Upon This Rock

Punk rock and Christianity. Can the two possibly go together, or is Christian punk simply an oxymoron? A group of three courageous young musicians are proving that the two can be compatible, and they are attracting a real storm of opposition on social media because of it. I interviewed Peter 118 at Creation Fest and featured them in a post called Jesus was a punk . It went viral, and a storm kicked off on Facebook. Many it seems, were outraged by the groups stand for Christ, and their no-compromise attitude in the face of overwhelming online abuse and criticism. But they still wanted to read more about this controversial trio.  Reading one particular Facebook thread about Peter 118 requires some fortitude because there is an angry, baying mob on there, and several of the comments come from those who patently aren't thinking too clearly about what they are typing. Those posting to the discussion page seem polarised by the band. Some comments are vitriolic, ad hominem at...

Remember the late 1970s? If you were around back then you'll know that punk was all everyone in the music industry was talking about. The Sex Pistols , Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (the photo on McLaren's Wikipedia site was taken by me) were being outrageous, and The Clash were tearing up the music rule book. Across the Pond, the New York Dolls and Iggy Pop  (so called 'Godfather of punk') were similarly disruptive. Punk rock was loud and basic, a distorted, fast moving and very aggressive form of music that captured the imagination of an entire generation of young people. The boundaries were blurred between the bands and their audiences, and it seemed as though anyone could join in. Punk overturned the acceptable norms and challenged conventions, because it was raw and honest, and it took no prisoners. Kids were angry about society, seeing injustice and corruption everywhere they looked, and they wanted their voices to be heard. But punk was more th...