The Red Letters Project

“It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” This statement, often attributed to Mark Twain, could easily refer to Jesus’ spoken words, printed in red ink in many editions of the New Testament. It is these rather unsettling red letters that lend their name to “The Red Letters Project”, an ambitious 3 CD recording that pairs modern rock music with every word of Jesus from the New Living Translation of the Gospel of Matthew. The project was published in June 2010 by Tyndale House Publishers and has an approximate running time of 3 hours.

Audio Bibles are common, of course, but two things set “The Red Letters Project” apart. First, it contains only Jesus’ spoken words. As a result, the listener experiences what Jesus said, rather than what others said about Jesus. This gives the project a dynamic quality often lacking in recorded performances of Scripture. It also facilitates a more direct experience than reading, since Jesus originally delivered his teaching as spoken word, not text. As a preacher, Jesus expected to be heard, not read. If the “The Red Letters Project” doesn’t reproduce this experience exactly as it occurred, it at least suggests what it might be like to hear Jesus today.

The second thing that sets this project apart is the music. Music has certainly been incorporated into other audio Bibles, but it usually serves as a backdrop to the text. “The Red Letters Project” is unique in that it integrates Jesus’ words directly into the music. The words remain the focal point, but they are woven into the songs like lyrics. The resulting performances have been described as a more reverent version of Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar, but these comparisons are inadequate. The project bears more resemblance to a modern rock album. Imagine Stone Temple Pilots singing the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Nine Inch Nails telling you to become like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The quality of the music is just that good. While the musicians responsible for writing and arranging the tracks (Dennis Duncan and Mario Canido) are virtual unknowns, Executive Producer Russ Regan is not. Regan is a longtime industry insider responsible for signing such legendary artists as Elton John and Neil Diamond.

Like practically any audio project of this size (40 tracks in all), certain songs stand out more than others. So if there is one criticism that I can level against “The Red Letters Project” it is that despite the high quality, some of the tracks aren’t terribly memorable – at least not after the first listen. Part of the problem is that the ancient texts used to create the tracks were not structured as songs. A winding discourse from the lips of Jesus is not easily sung in the shower.

But with repeated listens the stand-out tracks do start to sink in. Some of the more memorable songs include “Trees and Fruit”, a Beatles-esque piece warning that “every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire” and “70 x 7”, a haunting Alice in Chains-style hard rocker that advises us in the strongest possible terms to forgive others. In “Rapture” – perhaps the most challenging track of the collection – Jesus’ warnings about the last days are conveyed in a manner highly reminiscent of popular artist Seal.

It may be true that like Mark Twain we will be bothered by some of the difficult things in the Bible – including Jesus’ words. But no one can dispute Jesus’ importance or the longevity of his message, both of which, along with some great music, make “The Red Letters Project” more than worth your time. In the words of Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” True enough so far; it’s been 2,000 years and we’re still listening.