[wintertime]

Re: Insipid modern hymns

How about ?

“He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; ...”

This powerful and rich language won’t be found in any modern hymn.

[tiki]

No one ever sings “Onward Christian Soldier” anymore.

[Lorianne]

I love the older hymns.

[sportutegrl]

That’s because the Bible Belt is in the South, where most solid churches reside, and that is a Yankee fight song.

[Fred Hayek]

My tastes in music are far from dated, but when I am in a church please nothing later than Fanny Crosby.

To much of “contemporary Christian music” I call “swoon music”. Marty Haugen and his ilk make me gag.

[hinckley buzzard]

I once was part of a choir singing at a UCC servive on memorial Day weekend. We were warming up with the hymn of the day, The Battle Hymn you reference. The woman pastor of this "church" came up to greet the guest choir before the service, and avowed as how she would rather not preside at a service that included such a warlike "militaristic" hymn. No wonder the national UCC has now slipped below the one million mark in membership, and sinking fast. The Holy Spirit has left them and they wither on the vine.

[humblegunner]

This powerful and rich language won’t be found in any modern hymn.

It won't be found in any hymn period.

The word is "vinyard".