Intellectuelle

Whenever I encounter something like this in church (a huge bell? Seriously!), I compulsively start singing U2's "40" in my head ... "how long ... to sing this song?"

I'm all for worship songs dealing with abstract ideas, but sheesh, do it in a way that's biblically defensible.

And my sacrifice is not what You can give
But what I alone can give to you

^ Whenever anyone plays this song, I always change it internally to "My sacrifice is not what I can give, but what You alone have given to me," but that doesn't fit as well rhythmically, and that's all that matters now, right? ;)

I actually have the CD this song originally came from, though, and in its defense, the rest of the songs are a lot more biblically solid. Call this a hiccup.

*giggling and yet convicted about other dumb songs I might have sung at some time*

Good points! I always thought the bell part was sketchy.

In chapel (mandatory for all Baylor freshman; joyful obligation it is not)

I had to crack up when I read this. My most miserable experiences at Criswell College (a Baptist college in Dallas) were chapel services. Prepare for more and more misery in these "mandatory" meetings. As I said before, just be sure to bring your latin vocabulary cards to the "service" so you can have something worthwile to do.

As difficult as it is, it can be worthwile to listen and watch the vexing things that happen around you in a chapel service. Sometimes God rubs our noses in the folly of others so that we grow to hate the folly that is in our own hearts. It's a stench to his nostrils, and it ought to be to ours as well.

Well, I guess you know more the mentality of that kind of song, having come out of that culture yourself. But I wonder, do the people singing that and meaning it really intend to be telling God that, on their own strength, they have chosen to remember Him and worship Him, or is it just that the song expresses (however ignorantly) that because of the immensity of salvation, it can never be forgotten by those given it?

The poetry, certainly, is an absolute crime, and in light of that, I actually do understand the bell part--it's a cute phrase to make it rhyme with sing. And, of course, that bit about the sacrifice is dreadful--see my commentary on that in "My Pen Is Lame."

But do let's be a little slower to criticize our weaker brothers--we must admit they do have a great deal more fervor, often real fervor for a real thing (even if they don't understand it), than we do.

Peter - yes. Biblically defensible is good.

Manders - haha, so you change the words occasionally, too? Nice.

Emily - "sketchy" is a good word.

Tony - I do get a lot of Latin done in chapel, and incidentally lots of reading for Christian Scriptures, too.

Kilby - You're right. The difficulty is that I admittedly want to distinguish myself as far as possible from classmates who give Christianity a bad rap by zeal that does not accord with knowledge, and whose lives are completely incompatible with what knowledge they do have. I guess this kind of criticism is my flawed way of complaining about it while I figure out what in the world else I can do.

I just noticed this bit:

They: "A life of praise I live before You"

You: "Yes. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me the choice to choose you and live sinlessly forever after. And thank you for legs to dance so wildly."

Me: I think you're reading too much into this. David said something similar several times in the psalms ("I have walked uprightly before You"--"I will praise you continuously"--"I will bless the Lord with my whole heart"--etc.) and he danced crazily enough before the Lord for his wife to get pissed off at him for it. Are we going to criticize David, too? I think we Reformed types get a little too uptight about this kind of thing. There are days where I wish I could start dancing at Redeemer, truth be told. ;)

I understand everyone's points about seeking to reign in any extreme or uncharitable attitudes in Laura's post; and often, I'm usuallly the one doing this sort of thing to others. However, I've learned that a lot of what is helpful is calling an orange an orange -- simply calling vapid lyrics what they are, vapid and unedifying, (often) anti-intellectual drivel. There is a powerful gospel in critique -- we do need to be brought low so that we can be brought up again (in the grace of Christ); thus we do need to hear that our drivel is drivel; we need to be slapped in the face.

When we as humans try to do such a thing however, it's bound to go awry (at least at some level) because we cannot critique appropriately; we indefinitely will miss out either in the utter truth of our critique (be too lenient) or in the grace in which it is given. We all fall to either of these two sides at times. Thus I don't think it's anything unique to Laura's post that it fails at some level, but rather indicative of a more general human problem.

Manders, I have to defend myself somewhat and say that this was not an attempt at serious analysis; if it were, you'd be right that I wrongly read into that. But I was attempting to expose/attack the general attitude of all modern P&W, which I supposed to be behind this song. As for the language of the Psalms, I just don't know that given the popular understanding of what it means to be upright and righteous (as essentially sinless, as opposed to the more biblical "deals honestly with sin"), people are going to understand "A life of praise I live before you" that way, and not be further deluded into thinking that they can actually attain some level of moral perfection in this life. :-/

Ashley, over at my blog (where I'm about to go respond), someone called sarcasm necessarily unconstructive because it is DEstructive; I may not contest that, but I will contest an opposition to all sarcasm just because it supplants. If I catch your drift, I agree that it can be done lovingly, in order to make room for something to build.

I hope I don't sound too quick to vindicate myself, because there may be some uncharitable impatience in that response, but the truth is that anger/frustration is not really the dominant reaction here. I haven't learned how to put heartbreak into words that don't appear to add up to "woe is me."

Thanks for the sharpening, all. Keep at it.

Silly me; I have a tendency to take sarcasm a little too seriously at times. Sorry. :)

Point taken.

(Just to be contrary, though, I don't know all that many people who would really believe or say that. But yeah, there are quite a few who DO, especially at Baylor!)

This was one of the last songs I learned before I left the Praise and Worship scene forever. I'm not displeased with my choice.

I, too, would echo that I think you might be unnecesarily critical about some points. We see in the Psalms many times about the fall of the wicked, the superiority of those who follow God, and joy in God's coming conquests. Righteous indignation is a good part of our worship.

That being said, I think many of your criticisms are right on. The sacrifice line is utterly wrong (that is to say morally wrong) and and bell line ridiculous (I remember fighting off laughing aloud while singing that line.)

Mike

"To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect."
John Owen

It's hard to get things done in chapel because of all the CHAPEL NAZIS wandering about! They've been around less lately, though.

There are some P&W songs that have good lyrics, but by and large the "Jesus is my girlfriend" and other vapid lyrics just sicken me. And they're bad poetry to boot. And the music is boring. Let's start singing Bach's B Minor Mass for service. :)

Ah, the 'bell' song. Now I remember overhearing conversation about college chapels and the 'bell' song and the 'sexy' song.

My son wouldn't sing the AWANA Cubbies theme song as a three year old, as it was, and I quote "A LIE!".

It was the line "we're happy all day long" that he would not sing. He was NOT happy all day long.

But, I suppose it wouldn't be wise to sing about sin in song, and then do 'motions' where we point to those whom we know to be living in that particular sin. No. Not wise.

I was never one to 'climb, climb up sunshine mountain' either.