Why I Write

By Justin McRoberts • Apr 10th, 2008 • Category: Artists in Residence

I’ve always sought to provide music that gives voice to those of us who live on the outside or on the fringes. To write music for those of us who know what we believe and yet struggle to hold onto it because of all that culture tends to add on to faith; Those of us who have had few assurances in life but walk on in light of the choice we have made to believe nonetheless. I think we are the normal ones. I think it’s normal to have a healthy suspicion of religious and political authority. I think it is normal to mistrust the promises of our own culture to provide safety and prosperity; even to be utterly dissatisfied even with that promise’s fulfillment.

I think the normal ones are those of us who have a sense that personal moral integrity is deeply entrenched with social responsibility; that the development of our public life is equally important as growth in our private lives; that if our religion is not making a positive impact on our world, it isn’t worth very much. Those of us who understand that there is value in art beyond its ability to manipulate emotions and prepare hearts to receive something beyond itself. Those of us who quietly know that there is more to faith than simply walking down a check list of theological precepts and checking them off in agreement.

Unshakable faith is an anomaly and a rare gift. Those who posses it are lucky… I write songs with the rest of us in mind. I hope that my songs can further instill a sense of regularity to what is often an irregular journey; that as people listen, they find the music gives shape and language to aspects of their journey that they may struggle to find in the assumed center of religious culture.

Does it Resonate with you?

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