Worst Church Hymns

Some of the hymns sung in churches—whether written by a liberal or not—are just plain terrible. Here is a list of awful church hymns:

• "Deep Within"^[1] - has churchgoers chant the arguably blasphemous line "I will be your God"^[2]
  • Other common hymns where congregants are expected to sing the words of God, but with greater clarity about who the real speaker is, are "I Am the Bread of Life" and "Here I Am, Lord."^[3]
• "Let There Be Peace on Earth" - isn't this the opposite of what Jesus preached? Jesus said, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."^[4]
• "Ashes" - George Weigel criticized the lyrics as promoting Pelagian heresy ("we rise again from ashes to create ourselves anew").

(add more, but hopefully this list does not grow too long!)

Heretical Hymns[edit]

George Weigel, a critic of heresy in hymns, wrote:^[5]

References[edit]

1. ↑ Lyrics by David Haas
2. ↑ Ezekiel 36:28 quotes God -- not people -- as saying, "I will be your God." Christians should not be compelled in church to say (or sing) that they will be "your God."
3. ↑ "Here I Am, Lord" includes the lyrics "I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry" - but notice how those lyrics clarify that the Lord is the speaker.
4. ↑ Luke 12:51 (ESV). However, there is also the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9 NIV).
5. ↑ http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/music/heretical-hymns.html

See also[edit]

• Essay:Greatest Church Hymns
• First Things' list of 10 worst hymns of all time