Term Paper on "Dierks Bentley Prodigal Son's Prayer and the Bible"

Term Paper 4 pages (1500 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Dierks Bentley's "Prodigal Son's Prayer" and the Bible

The prodigal son is such an iconic story that even those without a strong foundation in the Bible know the basics of the story. A wandering child, somewhat of a disgrace, returns home. He is greeted with open arms, though he fears that he will be treated with disgrace. However, the story is such an iconic one, that some of the details of the story have been lost in translation. Some people use the term prodigal son to be any child that wanders away, though that term does not capture the entire essence of the story. In order to really understand why the open embrace of the prodigal son was so significant, one must understand the story in its context. That context is twofold. First, the prodigal son is the third in a series of parables about redemption. However, even more significant to the story is the story's Jewish context, because, without understanding Jewish culture at the time of Jesus, one cannot really understand the depth of the son's betrayal or the depth of the Father's forgiveness. Therefore, before examining Dierks Bentley's "Prodigal Son's Prayer," it is important to understand the original story.

The New Testament features a series of parables about loss and redemption. Jesus is the one who tells these parables, and their purpose is to help explain to his followers or his detractors why he does the things that he does. In the parable of the Lost Sheep, a shepherd leaves his entire flock to find the one missing sheep who has wandered away from the flock. The parable makes it clear that Jesus believes that even those who have wandered away are worth effort and redemption, and is the way Jesus answers criticism by the Pharisees and other religious leaders, who believe that he has spent too much time among sinners. The second parable is the parable of the Lost Coin, where a woman loses one coin, searches diligently for it, and then rejoices when she finds it. The parable of the Prodigal Son is the third in the series. Like the first two parables, it tells the tale of something that is lost and then found. However, it is a more detailed parable, and the loss of the son is more profound than the loss of the sheep or the coin, because of the son's behavior. The son willfully betrays the father, but comes to a realization of the wrong that he has done, and goes to throw himself upon his father's mercy. He does not seek to be restored to the position of son, but merely to seek his father's mercy. Instead, he is restored to mercy and love, after a willful betrayal. With this parable, not only did Jesus address the concerns about him associating with sinners, but also introduced the ideas of redemption and forgiveness of sin in a way not addressed in the first two parables. A wandering sheep and a lost coin can hardly be believed to have willfully betrayed their owner, while the prodigal son's treatment of his father was willful.

In order to understand why the prodigal son's betrayal was significant, one must understand the historical context of the parable. When the prodigal son leaves, it is not to set out and make it on his own. The son asks his father for his share of his inheritance, before his father is dead, which is almost as if he were wishing the father dead. The Jewish son at that time was expected to be patient and not to act as if he were entitled to any part of his father's estate. Then, using his father's money, the son fails in his solo endeavors. When he returns home, the older brother, who has stayed and done what would be expected under Jewish custom and law, does not feel that his father should forgive his younger brother. This story seems to reflect the fact that Jesus was coming to change Judaism; adherence to law over love would no longer be the way of God. Moreover, even those who intentionally betray someone, the Father, will be entitled to forgiveness, love, and redemption, if they seek it. In essence, the prodigal son's story is every sinner's story.

The lyrics of Dierks Bentley's song "Prodigal Son's Prayer," clearly reference the Biblical background of the parable. The concluding lyrics of the song make this clear, with the singer asking, "Name me one of your chosen / Heaven's unbroken prodigal son" (Bentley). This is a song that fully knows the Biblical background of the parable that it is referencing. However, the song references more than the parable of the Prodigal Son. It references the entire idea of Christianity as practiced in America, which is mostly protestant, and somewhat evangelical. When one considers the intended audience for country music, one sees that even though country music is a popular music genre, it is different than other forms of popular music in that it speaks to values. According to Joe Carter:

An examination of the sixty most popular country songs of 2010 reveals that faith and family are recurring themes within the musical genre: Fathers are mentioned in ten of the songs, mothers in seven, and children in five; six of the songs allude to marriage; mentions of prayer, preachers, church, heaven, and God are heard discussed in three songs; and the Bible is named in one. Altogether, twenty-three of the sixty songs include at least one of these themes (Carter).

Therefore, the audience for country music is known to be an audience that wants music with values and that wants music that speaks to underlying religious ideals. Therefore, the message in the music can be overtly religious, as the lyrics in the song are.

However, while the lyrics are overtly religious, they stray significantly from the story of the prodigal son. The song opens with the plea, "Father meet me with your arms wide open," (Bentley). In the parable, the son does not even consider the idea that his father will greet him with open arms. The son plans to go to his father and ask, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants" (Luke 15:19, NIV). In other words, in the original parable, the son cannot even hope for the father's forgiveness. However, in a post-Jesus world, the straying son can be hopeful enough to plead for the Father to greet him with arms wide open, because of Jesus' promise of redemption and forgiveness. In this way, the story reflects the way that Jesus reflects the change in God's approach to people.

Furthermore, the song reflects some other aspects of modern Christianity, which simply are not present in the original parable. The second verse of the song has the singer asking, "Father lead me down to the river / Wash me in the water 'til I'm whiter than snow / I know I'm not worthy / but tell me there's mercy for the wanderin' soul" (Bentley). These lyrics clearly reference the evangelical idea of baptism and rebirth. To really understand those lyrics, one must understand the role that baptism plays in modern Christianity. According to Jeff McFadden, "The work of the cross is God's offer of life…Baptism is our acceptance" (McFadden). Here the singer is clearly asking his father to take him to a river, immerse him in that water, and wash him till he is clean of sin. That is an obvious reference to Baptism, a practice that would not have existed during the time of the prodigal son.

While Bentley used elements of modern Christianity, the fact is that the parable of the prodigal son is the story of almost every Christian is what makes… READ MORE

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