ABSTRACT
The connection between rock 'n' roll and Christian rock is right there in the name: Christian rock is a subcategory of rock, just like heavy metal and all the other subgenres and variants. Rockers themselves drift toward the sacred: Jerry Lee and Elvis, among many others, made gospel records. Little Richard embraced evangelical Christianity as early as 1957. When one considers the history of evangelical Christianity and rock 'n' roll, the immediate images that come to mind are of Southern teenagers burning Beatles records in response to John Lennon's brilliantly ironic, and totally self-deprecating, 1966 statement about the group being bigger than Jesus. Much of the Christian lifestyle is a rejection of the secular culture. Any one engaged in a good faith discussion of American culture should be deeply concerned that the Christian lifestyle considers the secular humanist elements in US culture to be mere "garbage".
