Here is the whole of Psalm 137 from the NIV
That last verse is rather disturbing indeed. Those are the kind of lyrics I would expect from a band like Cannibal Corpse, not from the book of psalms.
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill .
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
"Tear it down," they cried,
"tear it down to its foundations!"
8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is he who repays you
for what you have done to us-
9 he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
Anyway, here is a video of the song.
"The child lying dead, just another gutted infant
ReplyDeleteTo satisfy his hunger, temptations of the flesh"
Cannibal Corpse "Gutted".
Cannibal Corpse have quite possibly the best lyrics ever. The reason it's okay for CC to say that, is because they don't claim they are the source of morality of the world, and they also don't intend for those things to actually happen.
ReplyDeleteThe person who wrote this psalm however was 'inspired' by God, and actually wished that his god would dash the infants of his enemies against the rocks.
In short,
Brutal lyrics = awesome
Actually intending them to be carried out = not cool.
I think the psalmist is spilling forth his own feelings.
ReplyDeleteI know I'd be pretty pissed if some pricks came and messed up my home, kidnapped me, then held me captive and asked me to sing them a song cos they'd heard my songs were badass. I'd tell them to go play in traffic.
Also, the psalmist didn't wish that his god would Geodude all the wee Babylonian babies. He wished that task to be completed by another team of humans, i.e. King Cyrus of Persia and his squad.
On another note, I don't think 'inspired by God' means "EVERY WORD I WRITE DOWN IS WHAT GOD THINKS ON THE SUBJECT"
I think it simply means "It is my god whom inspired me to write these thoughts of mine down". Much like you, KJ, have people who inspire you to write your blogs, e.g. Dawkins, Hovind, etc. and I, in turn, am inspired by yourself to write my comments. Doesn't necessarily mean we all endorse each other's every opinion on all things.
Maybe some of the verses in the Bible need the "views expressed" disclaimer lol. SHOTGUN NOT.
I understand completely that the psalmist is writing forth his own opinions and showing his emotions, that is the irony of the whole deal. The bible is so often referred to as "God's word", and to some extent the point of these kinds of posts is to show that it is not the work of some god, but the work of some men. Men who were ignorant fallible human beings. It is because of this fact that there are so many contradictions in the bible, and so many instances of sheer stupidity, or absurdity. To top that all off there are the instances of inhumanity which most certainly are not the work of a deity whom his followers claim him to literally BE love.
ReplyDeleteSo it is kind of ironic that you're trying to tell me that it is the work of mere mortals.