{"id":5838,"date":"2026-09-06T16:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T16:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=5838"},"modified":"2026-09-06T16:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T16:38:15","slug":"the-church-going-too-far-in-going-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=5838","title":{"rendered":"The Church: going too far in going too far"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I remember my teenage years. They weren\u2019t entirely misspent. A musician virtually from birth, I was part of the movement to put guitars, and eventually what amounted to rock bands, in churches. We even played some selections from\u00a0Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Godspell.<\/em>\u00a0Hymnals were still present, and hymns were sung every Sunday, unlike today, but contemporary Christian music in churches is another topic and a sore one with me. My hearing is damaged enough already.<\/p>

Read more Equal Opportunity and the American Mindset<\/a><\/p>\n

We won that guitar battle, but I worry about the monster we created.\u00a0\u00a0Like this one in England: \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Graphic: X Post<\/p>\n

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\u201cCandlelight concerts\u201d are taking place every week this fall in many of Britain\u2019s ancient, historic and once-Catholic cathedrals, but these are not lofty performances of sacred or even classical music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Worcester Cathedral, founded in 680, rebuilt by St. Wulfstan, and the burial place of King John who issued the Magna Carta, the late pop singer\u00a0Whitney Houston\u2019s greatest hits will be performed. On other nights, the once-hallowed nave will be the setting for cover bands playing songs by the Eagles, Coldplay and Tina Turner.<\/p>\n

Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, which survived Henry VIII\u2019s Dissolution of the Monasteries and is famous for featuring the 14th-century \u201cWashington Window,\u201d which inspired the U.S. flag, will become the venue for the Beatles and Queen tribute bands in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u00a0Luther Vandross impersonator\u00a0is performing in various cathedrals, including the nave of St. Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain that stands on the burial place of Britain\u2019s first martyr, St. Alban.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cLuther Vandross impersonator\u201d? Must be a British thing.<\/p>\n

To say I\u2019m appalled, and particularly by the graffiti, is an understatement. Some sources suggest it’s removable stickers rather than paint,\u00a0but still… For many years, I was a paid staff singer at St. John\u2019s Anglican Church in Fort Worth:<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Graphic: St. John’s, Author<\/p>\n

The architect visited country churches in England and designed St. John\u2019s on that traditional, cruciform plan. Just stepping inside put me in mind of all of Christianity, past, present, and future. It instilled a feeling of reverence\u00a0that I was a small part of something unimaginably great. The idea of defacing that small bastion of civilization in Texas with graffiti sickens me. The idea of anyone allowing the magnificent, ancient cathedrals of England or\u00a0\u00a0Europe to be so defaced makes me fear for the survival of Western Civilization. If those charged with maintaining not only the buildings, but the values those\u00a0edifices represent have abandoned their truly sacred charge, what\u2019s left?<\/p>\n

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Arguably more controversial than the candlelight concerts are \u201csilent discos,\u201d organized by another company, London-based MEGA Events, and which have been taking place in some of England\u2019s most historic cathedrals for the past couple of years. One of the most recent was in Canterbury, for centuries England\u2019s mother Church and where St. Thomas Becket was martyred, held on the Solemnity of the Assumption. The entertainment involves partygoers wearing headphones and waving strobe lights as they dance to pop music from the 1980s and \u201990s over the tombs of deceased noble citizens.<\/p>

Read more Clancy: The defense goes native<\/a><\/p>\n

Canterbury Cathedral\u2019s most recent disco featured multiple bars and stalls in the nave\u2019s side aisles selling alcohol and merchandise. The dean\u2019s office stressed this all took place away from the site of St. Thomas Becket\u2019s martyrdom in 1170. The historic cathedrals of St. Albans, Truro, Durham and Salisbury are also among those hosting these discos \u2014 coined \u201craves in the nave\u201d by their critics. MEGA Events has been contacted for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Graphic: X Post<\/p>\n

A disco. Raves. In Canterbury Cathedral. My God.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI abhor this,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Adrian Hilton, an Anglican commentator, responding to the Canterbury disco on X. \u201cIt is the desecration of a sacred space.\u201d Tim Dieppe, head of public policy for Christian Concern, an evangelical Christian advocacy group,\u00a0commented\u00a0that the Church of England \u201cno longer believes in the attracting power of the gospel, and resorts to secular music instead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It took centuries before instruments were allowed in Christian churches. Early Christians worried\u2014they were obviously prescient, and perhaps their prescience was God-inspired\u2014that instruments would become more popular, more compelling than the Word of God. Would instruments and their music, replacing human voices raised in worship, become motivation for attendance rather than God\u2019s promises of a fulfilling life and eternal salvation? Placing organs in churches was an early and long-lasting concession.<\/p>\n

Art historian Elizabeth Lev notes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think if we want others to respect our space, we need to respect it ourselves,\u201d she added. \u201cNot many mosques get turned into discos.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Had I known where this was going, would teenage me have thought twice about what I was doing? Certainly not. I was, as Shakespeare put it, a callow youth. It felt good to me; it was a performance opportunity, so I was all for it.<\/p>\n

But now? Perhaps my youthful enthusiasm for worship my own way wasn\u2019t a sin.\u00a0I\u2019m pretty sure what\u2019s happening in Canterbury Cathedral is.<\/p>\n

Become a subscriber and get our weekly Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors.\u00a0These essays alone are worth\u00a0<\/em>the cost of the subscription.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is<\/em>\u00a0Stately McDaniel Manor.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>

Read more Is Josh Shapiro really presidential material?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember my teenage years. They weren\u2019t entirely misspent. A musician virtually from birth, I was part of the movement to put guitars, and eventually what amounted to rock bands, in churches. 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