Slideshow image

What do cassette tapes and the Christian life have in common?

The compact cassette was developed and released by Phillips in 1962 in Belgium. The goal was to introduce the tapes as a new standard in audio storage, allowing anyone to make audio recordings without requiring advanced technical skills. In 1966 the first music albums were released on what were then called musicassettes, featuring top-sellers by artists like Nina Simone, Eartha Kitt, and Johnny Mathis. By 1968 over 2.4 million cassette players had been sold in the United States. By the mid 1970s cassette decks were introduced to cars, replacing the previous 8 track players.

As I was studying, I learned that many internet users are confused about cassette tapes. A common question people ask online is "what is the connection between a cassette tape and a pencil?" If you don't know the answer to that question, I won't spoil the fun for you, so you'll have to figure it out on your own.

But in the end, the cassette tape has gone the way of the dodo bird. In the early 1990s another dated technology, the compact disc, replaced the cassette tape. CDs had better data storage capability, so you didn't have to flip to side B, greater functionality in humid conditions so you didn't have to keep a pencil handy, greater audio quality, were much cheaper to produce, and even had the amazing ability to skip tracks so you didn't have to rewind and fast-forward. By the early 2000s the cassette tape was a thing of the past.

To add insult to injury, The Oxford English Dictionary even omitted the word "cassette player" from its 12th edition Concise version in 2011!

Unlike the vinyl record player, the cassette tape has not really made much of a comeback. Cassette tapes aren't cool, they're clunky and cumbersome, they're hard to find, they're not really necessary, simply put there's a lot of easier more enjoyable ways to listen to music than on cassette tape.

But what is the connection between cassette tapes and the Christian life? I think many of us think about holiness the way we think about cassette tapes.

Holiness is an ancient relic from another era in Christian history. People in the 20th and 21st centuries are often confused and misinformed about holiness. If you ever read Christian authors from more than 100 years ago, you'll find an emphasis on holiness that frankly doesn't make sense to many modern Christians, much like a pencil and a cassette tape is strange to young people today.

Holiness is not really cool. After all it's not a compliment to call people "holier than thou" or "holy rollers." Is it any wonder that the word "holy" is more likely to be used as a prefix to profanity than just about anything else?

Holiness is clunky and cumbersome. "I mean, that's one way to live your life, but it's really not necessary is it." Aren't we saved by grace? If so, isn't holiness just an optional upgrade for those really serious about Christianity? And if it's so difficult and painful, wouldn't it be better to just ignore it altogether? Isn't the Christian life a lot easier and more enjoyable if we focus on other things instead of holiness?

To the modern mind, Peter’s words in 1 Peter 1:14-16 ring like an alarm bell: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

But contrary to popular belief, a life of holiness isn't a cumbersome drag, like being forced to replace your car's Bluetooth or CD player with a cassette player. A life of holiness is a gift of grace.