“My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison was –
written in praise of the Hindu god Krishna, while at the same time serving as a call to abandon religious sectarianism, through its deliberate blending of Christian “hallelujah”s with chants of “Hare Krishna” and Vedic prayer.
Here is St. Simon’s Anglican Church Oakville, a Diocese of Niagara parish, in the throes of Krishna adoration one Sunday morning:
What a pity the clergy (and leadership) do not know what is going on. It’s the same with the Hallelujah song (as sung at the Winter Olympics and elsewhere) – there is a slow syncretism occurring in the church, and when ‘our religious jargon’ is used folk are lulled into thinking they are praising Jesus and His Father.
That is not to say that secular songs cannot be used in Christian worship; in private and small group devotions GOOD love songs can be sung to Jesus – so long as we check the words first!
And while we are still in the Christmas season, there are one or two religious songs from the secular department where one or two lines render an incorrect theology, but are wonderful otherwise.
Wasn’t it John Wesley who said that “The devil shouldn’t have all the good tunes?”, or words to that effect. Which is why the Methodist Hymn Book made a welcome change from what was in use previously.
Wasn’t it John Wesley who said that “The devil shouldn’t have all the good tunes?”,
I think that that quoute should be attributed to General Booth (of the Salvation Army).
No, it was Larry Norman, one of the first Christian rock musicians.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=why+should+the+devil+have+all+the+good+music+larry+norman+lyrics&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari
For my part … if the Devil wants ‘My Sweet Lord,’ he/she/it can certainly have it.
Ahh, brings me back (uncomfortably) to my teens when the liberal church of which I was a member had a “folk choir” where we sang foolish songs, very poorly. I believe the fault is in encouraging people to think that church is a form of entertainment, and the ministry team are putting on a show.
Church can be entertaining, and the ministry team can also be entertaining as well as being interesting. I see nothing wrong with that provided it is all properly grounded and gets the Word out.