"If you're an X-ist and the song works for you and your X-ist friends, it's an X-ist song... for you and your friends"

Fair do I get what you're saying but in the same way we couldn't then criticise anyone for saying "Dirty Old Town" is an Irish song or as per my friend that "Both Sides The Tweed" is a unionist song. If it works like that for them then it is fine! In the same way "Roots" by Show Of Hands is a racist song because it works for racist members of the BNP. The trouble is the original poster already knew that Christians used the song but wanted to know if the intention of the writer was for it to be a religious song. Saying anyone can use or appropriate any song they want hardly answers that question. Surely there is nothing wrong with knowing what the songwriter meant or didn't mean by the song?