Protestant Hymns And Worship Songs

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='mom25angels' date='Jan 8 2005, 11:23 AM'] I think homeschoolmom is talking about listening to them at home not neccessarily what is appropriate for the mass.
[/quote]
Yes, exactly...

[M.SIGGA]

For some reason the P&W song [i]This is the Air I Breathe [/i]doesn't settle well with me. It's mostly because of the verse "this is my daily bread, spoken to me." It is very true that we are nourished in hearing the Word of God and reading the Bible, but anything about bread also needs to focus toward the Eucharist, and when the song was written I highly doubt it included that intention. For the same reason I think it's a little bit innapropriate for use during communion and adoration, but maybe I'm just thinking about it too much.

[cathqat]

[quote name='M.SIGGA' date='Sep 23 2004, 10:28 PM'] I think it's also ironic that [i]Away in a Manger [/i]is sung at almost every midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and it was composed by Martin Luther. [/quote]
I know Luther wrote Eine Feste Burg, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." As long as one does not interpret the song within a Lutheran context, it is not objectionable.

Likewise with "Amazing Grace." If you do not interpret it within a Calvinist context (its original context) there's nothing objectionable about it.

Much more problematic, I think, are songs like "Merciful Eyes" by Circle Slide (?), however beautiful they may be. The lyrics make it pretty much impossible to conceive of justification in anything but a merely forensic manner, of grace as anything more than subjective favor. It actually uses terms like "justified sinner" in an inescapably Lutheran way.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='cathqat' date='Jan 15 2005, 04:59 PM'] I know Luther wrote Eine Feste Burg, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." [/quote]
As an aside...

I have two very good friends from college-- both raised Lutheran, one ELCA one Missouri Synod. They used to have friendly quibbles of the "proper" translation. The ELCA guy would claim it was the more commonly translated:

"A Mighty For-ortress i-is our God. A bulwark never fai-ai-ailing"

While the Missouri Synod guy was certain it was:

"A Mighty For-ortress i-is our God. A Trusty Sheild and Wea-ea-eapon"

[M.SIGGA]

The irony of [i]Away in a Manger[/i] at Midnight Mass I was refering to had more to do with the fact that Christmas Eve is like the most peaceful moment for the whole Church all over the world, and the celebrated hymn playing in the background was written by the very person whose protest sparked wars, hatred, and the violent division of Christendom. The author also wasn't very fond of the activities taking place at Midnight Mass to say the least. I personally think the lyrics are beautiful, but it's all a little bit ironic how things turn out after 500 years - it's sort of like how some Protestants today will emotionally sing [i]Ave Maria [/i] lol.

[cathqat]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='Jan 15 2005, 07:15 PM'] The ELCA guy would claim it was the more commonly translated:

"A Mighty For-ortress i-is our God. A bulwark never fai-ai-ailing"

While the Missouri Synod guy was certain it was:

"A Mighty For-ortress i-is our God. A Trusty Sheild and Wea-ea-eapon" [/quote]
*LOL* Yes, the common translation is what the ELCA friend said. But the Missouri Synod friend's translation is closer to the original German. This disagreement seems to me an apt metaphor for the ELCA/Missouri Synod differences

That reminds me, just to take the thread on a complete tangent, of a story my undergrad advisor once told me. He had studied theology in Chicago many years back, and was in the city when the big Unitarian church downtown finally took down the cross from the top of the church and replaced it with a weathervane. He commented: "And I thought there couldn't be a more apt symbol for the Unitarian faith!"

Another funny story along the same lines: When I first went to Franciscan back in 1996, I found that one of my English professors from my undergraduate days had also moved there, so we decided to have lunch together to catch up. I didn't know he was Catholic, and he didn't know I was a convert, so we were having a lot of fun. Having learned that I was a recent convert, he asked what religion or denomination my parents were, and I told him that they were non-practicing Episcopalians. I laughed aloud when he responded "Well, that's a good thing not to practice!"

(BTW, the German title is "Ein Feste Burg," not "Eine." My German's gotten terrible )

[jezic]

this is a good idea.

How about city of God. That is objectionable on many grounds, not the least of which is "we are building the city of God, mayour tears be turned into dancing"

It is like look at us we are doing Gods work though we really just live in his city. I hope he notices and rewards us.

[bookwyrm]

"Mary Did You Know"

Which is silly, of course she knew because the angel told her! (Don't those silly Protestants ever read their Bibles? )

[danchinn08]

[quote] "Mary Did You Know"

Which is silly, of course she knew because the angel told her! (Don't those silly Protestants ever read their Bibles? tongue.gif )[/quote]

my aunt talked about how great that song was sung at a christmas evening mass in a neighboring town and so i looked up the lyrics on the net and i thought the same thing!

[Ellenita]

They have been running a 'most disliked' poll in some of the catholic papers to see which hymn/song came top.

The one that has the lyric 'go through the park and into the town....' featured considerably...can't remember what it's called! I'm not too fond of it myself!

One person nominated 'The Mass is Ended' because apparently her priest likes it so much they sing it at the end of every mass!

[MichaelFilo]

[quote name='jezic' date='Jan 16 2005, 03:43 PM'] this is a good idea.

How about city of God. That is objectionable on many grounds, not the least of which is "we are building the city of God, mayour tears be turned into dancing"

It is like look at us we are doing Gods work though we really just live in his city. I hope he notices and rewards us. [/quote]
Wow so many Protestant songs in the Mass. I didn't even know. That specific one I have no qualms with, it seems consistent. I sing hymns and think to see if they are theologically correct. It's also when I sing Latin hymns I sometimes pronounce the letters in Classical Latin as opposed to Liturgical Latin...

God bless,

Mikey

[argent_paladin]

I would avoid any hymns that concentrate more on the singers than on God. As in "We are called, we are chosen, we are Christ for one another..." Or even ones that quote Christ in the first person "I am the Bread of Life". Of course, "Blessed Assurance" is right out. I think the poster was thinking of sola gratia (grace alone) for Amazing Grace, but I think it is ok.
As a rule of thumb, I would avoid most Catholic hymns after Vatican II, especially from 1965-1985, but more for aesthetic reasons than ideological (although many are pretty shaky). Most English translations of Latin hymns are pretty poor.
I would also avoid most of the environmental, cosmic or social justice hymns as well.

[melporcristo]

[quote name='M.SIGGA' date='Jan 15 2005, 03:44 PM'] For some reason the P&W song [i]This is the Air I Breathe [/i]doesn't settle well with me. It's mostly because of the verse "this is my daily bread, spoken to me." It is very true that we are nourished in hearing the Word of God and reading the Bible, but anything about bread also needs to focus toward the Eucharist, and when the song was written I highly doubt it included that intention. For the same reason I think it's a little bit innapropriate for use during communion and adoration, but maybe I'm just thinking about it too much. [/quote]
the band leader changed the words to the song "Breathe" to : [i]this is my daily bread, your very flesh, broken for me.[/i] It works!

[melporcristo]

ALso, there is a song that states we are the bread broken for eachother. Social justice ... ahh ...

[jgirl]

[quote] ALso, there is a song that states we are the bread broken for eachother. Social justice ... ahh ...[/quote]

That song is awful (Ï myself am the Bread of Life/You and I are the Bread of Life...)! We weren't supposed to sing it in our dicoese, but my parish always did anyway. I would laugh hysterically when I heard it.

About the Lord of the Dance, our parish also had a thing for that song. I always loved how the tune was so happy and upbeat while, I think, one of the phrases was something like, "They ripped and they stripped and they hung me high and they left me there on the cross to die!" I couldn't help laughing because they were totally oblivious to what they were singing. It was sad, but funny.