Is Lauryn Hill onto something?

[HeChangedMyName]

Is Lauryn Hill on a whole new level of Bible Study? I was looking up some lyrics to one of her songs because I recalled her speaking about the mystery of iniquity and I just heard that phrased in a Bible Study. I wanted to know what she was talking about on her end. I came up with a page of all the lyrics from her Unplugged CD and I was floored as I read them. Some of it sounds so familiar. What do you Christians think. Is she onto something here?


Here are some from a song called "The Conquering Lion"
The conquering lion shall break every chain
The conquering lion shall break every chain
Give him the victory again and again and again and again
Give him the victory


Here are some more from another sang called "Adam Lives in Theory"

[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']Stop walking in pride, let the thief be crucified, unlearn everything you know and let Him teach you/Line upon line and precept upon precept/Say goodbye to this decaying social system/He wants to know how far we're willing to go, if we love Him like we say we do, He'll try us/Just you don't regress or slip into hopelessness/Once He's satisfied it's love He won't deny us/And then He'll tell us what, what we gonna do now, where we gonna go now, what we gonna say now… [/FONT]


And here are yet more lyrics from a song called "Mystery of Iniquity"

Let him who stole, no longer steal, oh Israel
Surrender for Jehovah is real
How long will you sleep
Troubled by the thoughts that you keep
The idols you heap
Causing the destruction you reap
Judgment has come
Find it and return to the One
Abandon the flesh
Self-interest "broadway to death"
Pride and the greed hiding subdividing the seed
The knowledge of good and evil is what caused us to lie
Caused us to die
Let your emotions be crucified
Renounce all your thoughts
Repent and let your mind be retaught
You'll find what you sought
Was based on the deception you bought
A perception of naught where the majority remains caught
Loving a lie, not realizing in Adam all die


Ok, this is from a song called "Freedom Time"

The only doctrine supernatural circumcision/Inwardly only water can purge the heart from words/The fiery darts thrown by the workers of the arts/Iniquity, shapen in, there's no escaping when your whole philosophy is paper thin/In vanity, the wide road is insanity/Could it be all of humanity? Picture that/Scripture that! The origin of man's heart is black/How can we show up for an invisible war/Preoccupied with a shadow, making love with a whore, aching in sores/Babylon the great mystery, mother of human history, system of social sorcery/Our present condition needs serious recognition/Where there's no repentence there can be no remission, and that sentence more serious than Vietnam, the atom bomb, and Saddam, and Minister Farrakhan/What's going on? What's a priority to you? By what authority do we do/The majority hasn't a clue/We've majored in curses, search the chapters, check the verses, recapture the land, remove the mark from off our hands, so we can stand in agreement with His command/Everything else is damned, let them with ears understand. Everything else is damned, let them with ears understand…

This is from a song "Oh Jerusalem

Oh so repressed, so convinced that I was blessed when I played with my game of monopoly/oh to suggest, that my life is still a mess would reveal the pride I'm hiding is what's stopping me/Oh Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness that thou mayest be saved from thy deception/How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee, Oh Jerusalem, keeping them from perfection/Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except in the vine/I am the vine, ye are the branches/he that live in me, and I in Him the same bring forth much fruit/For without me you can do nothing, Oh Jerusalem/Your traditions have deceived you/I've chosen you, you haven't chosen me/that whatsoever you ask in my name He may give to you/But in vain they call my name, teaching doctrines just the same, justified amongst themselves/But God knoweth the heart/What man esteems as smart is an abomination to Emmanuel/Just repent, turn from selfish motivation so iniquity will not cause your demise/Make you a new heart and a new spirit for why will ye die?/Oh Jerusalem, please tell me why?/I have no pleasure in the death of Him that dieth, says the Lord God wherefore turn yourselves and live/It's not the talkers, but the walkers in His word/Are the only ones the Father will forgive/Oh Jerusalem, wash thine heart from from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved from thy deception/How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee, Oh Jerusalem/Providing you no protection, Oh Jerusalem… Oh.. ya.. oh.. Jerusalem oh.. ya.. oh…

 

[Duchesse]

Her "Unplugged" is the best! She is very explicit in her religion, and it's so funny how after she made this album, that's when everyone was like "She's crazy!!".

Her lyrics are very deep and the song "Adam lives in Theory", is my favorite off the album. Check it out http://youtube.com/watch?v=KbMpOwU7wT8

I'm not sure what you mean by her being onto something, but she sings alot about spiritual warfare in this album, and she has been pretty open about her being a Christian.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I mean on to something because she has such an understanding of scripture. I mean, she took scripture and flipped it into music that everyone wants to listen to. But it's not considered gospel music. It's like she is finding a way to spread the truth, just as Jesus did, without alienating people. I wonder if any non-Christian fans of hers has turned their life over to Christ through listening to her music? Some of the lyrics are straight out of the Bible.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Even on Miseducation, she slipped some scriptural references in. I caught them them, but with unplugged, the sound was so different from what I expected that even I didn't catch it until I really forced myself to sit and listen to what she was saying.

 

[Highly Favored8]

That is why love and Respect Lauryn Hill So, so, much! B/c of the way she incorporates scripture into her music.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

That is why love and Respect Lauryn Hill So, so, much! B/c of the way she incorporates scripture into her music.

Me too, although she is teaching you something and speaking strongly. It doesn't come off as preachy and I-told-you-so like.

 

[Highly Favored8]

Yes, and even today I still listen to her music! Ms. Hill is a very talented and God-Gifted women!

 

[Gina-Beana]

Good thread Supernova. You asked, "What do you Christians think?" Here’s what I think—A word of warning needs to go out with regard to believers accepting musical talent based on Rastafarian religion. Lauryn Hill’s music seems like it has Christian themes, but we need to know the bible to discern if her music is biblical.
She sounds good and her music is deep, but II Corinthians 11: 14-15 applies.
Bob Marley, POD, a popular rock group (NOT Christians like I thought) and evidently Lauryn Hill have hybrid music lyrics—based on Rastafarian teachings with biblical themes. Light doesn’t have fellowship or mingle with darkness.
For one, we need to find out who else she and other Rastafarians refer to as the lion of Judah. The research needs to be done with the concepts they use in their music. They sound like they're coming from the biblical Christian perspectives--we've got to examine the whole of the matter.
I recently ran across this website that Dr. Terry Watkins has that explains the spiritual concoction of Bob Marley and POD. See http://www.av1611.org/crock/pod_rast.html
This isn’t a stamp of approval for his ministry. I’m not very familiar with him, but he makes some solid points about this "strange fire" music and his findings offer some insight.
Bottom line: The Word of God has to be our standard for qualifying Christian musical expressions and for determining what is of God.
I stopped listening to Lauryn Hill a while ago. I had to stop listening to secular music and some Christian and contemporary Gospel music because it just didn’t line up with the Word. We have to discern when others are preaching another gospel—I John 4: 1-2.
No disrespect to this discussion is intended with my post. We have to be on guard. He said even the elect WOULD, not could be deceived. Matt 24:5; Matt 24:24.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Good thread Supernova. You asked, "What do you Christians think?" Here’s what I think—A word of warning needs to go out with regard to believers accepting musical talent based on Rastafarian religion. Lauryn Hill’s music seems like it has Christian themes, but we need to know the bible to discern if her music is biblical.
She sounds good and her music is deep, but II Corinthians 11: 14-15 applies.
Bob Marley, POD, a popular rock group (NOT Christians like I thought) and evidently Lauryn Hill have hybrid music lyrics—based on Rastafarian teachings with biblical themes. Light doesn’t have fellowship or mingle with darkness.
For one, we need to find out who else she and other Rastafarians refer to as the lion of Judah. The research needs to be done with the concepts they use in their music. They sound like they're coming from the biblical Christian perspectives--we've got to examine the whole of the matter.
I recently ran across this website that Dr. Terry Watkins has that explains the spiritual concoction of Bob Marley and POD. See http://www.av1611.org/crock/pod_rast.html
This isn’t a stamp of approval for his ministry. I’m not very familiar with him, but he makes some solid points about this "strange fire" music and his findings offer some insight.
Bottom line: The Word of God has to be our standard for qualifying Christian musical expressions and for determining what is of God.
I stopped listening to Lauryn Hill a while ago. I had to stop listening to secular music and some Christian and contemporary Gospel music because it just didn’t line up with the Word. We have to discern when others are preaching another gospel—I John 4: 1-2.
No disrespect to this discussion is intended with my post. We have to be on guard. He said even the elect WOULD, not could be deceived. Matt 24:5; Matt 24:24.

Thanks so much Gina for your input. No offense taken at all. I agree that we need to be able to discern whether scripture is being used righteously or if it is being used as a weapon against us. I have never known for sure what religious stance Lauryn had, her music does use a lot of scripture though. So one would assume that she was familiar with the Bible. That is not necessarily saying that she is an authority on it or even that she is a believer. I know that some of the Marley clan were/are followers of Rastafarianism. Because she is married to one of his sons, I can't say if she is a convert or not. Rastafarianism is quite complicated. I did a research paper on it while in college and my mind was blown. When I put the lyrics in with the lion of Judah, I was hoping that someone else would be familiar with the different uses of the term. It does not always refer to Jesus. That is why I asked if lauryn is on to something. is she trying to teach Biblical principle? Is she disguising something else and passing it off as such. Either way, she is a talented writer and artist. Back in college, I thought she was quite possibly the "deepest" female who was Christian. Even on the fugees songs she sang lyrics, "Leviticus, God made this word you can't get with this, sweet like licorice, dangerous like syphillis." She is one of many artist who I used to listen to regularly and whom I often hear something in the music that makes me stop listening, but then I go back and start again. For me, the jury is still out as to whether her words are in line with the Bible or not. I may have to pray about this and ask Jesus to help me discern this one. I just think it is interesting that she can bring Biblical concepts to the masses in a format that is not what would normally be expected. I'll take a look at that website too.

Does anyone else have some insight? Information?

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Thanks for the scriptural references too Gina. Keeping me on my toes.

 

[tffy2004]

I have this Unplugged album and I listen to it quite a bit. Some of the things she is talking about is definitely on point. Freedom Time for example GREAT SONG that everyone should listen too.

She also refers to someone by the name of Jah (commonly used in the Rastafarian movement which refers to Haile Selassie) in some of her songs. Some may think she is talking about "Jesus" or God. But take into consideration that she is married to Rohan Marley son of Bob Marley who both are RasTafarI. I don't know the woman personally, so I'm not able to ask her personally what it is that she believes. But if you look up the terminology along with some search into the Rastafarian Movement then you will see where I am coming from.

I happen to agree with Gina that Christians should discern what lines up with the Bible and do research on what they listen to.

On that note I have to say that I admire her for coming out with sensible music. Too bad many don't like the latest album because she isn't portraying the old Lauryn Hill. They are really missing out on great music.

 

[Duchesse]

I obviously don't know Lauryn Hill, though my best friends older sister went to Columbia University with her lol, and can't speak on whether or not she is definitely a Rastafarian or not, but I believe she is Christian.

She recorded a song for "The Passion of The Christ" soundtrack...I doubt she would do that if she were praising Haile Selassie. Also, Rastafarianism, like someone already mentioned, is a very complex and vague religion...some members view Selassie as the Messiah, and some view Jesus in the same regards as most Christians. As for Bob Marley, before he died he was actually baptized as a Christian in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, I don't know about his sons though.

I totally understand GinaBeana's concerns about her music however, but I still love me some Ms. Hill!

 

[momi]

Good thread Supernova. You asked, "What do you Christians think?" Here’s what I think—A word of warning needs to go out with regard to believers accepting musical talent based on Rastafarian religion. Lauryn Hill’s music seems like it has Christian themes, but we need to know the bible to discern if her music is biblical.
She sounds good and her music is deep, but II Corinthians 11: 14-15 applies.
Bob Marley, POD, a popular rock group (NOT Christians like I thought) and evidently Lauryn Hill have hybrid music lyrics—based on Rastafarian teachings with biblical themes. Light doesn’t have fellowship or mingle with darkness.
For one, we need to find out who else she and other Rastafarians refer to as the lion of Judah. The research needs to be done with the concepts they use in their music. They sound like they're coming from the biblical Christian perspectives--we've got to examine the whole of the matter.
I recently ran across this website that Dr. Terry Watkins has that explains the spiritual concoction of Bob Marley and POD. See http://www.av1611.org/crock/pod_rast.html
This isn’t a stamp of approval for his ministry. I’m not very familiar with him, but he makes some solid points about this "strange fire" music and his findings offer some insight.
Bottom line: The Word of God has to be our standard for qualifying Christian musical expressions and for determining what is of God.
I stopped listening to Lauryn Hill a while ago. I had to stop listening to secular music and some Christian and contemporary Gospel music because it just didn’t line up with the Word. We have to discern when others are preaching another gospel—I John 4: 1-2.
No disrespect to this discussion is intended with my post. We have to be on guard. He said even the elect WOULD, not could be deceived. Matt 24:5; Matt 24:24.

Amen - ITA...