w/reference to "GUEST, Russ'" post:

Sorry, kiddo, but it IS silly hypersensitivity, and it *is* all about LOOKING for ways to be offended.

You might have had a point, had the song I sang been a hymn or some kind of "gospel" or "praise" song.

However--
The song is NOT a "Christian" song! It's a song that celebrates the ability of each individual to make a difference in the world. I'm not going to print all of the lyrics here (don't feel like typing them out), but, trust me, the word "angels" in the first line is the ONLY thing that could be considered religious in the entire song. Feel free to go look it up...

I, myself, don't particularly enjoy gospel songs, but I'll do one if I'm around when one is brought up.
(Except for "Farther Along..." ;^)
I've also done songs from all kinds of other religions and cultures that I don't belong to--including Judaism. (Interesting side note: having the last name that I do, people often assume I'm Jewish. I'm not. I've even had people INSIST that I MUST be. My favorite comment of all time is, "Well, you are, but you just don't know it!" Hmmmm...if *I* don't, who would?--but I digress...)

What we are objecting to, here, is people who use a 'song circle' platform to inflict their beliefs on the 'captives' in the circle--whether it be to make others believe as they do, or to force others to 'neuter' every song they sing. I, personally, have no problem with a topic being mentioned in a song--my issues don't start until the diatribes or lectures begin. That's where I draw the line. Singing?? That, I can handle.

I feel the same way about concert venues--a performer has the right to *state* their views, of course, but when they get on a bandwagon, I've often been really uncomfortable.
To clarify:
If it was going to be, say, a "Gay Rights" concert, it should have been billed as one. Or, if it was going to be a "Born Again Christian" concert, it should be billed as one. Don't bring me in here to see something billed as a concert, when it's really just a rally/proselytizing mission for your particular cause.

Anything that has the audience members squirming in their seats, checkng out their fingernails, and bending over to tie shoes with no laces, is a problem for me. (I once went to a local "folk concert," where one of the teenage performers started hollering, in the middle of a song, "You might think you love your husband or your wife, but if you don't love Jesus, you're going to hell..." I was quite annoyed, and wished someone would come and yank her off the stage. The gospel song she had been singing, while not to my taste, had not really bothered me--but the hollering did!)

I find it hard to believe that just the word "angels" in a song would make anyone THAT uncomfortable.

I don't think anyone--Christian, Pagan, Jewish, Buddhist, whatever--has the right to demand that the entire rest of the world limit their conversation, songs, art, etc., to images that reflect only their beliefs. The concept is ludicrous. It is silly to take offense at a mere mention of anything that is not included in your world view.

Denise:^)