My wife loves Christmas songs. This year she found a Christian Christmas channel, so it was great. And, of course, there were Christian groups on that Christian channel singing Cohen's Hallelujah for Christmas.
But ...
... Hallelujah, as it turns out, is not a Christmas song. It's not even Christian. The song starts out talking about some "secret chord" that David could play to please the Lord. He didn't. The song says David was baffled. He wasn't. The song focuses on the adultery including when Bathseba apparently tied him to a kitchen chair and cut his hair. She didn't. The song rambles on about love. It looks good, but
Love is not a victory marchIn the end, what do we learn about Leonard Cohen's religious views?
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Well, maybe there's a God aboveThis is what passes, even among Christians, as a sweet Christmas song. Clearly it's not.
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
It's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
On the other hand, maybe. You see, it has the trappings of "Christian." It talks vaguely biblical about David, the Lord, hallelujah, that kind of stuff. It repeats over and over "Hallelujah" -- literally "God be praised." It's very ... Christiany. But it's not. In its calling attention to Christian things it denies the existence of God and denigrates love.
Maybe, then, it is a Christmas song. Because in today's version of Christmas we use the trappings and language of Christ and Christmas while denying the substance. Just like song. Hallelujah is definitely not a Christmas song or a Christian song, but I'm afraid it is an accurate example of today's Christmas and too much of Christianity, like in Jesus's time. "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Isa 29:13; Matt 15:8). Too much like today's Christmas observances.
10 comments:
Apparently it's unclear from what I wrote that I'm not complaining about Leonard Cohen's song. I am not evaluating anything at all regarding its quality or wisdom or the like. I'm commenting on Christians who think it's a Christmas song. It's not. Go ahead and like the song if you wish; I don't mind. It's just not a Christmas song for Christians.
Every once and a while, you post something that
seems incredibly uncontroversial, this looked like one of those. The song is an enjoyable song, it’s well written and usually well performed. But it’s clearly not intended to be either Christian or Christmas. Anyone who tries to make it either of those is either foolish or uninformed. But beyond that, anyone who takes offense at your post is either foolish or simply determined to be disagreeable for no actual reason.
I thought it would be mostly uncontroversial as well. Apparently not. Are you saying it is possible that there might be people who are intentionally disagreeable simply because I'm writing it? Could happen?
(Note: Not as an experiment, but I have it in mind, I am posting a couple of things in the upcoming period that shouldn't be controversial at all. It'll be interesting to see if it still causes upset.)
I suspect that it is in fact motivated by factors other that you being right or wrong. The last time you tried that it didn’t work, but who knows.
Last time it worked, but my mistake was in announcing, "This is a test." In the future I won't announce it and only I will know, "This one shouldn't have generated any heat."
Best of luck.
Now look what you've done. You've roused the lion from it's den and he's coming after you.
Heaven forbid that you'd expect a Jewish/Buddhist to be a good source for Christian theology.
I think you were more right than you know when you wrote the last paragraph.
Yeah ... but ... when did I expect a Jewish/Buddhist to be a good source for Christian theology? Do people not read what I write while they're arguing against what I write?
I've never seen anyone perform this song in any other way than as if it they regarded it as some kind of holy worship song. So reverent! So prayerful! (*gack*) Using Biblical references doesn't make it Christian...or even religious...anymore than doing so to support slavery makes slavery Christian or religious. This is a song of lamentation in the way many love songs are that speak of broken hearts. There's no praising of God despite the constant use of the word "Hallelujah".
The lost and uninformed immediately regard this song as spiritual and religious simply because of the repeated use of the word. Had they any real education in the faith, it would not be quite as popular.
You mean you expect them to read what you wrote and respond to that instead of a caricature?
I’ve seen Hallelujah used in a service, but as a “secular” song. I personally don’t have a huge problem with using a secular song or other type of art in a service if there is a reason to do so.
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