No, the band did not break up if that’s what you were thinking after reading my title.
However, the lead singer of the band caved on the most pressing issue of our day: homosexuality. For the past few days, Dan Haseltine has been on a twitter rant supporting gay love and gay marriage. Among dozens of posts the following:
“So many gay couples display more loving characteristics and healthy relationship practices than most traditional married couples….”
“I don’t think scripture “clearly” states much of anything regarding morality.”
Delight in Truth has followed Jars of Clay since they first came on the scene in 1995. I even went to their first tour when they opened for Michael W. Smith. Along the years they even produced hymn albums, but besides that, there was a constant move toward a crossover message in their music.
There was an underlying spiritual tone in the message, but looking back in retrospect I would not call it the gospel message. It was more of a fuzzy love message typeset on creative lyrics with an occasional scripture reference.
And now this. Haseltine has called into question the authority of Scripture on the issue of marriage.
This will disappoint lots of evangelicals who have been buying their music. Jars of Clay is already feeling it. The lead singer may have realized that this is public relations nightmare… he is asking on Twitter why Christian radio stations have pulled his songs.
As sad as this is, the Word of God stands true in predicting this exact development:
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Tim 4:3-5
The church is becoming compromised by sin and these are the fruits of this compromise.
The Bible is being questioned as outdated, unfair, and unsound.
At this rate of degeneration we need to seriously consider the words of Jesus: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8
Delight in Truth 
More than the marketing nightmare this will have is the nightmare on his soul. I am afraid for him. This certainly is a sign of false conversion and the problem of american christianity, soft, easily swayed. You should check this article out by a pastor that I think sums up this whole issue. http://redgracemedia.com/christian-civil-war/
Thank you for the link… a well written article and I fully agree that these ultra popular artists should disclose their statement of faith. We need to know what they believe so we will not let our young generation be swayed by false teaching.
America’s (Gay) Stamp of Approval !
Even Uncle Sam is behind universal GAYety with a new postage stamp glorifying Harvey Milk, a Jewish homosexual predator “attracted to boys aged 15-19,” according to WikiAnswers! (Also see Wikipedia.)
This global gaydom is even foretold in the Bible – predicted by Jesus (see “days of Lot” in Luke 17 and compare with Genesis 19).
And the Hebrew prophet Zechariah (14th chapter) says that during the same gay “days” ALL nations will come against Israel and fulfill the “days of Noah” at the same time (see Luke 17 again) – a short time of anti-Jewish genocide found in Zechariah 13:8 when two-thirds of all Jews will die.
In other words, when “gay days” have become universal, all hell will break loose!
Shockingly, the same “days” will lead to and trigger the “end of days” – and when they begin, human government will quickly wind down in just a few short years. For the first time in history there won’t be enough time for anyone to expect to live long enough to be able to attend college, have kids and grand-kids, save for and enjoy retirement, etc.
One final thought. The more we see gays “coming out,” the sooner Jesus will be “coming down”!
For more, Google or Yahoo “God to Same-Sexers: Hurry Up,” “Jesus Never Mentioned Homosexuality. When gays have birthdays…,” “FOR GAYS ONLY: Jesus Predicted…” and “USA – from Puritans to Impure-itans!”
If the group singer truly believes what he writes, he is blatantly rejecting Jesus Christ; there will be a time when Christ will not only reject, but punish those that reject The Truth.
Instead of uniting believers to worship our Lord, the group singer is making a pathetic effort to garner “thumbs up”, “likes” and crown himself with “coolness” by embracing “what is new and modern”. Yet worst is the net he is casting over the young and easily deceived to join him in his accepting homosexuality, twisting the Truth – and in doing so rejecting Jesus.
There is a stern warning in Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Unless the singer asks for forgiveness and repents, he will only wish he could “bite the dust”.
I think there’s somethin’ oxymoronic in the phrase “Christian entertainer”. The Bible teaches that we sing to worship God, give thanks to Him, rejoice, edify Him in our hearts… and sing to Evangelize. Prayer is powerful and our Lord can strengthen anyone, young or old, and not be led astray.
Christian entertainer… along those lines we have gay Christians. This is a growing movement and they have their theology figured out. Matthew Vines is an openly gay Christian speaker and LGBT activist, who put out a book defending the position that one can be gay and Christian at the same time while participating in a committed same sex relationship. All based on biblical arguments. Imagine that!
I believe that in his statement he also said he could see no evidence of a ‘slippery slope’ or words to that effect. It made me think of the article I had read just minutes before…
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/married-lesbian-trio-massachusetts-expecting-child-article-1.1765862
No slippery slope? Hmm..
Major yuk in that article when I read it. They willl soon want legal status! Such are the times we live in. Sad.
I left CCM a few decades ago, Delight, but I have heard of this band. As Tibi stated above this “is blatantly rejecting Jesus Christ.” The words of the Bible are clear on the issue of Homosexuality. There are so many different ways to excuse sin in our day. Every one of them leads to the denial of the Everlasting Word of God. Another one bites the dust, indeed.
It begs the question, how many of the CCM bands hold these kind of unbiblical beliefs? I am just so disappointed, because they were a main band on the CCM scene…
Good question, Delight. I can understand your disappointment. I remember the days when Christian bands would get almost nothing for their performance. I heard some of the best testimonies at those concerts. Those guys (and gals) were very talented and mostly long forgotten. I wonder what many of them ended up doing as they certainly couldn’t make a living or have a family on their incomes. There were a few exceptions in the early days, but not many.
I think it was longshoreman and serial ranter Eric Hoffer who stated what strikes me as an Iron Law of Human Aspiration: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” The old comic strip character, Howard the Duck, celebrated the grimness of the Second Law of Thermodynamics with his battle-cry, “Entropy, entropy all!”
Name a Christian college with any history to it and you’ll trace a path of spiritual decline, squandered purpose and compromised principles . . . and lots and lots of overpaid tenured professors. Why should a Christian band, any Christian band, be any different?
Only God’s Word endures, only His Spirit refreshes. Persecution and seeming failure work to keep us focused on them. So many of the vessels of clay into which God pours His purpose and power and very life rise on shaky legs to take on pretensions to being made of gold. Comforted by success, elated by acclaim, they lose their focus on what’s–no, Who’s!– real. In the end, these strained and overdriven vessels crack and burst and litter the landscape.
For just these reasons, I have the hardest time trusting other Christians implicitly or in letting other Christians trust me too quickly or deeply. We all mean well, but, boy oh boy, are we ever prone to messing each other up with our the remains of our fallen natures. My shields are up, always. My hopes in this life are high but my expectations are moderate to low.