The Christian Creed

You really can't blame people for being a little confused about Creed. The Grammy-nominated rockers' lyrics are awash in religious terminology, and the spiritual turmoil on certain cuts brings to mind David's more heartrending psalms. They have insisted for years that they are not a Christian band and their songwriting efforts aren't necessarily focused on spiritual issues. Still, listen to "Human Clay," their 1999 release: Blind men see, there are streets of gold, and up pops a quote from the book of Matthew. And earlier this month, the band began servicing Christian rock stations with an acoustic version of their hit single "With Arms Wide Open." This has everyone asking once again about the connection between Creed and Christianity.

From the Tallahassee, Fla., band's first disc, "My Own Prison," it was clear Creed's songs were written by someone who had spent some time in Sunday school--and that was all many Christians needed to know to claim Creed as one of their own. Kids in youth groups across the country introduced songs like "Higher" into their churches and hoped that in the band's lead singer, Scott Stapp, they had found a cool Christian role model. But the band wasn't quite ready to strap on What Would Jesus Do? bracelets and play at youth rallies.

It's true that Stapp knows his way around a church sanctuary, but his strict religious upbringing (electric guitars were just one of many things forbidden by Stapp's devoutly Pentecostal parents) and expulsion from a small Christian college in Tennessee left him with more questions than answers. He turned to music to make sense of it all, and the result was a deeply personal collection of songs that addresses spirituality more honestly than much of what is currently on the Christian music charts.

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