Photo credit: Shawn Poynter
The title Christians for Goliath places a familiar biblical story under uncomfortable pressure. Adeem the Artist’s forthcoming album considers how a religious tradition associated with mercy can become aligned with power at the expense of vulnerable people. Its latest single, “Children of the Lord,” brings that concern down to the level of individual gestures.
The title song originated after Adeem watched Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde appeal to President Donald Trump for mercy toward frightened immigrants and LGBTQ+ children at the National Prayer Service following his 2025 inauguration. Trump’s subsequent public attack on Budde, and arguments from pastors and commentators against empathy, informed Adeem’s response.
That episode supplies political context for the album, but “Children of the Lord” approaches the subject through religious conduct. Its images include eyes rolled toward heaven, fists raised for Jesus and Bibles wielded as swords. Each raises a question about what devotion accomplishes when the people around it receive no compassion.
A gritty blues riff anchors the song. Within an album drawing on gospel, country, folk and contemporary Christian music as well as blues, the track offers a concentrated examination of the gap between belief and behavior. Its subject is specific enough to stand independently while connecting clearly to the album’s title.
The song’s own history introduces another possibility for religious engagement. Adeem developed it during a writing session with singer and worship pastor Leon Timbo, whose outreach sought dialogue between evangelical Christians and trans people. Their exchange makes room for an approach to faith based on curiosity and care.
Producer John Darnielle came to the album after Adeem sent him the title song. The Mountain Goats musician, who had previously taken Adeem on tour, proposed making a contemporary Christian record in Nashville. That proposal became the setting for an 11-song collection assembled from material accumulated across 15 years.
“Children of the Lord” is available now, and Christians for Goliath follows December 11 on Four Quarters Records / Thirty Tigers. More information can be found at Adeem’s website. Together, the single and album title frame a demanding question: whose interests are served when religious conviction becomes a public display of allegiance?