Blood Songs with Alan and Mahalia Jackson
— Friday, March 18th, 2011 —
This week on “The Cross and the Jukebox,” we step back and look at a broader theme in music: the persistence of blood. Willie Nelson, for instance, will often go from singing songs about honky-tonking and hard-living to singing “There Is a Fountain.” This is at the same time that, in almost every generation, some tell us blood is offensive to contemporary sensibilities.
But the blood abides. And on this episode, I pose the question why. We’ll listen to some covers by Alan Jackson (”Are You Washed in the Blood?”) and Mahalia Jackson (”Power in the Blood”), as we look at why people, even those who don’t know Christ, often want to hear blood in their gospel.
Dr. Moore,
When, as you mentioned in the podcast, people like Alan Jackson sing this song and then next go on to sing songs about cheating and infidelity, or Willie Nelson sings this and then goes on to sing songs about drugs, I’m wondering, by singing about the blood of the Lamb and the washing of sin, aren’t they basically using the Lord’s name in vain by singing these songs?
Maybe I’m missing the mark here, but to sing of Christ and his atoning work - in a meaningless way - how is that not any different than a non-believer just swearing in God’s name?