there are two types of people in this world: those who give a rat’s who ray boltz is and those who don’t.

ok, so maybe there’s more than two types, because i happen to fall into the category of “knows ray boltz’s music, but wishes they didn’t…”. i assume that probably about 75% of the people who read this blog don’t have any clue who ray boltz is and the remaining 25% would know him if i mentioned a couple songs of his (thank you, the anchor holds, i pledge allegiance to the lamb, etc.).

for thos who don’t know, ray boltz is a beloved christian musician who rose to prominence in the late 80’s and early 90’s. fortunately, even in the apex of my love for christian music in the 90’s, i never fell into the ray boltz trap. his music is ultra-corny and is still prominently used and listened to by cheesy youth groups and middle-aged mullet-wearing people around the world. (notice the picture above and it will all make complete sense…)

in kevin max’s blog, in discussing the scrutiny he went through during a very public divorce several years ago, he alludes to the fact that ray boltz—the good ol’ beloved christian singer—came out of the closet this past week.

that’s right: ray’s gay.

now, let me be very clear. i’m not blogging about this to condemn ray boltz or make fun of the situation or anything like that. i discovered in the past few years that i’m not god, so it’s unnecessary for me to cast judgment on anyone. further, in this time of scrutiny for ray boltz within the christian subculture and music industry, i don’t need to pile on.

what i do find, though, interesting about this announcement is to see the impending reaction within the christian community. like i said, ray boltz is just a mullety step below jesus himself to a lot of people in the church, so i’m very interested to see the reaction. my assumption could very well be very wrong, but i’m afraid that as word gets around, pastors and leaders within the church are going to begin to publicly denounce the use of ray boltz’s music.

this brings up an intriguing point of conversation, but i would like to remove the issue of homosexuality. the issue of homosexuality as a sin is a debated topic amongst various christian groups, so let’s pick something that is 100% universally considered sinful: satan worship.

so, here’s the scenario: ray boltz or michael w. smith or steven curtis crapman chapman or fill in the blank with any other beloved christianese celebrity came out and said they became a satan worshipper. wait a minute, better yet, let’s say that billy graham came out and said he decided to become a satan worshipper. does this take away from the fact that they created music or preached sermons that were truthful and of christ? certainly it shouldn’t. truth isn’t negated by a future non-truth.

if i state that today that cars have wheels and then tomorrow state that flowers have teeth, does that change the fact that cars have wheels? absolutely not. certainly my credibility may be questioned, but truth is still truth.

the point i’m making here is that for anyone reading this that—god forbid—uses ray boltz’s music in their church or listens to his music for personal enjoyment, don’t quit just because you think gay people are going to burn in hell. we could go a long way in the church by affirming truth no matter the source. we can peacefully and cordially agree to disagree with this point and that point, but we can still affirm the fact that people we fundamentally disagree with can be sources of truth from time to time. i believe the bible is the story of the true god, but there’s plenty in the quran that is truthful. i believe that people who worship satan will be eternally separated from god, but, undoubtedly, we could find common points of agreement. when we write people off because we can’t agree on every little point of dogma, we do a disservice to the gospel and to the unifying spirit of christ.

so, i really don’t want to encourage you to go listen to ray boltz’s music, but hey, why not…go grab you up some ray boltz and party like it’s 1989…(a sober, very hetero, mullet and moustache-themed party, of course…)