JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR-CRITICALLY EXAMINED

Tabernacle Baptist Church
E. L. Bynum, Pastor
1911 34th Street
Lubbock, Texas 79411
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"SUPERSTAR""Jesus Christ Superstar"
Critically Examined In The Light Of The Bible
By E. L. Bynum
"Jesus Christ Superstar", has been called "A REVERENT ROCK OPERA", by Life Magazine. Life also said that it had achieved "worldwide success."
"Superstar" has been performed in theaters around the world, in public and auditoriums and in many churches. It has been recorded on two long play records (87 minutes), earned 2 million dollars in the first four months after it was released October 1970. It has been predicted that it will be an all-time best seller.
We disagree with Life Magazine. "Superstar" is not reverent but irreverent. It is rotten to the core and contains some of the most blasphemous statements that we have ever heard.
I. THE WRONG KIND OF MUSIC!
Even the most talented and dedicated musicians cannot make ROCK music honor the Lord. ROCK writers have turned to religious themes to try to give modern ROCK a new lease on life. This has met with success, but most Christians have never looked beneath the surface to see what the religious rock people were really saying. Naive people have looked upon the religious trend in rock music as a sign of spiritual awakening among the young.
"My Sweet Lord" was composed and sang by George Harrison. In 1971 it earned the gold record award, but it does not glorify the God of the Bible. Some Christians have defended it, not knowing the facts. Harrison is a Hindu, and the "Lord" of his song, is not the Lord of the Bible, but rather "Lord Krishna" a Hindu god. "Spirit in the Sky" was written and recorded by Norman Greenbaum, but it is not Christian. The lyrics are unscriptural and Greenbaum has publicly admitted that he is Jewish and does not believe in Jesus Christ.
Rock music should not be mixed with the Christian religion. It doesn't fit in Church, nor can it be used to glorify Christ anywhere else.
II. THE WRONG KIND OF MEN WROTE IT!
Lyrics and music for "Jesus Christ Superstar" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. They do not believe that Jesus Christ was God.
"It happens that we DON'T SEE CHRIST AS GOD but simply the right man at the right time at the right place." So said Tim Rice as quoted in Time, November 9, 1970, page 47.
Webber said, "Christianity is a subject that fascinates everyone, even if they don't believe Christ was God."
Life Magazine, May 28, 1971 quotes Tim Rice who wrote the words for "Superstar" as saying, "We are basically trying to tell the story of Christ as a man. I think he Increases in stature by looking at him as a man."
In a recorded interview Tim Rice was asked about whether the lyrics were negative about religion. He said, "No--in a way, it's neither positive nor negative, it's just asking questions . . . The fact that an awful lot happened in Christ's life that could easily be legend, I don't think diminishes the importance of the legend. But I think, as the years roll on, in the 20th and 21st centuries, I think less and less people are going to thank of Christ as a god, and I think more people are going to see him as a generally good thing. I don't see him as a god at all, and the opera doesn't categorically say he wasn't, but I think it leaves the question very open."
Tim Rice said, "I regard Christ as a man, placing him on a human level." Quoted from Seventeen magazine, March 1971. Webber is quoted in Rolling Stone, December 2, 1970 as saying, "I personally don't think that Jesus is God."
Such songwriters are incapable of writing anything that would glorify the Lord. They are unsaved and ignorant of God's Word. Every Christian should shun their anti-Christian work.
III. THE WRONG KIND OF MOTIVE ! !
The writers of "Jesus Christ Superstar" present Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas. In a recorded interview they said, " . . . the idea of the whole opera Is to have Christ seen through the eyes of Judas, and Christ as a man, not as a God. And the fact that Christ himself is just as mixed up and unaware of exactly what he is, as Judas is."
The writers seem to have a very high regard for Judas, the one who betrayed our Lord. Rice said, "In the Gospels, Judas is a cardboard figure. Every time he is mentioned there is a snide remark. I believe that Judas was the most intelligent of the Apostles and that is why he got into such a dilemma." Quoted from Life Magazine, May 28, 1971.
WHAT KIND OF A MAN WAS JUDAS?
1. He was a thief. John 12:62. He was a devil. Jesus said, " . . . One of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot . . ."John 6:70, 71.3. Satan entered Judas. Luke 22:34. He betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver.5. He was an anti-christ and may well be the coming Anti-Christ!6. Jesus called him "the son of perdition." John 17:12.
It is through the eyes of this man that Jesus is to be seen in "Superstar." He might as well be seen through the eyes of the devil himself.
IV. THE WRONG KIND OF MESSAGE!
Jesus Christ is pictured as a confused, embittered mixed up person. Unsure of who he was and what he was to do. In the opera Jesus seems to be bitter against God. We hesitate to print some of the blasphemous words of this rock opera, but feel that we must if it is to be exposed.
In the first song, Judas says:
"My mind is clearer now--at last all to well I can see where we all soon will beIf you strip away the myth from the man you will see where we all soon will beJesus! You've started to believe the things they say of you . . . You have set them all on fireThey think they've found the new MessiahAnd they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong."
God is accused of being responsible for sin, as Judas says:
"My God I am sick I've been usedAnd you knew all the timeGod! I'll never know why you chose me as your crimeFor your foul bloody crimeYou have murdered meYou have murdered me."
Jesus is bitter against God as He says:
"Show me there's a reason for you wanting me to dieYou're far too keen on where and how and not so hot on whyAfter all I've tried for three years, seems like ninetyWhy then am I scared to finish what I started?What you started - I didn't start itGod thy will is hard . . . But you hold every cardI will drink your cup of poisonNail me to the cross and break meBleed me, beat me, kill me, take me nowBefore I change my mind."
One of the most blasphemous parts of "Superstar" is the part where Jesus is pictured as a lover of Mary Magdalene, who is portrayed in the opera as a prostitute.
Webber is quoted in Life Magazine as saying, "He (Jesus) must have been an incredibly powerful man. He had great power over women, so he was either very attractive or very magnetic."
Of this affair, Judas says in the opera:
"It seems to me a strange thing, mystifyingThat a man like you can waste his time on women of her kindYes, I can understand that she amusesBut to let her stroke you, kiss your hair, is hardly in your line."
In the opera, Mary Magdalene says:
"I don't know how to love him
What to do, how to move him
I've been changed, yes, really changed
In these past few days; when I've seen myself
I seem like someone else
I don't know how to take this
I don't see why he moves me
He's a man, he's just a man
And I've had so many men before
In very many ways He's just one more."
Any Bible believer should be shocked by the above verse, supposedly uttered by Mary Magdalene. Dear reader please think upon these words quoted by Mary Magdalene, "He's a man, he's just a man, And I've had so many men before, In very many ways, He's just one more." Do you not see the awful way they are dragging the character of our Savior in the gutter?
Judas further says:
"It's not that I object to her professionBut she doesn't fit in well with what you teach and sayIt doesn't help us if you're inconsistentThey only need a small excuse to put us an away."
Do you not see what is implied in "her profession?" In the above verse Jesus is accused of teaching one thing and practicing another.
NO RISEN SAVIOUR IN "SUPERSTAR"
This blasphemous Rock Opera ends with these words: "It is finished. Father into your hands I commend my spirit." Then there is silence. Our Saviour remains dead on the cross and there is no resurrection. WHAT BLASPHEMY ! ! !
CONCLUSION
Every born again Christian should readily recognize the evil of "Jesus Christ Superstar", and should shun it like the plague. Also, the Christian should boldly warn others of this blasphemous rock opera. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, bath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he bath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." II John 9-11. Christian should take their stand for Christ regardless of the cost.
For the unsaved that may read this tract, be assured that Jesus was God. I Timothy 3:16, speaking of Christ coming to earth says, ". . . God was manifest in the flesh . . . " Paul writes by Divine inspiration of Christ in this manner, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before an things, and by him all things consist." Colossians 1:14-17. Sinner friend, turn to Him in repentance and faith. He alone has the power to save!
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