Richard Beck:
Because here's the deal, does I'll Fly Away make any sense when it's sung by rich people of power and privilege? I mean, what the heck are you flying away from? Life in suburbia? The Caramel Macchiatos at Starbucks? The vacations at the beach? The fact that you have clean water, indoor plumbing, central heating/air, and two cars? ... So of course when the privileged sing the song it sounds theologically shallow. The privileged shouldn't be trying to fly away. They should be worrying about the injustices at the gate.…
In sum, I’m back to the realization that Christianity sounds different–theology, hymnody, and the bible itself–when heard from the margins of society. What doesn’t make sense at the centers of power, prosperity and privilege often make a while lot of sense on the periphery.
