I’m not a fan of Amazing Grace either. I find it sappy and sentimental. But music, much like beauty is in the eye of or ear of the beholder.
Here is an example from Casting Crowns of a song that I think badly misses the mark:
Jesus, Friend Of Sinners
Jesus Friend of sinners we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus friend of sinners the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus friend of sinners break our hearts for what breaks yours
I know of no scripture that would support the idea that the world is rushing to Jesus, or that mentioning sin and the need to repent gets in the way. In fact, I find far more discussion in the Bible about our need to repent and turn away from sin than I do on the idea that sin is a minor point for God.
How can we call on folks to repent if we ignore what sin is? Yet how often do you hear anyone in the church or in CCM even mentioning sin, let alone hammering ANYONE for sinning? Yet Casting Crowns seems to think we are too negative, and that if we just accept people and ignore sin, they will come rushing to Jesus.
They may come rushing to a message like that, but they will not find Jesus or life.
Now that's balderdash, a useful contemporary myth. (I should have said, it's straight from hell). Why confuse beauty with preference?
There must be hundreds of ways to sing Amazing Grace....the stanzas are written A B A B format. There is the Gilligan’s Island theme adaptation or House of the Rising Sun which was popular in the late 70’s early 80’s. I discovered it could be sung to the tune Edelweiss...(using the “when we’ve been there 10000 years” as the final coda finale). It’s interesting because depending on the tune used... the emotive effects could be either chintzy or quite profound!