Christian Scharen
Brazos Press, 2011, 184 pp., $17.99
Readers (including me) applauded Scharen’s 2006 book One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God; but this time around in Broken Hallelujahs, he tackles a broader topic and seems to get lost in the process.
Scharen provides his goal up front: “We desperately need imagination that looks the brokenness of humanity and the groaning of creation straight in the face, but that also knows mercy and reconciliation have been offered by God in Christ.” While not finding much suitably imaginative music on the CCM charts, he does find it in the work of Leonard Cohen, selected hip-hop and blues artists.
Scharen argues “there is no truly or completely secular culture or arena of human life if you believe God is Creator of heaven and earth,” and he illustrates this thesis with artists from Arcade Fire to the Yardbirds.
The result is a book that is nearly always intriguing, yet is not always satisfying; but music buffs and students of pop culture may find Scharen’s insights helpful.
