In Christ Alone

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"In Christ Alone" is a popular modern Christian song written by Keith Getty (Northern Ireland) and Stuart Townend (England), both songwriters of Christian hymns and contemporary worship music. The song, with a strong Irish melody, copyrighted by Getty and Townend 2001 Kingsway Music Thankyou Music, is the first the two songwriters penned down in their partnership of songwriting. The music was by Getty and the original lyrics by Townend.

"In Christ Alone" is considered a Christian credal song for belief in Jesus Christ. The theme of the song is the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and that he is a God whom even death cannot hold.

The song is commonly known as "In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found)" and "In Christ Alone (I Stand)" taking verses from the song and has become very popular and has been the subject of many cover versions and many language translations.

The Getty/Townend song should not be confused with the similarly titled song "In Christ Alone" co-written by Don Koch and Shawn Craig, originally recorded by Michael English on his self-titled debut solo album Michael English, and many others.

Video In Christ Alone

Popularity

The song was composed in 2001 and gained increased popularity first in Ireland and the UK and then in the United States and internationally. By 2005, it had been named by a BBC Songs of Praise survey as the 9th best loved hymn of all time in the UK; By 2006, it rose to the No. 1 position on the United Kingdom CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) charts. "In Christ Alone" appeared on CCLI's "Top 25 CCLI Songs" American songs list for the first time in the February 2008 report although it had appeared in the CCLI chart for Canada, Australia and New Zealand prior to that.

In 2008, the song was included in the release of Christian Worship: Supplement for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). In 2015, the song was listed among the "Fifty Favorite Hymns" in a WELS survey.

In 2010, Owl City's Adam Young recorded a version and offered it through his blog. About the song he wrote: "I'm twenty four years old, yet something about this song makes me bawl like a baby. The way the melodies and lyrics swirl together is so poignant and beautiful. If I were to count on one hand, the number of songs that have ever deeply moved me, this one would take the cake. Last night I probably spent more time actually crying at the piano than I did recording it. Such are the secret confessions of a shy boy from Minnesota".

A committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) opted not to include "In Christ Alone" in the church's 2013 hymnal Glory to God! for various reasons cited by Mary Louise Bringle in The Christian Century, "Debating Hymns" 1 May 2013. A committee statement explained the copyright holders would not grant the copyright request to reprint the hymn exactly as found in Celebrating Grace, a hymnal published in 2010 by a large group of Baptists. Variations in the hymn versions concerned the differences in theological significance of the line published in the Celebrating Grace Baptist hymnal: "Till on that cross as Jesus died the love of God was magnified" and the line the copyright holders prefer, "Till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied." The question concerns interpretations of atonement theory, particularly penal substitution theory and the satisfaction theory of atonement. Such questions also address the attributes of God. The song is included in 12 hymnals.

In 2013, the song was sung at the enthronement of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury. Also in this year, a new bridge section was added to the song by Kristian Stanfill and included in the live Passion: Let the Future Begin recording.

In 2015, Julien Baker played a portion of the piano melody from In Christ Alone at the end of "Go Home" on her album Sprained Ankle. Baker later said about the song: "It holds a lot of memories for me--being young in church, and the lyrics hold a lot of meaning when you analyse them."

Controversy

The second verse of the hymn contains the line, "Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied," endorsing the satisfaction theory of atonement. This line has hence made the song a subject of criticism by opponents of satisfaction theory. In 2013, a 15-member committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to exclude the song from a new church hymnal after Townsend and Getty refused permission to alter the controversial line to "the love of God was magnified." Members of the committee to compile the hymnal had discovered the alternate lyrics in a Baptist hymnal from 2010, causing them to assume that the change had been authorized by the copyright holders. Critics of the committee's decision pointed out that the hymnal included other hymns endorsing satisfaction theory and the penal substitution model of atonement, including "O Sacred Head Now Wounded." According to committee chair Mary Louise Bringle, the decision to exclude "In Christ Alone" centered not on the word "wrath" but rather on "satisfied."

The committee's decision to exclude the song triggered a larger debate across denominations and within the Presbyterian Church USA itself. PCUSA minister Chris Joiner of First said that while many in his congregation liked the hymn, he agreed with the decision because "that lyric comes close to saying that God killed Jesus. The cross is not an instrument of God's wrath." Timothy George, the dean of Beeson Divinity School, criticized the decision in an online column titled "No Squishy Love" and claimed that it "fits into a wider pattern of downplaying parts of Christian doctrine that are offensive." Boyce College professor Denny Burk to a view similar to George, stating that "When wrath goes, so does the central meaning of the atonement of God: penal substitution. At the end of the day, the cross itself is the stumbling block, and that is why the PCUSA cannot abide by this hymn." Meanwhile, Bob Terry of The Alabama Baptist wrote that he agreed with satisfaction theory, but "if the meaning of 'wrath' is that God is vindictive and took joy in punishing His Son then that is not how I find God described in the Bible. As I understand the Bible, it was because 'God so loved the world' that He was willing 'to crush Him and cause Him to suffer.'"

Maps In Christ Alone

Versions

(selective)

• 2001: The song first appeared on the album New Irish Hymns performed by vocalists Máire Brennan, Margaret Becker and Joanne Hogg who sang on the album mainly songs written by Keith Getty (composer of the song).
• 2002: Stuart Townend, the lyricist of the song, on his album Lord of Every Heart
• 2003: Adrienne Liesching and Geoff Moore as a duo on the compilation albums Secrets of the Vine; Worship Together--Be Glorified under the title "In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found)"; and It Takes 2: 15 Collaborations and Duets
• 2003: Newsboys on their album Adoration: The Worship Album. Also released as a single
• 2004: Phillips, Craig and Dean recorded a medley of the Getty/Townend and the Koch/Craig songs on their album Let the Worshippers Arise
• 2005: Travis Cottrell on his album Alive Forever as a medley "In Christ Alone" / "The Solid Rock"; also appears in Cottrell's live album Jesus Saves Live
• 2006: Avalon on their album Faith: A Hymns Collection
• 2006: Matt Papa on his album You Are Good
• 2008: Kristyn Getty (vocals) in the Keith & Kristyn Getty album In Christ Alone
• 2008: Natalie Grant on album Relentless
• 2010: Adam Young of Owl City recorded as "In Christ Alone (I Stand)"
• 2012: Christina Grimmie (uploaded on YouTube)
• 2013: Kristian Stanfill from the album Passion: Let the Future Begin (recorded live)
• 2014: Lauren Daigle in an acoustic version (uploaded on YouTube)

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References

Source of article : Wikipedia