Everyone would pounce, deriding his music as "God rock" and assuming his songs were merely sermons with guitar solos and drums.

That's because Christian rockers were previously defined by the likes of goody-goody Amy Grant or '80s hair-metal act Stryper, who briefly took Christian rock mainstream, but wound up the butt of jokes.

Or, as pop-culture blog The Talent Show puts it: "Christian rock is stereotypically the kind of crap that offends music fans as well as the ultra-religious."

But in the last few years, all that has changed. Yes, there are still plenty of artists who chirp about being born again, but artists such as Evanescence, Creed, Switchfoot, and P.O.D. have all scored multi-platinum success with music steeped in Christian themes. They've even maintained credibility while talking about their faith.

In fact, it's almost become cool to claim that you're Christian these days. Just don't go too far and actually say you're a Christian band.

"There's great bands like Thrice and Switchfoot and Sixpence None the Richer, who write really relevant, spiritual songs that aren't cheesy - and even if you don't share those beliefs, you can still listen to the song and say it's a really cool take on things," says Matt Thiessen of pop-punkers Relient K, whose 2004 album "mmhmm" simultaneously scored a slot in Billboard's pop Top 20 and the No. 1 position on the Christian chart.

This fall sees nearly a dozen bands made up of avowed Christians who have disavowed the notion of "Christian rock" poised to release new albums. The most notable include: Goth-inflected Grammy-winners Evanescence, which issues "The Open Door" on Oct. 3; modern rockers Mute Math, who'll put their self-titled debut in stores next week; Relient K, which has laid plans for a release in November; and double-platinum stars Switchfoot, who offer "Oh! Gravity" in December.

In June, metal-core faves Underoath signalled the growing popularity of the scene when it sold 98,000 copies of "Define the Great Line," to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. The only Christian-themed record to sell more copies in a week is LeAnne Rimes' "You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs."

"Bands are standing up for what they believe in - straight edge, veganism, animal rights, believing in God," says Underoath singer Spencer Chamberlain. "And kids are being more open and accepting of that."

Some think acceptance of Christian themes is partly a backlash against the rise of rap-rockers like Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock, who celebrated bad behavior in response to the anti-excess stances of Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

"The whole mid-'90s thing was all dumb guys in red baseball caps telling you to break stuff - there was a lot of misogyny, hedonism and mook-like behavior there," says Jason Pettigrew, editor-in-chief of Alternative Press magazine. "The strength of some of these {current} scenes came from young people who were like, 'You know, that's just not cool.' "

But like St. Peter, who thrice denied knowing Jesus, most bands fervently reject any label that involves the word "Christian." As Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman once described it: "Christian by faith, but not by genre."

The most obvious and controversial example of this came in 2003 when Evanescence released the breakthrough album, "Fallen," which sold 14 million copies worldwide. Initially marketing to Christian fans, the band's label pulled the disc from religious record stores after guitarist Ben Moody told Entertainment Weekly, "What the f-- k are we even doing {on Christian charts}?"

That sentiment starkly contrasted a 2000 interview in which Moody announced, "The message we as a band want to convey is simple: God is Love." Moody walked out of the group three years ago and singer Amy Lee is still desperate to distance the band from its Christian roots.

"Can we please skip the Christian thing? I'm so over it. It's the lamest thing," she recently told Billboard. "I never wanted to be associated with it."

Earlier this year, Mute Math went so far as to sue their record label because they were being marketed as a Christian band - even though the band's members are Christians. (The lawsuit was resolved in August, with Mute Math getting a broader market base.)

"I can understand that some bands with Christians in them want to be disassociated with the Christian market," says A&R rep Chad Johnson of Tooth &Nail records. "If you're trying to break into the New York scene, it's not going to be very hip to say, 'Yo, we're Christians!' "

Underoath's Chamberlain agrees. Declaring faith is "definitely not the cool thing to do in this {hard rock} scene." Still, the band closes many concerts by saying, "We do this for Jesus."

This summer, that line sparked a feud during the Warped Tour when Fat Mike, singer for punk stalwarts NOFX, began taking potshots at Underoath's beliefs onstage. Underoath dropped off the tour early, but Chamberlain says it was because the band was sick of each other, not Fat Mike.

Chamberlain laughs off the NOFX assault. He thinks it's important for the band to be open about its faith.

"We don't abuse it, we don't shove it down people's throats and tell them they're wrong if they don't believe what we do," he says. "Because I think that's wrong. Our songs are about life situations that every kid, on one level or another, can probably relate to."