Christians have joyful, stirring songs that celebrate the wonder of our relation with God. This is especially true during the Christmas season with songs such as the spine-tingling Handel’s Messiah. In contrast to this, in 2011 comedian Steve Martin performed a song on The Late Show with David Letterman that he called “the entire atheist hymnal” (on one page of paper). He called it: “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs.”<\/p>\n\n
\nChristians have their hymns and pages,
\nHava Nagila’s for the Jews,
\nBaptists have the rock of ages,
\nAtheists just sing the blues.<\/p>\nRomantics play Claire de Lune,
\nBorn agains sing “He is risen,”
\nBut no one ever wrote a tune,
\nFor godless existentialism.<\/p>\nFor Atheists there’s no good news.
\nThey’ll never sing a song of faith.
\nIn their songs they have one rule:
\nThe “he” is always lowercase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Of course, his humor is meant to entertain us—and does. But what a contrast to a piece of music that moves hearts and masses <\/em>across the board. Handel’s Messiah<\/em> is arguably one of the most mellifluous expressions of Christian doctrine ever produced.<\/p>\n\n
In fact, I think it makes all the sense in the world that both inexplicable tears and profound joy accompany the words and sounds of Handel’s Messiah<\/em>. For this Messiah brings with him an invitation unlike any other: Come and see the Father, the Creator, the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Come and see the Light, and the Overcomer of darkness, the One who wept at the grave of a friend, and the one who collects our tears in his bottle even before he will dry every eye. Christians, let’s sing our songs!<\/p>\n\n
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