Category: Blog

What Are We Flying Away From? When the Gospel Meets ‘Gospel’ Music

As someone raised in the church and in the “Bible belt”, I have often heard the famous song “I’ll Fly Away.” It has been the center piece of churches, including my own, as well as secular social gatherings where everyone comes alive to sing that beautiful melody which speaks of freedom from oppression. Although many are likely to have heard this song, the lyrics are as follows (I’ll refrain from rehashing the chorus between every stanza of verses):

Some bright morning when this life is over
I’ll fly away
To that home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away

Chorus:
I’ll fly away, oh glory
I’ll fly away in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I’ll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone
I’ll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I’ll fly
I’ll fly away
Oh, how glad and happy when we meet
I’ll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet
I’ll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I’ll fly away
To a land where joys will never end
I’ll fly away

Having shared the lyrics, I cannot help but wonder: “What, according to this song, are we flying away from?” It seems fairly obvious that, according to this song, the oppression of which we will be freed is an oppression of our earthly state—more specifically it seems our bodies are the prisons. In this brief article, I will first explore the claims made by this song about the ultimate goal of humanity (specifically referring to its goal after death) and the good news about Jesus (i.e., the gospel), and second, I will provide a more biblical picture of these concepts.

The song speaks of “flying away” from the earth to “that home on God’s celestial shore.” It praises God (i.e., “Hallelujah”) for our flying away once we die, and it speaks of this death and flying away as being freed from the “shadows of this life” and from the “prison walls”, or birdcage of the world. It speaks as if one needs only to leave our earthly bodies and return to our original home in heaven in order to receive the heavenly reward mentioned by Jesus. This flying away is a happy occasion hence the words “how glad and happy when we meet” and “no more cold iron shackles on my feet.” Everyday life for the writer is a persistent survival of these “few more weary days” before going to a “land where joy will never end.” All this is expressed with the constant refrain “I’ll fly away.”

The worldview of this song has more in common with ancient Greek philosophy than the Bible. If philosophy reveals truth previously testified to in the Bible then we say “praise God” and “amen”, but when the philosophy does not match the Bible’s claims, then we must remain willing to let it go (here, I clearly display my Protestant leanings on these matters). The philosophy of this song has more in common with Plato than Paul and more in common with Athens than Jerusalem. It provides its listener with the Gospel according to Plato in which “salvation” becomes a matter of escaping the physical word.[1] N.T. Wright describes the Platonic view with extremely similar language to the song “I’ll Fly Away”; he writes, “It [death] is the moment when, and the means by which, the immortal soul is set free from the prison-house of the physical body.”[2] According to this gospel, our souls need to escape our sinful bodies and evil creation to return to a spiritual realm with God.[3] In contrast, the famed German theologian and minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his work Creation and Fall: “The body belongs to a person’s essence. The body is not the prison, the shell, the exterior of a human being instead a human being is a human body. A human being does not ‘have’ a body or ‘have’ a soul; instead a human being ‘is’ body and soul.”[4] As I will contend below, it is not our bodies or creation that are inherently sinful and evil, and God wants to save them as much as he wants to save our souls. 

The story of being a celestial being in the sky by and by with my harp and colorful robes has always bothered me. As a child, I was scared of death because this did not seem like a fun place. It sounded like eternal boredom. In my daily life, I never desire to sit around and play the harp or anything of the sort. I fill my day with activities, hobbies, projects, worship, friendship, etc. I am thankful that I have since learned that the future described in the Bible sounds more like a continuation of the latter on a far grander scale.

According to the Bible, God creates the world and calls it good (Gen 1). Humans and creation only became sinful and evil once they worshiped the wrong thing by disobeying God and desiring something other than a relationship with him (Gen 3).[5] Therefore, he punishes humanity and creation, but with this punishment, he makes a promise to put the world right-side up again (Gen 3:15). Fulfilling this promise, God takes on humanity (John 1:1-18; Phil 2:7-8; and Col 1:15), and he lives the life and dies the death that we could not for ourselves (Romans 5:8). But the story does not end there because he comes back from the dead, and he comes back in his physical body (Matt 28:5-7; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:24-29). This resurrection is supposed to be the first fruits of the new creation (1 Cor 15:20). The Bible promises that one day Jesus will reappear to fully bring heaven on earth and to bring all the dead followers of Jesus back from the grave, and they will rule and reign over the earth with him continuing the project started in the beginning (1 Pet 2:9-10; Rev 21).[6]

If the previous paragraph is remotely true, then it seems “I’ll Fly Away”, despite its beautiful melody, is false. All Christians should affirm at least three things from the previous paragraph: (1) God created everything, and he called it “good”; (2) God took on physical form as a human called Jesus; and (3) Jesus was resurrected thus becoming physical again and forever (ST III q. 54 a.1).[7] If those three things are affirmed, then “I’ll Fly Away” describes a different gospel than the one proclaimed by Paul or Jesus or any other author of the New Testament.

Before his death, Jesus once said that “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” (John 4:23). How can Christians maintain this duality of worship if they knowingly sing untruth? Many people even sing it with the assumption that they are singing the gospel itself! No small number of sermons, blog posts, and books can convince our people that this song is not the gospel truth because the message has been engrained through repetition and melody in a way that propositional truth cannot be communicated. James K.A. Smith writes that “We become what we worship because what we worship is what we love.”[8] If we want to correct this error, we will need to do so through several greater means.

To eliminate the teaching of false doctrine in our churches, we will have to make several difficult decisions. First, we must stop singing songs that falsely portray God, the gospel, and the human condition. The target song for this blog post is “I’ll Fly Away”. Second, we must correct for these erred ways of understanding Christianity by instilling new repetitions into the life of the local church via intentional liturgies. James K.A. Smith writes that liturgy “is a shorthand term for those rituals that are loaded with an ultimate Story about who we are and what we’re for.”[9] If local congregations would combat the liturgies and narratives of our cultures and intentionally replace them in the worship service with the recitation of creeds and confessions and practices like the Lord’s Supper, then we would have congregations being informed by biblical truth instead of 20th century constructions that have more in common with Phaedo than Scripture. Third and finally, we must specifically teach against these philosophies especially those that cloak themselves in Christianity. We should point out music, literature, films, and other cultural artifacts that claim to present a vision of the world contrary to biblical truth. 

Although each Christian has a personal responsibility to act on these issues (not singing false songs, alerting leadership to these issues, and not presenting these songs as good sources of knowledge for young Christians or non-Christians), the primary responsibility lies on the leadership of the church to teach truthfully and avoid letting our people’s hearts and minds be shaped by false doctrine. It can be difficult as a worship pastor or senior pastor or whatever pastor/leader/minister to shirk our responsibility or to assume that someone else takes the blame on this issue, but we must stand up and represent Jesus well to the world. Many will read this and still sing “I’ll Fly Away” on Sunday mornings. I entirely suspect that the habit and the tune will live on despite the contrary evidence (humans are often bad on acting on the knowledge they gain). We still love this song more than we love truth, which is why we need to instill new habits, new songs to replace the ones that we must reject for the sake of the truth of the gospel.

Citations

[1] N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, vol. 3) (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 48. For a discussion on competing views of the human person, see Paul R. Williamson, Death and the Afterlife: Biblical Perspectives on Ultimate Questions (New Studies in Biblical Theology) (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 33-38. In his discussion of human anthropology, Williamson compares the views from Ancient Greek philosophy, such as Plato’s, and from the Bible for the purpose of explaining the post-mortem fate of the dead. 
[2] N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, 48. 
[3] N.T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2016), 74.
[4] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Exposition of Genesis 1-3 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004), 76-77.
[5] N.T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began, 77, 99, 101-103. 
[6] This Christian understanding is articulated by the Athanasian Creed wherein it states, “He [Jesus] will come again to judge the living and the dead. / At his coming all people shall rise bodily to give an account of their own deeds. / Those who have done good will enter eternal life, those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.” https://www.rca.org/resources/athanasian-creed 
For a discussion of how humanity is to rule/reign after Jesus’s death, see N.T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began, 160-167.
[7] This citation ought to be read: Aquinas’s Summa Theologica, third part, question 54, article 1.
[8] James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Power of Habit (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2016), 22.
[9] James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love, 46.

Bibliography

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, n.d.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1-3. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004.

Smith, James K.A. You Are What You Love: The Power of Habit. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2016.

Williamson, Paul R. Death and the Afterlife: Biblical Perspectives on Ultimate Questions (New Studies in Biblical Theology). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

Wright, N.T. The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion. New York, NY: HarperOne, 2016.

_. The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, vol. 3). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003.

How You Can Support My Year Studying Abroad

In just a couple short weeks from now, I’ll be finally  making the move to Scotland. Less than six months ago, I accepted an offer to study at the famed University of St. Andrews with some of the world’s greatest scholars in my field. I will spend one year there (from September to August), and at the end of my time, I will be awarded a Master’s degree in Analytic and Exegetical Theology. To afford this once in a lifetime opportunity, I have relied on loans, personal savings, and the generosity of many who have chosen to support my studies and my work for the kingdom. If you would like to join those people, I still have money that I need to raise.

I’m praying for God’s faithfulness through people like you. I hope you join me in prayer and can contribute to my future. If you would like updates on my fundraising goals or to know how you can give electronically (Cash App, Venmo, Go Fund Me, etc.), please contact me personally or use the form below.

Thank you so much for your time, your prayers, and your gifts.

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Why I Deactivated My Social Media and Why I’m Doing It Again

Some of my friends have begun to notice that they cannot find me in my usual internet homes of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Almost a month ago, I decided that I spent too much time swiping on my phone. I spent too much time typing clever things or political things or religious things onto my mobile’s keyboard. I realized that I spent too much time holding a phone than holding a friend’s hand or the hand of someone in need. I realized that my life goals and activities had been skewed by 14.5 square inches of real estate. I’m writing this to explain my motives while avoiding social media. I’m writing this to explain the benefits and difficulties with this project.

I should first begin with explaining why the title also says “…and Why I’m Doing It Again.” Today, in order to keep my Twitter account from deleting all my data; I reactivated it before deactivating it once more. Since I had looked at it for a minute, I decided to check out Facebook. Although my account was not view-able by anyone, I still had over forty notifications just from groups that I’m a part of. I instantly saw a post for a friend that is raising money for an overseas trip, and I was excited to see the update. But I almost immediately felt queasy. Social media just has a way to drag us back into junior high and high school where everything is life or death. I kind of felt like I was seeing an elaborate computer program, and not the people from my hometown or my home at OBU. I immediately deactivated my account again, and I feel better now. I guess it was just too much for me.

It was difficult. Just yesterday someone told me an awesome thing they did and told me to check it out on Facebook, and I couldn’t. That has been happening for over four weeks. I have been constantly enamored with, “I guess you heard about…” or “Did you see?”; but my response has been, “No, I didn’t.” I haven’t seen anything. If someone is working somewhere else, I don’t know. If someone got hurt, I don’t know. If someone got engaged, I don’t know. If someone won a million dollars (which has not happened from what I’m aware of), I don’t know. And I’m glad I don’t.
When someone assumes that I know something, for the first time in eight years, I have to be ignorant and let them teach me. For the first time in eight years, I have to have a conversation that starts earlier and ends later than “Oh, I know. Isn’t that terrible.” For the first time in eight years, I don’t have to be envious of anyone’s life because I’m too focused living mine.

Some people may think I’m crazy. I have detached myself from the world. Everyone is doing it, and I am far behind. I still miss it. I’m still in a detox stage. But I’m glad I did it, and I’m doing it again. I might eventually go back. When school starts I might reactivate old accounts. When I have something to share I might. But for now, I’m happy living my life in what feels like limitless real estate in comparison to those 14.5 square inches that once enslaved my life.

Irredeemable

Irredeemable – adj. not able to be saved, improved, or corrected.

Whether people just hearing the story of Jesus for the first time or people that grew-up hearing it without ever following him, many find themselves feeling that they cannot be saved, improved, or corrected. They feel like the redemption promised by Jesus does not apply to them. I know I often have felt irredeemable, and when I feel like that as I still do, I have to remind myself of that belief’s implications in order to persevere through those times.
Often people think they cannot be redeemed because of the weight of their past. The sins of their life are so great and so many. They have hurt so many people. Their heart is broken because of the hearts they have broken. These are just some of the reasons people feel irredeemable. They still feel locked in chains. They still feel dead in their sin.

Love – n. an intense feeling of deep affection.
Mercy – n. compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.
Grace – n. the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.

The good news for all people is that there is a God of love and mercy and grace. I could list any one of many Bible verses to demonstrate this point, but I would rather talk about the implication of feeling irredeemable. When we feel irredeemable, we usually think about ourselves. We think about our failures and faults, and we may even fain humility in this. However, we should be thinking about the implications this has on God.
Believing that we are irredeemable actually distorts our view of God. When we declare that we cannot be saved, we are saying our sin is too great for God to forgive. When we declare that we cannot be improved (or sanctified), we are saying our propensity—or desire—to sin is too great for God to reshape. When we declare that we cannot be corrected, we are saying that our wills—those that seek evil instead of good—are greater than God’s perfect will. Ultimately, as we declare that we are irredeemable, we blaspheme the abilities and attributes of God. In this, we are not picturing the omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe, but we picture a feckless snob that wants nothing to do with people that are too broken.
But God doesn’t judge us or love us differently based on how much brokenness we have. His standard of judgment is not trivial. God’s only standard is perfection. His standard can only be met by Jesus Christ, and when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, God no longer sees our failures in judgement, but instead sees Jesus’s perfection.
It is easy to begin thinking that our sin is too great for God or our hearts are too broken for him, but we must remember that if God is all-powerful and all-loving, then he can forgiven our sins without a problem no matter their weight or number. Call out to the God of love that has the power to forgive the evils we have wrought.

Why the Christmas Story Should Stay in the 1st Century

Around this time of the year, I often see pieces of prose written by various Christians claiming to explain what it would be like if Jesus was born today. They tell stories of fully booked hotels, a pregnant teenager, and the like. While I understand the reason for writing such adaptations, I believe that we should avoid them and try to understand the significance of Christ’s coming in its historical setting (somewhere between 6 B.C. and A.D. 2).

As I have been reading Alister McGrath’s biography on C. S. Lewis, this has become firmly planted in my mind. Lewis, a scholar of English literature especially that of the Medieval period, believed that we must read writings in their original setting. McGrath says that “Rather than trying to get rid of the medieval knight’s suit of armour so that he becomes just like us, we should try to find out what it is like to wear that armour.” I take the position that when we “update” the Christmas story, we strip it of its medieval suit of armour—we strip it of its cultural and historical significance. When we do this, we do not allow the story to interrogate us and expand our own experiences.

I do not believe any person has sinister intentions when painting the Christmas story in a new light—a modern one, but it seems that Paul saw the timing of Christ’s coming as having great significance. He wrote: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV).  The timing of Jesus’s coming—at the fullness of time! —was not trivial, and quite frankly, it could not happen today. Jesus’s advent is as tied to the 1st century as the advent of the internet is to the 20th century.

My goal is not to take the greatness of the Christmas story and shape it to fit my life and circumstances, but to take my life and circumstances and let them be shaped by the Christmas story. Instead of sharing on social media modernizations written by human beings, I would encourage us all to take the time to read the telling of Jesus’s birth that is inspired by God allowing it to inform and form us.