Dan Haseltine, front-man of Christian band Jars of Clay, takes to Twitter to support gay marriage
Contemporary Christian music isn’t a format where one might think to look for vocal supporters of same-sex marriage, but as with anything else times are changing. Dan Haseltine, front-man for the popular Christian band Jars of Clay, yesterday took to his Twitter account in a series of posts supportive of same-sex marriage, posting “Not meaning to stir things up BUT… is there a non-speculative or non ‘slippery slope’ reason why gays shouldn’t marry? I don’t hear one.” He went on to write “I’m trying to make sense of the conservative argument. But it doesn’t hold up to basic scrutiny. Feels akin to women’s suffrage. I just don’t see a negative effect to allowing gay marriage. No societal breakdown, no war on traditional marriage. ?? Anyone?”
Haseltine compares the issue to civil rights struggles in the past, and asserts regarding Biblical arguments against same-sex marriage that “I don’t think scripture ‘clearly’ states much of anything regarding morality.” He goes on to write that “I think the vast interpretation has left room for people to deal inhumanly and unlovingly toward others that don’t fit their guidelines” and that “I don’t particularly care about Scriptures stance on what is ‘wrong.’ I care more about how it says we should treat people.”
Jars of Clay, a band formed in Tennessee in the ‘90s, are one of the most popular and acclaimed Contemporary Christian bands of the last two decades. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1995, was a major success, and not only on Christian radio. Their single “Flood” received heavy crossover airplay and reached #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and #37 on the Hot 100 pop chart. The album has achieved double-platinum sales in the U.S. Since then, the band’s success has mostly been with Christian radio, but they have continued to release successful albums (the most recent being Inland in August, 2013). Jars of Clay has scored an impressive 20 Top 10 singles on the Contemporary Christian singles chart over the years, and they continue to enjoy a sizable fanbase.
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