The Blasphemy of Your Singing Soul

You have to see it to believe it

There is nothing that can send a chill up my spine like a lullaby drifting through the quiet night air in a horror flick. Something about the incongruence of a sweet, loving song and cold, shadowy, impending doom highlights the depravity of a situation. Twisting the two together speaks to the absolute wicked chaos that could be unleashed at any moment.

So how appropriate that the horror of Donald Trump’s presidency began with that exact dark omen.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Last Wednesday morning around 3 am, a group of Donald Trump supporters at his campaign HQ broke into song when they heard the news of his win. Not just any song. A hymn. And not just any hymn. A usually beautiful hymn called How Great Thou Art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

The song is one I grew up with in church. I remember it being one of a few that could raise goosebumps on my arm. In the right moment, it made me feel a connection to everyone around me, and, as its lyrics say, instill a sense of awe in the world.

The same enchanting world that Trump vows to drill, baby, drill. The same one he promises to further open up to development. The same one he will harm with every deregulation and dismantling of protective services.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

The hymn praises all that is naturally beautiful. It lifts up the awesomeness of the world, reminding us of our smallness in comparison. I have never been super religious, but this is the exact part that resonates with me. We are all a part of something bigger.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

It makes sense then to hear the song’s history. It had a hodgepodge of origins, starting in Sweden as a poem by a preacher. It was made into a song, then translated into Russian where a British missionary named Stuart Hine learned it and sort of translated and amended it based on where and how he saw it being used.

Notably, his work was in a region of Ukraine that was plagued and persecuted by Stalin. He also ministered to Polish refugees who had lost everything to Russia’s invasion. Hine’s last verse was specifically written to give peace to that group of people.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

This is the ballad that MAGA supporters spontaneously broke into for Trump, the man who praises and enables Russia’s current murderous dictator violating Ukraine. They belted out these words as Putin got the go ahead to move further into his war. Meanwhile Donald Jr. crafted a childishly hateful Instagram post to President Zelensky, implying that aid and support from America would end promptly in January.

I have no doubt that any Trump supporter is quite comfortable with their role in the world’s current trajectory. No part of me has any thought that they would read this article or would be able to sit in the discomfort of how their religious and political beliefs contradict one another. I don’t think them capable of registering the misalignment.

I truly believe they are tone deaf, incapable of hearing the thoroughly eerie discord in their praises. To me, it’s blasphemy. It’s also really scary.

As we fight to keep all that is sacred, we must remember that many people are blind to what makes it such hallowed ground. We have to highlight the humanity that they overshadow with the godly. We have to take back, and not abandon out of disgust, all that they defile with their cruel, self-righteous plundering.

They don’t own God. They don’t own destiny. They don’t own the world.

We still have hope. We still will fight for the beauty and love and community around us. We even still have that hymn. Only, we won’t chant it in a battle cry like they do. We’ll hold onto the wonder, the comfort, and the welcomeness that make it ours.

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

Please let me know how seeing this video made you feel, and what memories or experiences it brought up for you. How do you see a path forward?