"The cross is not an instrument of God's wrath."īut the Rev. "That lyric comes close to saying that God killed Jesus," he said. He said some of his church members are fans of the song and will be disappointed that it was dropped.īut the words of the song don't work, he said. Chris Joiner of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin agrees with that move. The 15-member committee rejected Anselm's view and voted 9-6 to drop the hymn. That term was used by the medieval theologian Anselm, who argued that sins offended God's honor, and someone had to die in order to satisfy his honor. "People think that we've taken the wrath of God out of the hymnal," Bringle said. It also includes songs about God's wrath. The new "Glory to God" hymnal, due out this fall, includes songs such as "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," which talk about substitutionary atonement - the idea that Jesus took the place of sinners on the cross. That left the committee in a bind, Bringle said. is cooperating fully and is taking steps to make the correction in all distributed copies of the song, including the Celebrating Grace Hymnal." "We respect our songwriters and the integrity of their lyrics, and the intent of our request was to ensure the song retains the original lyrics as written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend," Capitol said in a prepared statement. Neither Getty nor the Celebrating Grace publisher was available Friday for comment. When it asked for permission to use the song, the committee learned that the song's authors hadn't approved the change.Ĭapitol CMG Publishing, which manages rights for "In Christ Alone," said it is working with the hymnal's publisher to fix the problem. "We had every reason to think that this was an authorized text because it appeared in a recent hymnal," Bringle said. They assumed the songwriters already had agreed to the change.
It was complicated by a foul-up with the rights for the song.Ĭommittee members had found a version of the hymn with the alternate text in the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, a Baptist hymnal published in 2010. The decision to drop the hymn wasn't made lightly, said Mary Louise Bringle, a religion professor and hymnwriter who chaired the hymnal committee.
Instead, the problem is the word "satisfied," which the committee says refers to a specific view of theology that it rejects.ĭebate over "In Christ Alone" is a mix of church politics, the touchy subject of updating hymn lyrics and rival views of what Jesus' death on the cross meant. The committee says there's plenty of wrath in the new hymnal. So the committee voted to drop the song.Ĭritics say the proposed change was sparked by liberals wanting to take God's wrath out of the hymnal. The song's authors, Stuart Townend and Nashville resident Keith Getty, objected. The original lyrics say that "on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied." The Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song wanted to substitute the words, "the love of God was magnified." The committee putting together a new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) hymnal dropped the popular modern hymn "In Christ Alone" because the song's authors refused to change a phrase about the wrath of God. Writer(s): Keith Getty, Stuart TownendLyrics powered by of a beloved Christian hymn won't get any satisfaction in a new church hymnal. In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light, my strength, my song This Cornerstone, this solid ground Firm through the fiercest drought and storm What heights of love, what depths of peace When fears are stilled, when strivings cease My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand In Christ alone, who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save 'Till on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth in glorious Day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ No guilt in life, no fear in death This is the power of Christ in me From life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from His hand 'Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand End
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