I guess I got a little confused based on the title of the thread and some of the direction that the thread has taken. Not that it is bad at all; I love reading what others in the family feel and think.
With regard to Petra vs. Stryper, I am not sure that there can be any kind of comparison in most cases. They are opposite ends of the spectrum. The one thing that does unite them (and us) is that we are all part of the holy family of God and fall every day and by God's grace, mercy and the gift of His son, Jesus, we are saved.
Reading the initial parts from MS book, I am glad to hear that a Christian has the strength to say those things. It is nice to know that others, especially those in the spotlight like that, fall too. Of course, the secular media will tear it apart and say that he is a hypocrite because he was a "Christian" but sinned, but they don not get it.
The idea of religion itself I think is a way to compartmentalize the belief in Christ into something that is more tangible for others to see, hold on to, etc... The real thing is the personal relationship with Christ. We need to hold on to Him and His teachings in our lives and share THAT with others. We tell them about what God has done in our lives and how He filled the voids in our lives with His love, peace, etc...
I believe in the idea of church as well, but church ought to be a verb and not always a noun. It should not really matter (weather permitting, of course) where we are assembled to praise God. What matters is that we praise God and hold each other up in His name, as part of the family. I could care less about if I were in a field with an acoustic guitar or in a 2.5 million dollar building with the latest sound and music gear. What matters is that I praise Him and fellowship with other brothers and sisters in the faith. We need to bring it back to that for sure, because we are getting lost in the material aspects of it all.
With regard to comparing Petra's and Stryper's music, I do not think that we can. They are two completely different styles of music. I love Petra; they are my favorite band but I also love much heavier music. That is where Stryper came in for a time with me. Then I found Bloodgood, Messiah Prophet, Whitecross, and others. I still listen to Stryper every now and then but for me, they were too much like the metal that I did not really like. I never got into Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and that type of rock. I wanted more melodic and structured music.
Petra could write a great ballad, especially when Greg sang them (with exception of In the Likeness of You - I cry when I hear that). Petra could also rock and have that layered sound that I like (keys, multiple guitars (at least on the albums), big vocals and power. Stryper was kind of boring for me with only guitars in the band (with the exception of sparse keyboard parts). They could get heavy but I was never really excited by them the way I was with Petra.
Listening to Petra got me into other great bands like Whiteheart, Liaison, Michael W. Smith, and so many others.
I believe that God called these bands to different parts of the ministry for different listeners to come to Christ. I think that Stryper was more "famous" because of their uniqueness in their music and message, and delivery at concerts. Heavy metal? Christian Metal? What a gimmick - at least that is what the secular world thought. They brought lots of people to Christ; lots of people who were on the other side of the tracks.
For me, the heavier, the better, most of the time. Petra still has a place there though in my life because they could do most of what I was looking for musically. I also like bands like Winger (In the heart of the Young), Europe (Out of This World), Stratovarius (almost anything in their discography), Sonata Arctica (the same), Nightwish (most of their stuff). But being as though I've played in almost every type of band, I also like George Benson, Kool & the Gang, Commodores, Lara Fabian, Journey, soft piano music and as a major influence musically for me, Yanni.
The one thing I will say is that I praise God for both groups Petra and Stryper because of their message of hope and salvation through Christ. God can use anything to His glory and sometimes we do not even realize it until after
Grace,
Harry