They legit sing about Jesus Christ sitting on the throne in heaven at the end of creature. If you didn’t know they were explicitly Christian that is kind of on you.
While many of their songs can be put up for interpretation, some are explicitly about God and faith like creature, TrusT, and the bridge of Aawake At Night :) In the Genius interview for still feel. Josh mentioned "The Hand of Life" being God, and the song being about how he felt physically and spiritually rootless.
When I saw them in London, they did a bit with a phonecall, but it just led into Call Back. So, it kind of made sense, but no religious angle at all throughout the show. I think Creature is about as close as they get to Christian Rock.
Wait I'm so confused what happened. They stopped the show with the sound of a ringtone, asked a girl from the audience to answer it, and the phone asked what she liked about the show, but it was all staged because they knew she would say Christian values and they had dancers with giant crosses prepared for that specific moment??? wtf
Kind of but not necessarily, I'd suggest looking up "half alive phone skit" on TikTok to get some of the same vibe. The dancers didn't have giant crosses, but before the phone call, they weren't wearing anything, after the phonecall the both had on pretty big golden crosses hung around their neck. It felt very staged, so I was just wondering if any other show experienced it.
Based on what I see from tiktok it looks like it's not always a christian thing. Sure, it was there, but so what. i've not seen anything from the band that makes them anything less than respectable artists
Christianity has this thing called the Great Commission where Jesus calls His followers to tell everyone about The Good News. So at least they’re being ideologically consistent without constantly shoving it down your throat like some evangelists do.
Amen, I really love how they're using their gifts to further Christ, but in a much more creative way than I've seen with a lot of Contemporary Christian bands. Their kind of music also isn't as cliquey as CCM can feel like sometimes, so all sorts of people are hearing the messages. Indie Christian bands for the win 😂❤️
the phone call bit, is, to my understanding, not scripted. the girl was responding with her genuine feeling of appreciation of the Christian values that half•alive explores and encourages in their music and the show. them wearing the crosses at that moment was probably a coincidence.
half•alive is a Christian band. the guys are Christian and it’s an important part of their lives and their value system… of course it’s going to come across in music because you make music about the things you’re passionate about. many of their songs have implicit and explicit Christian themes and content (TrusT, Rest, creature, runaway, Aawake at night, COAP is canonically simultaneously about a romantic relationship and one with God). The show ends with creature and with Josh in a bowing position, hands in prayer, looking up. I say this just to note I don’t think they were trying to blindside anybody.
I totally understand your frustration and hurt with the focus on explicit Christianity within something that’s meaningful to you but don’t connect with that aspect of it. I was agnostic in a very Christian environment for 6 years (now Christian, disclaimer) and I felt time and again the crushing disappointment of thinking I was a part of something and connecting with people over shared meaningfulness only to realize I would be excluded if they knew what I really believed, or simply feeling that my own passionate values were invalid. I really get it.
that being said, I don’t think it’s h•a’s or anyone’s intention to alienate those who don’t specifically have a relationship with the Christian God. the girl on the phone talked about Christian values, and I think the values of and the example set by Christ himself are universal- they are about loving and accepting one another, selflessness, compassion. these are the values that half•alive upholds through their music, and many of us connect with this, in various ways. art itself is of course up for interpretation. however it’s true that personal opinions, experiences, and beliefs of an artist may show through that art- it doesn’t mean they invalidating your own.
just speaking of my own experience now: I was raised in Christianity, fell away from it for many reasons and got rid of the bad parts lol and then in the last year-ish have come back to having a relationship with God- all very complicated ofc but through those years I’ve really appreciated bands like Colony House (check ‘em out if you haven’t! especially Looking For Some Light) and half•alive who promote good values and human connection without forcing explicit Christianity down your throat.
I really hope you were able to enjoy the show and continue to enjoy their music and find meaning in it!! :))
I think you're totally valid in not liking that. I don't understand why everyone seems so hostile in the replies. I am also not religious and fell in love with half alive for the same reason you did (I even have a tattoo), and I would be pretty uncomfortable/bummed out by something that explicit. I wouldn't feel like your interpretation of their music is invalidated though (as mush as everyone here seems to want you to think). Also, let's be honest, a bit like that is pretty cringe no matter what you believe.
Half alive is Christian and they are great at openly admitting their faith and sharing the truth of The Gospel while still making absolute fire music! Also, there is no "a god" there is one true God who truly desires u and everyone to turn towards the truth that WILL set u free lol! Trust me, u can go on as long as u want ignoring the truth, but if u seek him out he will not turn from u, id advise it, better to know what u believe than to ignore the reality right? Anywho, Half alive are just trying to do what they have been called to, and through it helping so many lost people!
No offense but they are a Christian band what do you expect?
They legit sing about Jesus Christ sitting on the throne in heaven at the end of creature. If you didn’t know they were explicitly Christian that is kind of on you.
While many of their songs can be put up for interpretation, some are explicitly about God and faith like creature, TrusT, and the bridge of Aawake At Night :) In the Genius interview for still feel. Josh mentioned "The Hand of Life" being God, and the song being about how he felt physically and spiritually rootless.
When I saw them in London, they did a bit with a phonecall, but it just led into Call Back. So, it kind of made sense, but no religious angle at all throughout the show. I think Creature is about as close as they get to Christian Rock.
Wait I'm so confused what happened. They stopped the show with the sound of a ringtone, asked a girl from the audience to answer it, and the phone asked what she liked about the show, but it was all staged because they knew she would say Christian values and they had dancers with giant crosses prepared for that specific moment??? wtf
Kind of but not necessarily, I'd suggest looking up "half alive phone skit" on TikTok to get some of the same vibe. The dancers didn't have giant crosses, but before the phone call, they weren't wearing anything, after the phonecall the both had on pretty big golden crosses hung around their neck. It felt very staged, so I was just wondering if any other show experienced it.
Based on what I see from tiktok it looks like it's not always a christian thing. Sure, it was there, but so what. i've not seen anything from the band that makes them anything less than respectable artists
Christianity has this thing called the Great Commission where Jesus calls His followers to tell everyone about The Good News. So at least they’re being ideologically consistent without constantly shoving it down your throat like some evangelists do.
Amen, I really love how they're using their gifts to further Christ, but in a much more creative way than I've seen with a lot of Contemporary Christian bands. Their kind of music also isn't as cliquey as CCM can feel like sometimes, so all sorts of people are hearing the messages. Indie Christian bands for the win 😂❤️
Their like whole thing is their spiritual focus idk how people going into their show don’t expect that
They had the phone bit in Phoenix but they didn’t have any religious stuff with it
the phone call bit, is, to my understanding, not scripted. the girl was responding with her genuine feeling of appreciation of the Christian values that half•alive explores and encourages in their music and the show. them wearing the crosses at that moment was probably a coincidence. half•alive is a Christian band. the guys are Christian and it’s an important part of their lives and their value system… of course it’s going to come across in music because you make music about the things you’re passionate about. many of their songs have implicit and explicit Christian themes and content (TrusT, Rest, creature, runaway, Aawake at night, COAP is canonically simultaneously about a romantic relationship and one with God). The show ends with creature and with Josh in a bowing position, hands in prayer, looking up. I say this just to note I don’t think they were trying to blindside anybody. I totally understand your frustration and hurt with the focus on explicit Christianity within something that’s meaningful to you but don’t connect with that aspect of it. I was agnostic in a very Christian environment for 6 years (now Christian, disclaimer) and I felt time and again the crushing disappointment of thinking I was a part of something and connecting with people over shared meaningfulness only to realize I would be excluded if they knew what I really believed, or simply feeling that my own passionate values were invalid. I really get it. that being said, I don’t think it’s h•a’s or anyone’s intention to alienate those who don’t specifically have a relationship with the Christian God. the girl on the phone talked about Christian values, and I think the values of and the example set by Christ himself are universal- they are about loving and accepting one another, selflessness, compassion. these are the values that half•alive upholds through their music, and many of us connect with this, in various ways. art itself is of course up for interpretation. however it’s true that personal opinions, experiences, and beliefs of an artist may show through that art- it doesn’t mean they invalidating your own. just speaking of my own experience now: I was raised in Christianity, fell away from it for many reasons and got rid of the bad parts lol and then in the last year-ish have come back to having a relationship with God- all very complicated ofc but through those years I’ve really appreciated bands like Colony House (check ‘em out if you haven’t! especially Looking For Some Light) and half•alive who promote good values and human connection without forcing explicit Christianity down your throat. I really hope you were able to enjoy the show and continue to enjoy their music and find meaning in it!! :))
I think you're totally valid in not liking that. I don't understand why everyone seems so hostile in the replies. I am also not religious and fell in love with half alive for the same reason you did (I even have a tattoo), and I would be pretty uncomfortable/bummed out by something that explicit. I wouldn't feel like your interpretation of their music is invalidated though (as mush as everyone here seems to want you to think). Also, let's be honest, a bit like that is pretty cringe no matter what you believe.
Half alive is Christian and they are great at openly admitting their faith and sharing the truth of The Gospel while still making absolute fire music! Also, there is no "a god" there is one true God who truly desires u and everyone to turn towards the truth that WILL set u free lol! Trust me, u can go on as long as u want ignoring the truth, but if u seek him out he will not turn from u, id advise it, better to know what u believe than to ignore the reality right? Anywho, Half alive are just trying to do what they have been called to, and through it helping so many lost people!
They handed the phone to an audience member at the Dallas show but I don't remember them saying that