It came to my attention, through Protestia, that the old and beautiful hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing has been desecrated as long ago as two years by words that, of course, go easily to other beloved tunes, like Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee:
Here are some people in Texas doing their best:
I’m so innocent, I didn’t know there was a whole affirming hymnal called Songs For The Holy Other—check it out.
So, just speaking aesthetically, especially with the destruction of Star Wars and many things that people have considered stable cultural tropes, I was made for such a time as this. I am too critical by half, and, knowing this about myself, try to reign it in a lot of the time. But when presented with so many low-hanging fruits, I feel the splendor of critique shining forth. It is my hour.
The main thing to remember is that without a narrative arch, literally nothing is interesting. And the problem with Pride Month—and the new American civic religion in general—is that it gets rid of the arch. There is no hero or heroine’s journey into a desolate place of despair, the sudden deliverance of help and hope, the denouement, and final putting right of everything that went wrong. Every single good story is derivative of the passion of our Lord, which is embedded in every thrilling tale in the scriptures. So with that in mind, let’s take apart this new musical effort. Here is verse one:
Sing a new world into being, Sound a bold and hopeful theme. Find a tune for silent yearnings. Lend your voice and dare to dream: dream a church where all who worship find their lives and loves belong. Sing a new world into being. Sing as Christ inspires your song!
It hasn’t, heretofore, been within the purview of mainline churchgoers to indulge in performative, aspirational, word-of-faith exercises where you just say things and hope they will amount to something. But I guess the good times have come to an end, and Episcopalians and Methodists are now joining the wide world of Manifesting. “Sing a new world into being” is at once boring and blasphemous. Boring because the poetry is bad and the sentiment is tired. And blasphemous because human words do not create the world. That is the work of God.
And honestly, what kind of “dream” would any of these people have? I have a lot of dreams, though not nearly as many as my children, who are looking out over an economically and spiritually bleak landscape and world that sold them unmercifully short. But sure, warble on about dreams without a single person under 50 in the room.
We carry on:
Sing a new world into being where each gender class and race brings its rainbow gifts and colors to God's limitless embrace; where the lines that once divided form instead the ties that bind. Sing a new world into being; risk transforming heart and mind!
Isn’t it interesting how the hymn has nothing to say about the God who everyone is purporting to worship? Normally hymns are songs of praise, not to ourselves, because that would be arrogant and embarrassing, but to God. But here, the only job God has is to affirm and embrace us, no matter what dumb and foolish things we decide to do. We are the creators whose work God affirms for some reason. And remember, transforming your heart and mind—without ever saying what the substance of the transformation is—is risky!
Sing a new world into being where the homeless find a home, where no children ever hunger but are filled in God's shalom; where all people work for justice, where all hate and vengeance cease. Sing a new world into being; raise the harmonies of peace.
This really boils my onion. It is such a theological mess. So, first of all, God’s “shalom” does not perfectly conform itself to progressive values. A person partakes of God’s peace by joining herself to his kingdom through faith in the work of the Son and by being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This little ditty is conflating the world to come with the world now, and in no wise saying anything meaningful about the actual kingdom of God. In the world to come, we won’t need to “work for justice.” There won’t be injustice in that new world that God himself creates without any of our help. We’ll get to live there, and there won’t be hunger or war or anything, because every knee will have already bowed, either willingly or unwillingly.
So it’s possible to experience peace—shalom I guess—with God now, by bowing the knee, obeying his commands, confessing your sins, and joining yourself to the visible Body of Christ. But doing that will necessarily set you at odds with the principalities of this world who are not doing that. You get to be at peace with God but in conflict with your neighbor.
Or, you can just junk it all together and sing songs to yourself about your nice feelings that in no way affect any reality—spiritual or otherwise—in any way at all.
Sing a new world into being. Join the ancient prophet's cry for a time of health and plenty when all tears have been wiped dry; when compassion flows like waters, pouring balm for all who grieve. Sing a new world into being; live the promise you believe!
Or, in the more commonly accepted phrase, “be the change you want to see in the world.” Because, why not. Just be God. Just redeem the world. Create it and then redeem it. It’s not that hard! All you have to do is sing a mediocre song in a room with a lot of people who agree with you and then toddle off to the country club to congratulate yourself.
There’s going to be a funeral at our church on Saturday, and here’s what we’re going to sing, just as a palate cleanser:
Have a nice day!
Except for God's great love, you would think He might strike dead anyone who sings those words. Thanks for the the arrangement of "Arise My Soul." Before the throne my surety stands!
Thank you for giving voice to my outrage and disgust at these 'kinder, enlightened, DEI lyrics'. I literally want to scream when a hymn with rich liturgy ends up on the woke power point screen in a church that stands for nothing. God help us, please deliver us from this madness.