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What are these "awards", anyway? Why are
they given? The answers depend on who you ask,
obviously. According to JAH Pickney on the
Dubroom Message Boards, the awards are a way
for Christians to "honour"
other Christians. He sees
"the Marlin Awards and the community at
Gospelreggae.com as well as some other things"
as his "church" and "support".
And subsequently, he claims that he sees "the
Marlin Awards as my church saying "thank you
for the ministry that you have."
One aspect isn't subject to debate, though.
That aspect is formed by looking to the names of
the winners. A quote from "Lion of
Zion", the major outlet for "World and
Reggae Music" released by the CCM Industry:
Mark Mohr was also honored that night with
the foreign achievement award for his
significant contributions to Caribbean gospel
music. A long biography on Mohr was read before
he collected his honor. Mark is best known for
pioneering gospel reggae with his group
Christafari, and as president of Lion of Zion
Entertainment and his GospelReggae.com webstore.
Earlier in the week Mohr lead a session at the
Marlin Global Gospel Music Summit Workshop where
he taught a classroom full of Caribbean Gospel
performers how to become successful independent
artists. (SOURCE)
As we have thoroughly documented
Christafari, we know exactly where they stand for.
When the "Marlin Awards" choose to
"honor" the self-proclaimed
"founder and leader of Gospel Reggae"
for the things he stands for, even letting him
"teach a classroom full", we have a clear
indication of the nature of the "Marlin
Awards".
How does "Lion of Zion" look to such
awards? In the book "The
Mystery of Christafarianism", we have
quoted Scott Whelan, then one of the workers of "Lion of Zion". This
organization is self-described as "pioneers
and trail blazers of the Gospel Reggae genre".
He
was asked, what he thought about the "Dove
Awards", a "Christian" version of
the Grammy
Awards.
One could say: "What's the big deal? We
all know where awards are for". And indeed we
do. Scott Whelan perfectly described how the
Awards are a way to "help the genre
grow", with the purpose to "lead to
greater sales". And, it's obvious how
"introducing non-believers to the genre"
will "lead to greater sales" as
well.
Awards ceremonies are basically a way for the
entertainment industry, to reach greater sales for
the products and producers. Celebrities,
super-stars are being identified for what they
are. When they create products which have some
kind of success, they will get an industry award.
The idea is, that people will buy products by
"award winning" artists because some
impression is given that award winners are
"the best of the best". And
appearantly, evangelizing has turned into "introducing
non-believers to the Gospel genre".
So, is there something wrong with "Gospel
Awards"? And why?
To get some answers, a look at the discussion
around these "Marlin Awards" may very
well turn out to be quite revealing. For there is one thing which
differentiates the Grammy Awards from such ones as
the Dove Awards or the Marlin Awards.
You guessed it: it has everything to do with
Christianity. And wuith that, it's not about
music. Dove and Marlin are specifically
aimed at the Christian Industry. And so, an
in-depth discussion about the Marlin Awards is a
principal discussion about the very existance of a
Christian Industry.
When Christianity is a way to make money, it's
obvious how Award Ceremonies are neccesary. When
Christianity is a way to make money, it's obvious
how there is a Christian Industry.
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