God the All-terrible!

[Mendalla]

Dr. Schuler passed away of cancer. My mom used to watch him every Sunday morning. His biggest contribution to Christianity was kicking off the seeker-sensitive movement. He will be missed.

I watched him the odd time in the day. He was certainly a contrast in some ways to the hard sell Bible-thumping of other TV ministers even if his church seemed rather over-the-top and symbolic more of a prosperity gospel than a humble servant church. The music was always excellent between the choir, the top-of-the-line organ, and the many guest musicians he brought in. The message was a bit too pop-psych "be the best you can be" but, again, better than hammering away at sin and Hell like others did.

 

[Hermann]

The Friesen people say that sailing with the wind is easy. It is when sailing against the wind that we discover the challenge by which we are strengthened against the day of adversity.

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[Hermann]

I watched him the odd time in the day. He was certainly a contrast in some ways to the hard sell Bible-thumping of other TV ministers even if his church seemed rather over-the-top and symbolic more of a prosperity gospel than a humble servant church. The music was always excellent between the choir, the top-of-the-line organ, and the many guest musicians he brought in. The message was a bit too pop-psych "be the best you can be" but, again, better than hammering away at sin and Hell like others did.

I did the same when I watched his broadcasts. I turned the volume way down when he preached, because I wasn't really interested in what he was saying, and turned it way up again when the music came on. I watched his services mainly for the music, which was really good.

 

[RevLindsG King]

There is another version I see online - with the wording changed to "God the Omnipotent" rather than God the all-terrible.

One commentator speaks of it as a powerful and stirring plea for peace, written during a time of war. http://www.reformedworship.org/article/september-1988/hymn-month

So while context is helpful, it's not something I'd really like to sing today.

Ah yes, Carolla! After reading your comment about being reluctant to sing the words, "God the all-terrible" in a service of praise to God, rest assured you have my support not to do so.

RELAX and accept that: YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU DO AND YOU WILL GROW

By now many sensitive human beings are becoming more and more, awake and aware that over the centuries numerous preachers, teachers and writers of literature and poetry--and I mean ancient and modern, sacred and profane--have used and abused that fully-loaded proper noun, God, to suit their own purposes. It has been used to strike fear and even terror into the hearts (that is, souls, spirits), minds and bodies of people, young and old.

No wonder you say, "... the hymn about "God the all-terrible"--and also, "God the avenger",eh?--is not something you'd really like to sing today.

Good for you! I will add more to this issue in a future post about it. I will also write about the Cursing Psalms, like, for example, 137--about self-pity and revenge, especially check out verses 8 and 9.

 

[Luce NDs]

But LOVE is terrible when it bites at an inappropriate time ... sort of like the hidden message in Mac The Knife ... makes one edgy when coming down on Sunday morn in de light of Don ... the Don'et be de pere in the estate of uproar ...

 

[Luce NDs]

Uproar of this sort is sometimes miss interpreted as "Eris" an ancient dissonant until adequately planted ...

The letters, words and syllabus one has to know to gather much ...

 

[airclean33]

 

[Luce NDs]

Whirr working on it as the next peace ... after falling flat on Shabat morn (Don?) following what's expected to be sacrificed by tradition on that eve referred to as TGIF ... a mind-blown period of time in Hebrew ferment of the way it was ... full minï-ated? Always take note of when the silent "I" is used ... chi 's not a' mused!

Now the men go out and fight in the bars ... as a tradition set up by the need for success for men that have no other way! Some even battle in church over sects that separate out ways of expressing ecclesia ... or getting togetherness! It is a dark issue in many congregations due to lack of universal preventions of consequences ...

WE can't even agree about prevention of over population concerns ... concerns in old tongues giving us the word ans ... that may be phonetically released as anis ... or a donkey oude jousting against windmills causing whirr-dz!

Macca beis back ... as chez and Mac A' Rhoni! Still ... noodling along ... never speak of sense to ordinary people .. as old books declare they shouldn't know and thus the lack of input of thought from out there ... such urges seem to come in waves of flood and eb ... once spelt as "ab" ... and a few stray thinkers believed it to be ab-solution ... when it was only a word among many ... much of those unknown ... by belief!