Thanks for the info Joe. I think I'll just leave my post as it is. My little explanation should be good enough.

You said that you see no place for aggressiveness in Christianity, and that many of the hymns with blood and warfare images, are very aggressive. Can you give me two or three examples of hymns that you feel are errant in promoting aggressiveness? I'm assuming Battle Hymn of the Republic would be in your list, though it's not the most typical hymn.

When I think of old hymns or congregational songs that refer to the blood of Jesus, there are a four that come to mind: There is Power In the Blood, Are You Washed In the Blood, There is a Fountain filled with Blood and Just As I Am (which is a favorite of mine). Neither of these four songs are aggressive, though maybe you see them that way?

There is also an old Sunday school song that refers to being in the Lords Army, which is obviously about a spiritual army battling a spiritual enemy (like that found in Ephesians 6). It hardly is errant in promoting aggression, certainly not an aggressive song in the normal use of the word (eg. murder, rape, losing temper at fellow Mudcatters, etc).


PS. Non of the four "blood hymns" I mentioned are hymns in the original use of the term, though one of them has a small portion of praise in it (so leans in that direction, but overall does not qualify).