Whatever Happened To Sin?

The Christian counselor wrote,
Quote,
'It's the only human choice ahead
If you can't support it
Why don't you abort it instead?'

You say you pray to the sky
Why?
When you're afraid to take a stand down here
'Cause while the holy talk reads like a bad ad-lib
Silence screams you are robbing the crib

Say it ain't none of my business, huh?
A woman's got a right to choose
Now a grave-digger
Next you pull the trigger
What then?
Whatever happened to sin?

I heard a reverend say,
'Gay
Is probably normal in the good Lord's sight.
What's to be debated?
Jesus never stated what's right'

I'm no theology nut,
But,
The reverend may be a little confused
For if the Lord don't care
And He chooses to ignore-ah
Tell it to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah

Call it an alternative lifestyle, huh?
Morality lies within
Consciences are restin'
Please repeat the question again
Whatever happened to sin?

When the closets are empty and the clinics are full
When your eyes have been blinded by society's wool
When the streets erupt in your own backyard
You'll be on your knees praying to the National Guard
If you don't care now how the problems get solved
You can shake your head later that you never got involved
'Cause the call came ringing from the throne of gold
But you never got the message 'cause your mind's on hold

A politician next door
Swore
He'd set the Washington arena on fire
Thinks he'll gladiate 'em
But they're gonna make him a liar

Well, he's a good ol' boy
Who was born and raised
In the buckle 'o the Bible belt
But remember when you step into the voting booth
He'll never lie, he'll just embellish the truth

Promises were made to be broken, huh?
You've got to play the game to win
When you need supporting
Tell 'em that you're born again
Whatever happened to sin?

Written by Steve Taylor © 1982 Birdwing Music/Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., Inc./C.A. Music (ASCAP)

Steve says, "I somehow managed to dig myself such a deep hole with the rhyme scheme of this lyric that it took me two months to climb out.  I remember going nightly to my office at the church where I was a youth pastor and working 4-6 hours at a time just to get a single line.  Since the song was written in a church, it makes sense that it was directed to the church.  The targets are familiar ones for those acquainted with the teachings of Jesus.  Time and again He went after Jewish society's elite-religious leaders and teachers who misled an easily-duped public by using legalese and doubletalk to twist the scriptures to suit their own purposes.  Twelve years later, this lyric still feels like I got it right.  I don't always expect outsiders to understand why abortion is wrong, or why a homosexual lifestyle is incompatible with Biblical Christianity, or even why we shouldn't shrug it off when politicians lie.  But as the twentieth century draws to a close, the church and its leaders must remember that our mission is to make disciples of Jesus, not to 'de-sinsitize' sin."
(Taken from the liner notes to "Now The Truth Can Be Told")

The slightly-different lyrics to the demo of this song are at this page.

Return to