"Praise Me. Praise Me. Praise Me."

"Worship tunes tend to evince an adolescent theology, one that just can't get over how...cool it is that Jesus sacrificed himself for the world. "Our God is an awesome God." "O Lord, you are glorious." "How can it be/that you, a king, would die for me?" Moreover, it's self-centered in a way that reflects evangelicalism's near-obsession with having a personal relationship with Christ. It's me Jesus died for. I just gotta praise the Lord. Not for nothing is "Amazing Grace," which marvels at the author's salvation, one of the few traditional hymns to be regularly included in modern worship services. Absent is any hint of community found in hymns such as "The Church Is One Foundation"-- the Jesus of worship music is a mentor, a buddy, a friend whose message is easily distilled to a simple command: praise me. Not "feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner." Simply thank Him for His gift to you (and make sure to distill copyright information at the bottom of the screen so royalties can be disbursed)." - Andrew Beaujon [Body Piercing Saved My Life]

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For some reason, I find this to be extremely hilarious (especially the parenthetical inclusion at the end) -- in a cynical and ironic way. I just get this really odd picture of a robotic Jesus who chirps in a machine voice: "Praise me. Praise me. Praise Me."

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world." - James 1:27

"your eyes are closed when you’re praying, you sing right along with the band, you shine up your shoes for services, but there’s blood on your hands, you turned your back on the homeless, and the ones that don’t fit in your plans, quit playing religion games, there’s blood on your hands" - Jon Foreman ["Instead of a Show"]

Its really easy for me to sit here and confirm other people's accusations...but really, am I any better? I do find it a lot easier to walk right by people that I could at least say something nice to. I guess, I want to make it clear that by posting this, I'm not trying to be self-righteous.