Jerusalem and Sept.11

On Saturday eve., while doing a few errands in town, I caught a bit of the "Last Night of the Proms". The Proms (short for promenade) is a 110 year old tradition in Britain. It is a summer- long celebration of classical music that features many concerts accross the UK and it culminates with an evening concert at The Royal Albert Hall in London. They always do some patriotic sing-alongs and I happened to catch one that blew me away. I'm not really sure why. The crowd sang and cheered afterward. As I sat and listened in my car I pulled into a parking spot and felt tears streaming down my cheeks. Sometimes when I hear a great throng in full and lusty voice I find myself longing for my part in the heavenly choir when I will join my voice with all of the redeemed of the Lord to forever sing His mighty praises.

The song was Jerusalem, a poem by William Blake set to music in 1916 by Hubert Parry. Here is a link to a version of the hymn. It doesn't include the singing and cheering of the crowd and the accompaniment doesn't have the same feel as the BBC Symphony Orchestra provided as I listened to the live broadcast, but its the only audio file I could find. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rulebritannia.html#Jerusalem

Here is the text of the poem.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills.

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O Clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land!

Without taking time to go into all of the nuances of this poem, including its use of national legend, it is, it would seem, a passionate plea to a nation to resist the dehumanizing influence of the Industrial Revolution (the dark satanic mills) and to fight on with a view to the establishment of a truly Christian (probably meaning for Blake liberal, i.e. humane) society. Thus the popularity of the hymn at Labour Party and Women's Institute conferences.

But was Blake's romantic hope realistic? Is it right for us to suppose that there may be a way to establish a Christian society? Should we, like the mullahs of Islam, work toward the integration of the religious and civic spheres? I think not. Nor should we retreat from the public square and fail to attempt to bring our values to bear in the policy debates of our time. Check out this fine article by Timothy George for a thoughtful discussion of this question. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/009/1.78.html

Following the lead of Augustine, in The City of God, his opus magnum et arduum, George rightly argues that we must be engaged in the world with a view to impacting our society for good and that we must at the same time put our hope only in God. As he puts it:

There are two major (and regrettably common) mistakes Augustine wants us to avoid. One is the lure of utopianism. This is the mistake of thinking that we can produce a human society that will solve our problems and bring about the kingdom of God on earth. This was the basic error of both Marxism and 19th-century liberalism.

The other error, equally disastrous, is cynicism. This creeps up on us as we see ever-present evil. We withdraw into our own self-contained circle of contentment, which can just as well be a pious holy huddle as a secular skeptics club.

Lets continue to be moved and inspired by the romantic idealism of Blake and to attempt great things for God. But as we do we must remember that we bear witness to the Light in Christ in the midst of a dark and fallen world.