want,” meant to be ironic? Because in it she calls for Sarah Palin’s microphone to be unplugged. A so-called artist advocating for the silencing someone is … well, refreshingly honest!

According to this site, here are the full lyrics to Crow’s “Say What You Want”:

You used two squares today
You’re supposed to wipe your bum this way
That’s why I smell like ass every day
And can’t hold on to a man no way

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For the Fourth of July, we asked a few of our contributors to wrap a couple hundred words around a specific piece of popular culture that they felt best defined the day. That series will run throughout today, so in-between barbecues, parades, horseshoes and fireworks, be sure to come on back for a look. My pick was easy, and I have to admit I worried someone else would choose it. But I also have to admit that I don’t have a few hundred words for this one: 

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There’s simply no way to adequately express what it means to hear Ray Charles sing “America the Beautiful.” And in this clip Brother Ray did so in 1971 at the height of the anti-war movement on what was then the “hippest” show on television.

Talk about subversive.

God bless The United States of America.

God bless The Genius of Soul.

Big Hollywood has already posted a couple disturbing videos of young school children singing/speaking praises to President Obama, but when eleven more dropped in our email box it came as quite a shock. What seemed like an aberration now appears to be a troubling pattern. 

Maybe “epidemic” is a better word.

Each one of the videos below is creepier than the last because the further down you go, the younger the children — brace yourself for kindergartners –  except for the last and most disturbing video, which you have to see to believe.

Young captive minds, easily influenced, eager for direction, enlisted into a cult of personality focused on an individual who, other than being the first black president, has yet to accomplish anything of significance. 

But Obama’s skin color has nothing to do with this. Does anyone interested in retaining their merit badge for intellectual honesty really want to argue that Condi Rice or J.C. Watts would’ve spawned a dozen-and-counting tribute videos?

This is about brainwashing our children into Leftist identity politics. Sure, the schools can argue that they had some kind of parental permission — which, if true, is somehow even more disturbing — but who even considers doing something like this with young minds? That’s a rhetorical question.   (more…)

I wrote “Brothers in Arms” two hours after seeing Jake Rademacher’s “Brothers at War.” Gary Sinise had set up a screening for a few folks in town and I popped down not knowing what I was in for.

Much has been written about the merits of this film at Big Hollywood and I can only echo the sentiments. As someone who has spent time with our troops overseas, “Brothers at War,” is an honest window into the reality of our soldiers and their families. A view to often obscured and agendized by our culture.

I didn’t know Jake at the time and had no thought of writing anything that would appear in the movie. I was inspired by what I saw and the song wrote itself.

The final master, now the end title, is the piano/vocal I cut in my living room that evening, accompanied by a string arrangement we added after the fact. (more…)