Following his critical and viral response to pop star Taylor Swift's latest album, evangelist Shane Pruitt explained his remarks and why Christian parents need to be more discerning.
"I'm not an anti-Taylor guy," Pruitt told CBN News. "I'm [a] pro-Gospel guy."
"Anything that I know is largely affecting parents, or Christians, or people in the church that seems to…be anti-Gospel, I think we lovingly call it out," he added.
On April 22nd, Pruitt sounded off some of Swift's lyrics on her "The Tortured Poets Department" album.
"LYRICS MATTER," he tweeted at the time. "Disclaimer, I'm definitely not the minister or parent that has the 'no secular music' stance. Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers. HOWEVER, there is a difference between being secular, and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN."
He pointed out lyrics about people "in their Sunday best" who "try to save you 'cause they hate you," as well as similar sentiments in Swift's new songs.
The evangelist also cites Swift's lyrics in another song: "What if I roll the stone away? They're gonna crucify me anyway. What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?"
Despite previously for Swift in the past, Truitt said "it's time to reconsider."
"As Christians, who are filled with the Spirit should we be entertained by, sing with, and expose our kids to lyrics that aren't just different than what you believe, but are actually mocking what you believe?" he concluded his tweet.
He told CBN News that Swift's music has changed throughout the years, with her songs becoming "more and more" explicit and taking a "darker turn" in the process. He warned against this change as her music is popular amongst young girls.
"I think we just need to be very aware and very careful of what we're exposing our kids to and how we're even engaging with things and being entertained by things that are really anti what we say we believe," Pruitt said.
He also shared how his assessment is met with both people who agree and disagree with him. Those who disagree with him are those who are "Swifties," a nickname given to major Swift fans, and some of those "Swifties" are professing Christians.
"[I think this is] very telling that we have our identities out of order," Pruitt said. "You know that Jesus is the one who died for you. Jesus is the one who forgives. Jesus is the one who gives eternal life. Jesus is the one that gives us hope and encouragement."
"So, if you identify as a Swiftie before you identify as a Christian, I think there's something fundamentally wrong there," he added.
Ultimately, he encouraged Christians to pray for Swift and nonbelievers and for them to share their faith without being stressed out about it.
"Don't have that mentality [of] 'us versus them,'" Pruitt said. "Pray for them, share the Gospel, live differently, be salt [and] light."
Video credit: Youtube/CBN News
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Frazer Harrison / Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
