To some, gospel music represents the gospel in written and musical forms.
Gospel Fusion is a subgenre of rhythm and blues from urban Black American music talent and positive image blended with gospel from rural Black American music with a professional dress, and dress down dance and modeling flair.
Gospel Fusion is mainly magnetic positive image blended with the gospel concept to help in preserving the “Black American Child” original past. The Black American original past goes far beyond the Americas beginnings.
The Black American original past starts with which groups of original Black peoples, the naming of such groups of original Black peoples including their children, reached the Americas long before the Columbus Period.
How far back in time does the gospel go and who had access to the gospel in order for music to be put to lyrics and gospel is the basis of Gospel Fusion as we know it today.
In Gospel Fusion, singers of gospel music sing songs borrowed from what is believed to be the original gospel of Jesus regardless if the gospel contains fragments of Jesus message and or life.
The four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are separated and grouped all together from all other gospels due to the controversy about containing fragments of Jesus message and or historical information about Jesus’ life considered to be reliable.
Such discovery to the unsolved controversy about copies of fragments and quotations of history information about Jesus is: the birth of Jesus, as well as certain details about the crucifixion and the resurrection, alterations, and afterwards the rising from the dead of Jesus.
Most importantly, the controversy about the gospel is why is the gospel viewed as necessarily Christian monopoly?
No “True Believer” has a monopoly on gospel or Jesus, period,” says Stone.
It does appear as fact that early oral traditions about Jesus, along with collections of accounts, preceded the canonical gospels. In other words, peoples that didn’t write much about Jesus most definitely passed along a telling about Jesus which was passed along again and again.
An example of this is how the dedicatory preface of the Gospel of Luke testifies to the existence of several accounts of the life of Jesus by the time the Book of Luke was written.
The term "gospel" being used or not being used in the New Testament text for any of the canonical Gospels is also a never ending debate. Certain people will love to debate instead of agreeing on the importance of gospel.
Although in later centuries a traditional reading of 2 Corinthians 8:18, "the brother, whose praise is the Gospel", was to sometimes identify this with Luke, and consequently the Gospel of Luke.
Therefore, gospel fusion is music mixed with the art style of an artist who enjoys making beats, rhythms and tones, and song.
There is no interest in debate about what is or what isn’t gospel in gospel fusion music.
However, there is the group historically called Christians… But is the gospel, writing about Jesus or other biblical personalities, itself Christian just because there is a group name-called Christian?
In addition, lost gospels, such as that of Saint Peter among other gospels, contain fragments of Jesus's message as well.
Regardless of written gospel or gospels of the many gospels written in antiquity, it seem that one man was able to demand with success that everyone accept his own view and his own view only that- only four gospels, the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, come to be accepted as part of the New Testament, or canonical.
That man’s name was Irenaeus of Lyons, alive and well c 185 years after the death of Jesus.
It was Irenaeus’ strong insistence upon there being a canon of four gospels, and no others, was a central theme of Irenaeus.
Irenaeus was ultimately successful in declaring that the four gospels collectively, and exclusively these four, contained the truth.
Interestingly, history does repeat itself, because during and more importantly before the Irenaeus of Lyons Period the gospel was already prized and possessed by peoples who lived on the eastern side of Tunisia.
In c 185. Tunisia was name-called Carthage or the original Carthaginian civilization.
Of course, just about everyone knows that Tunisia is located in Africa. What everyone doesn’t know about Tunisia is that it was thriving more than 200 years before the birth of Jesus.
This is a conclusion that original Black peoples were well aware and deeply concerned about the concept that a gospel messiah was to come along, move out of or away from a particular body of original Hebrew peoples and come into full view of all original Hebrew peoples.
It is also clear to conclude that the original Hebrew were in fact Black Peoples not any other race of people.
Original peoples of African descent, Black peoples, were those who read, wrote, dressed and danced, and more importantly created music while having the gospel.
What this means is that there was no need for any one man to dictate to them what should or what shouldn’t be considered gospel.
No one dictated to them what the sound of gospel music should be or shouldn’t be and got away with being demanding.
It’s clear that only later in time individuals that began to read the gospel decided to control what gospel fusion is forcing anyone that wouldn’t listen to them to do as they had commanded.
Unfortunately, back then and today, peoples from all races and backgrounds follow the dictation of one man or woman and debate or divide among themselves about what gospel music is or should be.
What’s worse about how one man or woman can dictate to so many people and cause a great divide is that it also has been said that there is a difference between the actual “Bible” and the actual “Gospel”.
Prejudice has no place in music or in the Bible or in a Gospel.
However, prejudice is the sole force for many to use to state that the Bible is the religious book of the Christians just as the Torah is the religious book of the Jews and the Quran is for the Muslims, or the Gita is for the Hindus.
And the book of the Bible contains texts that are sacred to both the Christians as well as Jews, -leaving out all other religions.
Anyone reading this prejudice definition of what is the Bible can clearly see the hypocrisy. How can the Bible be the book of the Christians only and be sacred to Jews all the same?
In fact the Bible is the religious book of anyone accepting it- no religious denomination is excluded from embracing the Bible as theirs. The Bible is an open book which anyone can read if they want to.
It is just plain false information expressing that the Jews, Muslims are among other religions that don’t believe that the 4 gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, are about Jesus.
What the 4 gospels mean to one individual could mean something completely different to another individual. It is the same conclusion that what gospel music means to one person could mean something entirely different to another person.
Regardless if there is a Jewish person, Christian person or Muslim person listening to gospel music who is the one man or one woman that has the authority to control what music an individual can or can’t listen to? Name him or her.
More importantly, the Jewish religion, Christian religion and Islamic religion, in that order of religion beginnings, all have original histories including Black peoples.
And music was always a part of these religions' concepts.
How did religions allow debates and differences to deny music it’s empowerment to bring relief and joy is truly a tragedy.
Many groups take the position that the gospels are a type of ancient biography. And that is good enough for them.
And many groups do not. And that too is good enough for them.
Either way, gospel music is enjoyed and loved by both groups regardless whether they follow gospel or not.
And that is what Van Stone Gospel Fusion is all about. Enjoy the music.
Be happy and enjoy life as much as anyone else can do.
