One of the benefits of being a snotty atheist as a teenager was that I had very little exposure to the world of Contemporary Christian Music. I couldn’t help but feel bad for a Christian friend of mine who listened almost exclusively to bad Christian knock-offs of secular bands. Although my older sister, who is a charismatic of sorts, once took me, with the best of intentions I’m sure, to a Petra concert. I think she thought I would like them because they were supposed to be “hard rock.” As a sign of Nietzschean rebellion I wore a Metallica t-shirt.

Anyway, in recent years I have come to appreciate certain Christian artists. In particular I’ve become a fan of Jars of Clay, who I see are streaming some tracks from their forthcoming album, Good Monsters, which is to be released on September 5th. Their last two albums Who We Are Instead and Redemption Songs were very good, so I have high hopes.