Starting the Sunday after I was born, my parents brought me to Sunday School every Sunday, for eighteen years. They sent me and my siblings to private religious schools when they could afford it, and to Christian youth camp every summer. At home, we had daily Bible studies, to memorize and recite full chapters of scripture.
This morning, going about my business and certainly not thinking about Jesus or Christianity, a hymn unheard for fifty years popped into my head. I heard myself sing it out loud:
"Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name."
Jesus, where did that come from?
It's Psalm 103, verse 1, set to music, and it's not merely an unwanted echo from childhood; it is also very, very stupid.
Why would omnipotent God need or want a blessing from me? Did God sneeze?
To 'bless', the dictionary says, means asking God to look favorably upon something or someone. So, "Bless the Lord" is me, asking God to look favorably upon God.
As kooky as that is, it gets kookier. I must also ask God to bless his own name. I'm supposed to say, "Bless you, God, and also bless the name of God." I'm supposed to sing it, and sing it seriously, "with all that is within me."
Like much of the Bible, it's plain nonsense to anyone who stops and thinks about it. That's why religion has to be hammered into kids' heads before they're old enough to stop and think. If they're not groomed while they're young and gullible, not many adults would fall for Jesus, and in one generation the church would be out of business.
7/26/2024
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