Okay, so I am currently listening to Carrie Underwood's new CD, Play On, and I really like it. I adore the country singer, but one song kind of made me think about things, specifically the lyrics or diction certain singers use. (Please don't even get me started on people who use 'ain't' when 'not' is the same exact syllable and actually grammatically correct, and the like.) Her song Songs Like This is catchy and empowering, basically calling an ex-boyfriend a total jerk, and "if it wasn't for boys like you, there'd be no songs like this." Or something like that.
But anyways, in her song, she sings "It ain't the Christian thing to do, they say." But is it necessary to say the word 'Christian'? Don't get me wrong; I'm not against expressing spiritual beliefs through songs, but I don't hear things like "It ain't the Jewish thing to do" or "It ain't the Muslim thing to do." Okay, so country music is predominantly Christian, but that doesn't mean that every single singer is a Christian, or even religious at all.
Wouldn't the word 'decent' suffice, and still have the same connotation? I mean, this way, it won't isolate some people of the audience. It's true; revenge isn't the Christian thing to do, but it's also not the decent thing to do also. And at least everybody in some form or another can relate to decency in some way.
I don't mean to pick on Carrie Underwood because I love her and her music, and I know a lot of other singers - country or not - do it too. But it's just an interesting thought that I had to share.
You probably don't want my comments on the difference between "Christian and decent".
ReplyDeleteI find there are a lot of Christians that don't treat people decently. I also find there are a lot of decent people that aren't Christian. I never equate decency and Christian beliefs.
As for the use of it in this song (which is, of course, your point), I think you are probably right. Most people think of them as the same thing and it would have been better to use decent.
On the otherhand, using the word, "christian" and using the word "Christian" have different conotations. Without the big C, I find it means more in the line of moral or conscientious. With the big C, I find it to mean more divine or pious. In the song, she could have meant it either way.
Also, as a poetry writer, you know that each word is carefully chosen to mean EXACTLY what you want it to. It could be that this guy was trying to push his Southern Baptist ways on her and was acting hypocritical to what he was preaching. This happens a lot to Republicans (ok, maybe all politians).