John wrote:
I have been reading all of the comments about the American Idol performance of “Shout to the Lord,” and the whole thing has made me think a lot. It could be said that, even though they replaced the name of “Jesus” for the word “shepherd”, it was still great that they sang a song that glorified God with millions of people watching. But my question is, “What God were they praising?” Sure, as Christians we know the song, and know that the song is about Jesus, and know that the name Jesus was really at the beginning of the song, and the song is a Christian song. But how about non-Christians? How about Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus or Jews or Wickens? They believe they have a Shepard, Savior, Shelter, Tower of Strength, whom they worship. What if I was a Muslim sitting in front of my T.V. and heard the song in my heart as, “My Allah, my savior, Lord there is none like you. All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of your mighty love?” Or maybe, “My Buddha, my Savior?”
Here’s an example. What if next week American Idol, because of the huge response from “Shout to the Lord,” decided to do another encore song –
How great the wonders of the heavens
And the timeless beauty of the night
How great -- then how great the creator?
And its star like priceless jewels far beyond the reach of kings
Bow down for the shepherd guiding him home
How great the beauty of the Earth and the creatures who dwell on it
How great -- then how great the creator?
As it's mountains pierce the clouds high about the lives of men
Weeping rivers for thousands of years
How great the works of man and the things he makes
How great -- then how great the creator?
Though he strives to reach the heavens he can barely survive
The wars of the world he lives in
Or what if they sang this song?
The Lord made the oceans
Rivers, lakes, streams and rain
Bow their waves in pure submission
Upon the earth to praise his name
There is no creature among us
Upon the air or in the sea
That does no sing with wonder
Praising in community
The dry earth is a sign
To all of mankind
Brought to life with peaceful rain
And to us the Lord will do the same
He was a guide for all people
And the mercy to the universe
He was a guide for all people
God's peace and blessings on him
He was a seal of the prophet
The last brick in the house of prophethood
He was the last of the prophets
God's peace and blessings on him
He was a striver against evil
And he fought and he won
To give rights to all people
God's peace and blessings on him
These are both beautiful songs apparently about a God and Jesus. And if these songs were sung on American Idol, many Christians would clap for joy, because God was glorified. But what they would not realize is, both songs were written by a Muslim songwriter, Yusuf Islam (formerly known as the popular artist Cat Stevens), in worship of Allah. I made no modifications to the first song, at all. And in the second song I inserted the word “Lord” in the first line to read “The Lord (Al Khaaliq) made the oceans” and in the twelfth line to read “And to us the Lord (Allah) will do the same.” You can see in parentheses what the original “lord” was meant to refer to.
So what’s my point? I was thinking that if we as Christians think that any reference to God or Lord will have the nations running to the feet of Jesus, we are, I venture to say, arrogant, but at the very least naïve. Yes the world is looking for a savior, shepherd, comfort, lord and God. And so many people think that there are many ways to God. Just watch our video clip we posted earlier this month about the “Church of Oprah.” But the reality is many, millions are running to false gods, and they will never find Jesus. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and in the United States. We read the other day, that the Vatican issued a statement that Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world’s largest religion. Correct or not, even the Vatican recognizes that it is naïve to think that when people run looking for a god, it is always the God of our Savior Jesus Christ. And as we are learning here, many people even believe in the same God we believe in, but they deny the work of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
So to me God was not glorified by the performance on American Idol. Do we really believe that He was pleased that the name of His son Jesus was taken out of the song? Do we really believe that God was pleased, after all Jesus suffered and bore for us before and on the cross, that His name was removed from the song – or removed from anything. Absolutely not!! To me, it is a slap in the face of my Savior Jesus Christ.
So if I am here in Latin America and other missionaries around the world are walking around just sharing about God, we need to just pack up and go home. Because we are in the world to preach the good news of Jesus Christ the Risen Savior. More, on this specifically, later.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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5 comments:
John....I Love your post. It's neat how we think the same, but yet very differently. I love you and am glad to be serving the Lord with you! :)
Jess
Amen, John, you're absolutely right. After healing the lame beggar, the Apostle Peter said, "By the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead - by this name this man stands here before you in good health...And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12). Salvation cannot come through some vague belief in a "God" or "Creator," or "Shepherd," but only through Jesus Christ.
Even then, there are many different "Christs." There's the Christ of Catholicism, the Christ of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christ of liberalism, etc. But salvation comes only to those who believe in the Jesus Christs of the Bible - the God-Man, the Spotless Lamb of god who died and rose again to take away the sins of the world.
What a wonderful Master we serve. May we never be ashamed to proclaim the matchless name of Jesus.
“Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels--not to speak of things pertaining to this life?” 1Cointhians 6:2-3
John and Jess!
Well done good and faithful servants! Thank you for bringing this incident to the forefront of discussion. I am insulted that someone took the liberty of watering down the lyrics of that beautiful worship song which proclaims Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Creator, stating there are none like Him! I agree, He is Savior, not merely a shepherd! Thank you for being faithful to the message of God’s love and forgiveness!
I am even more grieved that Christians are not appalled by these compromising changes and think that we should not judge the intents or hearts of the producers. In actuality, you were judging the changes, but actions represent what our heart feels!
Christians need to wake up and stop adopting the world’s values of tolerance! They quote, “Thou shalt not judge” as if it was an 11th commandment! Right enough, Matthew 7:1 has taken the lead over John 3:16 as the most quoted verse in the Bible, but sadly this move is a measurement of how Christians have changed from focusing on what the Creator has done for them toward a focus of what we have done for ourselves! It is no wonder they have adapted a “No Judgment Zone” attitude in American churches and have failed in calling sin what it is! There will be no revival without turning from sin and turning to following Christ unashamedly! Thanks for being that example!
Sadly, Matthew 7:1 is probably the verse most frequently taken out of context! If you read the passage it is clear that Jesus wasn’t saying that we shouldn’t judge…but that we shouldn’t judge hypocritically! We need to make sure our lives are living up to the standard by which we judge others, making sure the beam is out of our own eyes! Further along in that passage Jesus referred to people as pigs, and dogs! Wow…that sounds like judging to me!
A Christian world view proclaims a narrow way! We can not be tolerant of our neighbors “truth” unless it is Biblical! Some views are just plain wrong and to accept these views, without proclaiming truth, is not being faithful to God’s call to proclaim the good news that Jesus is our savior! While everyone is entitled to their opinion, their opinion is not synonymous with truth! The changes in this song did not reflect truth and Christians should be appalled that their message was compromised, not pointing to Jesus as Savior and Lord!
Even just a cursory reading of the New Testament demonstrates this worldly tolerance as unbiblical! Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees all kinds of names like snakes and vipers, who would not escape the damnation of hell if they didn’t turn! (Matthew 23:27) What would happen if we told people the truth on how their ways are going to send them to hell? What would happen if Christians demanded accountability from the religious leaders! Far too often Christians are labeled unspiritual when they question their leader, attempting to hold them accountable to God’s standards! And how many times have some Christians been dismissed as fanatical or “too hard” when they speak up against sinful behavior? Did Jesus make a judgment when He picked up a whip to all of the moneychangers in the temple! (Matthew 12:21; Mark 11:15)
Yes, God is love and He loves the sinner and not the sin (that is Biblical tolerance!). But, if that is the only attribute of God that we proclaim to others, they may mistakenly think they are OK and never cry out to God in repentance and faith….and our cowardice would have sent them to hell! Thanks for being brave and for proclaiming the truth! Faithful are the wounds of a friend! (Proverbs 27:6) Well done good and faithful servants!
Hey John,
I didn't send my opinion on the other post but you pretty much summed it up here. It also made me wonder, while watching the video, just how many people in our churches and choirs are singing the same song for show. It is a sad thing to think about. I look forward to meeting you later this year. Blessings to you and your family.
Michael
Though I watched the video clip when it had already started, did not notice that they had replaced "Jesus" for "shepherd". Thank You for bringing it to my attention. I was really sorprised and glorified God that the song was being played on a secular tv program. Yet at the same time I was wondering. Do they really know what they are singing?? Praise the Lord for opening our eyes one day to the light of His glory.
Very well done comment.
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