I heard a song yesterday that really touched me, and I asked the singer for the words. Clearly the writer had a negative encounter with a Christian. I have had such encounters as well, and it has made me quite wary about going into a church. Not because I think every Christian is like what this song is about, but because too many are.
No one wants to be preached to, or condescended to. Very sadly, too often 'Christian values' are expressed as intolerance, judgementalism, and arrogance. The gospels are not like that. Paul is not like that. Believers are exhorted to do good works, to serve and to talk about thier belief and experience, but not to judge and condemn, or to twist arms of unbelievers. They are asked not to associate with unbelievers, but there is nothing about condescending to them.
It is very human to slide from happiness with one's choices and beliefs into condemning the beliefs of others. I will deal with this question in another post, but is it intolerance to be intolerant of intolerance? In the same vein, is it violence to oppose violence with violence?
Anyway, here are the lysrics to the song which touched me so strongly. I reproduce them here by permission of the writer, language and all--
Hypocrite
What a good Christian boy.
He sings his praise to Jesus Christ,
his one and only Lord.
He gets up every Sunday,
puts on his fancy clothes
gives his money to the lay.
Look how proud he is.
His face shines with the love of God,
and everyone knows this.
His name is from the Bible.
He’s called the brother of Jacob.
He walks upon the sky.
How Christian of you-
to say she’s prettier than your girlfriend,
to dare someone just to change them,
to hold yourself above everyone.
Did you cuss her out in the name of God?
Did the good Lord tell you to lie
in the name of Jesus Christ?
You’re a hypocrite.
Just look at the way he stands.
You know he’s filled with happiness,
or is it arrogance?
He’ll talk about religion.
He wants to spread the word,
or does he want to condescend?
His Momma must be proud
to see success in what she raised.
He’s just so devout.
What a good Christian boy.
He tries to bring us to the faith,
but he’s exactly what we want to avoid.
How Christian of you-
to say she’s prettier than your girlfriend,
to dare someone just to change them,
to hold yourself above everyone.
Did you cuss her out in the name of God?
Did the good Lord tell you to lie
in the name of Jesus Christ?
You’re a hypocrite.
You’re gonna have to ask
for a whole lot of forgiveness,
but you’ll get into heaven
‘cause you’re a Christian and you mean it,
and you’ll stand above us sinners
even in the afterlife.
‘Cause you just can’t stop condescending-
it’s taken you to such great heights.
Will you finally shut your mouth
when God tells you that it’s right?
Or did He already tell you,
and you were blinded by the light?
It’s way past time for you to stop pretending
in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is your Am-ending.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Our doors are open to all but gays and Jews.
Hallelujah, Amen!
If you don’t accept this cross then fuck you.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
You sin and sin, but then you pray and are forgiven.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Amen!
No one wants to be preached to, or condescended to. Very sadly, too often 'Christian values' are expressed as intolerance, judgementalism, and arrogance. The gospels are not like that. Paul is not like that. Believers are exhorted to do good works, to serve and to talk about thier belief and experience, but not to judge and condemn, or to twist arms of unbelievers. They are asked not to associate with unbelievers, but there is nothing about condescending to them.
It is very human to slide from happiness with one's choices and beliefs into condemning the beliefs of others. I will deal with this question in another post, but is it intolerance to be intolerant of intolerance? In the same vein, is it violence to oppose violence with violence?
Anyway, here are the lysrics to the song which touched me so strongly. I reproduce them here by permission of the writer, language and all--
Hypocrite
What a good Christian boy.
He sings his praise to Jesus Christ,
his one and only Lord.
He gets up every Sunday,
puts on his fancy clothes
gives his money to the lay.
Look how proud he is.
His face shines with the love of God,
and everyone knows this.
His name is from the Bible.
He’s called the brother of Jacob.
He walks upon the sky.
How Christian of you-
to say she’s prettier than your girlfriend,
to dare someone just to change them,
to hold yourself above everyone.
Did you cuss her out in the name of God?
Did the good Lord tell you to lie
in the name of Jesus Christ?
You’re a hypocrite.
Just look at the way he stands.
You know he’s filled with happiness,
or is it arrogance?
He’ll talk about religion.
He wants to spread the word,
or does he want to condescend?
His Momma must be proud
to see success in what she raised.
He’s just so devout.
What a good Christian boy.
He tries to bring us to the faith,
but he’s exactly what we want to avoid.
How Christian of you-
to say she’s prettier than your girlfriend,
to dare someone just to change them,
to hold yourself above everyone.
Did you cuss her out in the name of God?
Did the good Lord tell you to lie
in the name of Jesus Christ?
You’re a hypocrite.
You’re gonna have to ask
for a whole lot of forgiveness,
but you’ll get into heaven
‘cause you’re a Christian and you mean it,
and you’ll stand above us sinners
even in the afterlife.
‘Cause you just can’t stop condescending-
it’s taken you to such great heights.
Will you finally shut your mouth
when God tells you that it’s right?
Or did He already tell you,
and you were blinded by the light?
It’s way past time for you to stop pretending
in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is your Am-ending.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Our doors are open to all but gays and Jews.
Hallelujah, Amen!
If you don’t accept this cross then fuck you.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
You sin and sin, but then you pray and are forgiven.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Amen!
WOW!!!! Who is this song by? Although it is kinda sad to think how very true the lyrics are. And again the main reason I want nothing to do with organized religion. I could give you SO many examples of the intolerance and hypocrities I have encountered by "christians" but I don't have enough time and I'm not the best typist(or speller). Wonderful post Dr. Tsaltas!!!
ReplyDeleteI find this song heartbreaking in many ways. As a Christian I've certainly failed more times than I can count, and cringe at the thought of the impact it has had on others. Sadly, there are people in all aspects of life who fail to represent well the cause they claim to represent.......police officers, doctors, lawyers, clergy, teachers, etc. The list could be a long one. I can understand why some people choose not to associate with a church, and some of reasons they do so. But for all its weaknesses, the church (in all its various corporate, formal, organized settings) does great good. And God uses that flawed setting to get some of His work done. Having been both the perpetrator and recipient of some of the yucky stuff, it's still a place to serve, grow, forgive, heal. Thank God.
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