NAR New Shiny New Object to Hate? Taylor Swift - By Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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Too often we are pressed into service regarding Rev. Wade's bombastic pontifications. We thought he had already hit bottom, but surprisingly, this screed is even lower. 

We can't emphasize enough that Rev. Wade puts these on his website under the heading, "devotionals:"

It's well past time we defined what a devotional is, because Rev. Wade clearly doesn't understand:

A devotional is a tool to help you grow in your relationship with God and others. It can be a Bible reading plan, a series of meditations, a liturgical exercise, or a daily selection of verses with a thoughtful essay...

Rev. Wade's "devotional" is completely devoid of Bible verses, Bible explanations, or Bible meditations. He's simply debating the meaning of the lyrics of a Taylor Swift song. He disagrees with someone about what they mean. That's it. That's the "devotional."

Astounding.

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The self-absorbed apostate church is at it again. I started noticing recently a full-frontal attack on America's darling Taylor Swift. Full disclosure, I am no Swiftie but I respect her efforts from a purely musical standpoint to create her own music in an age where talent has gone to die. While I find the old classic, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" absolutely hysterical from a lyrical standpoint, I actually do not know much of Ms. Swift's repertoire. I do know the repertoire of the NAR dominionist church however (Translation: Rev. Wade knows nothing about Taylor Swift but he hates the "NAR," so he's happy to defend Swift in order to attack the "NAR." He dismisses the influence of a secular artist who has sold millions of records because the "NAR" is eeeeevil.)

and I see very clearly when people try to leech off of someone else's celebrity to make themselves part of a story they had nothing to do with. (Irony alert. This "devotional" is also leeching off of Swift, and also Mr. Pruitt.)

I have ignored the first ten stories to recently appear on Charisma News but the above link stood out because there is nothing worse than people who do not understand lyrical content (Irony alert #2.)

to read a song and assume it must be about them when it actually has nothing to do with them. That is the narcissism of wannabe church leaders. (Irony alert #3.)

Now, I know even less about Shane Pruitt than I do about Taylor Swift. (But he's more than happy to provide his ignorant opinion about both.)

Pruitt appears to be a youth-oriented evangelist and while I do not see anything reported as false, he does appear on CBN, a major red flag. Let us reason once more together beloved through the above linked article from Charisma News. (If only Rev. Wade would employ reason...)

'An evangelist who recently went viral for his critical response to pop star Taylor Swift's latest album is explaining his commentary and why he's encouraging Christian parents to be more discerning. "I'm not an anti-Taylor guy," Shane Pruitt told CBN News. "I'm [a] pro-Gospel guy."' - Charisma News

Please understand that the reason for the Tweet from Pruitt was to go viral. (Does Rev. Wade write his "devotionals" with the hope that no one will read them?)

That is to be expected when you openly criticize the most recognizable and popular person on the planet. (We can't have that!! The brazenness of "openly" criticizing Swift! That crosses the line and should not be allowed. Rev. Wade is her enforcer and defender, and he will tell us what is appropriate.)

This is also what makes the criticism so disingenuous. If you want to encourage parents to be more discerning, start by discerning the churches they go to and the preachers they follow. (Rev. Wade assumes that this isn't happening. He's sure that parents are derelict in their duties. All of them. They are wasting their time on Swift when they should be focused on the church.

If Swift is the most popular person on the planet she most certainly carries influence. Why is it not appropriate to scrutinize that influence? And why must we choose between examining churches and preachers and examining Swift? The two tasks are not mutually exclusive.)

Start by encouraging them to never tune into CBN for example. Instead, Pruitt tweeted recently regarding some of the lyrical content on Swift's new album, declaring it "anti-Christian."

'Disclaimer, I'm definitely not the minister or parent that has the "no secular music" stance. Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers. HOWEVER, there is a difference between being secular, and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN. For example, here a few lyrics from Taylor Swift's new album:

? "But daddy I love him / I just learned these people only raise you / To cage you / Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutchin' their pearls, sighing, "What a mess" / I just learned these people try and save you 'Cause they hate you"' - Shane Pruitt

Let us start with the premise that if she was speaking about church people then that should concern us because it speaks to how we are perceived by people on the outside. It is easy to say you are "pro-gospel" but if you are not pro-people, it is irrelevant. These lyrics however are not necessarily about Christians but rather about all judgmental people. (After previously claiming ignorance, Rev. Wade is suddenly an expert on Taylor Swift. He knows exactly what these lyrics mean, and he knows Mr. Pruitt is wrong.)

You see the one thing Shane Pruitt apparently forgot to do is any research. (In fact, Mr. Pruitt is stupid. But Rev. Wade didn't do any research either because he claimed he didn't know anything about Swift, but now he blasts away at Mr. Pruitt's apparent ignorance.

This actually boils down to a simple difference of opinion. But Rev. Wade is right and Mr. Pruitt is stupid. This is the way Leftists argue. We have known for some time that Rev. Wade is a Leftist, so it doesn't surprise us when he uses Leftist rhetorical tactics.) 

I assume he knows that Swift has been dating Kansas City Chief's tight end, Travis Kelce. It seems that not everyone was happy with this union. Mr. Kelce had some tweets resurface from many years ago that were less than favorable about women, and heavy-set women especially. So, a lot of people who claimed to be fans, in other words, who raised Swift up, then tried to cage her with their beliefs and opinions regarding Kelce. I am sure some were self-pronounced Christians as well, hence the reference to Sarahs and Hannahs, because Swift was raised Christian. (This is an astonishing display of speculation, inference, pulling things out of thin air, and guesswork.)

The referent to "save" however does not appear to be a Christian reference. (Oh, but he was so sure just a few sentences ago. But now it's something that "does not appear." What happened to that smug certainty, Rev. Wade?)

Just people imploring her to break up with Mr. Kelce.

'? "God save the most judgmental creeps / Who say they want what's best for me / Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see / Thinkin' it can change the beat / Of my heart when he touches me / And counteract the chemistry / And undo the destiny / You ain't gotta pray for me / Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy / If all you want is gray for me / Then it's just white noise, and it's just my choice"' - Shane Pruitt

We see here the direct tie into what I am saying. It is interesting that she pleads for God to actually save those that are so judgmental, as if they were going to change how she feels about Kelce. As if their opinions will change the chemistry they have or the destiny they may have. As if what they say matters more than what she feels in her life. The reference to not praying for her is a direct response to some who said they were praying for her to break up with Mr. Kelce. (But. But. Rev. Wade, you just wrote that it "does not appear to be a Christian reference." Now we're talking about praying for people?

Ok, let's take stock of where we are. Rev. Wade is debating the meaning of a Taylor Swift song. That's what he's writing about. It's important to him that we understand what this song means. It's also important that an "NAR" pastor is wrong about what her song means.

This is Rev. Wade's "devotional." 

We are coming to the end of our endurance.)

"  Are you sensing the point Shane? She is just not that into you. This has very little to do with being anti-Christian and everything to do with telling off the critics of her love life. The wild boy is Kelce, known for being very outgoing and a partier.

'? "What if I roll the stone away? / They're gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?"' - Shane Pruitt

Swift is known for multiple layers to her lyrical content. I find it interesting that she chooses to use biblical imagery but I am relatively sure to her it is just imagery, probably from her upbringing in church. Given the context of the lyrics however, rolling the stone away is obviously ending her relationship with Kelce. She is basically saying here that even if she gave in to these critics, they would more than likely still be critical, or "crucify her." Not the language believers would use but as Pruitt is fond of pointing out here, unbelievers going to act like unbelievers. The reference to the way you hold me is essentially just saying that shouldn't "love" be what is righteous and not this judgmentalism. Certainly not biblical but not anti-Christian as Pruitt accuses here. Let us not lose sight of the fact that we should be expecting biblical accuracy from Taylor Swift as I do not think that was her goal in writing her songs.

'? "The smallest man who ever lived / I would've died for your sins"' - Shane Pruitt

Dear Lord. Shane Pruitt cannot be this obtuse. I invite you to google the full lyrics for this song, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived." This is one of the things I absolutely loathe about Christians who try to analyze secular music. To take these 12 words out of the context of the whole song to give the illusion that it is anti-Christian is intellectually criminal. CLEARLY, this song is about another ex-boyfriend of Ms. Swift, who is renowned for writing such songs. She is referring to that ex as the smallest man whoever lived throughout the lyrics. The reference to dying for his sins is just Swift saying that she would have excused his lousy behavior but instead she ended up "dying inside." Now, if you want to be critical of her using the term that is fine but we do not get to pretend that she did so as some kind of stance against Christians. It was a stance against the ex, period. In ironic fashion, Pruit concludes the tweet:

"In transparency I used to listen to Taylor, HOWEVER I think now it's time to reconsider. As Christians, who are filled with the Spirit should we be entertained by, sing with, and expose our kids to lyrics that aren't just different than what you believe, but are actually mocking what you believe?" - Shane Pruitt

Really. First of all, (There will be no "second of all") 

if you are a hypocritical person, posing as a Christian, then maybe some of what Swift does is mocking. In a recent documentary she was quoted as saying that though she was raised Christian, she does not see Christ in the political mess that poses as Christianity today. Guess what? She is right. It is sad when Taylor Swift is more discerning about the NAR than the average churchgoer. The ironic part though is the pearl clutching by Pruitt over exposing our kids to lyrics different than what we believe. So, let's try these on for size: (Having taken offense at Mr. Pruitt for criticizing Swift's lyrics, Rev. Wade ironically moves right on to criticize other lyrics...)

So we are his portion and he is our prize

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking

So heaven meets earth

Like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest

And I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about

The way that he loves us - "How He Loves Us"

I lay my head on Your heart

Take me to Your chambers, lead me by the hand

I can't keep my eyes off You

I can't keep my eyes off You - "How I love You"

You didn't want heaven without us

So Jesus, You brought heaven down - "What a Beautiful Name"

I assume Shane Pruitt has no problems with these (Rev. Wade has no idea about Mr. Pruitt's preferences, yet he uses this assumption to further impugn him.)

yet they do far more damage to Christian youth than Taylor Swift could ever do. (See what's happening? Rev. Wade drags in these lyrics as if Mr. Pruitt is negligent for not criticizing them and is therefore wasting his time criticizing Swift's lyrics. He somehow knows that Mr. Pruitt doesn't have time to waste on Swift, that he is only capable of doing one thing at once, and that he should be dealing with what Rev. Wade considers important instead. Rev. Wade presumes to dictate what Mr. Pruitt should be writing about, which should be the sorry state of Christian lyrics.

Astonishing arrogance.)

That is because these pose as Christian lyrics. (Rev. Wade insists his off-topic preferences need to be dealt with.)

What do they teach us as we sing them over and over again in church? That we are God's portion and not the other way around? That we are so special because hey, look how much He loves us! That Jesus wants to lead us by the hand into His chambers or that He is giving the earth a sloppy wet kiss? You shouldn't feel like you need a shower after worshipping. Or that we are so special, that the creator of the universe just didn't want heaven without us. (Yeah, yeah. Rev. Wade continually brings up these particular songs over and over again. Get over it, dude.)

Yet we are concerned that a secular music artist used Christian imagery to speak badly about her ex-boyfriend or that she called out hypocrites for criticizing her current boyfriend. We need to get over ourselves. There is a world going to hell and we are dithering over out of context lyrics from Taylor Swift instead of all the out of context scriptures being used to sell the NAR dominionist worldview. Love Swift or hate her, she is not the enemy beloved. (Everybody should be doing what Rev. Wade thinks they should be doing. To him it's a trifling thing that millions of teenage girls are listening to Swift as compared to the questionable lyrics of a worship song written 15 years ago.

Every single Christian writer and pastor ought to be doing this one thing. No one should waste time on this secular stuff. Rev. Wade knows better than you.)