<body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener('load', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <div id="navbar-iframe-container"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> gapi.load("gapi.iframes:gapi.iframes.style.bubble", function() { if (gapi.iframes && gapi.iframes.getContext) { gapi.iframes.getContext().openChild({ url: 'https://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID\x3d3510346\x26blogName\x3dBlogcorner+preacher\x26publishMode\x3dPUBLISH_MODE_BLOGSPOT\x26navbarType\x3dBLUE\x26layoutType\x3dCLASSIC\x26searchRoot\x3dhttps://bcpreacher.blogspot.com/search\x26blogLocale\x3den_US\x26v\x3d2\x26homepageUrl\x3dhttp://bcpreacher.blogspot.com/\x26vt\x3d5660378021075043260', where: document.getElementById("navbar-iframe-container"), id: "navbar-iframe" }); } }); </script>
RSS feed for Blogcorner Preacher
          CONTACT    |      ABOUT     |      SEARCH     |      RECENT POSTS     |      ARCHIVES     |      RELIGION     |      BoG    |      DECABLOG    |     
10.16.2005    |    Satanic verses?
One of the best country songs, ever, by Charlie Daniels is "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Well, Satan is most definitely afoot. At least insofar as one, count him, one, extremist in the suppression of any public expression of anything remotely related to the religion is able to suppress a harmless song.

The sad story is in today's Washington Post, and its essence is that a marching band was going to play that pesky Charlie Daniels song. The lyrics to the song are here, just in case any of y'all aren't familiar with it (if not, why not? I want a full report on my desk by 0700...).

In two paragraphs, here's what transpired (from the Post story):
But early this month, a local newspaper, the Potomac News, published a letter by a Woodbridge resident who, after having seen the C.D. Hylton Bulldawg Marching Band perform the country-western hit at a football game, wondered how a song about the devil could be played at school events, because of the separation of church and state.

Fearing bad public reaction, Hylton's longtime band director, Dennis Brown, pulled the song from the playlist. "I was just being protective of my students. I didn't want any negative publicity for C.D. Hylton High School," he said.
Well, I suppose that the letter-writer could have sincerely felt reasons. He's forgiven, and, in fact, according to the Post story, home-schools his children. Which may, or may not, say anything about his personal faith. But that's neither here nor there. The real problem is the band director, who lacked the simple fortitude to simply state the obvious: a song is just a song, and, yes, it mentions the Devil. Oooohhh. Scary.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time that a gutless school flunky fails the common sense test. It might be helpful, too, if everyone would know that the mention of God, of Satan, of Jesus, of Moses, of the Ten Commandments, of any and all of these things does not establish a state church. Not. Even. Close.

To those atheists or misguided believers who protest? Hard cheese. Start your owned damned (correct usage here) nation. Ours was founded by believers who were not afraid to appeal to Divine providence.

| technorati tag | |

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home






About this site and the author

Welcome. My name is John Luke Rich, (very) struggling Christian. The focus here is Christianity in its many varieties, its fussing and feuding, how it impacts our lives and our society, with detours to consider it with other faiths (or lack thereof).

Call this blog my way of evangelizing on the internet.

Putting it differently, we're only here on this earth a short time. It's the rest of eternity that we should be most concerned about. Call it the care and feeding of our souls.

I was born Jewish, and born again in Christ Jesus over thirty years ago. First as a Roman Catholic; now a Calvinist by persuasion and a Baptist by denomination. But I'm hardly a poster boy for doctrinal rigidity.

I believe that Scripture is the rock on which all Christian churches must stand -- or sink if they are not so grounded. I believe that we are saved by faith, but hardly in a vacuum. That faith is a gift from God, through no agency on our part -- although we sometimes turn a deaf ear and choose to ignore God's knocking on the door.

To be Christian is to evangelize. Those who think it not their part to evangelize perhaps haven't truly understood what our Lord told us in Matthew 28. We must preach the Gospel as best we are able. Using words if necessary.

Though my faith waxes and wanes, it never seems to go away. Sometimes I wish it would, to give me some peace of mind. But then, Jesus never said that walking with Him was going to be easy...

Final note: I also blog as Jack Rich on cultural, political and other things over at Wrong Side of the Tracks

Thanks for stopping by.