This image is my CREATE portion on a recent article I published here at OJCCC.  To visually represent the emphasis music has on religious experience, I used Derek Webb’s “Spirit Vs. the Kick Drum” song to create a new icon for the American Church. Icons are prevelant in Eastern Orthodox culture and the circle around Jesus’ head is a reference to His diety. I used an image of a kick drum to visually convey the confusion of what happens when emotional manipulation through music confuse religious experience.

My hope is that this image is jarring.  I hope it causes people to think.  I think images can be one of the most powerful ways to cause action.  Rather than use any specific artist to make my point, I figured that if I just used a drum to alter the perspective of Christ that it would make people think less about the individuals producing the music and more about the music itself.  I hope this image gives visual representation to the dangers that manipulation can bring.

Let me know what you think.