What Are We Singing: Breathe

But where is God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit mentioned herein? I could easily sing this song to or about my wife!! To whom am I singing? Why am I singing this near drivel?

In today's pluralistic society I want to have absolutes.My church has started singing similar amorphous music and the last time I looked God likes His Name. I see that I am not the only one who thinks this according to other comments. God does not wrap us in His arms to tell us "it" will be alright, as one song from the pit tells us. Then there's the one where we repeat JOY many, many times but no one knows why. And another where "I found it" is whined in a yowling manner but we're not sure what we found or where we found it or whether we even needed it in the first place.

The writer of the article has tried to convince me using excellent English in a clear argument that I should like this song. Sorry. I don't.

I really have a problem with this song because it says 'I'm lost without you' over and over. Praise God we never have to know what it is like to be lost without Him. When we become His child He promises never to leave us or forsake us. When this song is song at worship time, I change the words a little to say 'I'd be lost without you' -- which is true!

I'm someone who enjoys the old hymns as well as the "new" praise songs. While the old hymns are rich in theology, the new praise songs also help me focus on Christ. It is refreshing that Eva Marie has taken the time to give us some background on the biblical stories behind popular praise songs. Reading her article felt like reading a devotional. Thank you.

"Without it…without Him…there is no life." I presume based on the content of the article that the "Him" referred to here is the God of the Bible. I'd never know that from the song lyrics! In fact, except for the line in the song "Your holy presence living in me", it could be something the average guy wrote about his girlfriend. Even with the line, it could be about anything or anyone the reader/singer/author considers holy. The only way you get to the conclusion (from the lyrics) that the author had the God of the Bible in mind is to approach it from a Biblical worldview. George Barna determined that 9 out of 10 professing Christians don't have a consistently Biblical worldview. It's too bad that a popular artist like Michael W Smith couldn't take the lyrics from below average to powerful by making them clearly and explicitly Biblical. Even more disturbing is the fact that such vague and fuzzy praise songs are so popular today.