The Controversy of Christian Lyric

Hello all... reading another post just now I was reminded of how many times through the years Christian music has dealt with the controversy over a specific lyric... many times the heat coming directly from the church itself. I wondered if anyone else had noticed.

Sometimes a lyric could be "too deep" and people get offended without reading into the message of the song. Likewise, many times, the message may be something people just don't want to hear, and they try to put it away. Now obviously, not every single controversial lyric is controversial for those reasons. However, can you name a few that make people uncomfortable? I'll start:

Asleep in the Light by Keith Green

Do you see, do you see all the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown?
How can you be so numb not to care if they come?
You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.

"Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord," you know, it's all I ever hear,
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear.
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs,
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in!
Oh, can't you see it's such a sin?

Cause He brings people to you door, and you turn them away,
As you smile and say, "God bless you, be at peace,"
And all heaven just weeps cause Jesus came to you door...
You've left him out on the streets.

Open up, open up and give yourself away,
You see the need, you hear the cries, so how can you delay?
God's calling and you're the one but like Jonah you run,
He's told you to speak but you keep holding it in!
Oh can't you see it's such a sin?

The world is sleeping in the dark that the church just can't fight,
Cause it's asleep in the light!
How can you be so dead when you've been so well fed?
Jesus rose from the grave and you, you can't even get out of bed!

Oh, Jesus rose from the dead, come on, get out of your bed!

How can you be so numb not to care if they come?
You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.
You close your eyes and pretend the job's done.
Don't close your eyes; don't pretend the job's done!

Come away, come away, come away with Me my love,
Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, my love.

 

Found another one. Before I list it, I'll just go on record and say that I loved all the songs that have been listed. "He" is great, "Asleep in the Light" is a classic, "Annie" is a fine song too. Try this one:

God's Own Fool by Michael Card

It seems I’ve imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind.
But if God’s holy wisdom is foolish to men,
He must have seemed out of His mind.
For even His family said He was mad,
And the priest said, “A demon’s to blame!”
So God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane.

When we in our foolishness thought we were wise,
He played the fool and He opened our eyes.
When we in our weakness believed we were strong,
He became helpless to show we were wrong.
And so, we follow God’s own fool,
For only the foolish can tell,
Believe the unbelievable and come be a fool as well.

So come lose your life for a carpenter’s son,
For a madman who died for a dream,
Then you’ll have the faith His first followers had,
And You’ll feel the weight of the beam.
So surrender the hunger to say you must know,
Have the courage to say, “I believe,”
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see.

 

Agreed Travelsong.

 

Here's another one... by an independent artist named Ross King.

CLEAR THE STAGE by Ross King (C) 2001 Reliance Music

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that’s the measure you must take to crush the idols.
Jerk the pews and all the decorations too
Until the congregation’s few then have revival.
Tell your friends that this is where the party ends
Until you’re broken for your sins, you can’t be social.
Then seek the Lord and wait for what He has in store
And know that great is your reward so just be hopeful.

And sing all you want to, but don’t get me wrong:
Worship is more than a song.

Take a break from all the plans that you have made
And sit at home alone and wait for God to whisper.
Beg Him please to open up His mouth and speak
And pray for real upon your knees until they blister.
Shine the light on every corner of your life
Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open.
Read the Word and put to test the things you’ve heard
Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken.

And sing all you want to, but don’t get me wrong:
Worship is more than a song.

Anything I put before my God is an idol.
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol.
Anything I can’t stop thinking of is an idol.
Anything that I give all my love is an idol.
We must not worship something that ain’t even worth it.
Clear the stage, make some space for the One who deserves it.

I can sing all I want to and still get it wrong:
‘Cause worship is more than a song.

 

Yes Enda?