NASHVILLE (BP) \u2013 One of Christianity\u2019s most popular worship songs has been deemed too controversial to be included in the latest edition of the hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA).<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Christ Alone,\u201d a modern hymn written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, consistently ranks in the top 20 songs sung in churches of all stripes, according to Christian Copyright Licensing International. Yet it contains one line that the PCUSA\u2019s Committee on Congregational Song did not wish to include in the denomination\u2019s hymnal.<\/p>\n
The line in question is from the song\u2019s second verse: \u201cTill on that cross as Jesus died\/The wrath of God was satisfied.\u201d Not wishing to portray a wrathful God, the committee asked to change the line to \u201cTill on that cross as Jesus died\/The love of God was magnified.\u201d The song\u2019s writers denied their request.<\/p>\n
The decision made waves this week, as people learned about it from evangelical bloggers and through social media.<\/p>\n
Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, was among the first to comment on the controversy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSin, judgment, cross, even Christ have become problematic terms in much contemporary theological discourse,\u201d George wrote in a blog post on firstthings.com. \u201cBut nothing so irritates and confounds as the idea of divine wrath.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russell D. Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote a piece for The Washington Post regarding the song\u2019s rejection.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an evangelical, I would argue that it\u2019s necessary to sing about the wrath of God,\u201d Moore wrote, \u201cbecause we are singing not just from and to our minds, but to and from our consciences. There\u2019s a reason why evangelical congregations reach a kind of crescendo when they sing out that line in the Gettys\u2019 song. It\u2019s not because, per the caricature, we see ourselves as a \u2018moral majority\u2019 affirming our righteousness over and against the \u2018sinners\u2019 on the other side of the culture war.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, it\u2019s just the reverse. When Christians sing about the wrath of God, we are singing about ourselves. Our consciences point us to the truth that, left to ourselves, we are undone,\u201d Moore wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re not smarter or more moral than anyone else. And God would be just to turn us over to the path we would want to go \u2013 a path that leads to death. It is only because Jesus lived a life for us, and underwent the curse we deserve, that we stand before God. The grace of God we sing about is amazing precisely because God is just, and won\u2019t, like a renegade judge, simply overlook evil.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a May article in the Christian Century, Mary Louise Bringle, a member of the PCUSA committee that rejected the hymn, discussed the decision.<\/p>\n
According to Bringle, in reviewing other recently published hymnals, the committee discovered the revised lyric, \u201cThe love of God was magnified.\u201d These hymnals had changed the line, apparently without the authors\u2019 permission. When the PCUSA group sought permission from the authors and were denied, the song moved from the \u201cyes\u201d pile to the \u201cno\u201d pile by a vote of 6-9.<\/p>\n
The committee decided \u201cit would do a disservice to this educational mission [of the new hymnal] to perpetuate … the view that the cross is primarily about God\u2019s need to assuage God\u2019s anger,\u201d Bringle wrote.<\/p>\n
Boyce College professor Denny Burk was not surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough not all PCUSA churches are theologically liberal, the denomination by and large is,\u201d Burk wrote on his blog, dennyburk.com. \u201cLiberalism and wrath go together like oil and water; they don\u2019t mix. And historically speaking, one of them eventually has to go. When wrath goes, so does the central meaning of the atonement of Christ \u2013 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore agreed that God\u2019s wrath is essential to the gospel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hardly one to tell Presbyterians what they ought to have in their hymnals,\u201d Moore wrote. \u201cBut the gospel is good news for Christians because it tells us of a God of both love and justice. The wrath of God doesn\u2019t cause us to cower, or to judge our neighbors. It ought to prompt us to see ourselves as recipients of mercy, and as those who will one day give an account. If that\u2019s true, let\u2019s sing it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NASHVILLE (BP) \u2013 One of Christianity\u2019s most popular worship songs has been deemed too controversial to be included in the latest edition of the hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA). \u201cIn Christ Alone,\u201d a modern hymn written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, consistently ranks in the top 20 songs sung in churches of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[40,8,19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n