The Petra Zone

Since rock music (so far as we know) is a modern phenomenon as a musical genre, I don't think it's unfair to make the following ascertion:

PETRA is the GREATEST ROCK BAND OF ALL TIME!

I say this as someone who is well aware of the musically great secular talents we've seen over the past 40 years or so (The Beetles, Boston, Led Zepplin, Kansas, Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and so on). But the reason I say PETRA must be the greatest of them all is that they used their talent to the max and for the glory of God, the giver of musical talent.

I'm sure I'm "preaching to the choir" here, but I just wanted to say that!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

In the words of the immortal Unobot:

I completely agree with your argument.

I would have to agree with the both of you. To have lasted as long as they did, with all the personelle changes and struggles, plus to last last long in the Christian market is simply amazing, and truly a sign of their commitment to God, which is the greatest accomplishment.

Tutor23 I totally agree with those words.

Merry Christmas all

Greatest Christian band maybe.

There are many, many great bands that never have seen the store shelves or floated on radio air waves, much less the musician's musicians bands like Yes, The Eagles, Toto, Dream Theater, Dixie Dregs, etc.

While I would say that they could be close to Journey now, Bon Jovi, etc.

We have to compare apples to apples. To generalize and say best in the world, is like these stupid TV shows and magazines naming the best looking man alive. Well, what is good looking, and who is to say that all of the choices have to be, or are famous?

Fair enough, Edward. But I wonder if perhaps you and I have slightly different definitions in mind for the word "greatest"(?). For instance, is it possible that your focus may be more strictly placed upon the artistic production and/or talent, or perhaps some ethereal "philosophical depth", rather than on overall impact?

I would submit that part of the claim to the title of "greatest of all time" must entail the magnitude of both the qualitative AND the quantitative impact of the artist/band in question. Bands which never see the light of day (or relatively so) are very unlikely to have the widespread, lasting impact that a super-popular band like PETRA, regardless of magnitude of talent some may think they possess. Consider that many never come close to fully realizing or developing their God-given abilities (e.g., the 2-talent recipient in the "parable of the talents", the "rich young ruler", etc.).

So, I am sticking to my opinion!
Respectfully,
Tutor23

Say we have two bands. One is out on the market, the other is playing small clubs, youth groups, inner city rec centers, etc. Both sing songs that impact lives. Both lead people to the Lord. Which is greater? They are the sam in God's eyes. Both are faithful with the ministry that thet were given. So this is how I qualified the unheard of bands. Not to mention that some of the best musicians on the planet have yet to be heard. The ones that are have been in the right place at the right time. That's the only difference.

Yes, there are many, many great bands, but PETRA IS THE GREATEST!!!

Mari wrote:Yes, there are many, many great bands, but PETRA IS THE GREATEST!!!

I concur prodigiously!!

I would say Petra is the the greatest. The impact on my life and the encouragement in the songs. The integrity of all members is something not seen much anymore.

So I will say of all the bands I have herd and know of Petra is by far the GREATEST!!!!!!!!!!!!

To say that a band is the best ever is a subjective statement. It depends on what criteria you evaluate and how you interpret the data at your disposal.

You can remove the subjectiveness from the statement by stating an opinion. Opinions are subjective, but the fact that you have one is not.

So you can say, "Petra is my favorite band in the world."

No one can argue with that.

True, Spott, this is a subjective claim in many ways. But consider this...if we were to accept a proclamation that everyone's opinions have equal merit simply because opinions are subjective, then it would be difficult to find much value or purpose in discussing opinions at all. Carry this argument to its logical conclusion and one would quickly find that ALL opinions would be brushed aside as mere subjective statements, none of which would warrant anyone's attention.

In my opinion, the Bible is a very special book. To others, it may seem either irrelevant or even dangerous. The fact that there is a difference of opinion doesn't change the fact that one view is right and the other is wrong. And so, what do we do? Stop voicing opinions? Stop discussing them or listening to them? I say Nay! Instead, let's continue a respectful, healthy dialogue. Let's not merely voice opinions, but let's also share our reasons for holding those opinions, the facts and logic and experiencial/anecdotal data that have gone into our formulating our opinions in the first place. There is a wealth of empircal data, science, historical information, and so on that can be used to strongly support the claim about the uniqueness and importance of the Bible. In the end, even that comes down to faith. But the evidence is there to him who will make the effort to examine it.

So let's put our thoughts out there in the marketplace of ideas and try to persuade our fellow man as to why we believe our notions have merit. Sure, in the end it comes down to a personal judgment call since none of us is omniscient. We all make decisions in life based on opinions and interpretations of partial knowledge we happen to possess. Granted, this thread is not on the same level of importance as that of the authority and veracity of the Bible, and is meant to be a light-hearted "at-a-boy" for PETRA. But I don't think it can be discounted out of hand without some specific corroborrating (spelling?) counterarguments. Merely saying "there might be some better band out there" seems a little weak. Of course there MIGHT be, but where are they?! I repeat that I think that figuring out how to get oneself into a position to have a vast platform as PETRA has done is part of being the greatest. Along with the music, and the personal character/integrity, and all of that, one must be able to put it all together with reasonably good business/marketing decisions if one is to achieve such an impact. God gets the glory and I believe He has been behind PETRA's rise to the position of great influence they achieved. But remember the men who got the 10 and the 5 talents - God gave the talent, but they were effective because they chose wisely! The one with only 2 was cast out because he chose poorly.
Sorry for how lengthy this is! Just enjoying the thread!!
God bless..
Tutor23

Tutor, I'll bet you were GREAT on the high school debate team!

(I challenge anyone to disagree with my non-subjective claim!)

I disagree. I don't believe that you'll bet on that, because no one will take that bet.

Ha!