The "Amazing Grace Argument"

                                               +AJPM+

THE MILLENNIAL CATHOLIC:

First off, what is the "Amazing Grace argument"? It is a stance that argues Catholics need to avoid certain works and productions that might appear to promote Christianity but are in fact subtly trying to insert Protestant theology. It comes from the fact that if one were to listen to the lyrics, one will find Amazing Grace promotes "once saved, always saved", a notion incompatible with Catholicism.

I'll give some more examples.

EXAMPLE #1: Gospel music

This may come off as an odd statement from someone like me but…I hate Gospel music.

Worse yet, I hate when someone (usually a Protestant) takes a pop song and tries to make it into a Gospel song. While some songs can be interpreted as talking about God, not all of them fit that profile. Yet none of that compares to when someone (again, usually a Protestant) takes a pop song, tries to make it into a Gospel song but ignores both the un-bibilcal and anti-biblical words in the song.

Two more reasons why I hate Gospel music: there's truth to the South Park joke that Gospel music is just pop music with all instances of "baby" being replaced with "Jesus." Furthermore, while I don't remember who said this, Gospel music always comes off like the singer has the answers to everything. It's so annoying and arrogant.

EXAMPLE #2:

My Twitter followers will note that this Palm Sunday, I tweeted about my attempt to watch Fox's The Passion but I gave up after five minutes. Having since gone back and tried watching it again…I wish I gave up sooner. This is the most bland, scrubbed-clean, watered-down take on the Passion I've ever seen.

In fact, what is it supposed to be? At first I thought it was going to be a Passion play, but it included segments I don't recall being included in classic versions. I then thought it was going to be a Christian rock concert, but they included a bit with a cross being carried through New Orleans.

What irked me the most was towards the end when host Tyler Perry said "it doesn't matter what you believe."
Uh…yes it does matter. If it didn't matter, why did you go on for about two hours about the death of this one guy that you're so quick to say you believe in? And didn't this very same guy say "no one goes to the Father except by me?"

EXAMPLE #3: Easter being celebrated in any church not connected to either Roman Catholicism, any Eastern Rite, or Eastern Orthodoxy.

Yeah, all the other churches can go on about how Jesus's sacrifice overcame death, but how do any of them know when Easter is supposed to be celebrated? Of the few that still do the Eucharist, do any of them get the deeper meanings behind everything?

EXAMPLE #4: Any film made by Pure Flix or any film part of what critics are now calling the "Christsploitation" genre.

This includes (but is by no means limited to) God's Not Dead,  War Room, Fireproof, Heaven is For Real, and Saving Christmas. All these films turn over massive profits in spite of being blasted by critics. Saving Christmas, for example, is one of a handful of movies that have a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; that means it's worse than the average Adam Sandler movie.

I can cite others that don't require much explanation but in every case, the Catholic production not only gets better reviews but it winds up more sought-after.

Want my advise?

Stop giving people Fox's The Passion; give them The Passion of the Christ.
Stop giving people Easter jam-sessions; give them the link between the Resurrection and Genesis.
Stop giving people Pure Flix; give them The Lord of the Rings.
Stop giving people Bibleman; give them Daredevil.
Stop giving people Gospel music; give them Gregorian Chant.

If that last one sounds odd, consider this: a group of nuns named the Benedictines of Mary. Queen of Apostles in Gower, Missouri have recorded several albums of chant that have won far more distinctions than any Gospel group anyone can name.

The message is clear: substance leads to belief and feelings alone lead to atheists, and atheists are idiots.