"Leaving Eden" by Brandon Heath

Okay, so confession of the year: I don't listen to much Christian music. I don't know who many artists are these days in that field. my heart belongs to Relient K, Jack Johnson, City & Colour, Jason Mraz, and especially Mumford & Sons. That being said, KLOVE (our Christian radio station) is still on the presets in my car, so every once in a while, I'll listen to it. I like to listen to it while I'm on my way to church to get me in the mood, or sometimes I just need some encouragement, and it helps me a little.

So when I do listen to Christian music, I find that I like Brandon Heath. He has a few good songs that I've heard on the radio. However, one of his newest songs "Leaving Eden" really grinds my gears. I don't like it. I don't like the lyrics; I think the song itself is annoying.
Here are some of the lyrics:

(One more step away)
Headlines read like a warning, we're under attack
(One more step away)
I just waved to a stranger, he didn't wave back
(One more step away)

And if it weren't for my TV I wouldn't know what is real
(One more step away)
My doctor can't do a thing for how I feel

Feels like I'm leaving Eden
Feels like I'm leaving Eden

People are losing their homes to hurricanes
(One more step away)
Old lady living next door forgot her own name
(One more step away)

Teacher is hiding her Bible but at least she's got a job
(One more step away)
My local Salvation Army just got robbed, oh

Feels like I'm leaving Eden
Feels like I'm leaving Eden, oh
It's like I'm further away with every step I take
And I can't go back 'cause I'm leaving Eden

There are many reasons that I don't like this song. I think the main reason is that I think it's obvious that we're not in Eden. It's been thousands of years since Eden. Earth has pretty much always been sinful, and until Jesus comes back, it will always be sinful. Another reason this song bothers me, is that these problems are so surface-based. There are so many bigger issues that point out the fact that we're far away from Eden. Here's some examples:

1) "I just waved to a stranger, he didn't wave back" When I first heard this line I thought to myself "Woop-de-do." This happens to me every single day. And maybe that's Brandon Heath's point: that people are unfriendly. But also, we don't know their lives. Who knows what could have happened to that person this morning, yesterday or years ago to make them calloused so that they didn't want to wave back to a stranger.

2) "People are losing their homes to hurricanes" What about the billions of homeless people in the world? The people who don't have homes to begin with, the people living on the streets. I know it's devastating to loose your home, and I can't imagine never knowing what it's like to have a home, a roof over my head, a family to live with. But I don't think it takes a hurricane to realize that people don't have homes, and this is a pretty big signal that we're "leaving Eden."

3) "Teacher is hiding her Bible, but at least she's got a job." This may sound mean, but so what if you have to hide your Bible. Newsflash: we don't live in a Christian nation, nor do I think America should be a Christan nation (but that's a whole other can of worms). You're a teacher. You teach kids who  believe all sorts of things. If you're teaching them truth, then you're teaching them Truth, and it's true, and you're teaching them about God whether you're teaching straight from the Bible or not. Also, people in other nations will literally get killed if they have Bibles. Appreciate what you have.

In short, I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that we're far far away to what Eden was. However, if you're going to sing about it please choose problems that are real, big problems. I admit, some of these issues are big, and important... But I just thing there are more obvious ones to choose from. For example: Hunger, poverty, violence, etc.

fin