15 Dec 2013

My Favorite Christmas Song Lyric

Religious 43 Comments

“Long lay the world / in sin and error pining”

I love every word of that. It reminds me of my favorite Bible verse (Job 28:28):

And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Sorry kids if you can’t stand her, but if I’m going to play the song it has to be Celine Dion’s version:

43 Responses to “My Favorite Christmas Song Lyric”

  1. Major_Freedom says:

    I get goosebumps when I hear this song.

    Especially the part: “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices”. The melody is so good…

  2. joe says:

    This song reminds me of the article that appeared in Reason magazine back in 1998. The article is called “Invitation to a stoning.”

    QUOTE:
    When Exodus 21:15-17 prescribes that cursing or striking a parent is to be punished by execution, that’s fine with Gary North. “When people curse their parents, it unquestionably is a capital crime,” he writes. “The integrity of the family must be maintained by the threat of death.” Likewise with blasphemy, dealt with summarily in Leviticus 24:16: “And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.”

    Reconstructionists provide the most enthusiastic constituency for stoning since the Taliban seized Kabul. “Why stoning?” asks North. “There are many reasons. First, the implements of execution are available to everyone at virtually no cost.” Thrift and ubiquity aside, “executions are community projects–not with spectators who watch a professional executioner do `his’ duty, but rather with actual participants.” You might even say that like square dances or quilting bees, they represent the kind of hands-on neighborliness so often missed in this impersonal era. “That modern Christians never consider the possibility of the reintroduction of stoning for capital crimes,” North continues, “indicates how thoroughly humanistic concepts of punishment have influenced the thinking of Christians.”

    • Major_Freedom says:

      How does that song remind you of this?

      Sounds like you’re just using this as an opportunity to talk negatively about a psychopath.

      • Anonymous says:

        Yeah this 15 year old Reason article is the first thing I think of when I here this song, NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT!

      • Ken B says:

        MF, everything reminds him of this. Talk about skin diseases in lemurs and joe trots out “This diseae reminds me of the article that appeared …”

    • Gamble says:

      Hi Joe,

      The vey end of the article you sight is the most interesting.On ultimate goals: “So let us be blunt about it,” says Gary North. “We must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.”

      Joe rather than hijack a non related post by Bob Murphy, you should write an article on your blog… LIBERTY HIJACKED BY EVERY AXE IMAGINABLE.

    • Matt M (Dude Where's My Freedom) says:

      Funny, I’ve always used the “you can stone someone for free” argument when arguing with people who bring up the fact that executions are very expensive for the state – as if a long and complicated appeals process followed by a chemical injection is an inherent feature of execution in general that cannot POSSIBLY be avoided…

      I also agree with North’s part about community involvement. My guess is a lot fewer people would support capital punishment (and war, for that matter) if they were required to personally participate in it.

      • Major_Freedom says:

        Wow Matt, you almost sound as cold and dismissive towards human life as statists.

        Almost.

        • Matt M (Dude Where's My Freedom) says:

          The only thing I hate more than statism is a terrible argument.

          Fortunately they go together so often, about 99% of the time, I’m able to kill two birds with one stone.

  3. Gamble says:

    Well the song is about Jesus and how HE would change everything humanity thought they new about God and themselves…

    I swear there is Jewish conspiracy circulating through Christian churches to destroy Jesus or at least minimize Him.

    • Gamble says:

      This song was written by a Frenchmen, 1850. Here is the literal translation rather than the Americanized version.

      Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour, When God as man descended unto us To erase the stain of original sin And to end the wrath of His Father. The entire world thrills with hope On this night that gives it a Saviour.

      People kneel down, wait for your deliverance. Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

      May the ardent light of our Faith Guide us all to the cradle of the infant, As in ancient times a brilliant star Guided the Oriental kings there. The King of Kings was born in a humble manger; O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness,

      It is to your pride that God preaches. Bow your heads before the Redeemer! Bow your heads before the Redeemer!

      The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free, and Heaven is open. He sees a brother where there was only a slave, Love unites those that iron had chained. Who will tell Him of our gratitude, For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

      People stand up! Sing of your deliverance, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

  4. Daniel Kuehn says:

    I think the next line is pretty great too.

    Whether or not any of it’s true, Christianity takes the cake for faith traditions that affirm the dignity and worth of humanity. Maybe that’s my cultural bias.

    We are so precious that a god would abandon his divinity, step down and be tortured and murdered for our sake is an awe inspiring message.

    Awe and inspiration of course aren’t everything, but the vulnerability of a baby in a manger always drives this fundamental message home in a special way.

  5. Daniel Kuehn says:

    O Come O Come Emmanuel is one of my favorites, and emphasizes these points too.

    Caroline’s favorite is Frosty but she’s relatively uncultured at this point. Kid’s never seen a damn snow man before, so she doesn’t even know what she’s talking about.

    • Bob Murphy says:

      Give it time.

    • Ken B says:

      Oh but Daniel as a regular reader of FA she’s surely seen a lot of strawmen. Just tell it’s like that, but white.

      • Richie says:

        YAWN. Your act is getting very tiresome.

        • Major_Freedom says:

          He needs to feel above the rabble here, just like he does in his authoritarian political philosophy.

  6. Daniel Kuehn says:

    Mariah Carey > Celine Dion on Oh Holy Night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMkRMiO8FIU

    Go to Dion for Ave Maria

  7. David R. Henderson says:

    Beautiful! Thanks for playing this song by my fellow Canuck.

  8. Ken B says:

    If we’re trotting out favourite Christmas music mine is the section Salve Puerele from Charpentier’s Nativity Cantata.
    I like this recording. Starts at 9:08 mark
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoGEm1tWQo&feature=player_detailpage#t=549

    Also has associations with the birth of my son.

    • Daniel Kuehn says:

      That song always reminds me of this article in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.

      • Major_Freedom says:

        LOL

        • skylien says:

          It must be Christmas time when you two can have fun together.

          🙂

          • Ken B says:

            Umm, 3. I started this particular meme after all.

            • Major_Freedom says:

              I thought it was joe who did that…

              • Ken B says:

                Yeah true. But we’re leaving him out of the fun.

              • Major_Freedom says:

                So 2+1 = 2, not 3.

                Ken B, this isn’t another one of your math lessons, is it?

              • Ken B says:

                joe is an idempote of comment addition.

            • skylien says:

              Sorry Ken B, I stand corrected.

              • Ken B says:

                Since you’re being gracious I won’t correct you and point out it’s really because it’s Saturnalia …
                🙂

              • skylien says:

                Well I guess that is the spirit of Saturnalia.

                😉

  9. skylien says:

    “Sorry kids if you can’t stand her”

    I am one of those kids, so I tried other versions like Mariah Carey, Alex G and even the “Incredible child singer 7 yrs old – plz “Share” “, but it didn’t help. In this case it really isn’t Celine’s fault that I don’t like that song. I guess I am just not that into Christmas music in general…

    Off-Music:
    What I get the goosebumps from is stuff like that:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYKLvYGqaC0

    Awesome cover. All kids are great in it, but especially the drummer and the little rock angel that sings.

  10. Major_Freedom says:

    Any Elvis fans? Check this 16 year old out…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VwWRpIinxs

    • Ken B says:

      I saw that last night. Astounding.

      And yes MF I was a major Elvis fan when younger.

    • skylien says:

      Yes. Awesome! And even On-Music.

      • Ken B says:

        He’s not so impressive in Elvis’s higher register, like Don’t Be Cruel, but in the lower register he is basically perfect.

  11. Sean says:

    There is a Bing Crosby version of this from the early sixties, which is my favorite, even though I am a Gen X-er. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko23QtGWzAM

  12. Aaron says:

    Us english have our own take on the christmas song.
    http://youtu.be/HwHyuraau4Q?t=2m13s

    Voted the nations favorite Christmas song pretty much everytime a poll comes up. Were a miserable sod.

  13. Bala says:

    If songs celebrating gods are what everyone is on about, here’s a favourite from another part of the world….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dScFe52Of4k

    Hope you like it. MS is recognised as one of the best in Carnatic music circles. The depth of her devotion and the way it shows in her music moves even hard-core atheists like me.

  14. Bala says:

    Here’s another classic by MS

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FUQxn4CnY

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