Posted on 01/16/2018 12:01:11 PM PST by SeekAndFind
A Michigan pastor whose columns on the intersection of faith and everyday life has argued that hymns like "Onward, Christian Soldiers" should not be removed from hymnals.
Shayne Looper, pastor of the nondenominational Lockwood Community Church of Coldwater, wrote in a syndicated column published Saturday that "there is still a place in our hymnody for hymns and gospel songs that make use of military metaphors, like 'Onward, Christian Soldiers' or 'Soldiers of Christ, Arise.'"
Looper argued in part that hymns with military metaphors were acceptable because the New Testament itself is full of such metaphors.
"Take, for example, the Apostle Paul. He repeatedly chose military metaphors to make important points regarding Christian living," wrote Looper.
"He referred to his co-workers as fellow-soldiers, and in so doing evoked an image of the kind of all-for-one, one-for-all camaraderie that is characteristic on the battlefield, and ought to be in the churches."
Looper also argued that military metaphors are also important because "Christians need to be reminded that they are part of something bigger, the advanced guard of a kingdom that is coming but has not yet been established."
"They are on duty. The Christian life is not a walk in the park with the savior but a mission for the king. It calls for alertness, determination, cooperation, endurance, and strength," he continued.
"The Christians who have made a difference in the world — who have cured diseases, cared for the poor, freed slaves, and ended wars — were not people who valued comfort above kingdom. Nor are they today."
Written in the 1860s, "Onward, Christian Soldiers" has been the source of much debate in some churches, with some arguing that its militaristic tone contradicts the peaceful message of Jesus Christ.
Multiple hymnal editions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have excluded the song; in 1989, The United Methodist Church almost removed it, but changed direction only after a strong outcry.
"This hymn, with its 'hut-two-three-four' tune and its warring call for Christians to raise the battle flag, has long outlived its usefulness," reads a 2012 column published by the Christian Century.
"In a world grown weary of religious strife, a world where the word crusade arouses more anger and embarrassment than resolve, few are nostalgic for a hymn that celebrates Christian soldiers marching to war."
Long live the Crusades.
The Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Written by Julia Ward Howe, Roy Ringwald, William Steffe
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
“As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on.”
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Onward Christian Soldiers was one of the hymns we sang on Sunday morning during Boy Scout camp outs back in the early 60’s. I still remember the lyrics.
Unfortunately, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," whose tune was composed by the great sacred composer John Dyes in 1861, is no longer in the Methodist hymnal--perhaps because it's the US Navy hymn.
The third verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is usually eliminated in hymnals and performances—perhaps because it strays way too far from the “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” theme—but Lee Greenwood includes it in a recent recording.
What kook finds a military theme offensive??????? I’m offended they’re offended!
The Conflict of the Ages
(Lelia Morris, 1912)
Lo, the conflict of the ages
Is upon us today,
And the armies are assembling
All in battle array;
Are you numbered with the faithful,
One of God’s loyal few,
Who have sworn Him full allegiance?
Can He count upon you?
Refrain
Have your eyes caught the vision?
Have your hearts felt the thrill?
To the call of the Master
Do you answer, I will?
For the conflict of the ages,
Told by prophets and by sages,
In its fury is upon us,
Is upon us today.
Catch the vision of a lost world
Going downward in sin,
While the Master’s great commission
Long unheeded has been;
See the children of the kingdom
Joined in heart and in hand,
Pressing forward in the struggle
To redeem this fair land.
Refrain
See the Church of God awaking
And with glorious zest
She is laying on her altars
Now her noblest and blest;
T’ward the final consummation
We are hastening on,
And the time for loyal service
Will forever be done.
Lelia Morris, one of America’s most prolific hymn wtiters, was a parishioner at the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church in McConnellsville, Ohio. In 2012, I visited the church, now the Trinity United Methodist Church, whose social hall is named for her. Although none of her hymns are in the United Methodist Church’s hymnal, several have been pasted into the hymnals at the church.
The Fight is On (O Christian Soldier)
The fight is on, the trumpet sound is ringing out,
The cry To arms! is heard afar and near;
The Lord of hosts is marching on to victory,
The triumph of the Christ will soon appear.
Refrain
The fight is on, O Christian soldier,
And face to face in stern array,
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
The right and wrong engage today!
The fight is on, but be not weary;
Be strong, and in His might hold fast;
If God be for us, His banner o’er us,
We’ll sing the victor’s song at last!
—Lelia Morris, 1905
Can’t this be taken to mean spiritual warfare? Paul uses military terminology in Ephesians 6 — the full armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
At the Battle Front
I’ve enlisted for life in the army of the Lord,
Tho’ the fight may be long and the struggle fierce and hard;
With the armor of God and the Spirit’s trusty sword,
At the front of the battle you will find me.
Refrain
Hear the tramp! tramp! tramping of the army,
The triumph shouting, the foe we’re routing;
Hear the tramp! tramp! tramping of the army,
Marching on to victory.
I’m in this army, this glorious army,
And the God of battles will defend me,
I’m in the army, this glorious army,
At the front of the battle you will find me.
With the banner of love and of holiness unfurled,
Full salvation proclaim to a sinful, dying world;
Tho’ the darts thick and fast from the enemy be hurled,
At the front of the battle you will find me.
Refrain
Is your name, friend, enrolled with the loyal ones and true?
Will you dare now to stand with the Savior’s faithful few?
Will you join with me now and the covenant renew?
At the front of the battle you will find me.
—Lelia Morris, 1906
A long time ago, right after 9-11, I remember a church service in England attended by Queen Elizabeth where they played ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and thinking that it probably wouldn’t be included in a service here because in might offend.
This was also when British news readers wore lapel pins with British & American flags. Hard to believe such a thing happened.
In his 6 volumne “History of WWII” Winston Churchill mentions that during the meeting with Roosevelt in the Atlantic, he was asked to choose the hymns for the Sunday service on HMS Prince of Wales.
One of them was “Onward Christian Soldiers”. I have seen film of the service and he and Roosevelt were both singing it.
Churchill mentions that within a year, most of those sailors were dead.
A Mighty Fortress is our God!
I think many hymnals change the word “die” to “live,” so “let us die to make men free” becomes much less heroic.
How about this one from Reginald Heber, 1827:
The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood red banner streams afar:
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink His cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below,
He follows in His train.
The martyr first, whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave;
Who saw his Master in the sky,
And called on Him to save.
Like Him, with pardon on His tongue,
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong:
Who follows in his train?
A glorious band, the chosen few
On whom the Spirit came;
Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,
And mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,
The lion’s gory mane;
They bowed their heads the death to feel:
Who follows in their train?
A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of Heav’n,
Through peril, toil and pain;
O God, to us may grace be giv’n,
To follow in their train.
"Progresssive" ideology has brought such nonsense upon us.
Beginning in the late 1800's, those who self-described as "liberals" (more recently, identifying themselves as "progressive") called for "changes" which have been, in fact, regressive, in that they have carried America back to Old World ideas which limit freedom, opportunity, creativity, and plenty--just as they did in 1776.
Below are the words from a major address by Ohio State Legislator and A.M.E. Bishop Benjamin W. Arnett, in an Address in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The theme: Righteousness Exalteth a Nation, but Sin is a Reproach to Any People:
"Withdraw from Christendom the Bible, the Church with its sacraments and ministry, and Christian morality and hopes, and aspirations for time and eternity; repeal all the laws that are founded in the Christian Scriptures; remove the Christian humanities in the form of hospitals and asylums, and reformatories and institutions of mercy utterly unknown to unchristian countries; destroy the literature, the culture, the institutions of learning, the art, the refinement, the place of woman in her home and in society, which owe their origin and power to Christianity; blot out all faith in Divine Providence, love, and righteousness; turn back every believer in Christ to his former state; remove all thought or hope of the forgiveness of sins by a just but gracious God; erase the name of Christ from every register it sanctifies—in a word annihilate all the legitimate and logical effects of Christianity in Christendom—just accomplish in fact what multitudes of gifted and learned minds are wishing and trying to accomplish by their science, philosophy, and criticism, and what multitudes of the common people desire and seek, and not only would all progress toward and unto perfection cease, but not one of the shining lights of infidelity would shine much longer. Yes, the bitterest enemies of this holy and blessed religion, owe their ability to be enemies to its sacred revelations - to the inspiration and sublimity of that faith which reflects its glories on their hostile natures. They live in the strength of that which they would destroy. They are raised to their seats of opportunity and power by the grace of Him they would crucify afresh; and is it to be thought that they are stronger than that which gives them strength? Can it be supposed that a religion which civilizes and subdues, and elevates and blesses will succumb to the enmities it may arouse and quicken in its onward march? Are we to tremble for the ark of God when God is its upholder, and protector, and preserver?” - Dr. Benjaming W. Arnett, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Urbana, Ohio, Centennial Thanksgiving Sermon, November 1876. Arnett's "Sermon" is available in the "Library of Congress - Historical Collections" - "African-American Pamphlets from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection," 1820-1920; American Memory, Washington, DC.
My understanding of Onward, Christian Soldiers is that the context is within the Kingdom of God, IOW when God, in the person of Jesus, is conducting victorious battle over earthly and Satanic forces. This would be in concert with multiple scriptures describing this, especially Revelation.
Would that these songs always remain in the hymnals for regular use and drive out the pap and pablum known as “praise songs” that have supplanted these hymns in most current worship services.
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