The 3rd verse in “O Holy Night” sucks. The whole thing was written as a poem first by someone who eventually became socialist (Frenchman Placide Cappeau) and was then translated from the French and promoted here in the states initially by a Unitarian/Transcendentalist Yankee Minister (John Sullivan Dwight). Dwight’s socialist credentials were seen in his close work with the Brook Farm Commune before it folded in 1847.
The French Catholic Church, once learning the egalitarian roots of the song quit singing the song in their churches. However, Dwight believed the song fit his times with the issue of slavery having gained the ascendency among the Jacobins in Northern churches. Dwight translated the song from the French in 1855 when Yankee sentiments against the South was moving towards a crescendo.
The egalitarian lines that are offensive to the ears of Biblical Christians are found in the 3rd verse;
“Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is Peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease”
You can just hear Yankee Churches in the Transcendentalist North belting out this song during each Christmas season of the war, being warmed in their smug self-righteousness that they were doing a good thing by supporting the Yankee war effort to maim, rape, torture and kill the South.
This verse wraps all the devilry of the North in God approving and glorifying song. As such we hates it.
We would note that the slave can be our brother without his being oppressed by his slavery. The Scripture repeatedly teaches that slavery is Biblical. Second, though it is true that “In his name, all oppression shall cease,” it is not true that slavery is automatically oppression. There are times it might be. But it has not always been so. Certainly, slavery was not automatically oppression in the ante-bellum South as the slave exit interviews done in the 1930s unmistakably reveal.
However there is no reason to lose this song. It is not as thoroughly bad as the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It can be salvaged and remain a Church hymn. We just need to change a few words so that we can sing it once again during our current Christmas season.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is Peace
Chains shall He break, for our state is Oppressor
And in His name, that oppression shall cease
I was raised Catholic and we were taught that Jesus preached that people should treat others the same way they wanted to be treated. The third verse is very important. Our country needs to acknowledge the horrible history of slavery and oppression in our country. Then we can work for equality for all.
But God and I are opposed to equality for all. If God wanted equality for all He would have created all men the same without distinction. If God wanted equality for all He would not have created woman as woman or man as man since women and men are clearly not equal. Then you have the problem that God instructs slaves to be obedient to their Masters.
My apologies that you were raised Catholic. That had to be difficult to overcome.
Finally, our country has no more of a horrible history of slavery and oppression than Africa where those slaves were first captured by their fellow African tribes and then sold into slavery to Jewish traders.
Merry Christmas Deirdre