It's Time to Cancel this Bloodthirsty "Hymn"

​My friend Carl Jones shared this today in a Facebook thread:

“How many churches will play ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ tomorrow across the South, unaware that the song is un-Christian, rejects the salvation of Christ, and celebrates the murder of Southerners by the terrorist, John Brown?“

“’His terrible swift sword’ refers, not to the armor of God, but to the sword that Brown used in Kansas to hack a family to death in the middle of the night after he and his sons had dragged them from their homes. Their crime? They were Southern.“

“Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the song, was a Unitarian, not a Christian. Unitarianism rejects the Holy Trinity and regards Christ not as the Son of God, but as a prophet. The line in the song ‘as Christ died to make men Holy let us die to make men free’ is a celebration of war and likewise reflects the Unitarian belief that Christ’s work on the Cross was not complete, and that it was up to men to purify the world and free it from sin. I’m scratching the surface with regards to the message of this song, but suffice it to say it is not Patriotic and it certainly is not ‘Christian.‘”

A knowledgeable commenter noted, “The tune is ‘John Brown’s Body,’ John Brown, of course, being a hero of Mrs. Howe’s.” And John Brown, of course, being the original American terrorist. “That, in turn, was originally a hymn called, ‘Say, Brothers, Shall We Meet You on Canaan’s Happy Shore.'” Yep, glamorizing a murderous maniac, stealing, destroying, and then forcing a sinister progressive product down our throats: it’s the Yankee way!

I’ve written previously about the meaning of the reconstructed song and the evil of the New England crusader mindset which is craftily woven within it. Other Southerners have also described well that it’s “nothing more than a clever work of wartime abolitionist propaganda that has ever so slowly found its way into mainstream America.” Many smart Christians too don’t sing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” due to its anti-Christian theology and its blasphemous lyrics and intent.

But not all Americans agree. One dissenter within Jones’ thread remarked:

“I will sing this hymn in church tomorrow with great gusto and tremendous appreciation for all those who have fought and died and continue to do so – for our blessed freedom. No other place on earth is like this, warts and all.”

Jones replied:

“She seems to have an emotional attachment to this song and as a result is willing to discard facts in order to support her preferred beliefs. That’s her call, but it’s sorta like those who disregard the original intent of the law in order to shape it into what they prefer it to mean. There’s no logic to her position.”

I agree wholeheartedly. So, if you must sing any “Battle Hymn” this weekend or on Monday’s Fourth of July holiday, perhaps you should try out Mark Twain’s version. It’s way more logical regarding our current cultural crises and more factual historically. The grapes of wrath are indeed ripe in 2022, so let’s be astute, seize the moment to secede from the status quo this Independence Day, and cancel Howe’s bloodthirsty hymn once and for all.

This piece was published on DissidentMama.net on July 2, 2022.