Overview

Why do many popular songs positively reference God if our culture is widely viewed as secular? Why is it a challenge to tell the Christian story when many say they are spiritual and believe in God? Why do we draw so much meaning from the popular songs we listen to? And might a deeper understanding of popular-music culture help us to explore the bigger stories we listen to throughout our lives, such as the Christian story? Primarily using Zygmunt Bauman's understanding of ""liquid modernity"" we look at the social forces that shape Western society and consider why, while many are looking for ""authentic,"" ontologically based stories to understand their life experiences, historic providers of the big stories that shape our lives, such as the church, favor a different, epistemological way of telling them. How do these different approaches to storytelling affect their reception and what insight might we draw from that? Whilst this book is written primarily with those in Christian ministry in mind, it will be of interest, too, to those who use music to explore life experiences through their work, who are interested in the social forces that shape society, or who simply enjoy listening to popular music.

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9781666711905

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Reviews

This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, intelligent, and lucid analysis of the significance of popular music in everyday life. As such, it is not simply another book about Christianity and contemporary culture. Rather, Restless is an important contribution to applied theology, popular music studies, and the sociology of religion. Of particular value is the engaging analysis of the relationship between popular music and identity construction. This is a fine study that deserves a wide readership. --Christopher Partridge, Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, United Kingdom This is a terrific book. I love the way David scrapes theological residue off the surface of popular music songs. He brilliantly shows how liquid moderns use cultural texts to construct meaning. His explanation as to why the church has not really read this landscape well even though it is ostensibly a restless spiritual quest makes good sense, as do his imaginative suggestions for playful engagement. --Jonny Baker, Director of Mission Education, Church Mission Society

"""This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, intelligent, and lucid analysis of the significance of popular music in everyday life. As such, it is not simply another book about Christianity and contemporary culture. Rather, Restless is an important contribution to applied theology, popular music studies, and the sociology of religion. Of particular value is the engaging analysis of the relationship between popular music and identity construction. This is a fine study that deserves a wide readership."" --Christopher Partridge, Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, United Kingdom ""This is a terrific book. I love the way David scrapes theological residue off the surface of popular music songs. He brilliantly shows how liquid moderns use cultural texts to construct meaning. His explanation as to why the church has not really read this landscape well even though it is ostensibly a restless spiritual quest makes good sense, as do his imaginative suggestions for playful engagement."" --Jonny Baker, Director of Mission Education, Church Mission Society"

This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, intelligent, and lucid analysis of the significance of popular music in everyday life. As such, it is not simply another book about Christianity and contemporary culture. Rather, Restless is an important contribution to applied theology, popular music studies, and the sociology of religion. Of particular value is the engaging analysis of the relationship between popular music and identity construction. This is a fine study that deserves a wide readership. --Christopher Partridge, Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, United Kingdom This is a terrific book. I love the way David scrapes theological residue off the surface of popular music songs. He brilliantly shows how liquid moderns use cultural texts to construct meaning. His explanation as to why the church has not really read this landscape well even though it is ostensibly a restless spiritual quest makes good sense, as do his imaginative suggestions for playful engagement. --Jonny Baker, Director of Mission Education, Church Mission Society

"""This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking, intelligent, and lucid analysis of the significance of popular music in everyday life. As such, it is not simply another book about Christianity and contemporary culture. Rather, Restless is an important contribution to applied theology, popular music studies, and the sociology of religion. Of particular value is the engaging analysis of the relationship between popular music and identity construction. This is a fine study that deserves a wide readership."" --Christopher Partridge, Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, United Kingdom ""This is a terrific book. I love the way David scrapes theological residue off the surface of popular music songs. He brilliantly shows how liquid moderns use cultural texts to construct meaning. His explanation as to why the church has not really read this landscape well even though it is ostensibly a restless spiritual quest makes good sense, as do his imaginative suggestions for playful engagement."" --Jonny Baker, Director of Mission Education, Church Mission Society"

Author Information

David Gillard has been a vicar in the Church of England for over twenty years, is involved in theological education, and has a strong interest in both the missiology of the church and the importance of valuing our popular cultures.

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