chill, Garrison

Garrison Keillor was rather hard on the Unitarians recently, name-calling due to an ever-so-slightly revised version of the hymn, “Silent Night”, which Garrison says, “is more about the silence and night and not so much about God.” Um, right, I can see why you’d get pretty worked up about that! [In the second chorus, rather than sing, “Christ the savior is born”, the Unitarians have re-used the lyrics from the first verse, and sing, “Sleep in heavenly peace”. For some reason, this change provoked a nasty tirade about how Unitarians are arrogant, unlovable people. He says, “If you don't believe Jesus was God, OK, go write your own damn "Silent Night" and leave ours alone. This is spiritual piracy and cultural elitism, and we Christians have stood for it long enough.”

There’s been a ton of response to this already – people agreeing, disagreeing, and making excellent points all around. But all I want to say is sheesh, Garrison, lighten up. Is that really the kind of guy you want to be, the kind of guy who has a freakin’ cow about people coming together in a spirit of wonder to sing a pretty song? With slightly changed lyrics. Is that what Lutherans are all about? Because that’s the kind of bullshit that gives religion a bad name. I liked it better when I thought Lutherans were about bringing covered dishes to their sick or grieving neighbors, and housing the homeless. Oh, and cutting down all the trees in Ballard so it looks like the homeland. Do you see me making a big deal about that, Garrison?