The Exploiting Christian Sacred Music

Someone makes a carton of Mohammad andchorus, whichconcludes the second of the three parts.
Moslems throughout theworld riot in the streets. TheyThe text is drawnfrom three passages in the New
burn images in effigy. Theyturn over cars. They burnTestament book of Revelation:
cars. All because of an "insult" toa religious leader who"And I heard as it were the voice of a greatmultitude,
lived some 1300 plus years prior.and as the voice of many waters, and as the voiceof
Someone breaks into a synagogue and steals a Tora.mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord
It is nolonger a robbery, it is a hate crime. CertainlyGodomnipotent reigneth. (Revelation 19:6)
theperpetrators were antisemitic. They now become"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
responsible toall the atrocities done to the Jews forgreat voices inheaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
thousands of years.world are become thekingdoms of our Lord, and of his
But profane sacred Christian music and no one cares.Christ; and he shall reignfor ever and ever. (Revelation
Well Icare. I am sure that others care all throughout the11:15)
world."And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
You don't have to be Moslem nor Jewish to carewritten,
about yourreligion. To care when it is profaned. ToKING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation
care when it ismade light of.19:16)
"Messiah (HWV 56), is an oratorio by George"In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice
Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens.forthe audience to stand for this section of the
Composed in the summer of 1741 and premiered inperformance."
Dublin on the[Wikipedia online)]
13 April 1742, Messiah is Handel's most famousMy sister taught me first to stand during the playing of
creation and isamong the most popular works in thethe
Western choral literature."Hallelujah" chorus, back when I was a child. She
"The name of the oratorio is taken from Judaism andexplainedit was like the National Anthem for all
MessiahChristianity anddeserved the same respect.
("the anointed one"). In Christianity, the Messiah is Jesus.Of course, this present culture has little respect
Handel himself was a devout Christian, and the work isforanything, even our National Anthem. I have
apresentation of Jesus's life and its significancepersonally seenspectators neglect to remove their
according tohats during the playing ofit at sports events.
Christian doctrine.But I do not intend to accept the disrespect of our
"Although the work was conceived and firstChristianheritage by a multinational conglomerate.
performed forOn September 3, 2007, while watching episodes of
Easter[citation needed], it has become traditional sinceThe Closer on the TNT TV Network, I heard Handel's
Handel's death to perform the Messiah oratorio during"Hallelujah" chorus during a commercial.
Advent,the preparatory period of the ChristmasWas this done in conjunction to some Christian event?
season, rather than atWasthis for any Christian promotion?
Easter. Christmas concerts often feature only theNo it was done to sell toilet paper. While cartoon
firstsection of Messiah plus the "Hallelujah" chorus,character were beingdepicted.
although someensembles feature the entire work as aSuppose they included Mohamad in their cartoon selling
Christmas concert. Thework is also heard attoiletpaper. What do you thing the Moslems would do?
Eastertide, and selections containingresurrectionPerhaps whatthey have done before.
themes are often included in Easter services.Suppose they worked in something like the Tora scroll
"The soprano aria "I know that my Redeemer liveth"as it isrolled and so is toilet paper. What would happen
isfrequently heard at Christian funerals. It is believedthen? Do youthink Jews would react? They would get
thatparts of this aria have been the basis of theall those involvedfired as antisemitic hate mongers.
composition ofthe Westminster Quarters. AboveSo what is this blatant attack on Christianity. What are
Handel's grave in WestminsterChristians to do?
Abbey is a monument (1762) where the musician'sFortunately the toilet paper maker has apparently
statue holdsthe musical score of the same aria.stopped using that ad ashave not seen it again.
"The most famous movement is the "Hallelujah"