Posted on 07/30/2013 5:30:30 AM PDT by Gamecock
I saw this over at Denny Burk’s blog today. Apparently the reason the Presbyterian Church USA doesn’t like “In Christ Alone (one of my favorites), is because of that unpopular, un-politically correct word, “Wrath.” As we’ve pointed out many times here at SUFTT, the more sin is watered down, the less we have of the true Gospel. In other words – no sin = FALSE gospel. The PCUSA has been going down a concerning path for quite some time now, and it appears that this is just another symptom of the problem the devil delights in: a departure from Truth to appeal to the world. Here’s the article: PCUSA rejects popular hymn “In Christ Alone”
Timothy George explains why the Presbyterian Church USA has recently rejected the hymn “In Christ Alone” from its new hymnal:
Recently, the wrath of God became a point of controversy in the decision of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song to exclude from its new hymnal the much-loved song “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The Committee wanted to include this song because it is being sung in many churches, Presbyterian and otherwise, but they could not abide this line from the third stanza: “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied.” For this they wanted to substitute: “…as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified.” The authors of the hymn insisted on the original wording, and the Committee voted nine to six that “In Christ Alone” would not be among the eight hundred or so items in their new hymnal.
There is no surprise in this news. Although not all PCUSA churches are theologically liberal, the denomination by and large is. Liberalism and wrath go together like oil and water; they don’t mix. And historically speaking, one of them eventually has to go. When wrath goes, so does the central meaning of the atonement of Christ—penal substitution. At the end of the day, the cross itself is the stumbling block, and that is why the PCUSA cannot abide this hymn.
You can read the rest of George’s article here. You can read the lyrics below.
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
“In Christ Alone” Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music
President Obama has said he flat out rejects that line. He’s no Christian and the media pretended he was. He’s had more training as a muslim than he has as a Christian (unless you count 20 years of Come To Jesus and Goddamn the USA from Reverend Jeremiah “former muslim himself” Wright).
They might also have a problem with “GRACE ALONE.” I have to pull out a tissue every time we sing it.
PCUSA seems to get their talking points from CPUSA (Communist Party USA).
I like Christian rock. It’s very positive. It’s not like those real musicians who think they’re so cool and hip.
I have found that to be the case with most if not all the Getty's work. Certainly a significant departure from a lot of todays Christian Pablum masquerading as serious music.
I miss the media reports on how many people "incorrectly" fail to identify Obama as a Christian; even as recently as a year ago: "just 34 percent of Americans correctly identify Obama as a Christian". I am a Christian. I've read and studied the Bible for decades. While there are a broad range of understandings that I accept as reasonable, I have never met a Christian who honestly interprets scripture as anything like Obama's positions. Obama is very clearly on the other side in the battle between good and evil.
As for lines in the Bible that are difficult, I know the feeling, although I respond very differently from those who claim to speak for God but from the far left. There are several passages that I find confusing, challenging, or otherwise disconcerting. My general assumption, which should make sense to any Christian, is that if my views disagree with God's, I should re-read the Bible and see if I misunderstood. If I understood the Bible correctly and still want to act differently, I'm wrong and will try to follow God's word. It's not hard. Life doesn't get any better than following the Creator of the universe. He is far more likely to make the most perfect decisions possible for my life than I am, and so far He has done a much better job than I could possibly have done alone. I just have to look at Obama, Weiner, Clinton, and the rest of those who follow darkness instead of Light - there but for the grace of God go I.
A lot of the PCUSA churches have left the denomination in the last year.
One of the rare new songs I actually think is very good.
A great hymm, my church choir has sung it and I have heard it. It teaches about Jesus.
It’s like I heard from an old Holiness preacher once, “You might as well board up the windows of the church and write ‘Ichabod’ above the doorposts.”
(For those not sure what I mean, the word ‘Ichabod’ is Hebrew for ‘the glory has departed’.)
This is not just the PC, it is spreading throughout the main line Church’s. The Dominion Heresy teach’s a non scriptural “happy clappy” theology that is morphing Churches from worship of God to worship of self. In the end, the false teaching of a “Great Revival” in the face of Christs statement of “When I return, will I find faith” will end up creating the Harlot that Rides the Beast, the False Church of the end times.
The teaching that in the end the Church will inherit the wealth of the sinners, wrest the reigns of control over the earth and deliver a redeemed earth for Christs return will play easily into the hands of the Anti-Christ.
We are watching the final Apostasy in the last days before our very eyes!
I call it 'prom date' music. I don't want to jump in the back seat of my car and fog up the windows with God.
A good, but not exclusive, rule of thumb is to count the personal pronouns. We played a song in church on Sunday where references to the seeker outnumbered references to the Savior by more than three to one. It's okay to ask whether that song belongs in church and be honest about the answer.
Shouldn’t that read, “CPUSA (communist Party)”?!
I’ve thought, that should one be a Christian, that the ‘whole book, and nary a part removed’, would be someone’s stance.
If I remember right, the shedding of blood, (which this ‘wrath thing’ is the cornerstone), began when God, had to kill some created animals, to get the coverings for the self-professed ‘nekid’ humans, in the Garden. (Polyester wasn’t available yet.)
To say that someone doesn’t like ‘God’s Wrath’, for example only, doesn’t really know, care, or wish to learn, what that truly entails. They like the ‘God loves us’ thing, but denies that there is more than that on the plate!
I think I read that when ol’ Israel, in the ol’ part of the whole book, got out of line, cities burned, folks died, children were dashed against walls, the food was gone ... you get the picture. That’s NOT exactly the ‘God loves us’ thing in action, no?
Ah, yes ... the great classic hymns "How Great I Am" and "Amazing Me" ...
It's okay to ask whether that song belongs in church and be honest about the answer.
Most of it is not only bad hymnody, it's bad campfire music.
Okay, that made me snort. Thanks for that.
Hymnals are so old school. A church wasting money on hymnals in this day of multi-media needs to have its head examined. The old ones are in the old books. Keep those books.
The new ones are everywhere. Simply use them with a license via multi-media.
If you want to sing “In Christ Alone” which we do in our local church (Methodist), then do so with a bullet and an attitude!
The best way to tell these people they’re idiots is simply not to buy their books. They are NOT NECESSARY!
"In Christ Alone" isn't in the public domain, though, and according to the article, the authors didn't allow the change.
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