‘Lyrics Matter’—Evangelist Shane Pruitt Sounds the Alarm on Taylor Swift’s Album

Pop star Taylor Swift has come under fire following the release of a surprise 31-song double album, titled “The Tortured Poets Department.” Some have criticized Swift, who has described herself as a Christian, for her “self-worshipping” lyrics that include biblical imagery.

One person who has sounded the alarm on Swift’s new album is Shane Pruitt, the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Director of Next Gen Evangelism for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). Pruitt emphasized in a recent social media post that “LYRICS MATTER.”

“Disclaimer, I’m definitely not the minister or parent that has the ‘no secular music’ stance. Also, I fully realize unbelievers are going to act like unbelievers,” said Pruitt, who used to listen to Swift’s albums.

RELATED: ‘I Am Christian. That’s Not What We Stand For’—Taylor Swift’s Political Comments Resurface As She Returns to Tennessee

“HOWEVER,” he added, “there is a difference between being secular, and being ANTI-CHRISTIAN.”

Pruitt then shared some lyrics from Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department.”

In her song, “But Daddy I Love Him,” Swift writes, “I just learned these people only raise you / To cage you / Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best / Clutchin’ their pearls, sighing, ‘What a mess.’ / Just learned these people try and save you / ‘Cause they hate you.”

The song continues,

God save the most judgmental creeps
Who say they want what’s best for me
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see
Thinkin’ it can change the beat
Of my heart when he touches me
And counteract the chemistry
And undo the destiny
You ain’t gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy
If all you want is gray for me
Then it’s just white noise, and it’s just my choice.

In another song, titled “Guilty As Sin,” Swift says:

What if I roll the stone away?
They’re gonna crucify me anyway
What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?
If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me
They don’t know how you’ve haunted me so stunningly
I choose you and me religiously

RELATED: ‘Sparks Fly’ Over The Gospel Coalition’s Latest Article About Taylor Swift

Swift says she would have died for her former boyfriend’s sins in her song, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” singing, “I would’ve died for your sins, instead, I just died inside.”