my chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
When I was a visiting speaker at conservative evangelical free chapels/churches this hymn, along with:
O for a thousand tongues to sing
and
Love divine, all loves excelling
were sung often. The tunes were liked, the words reflected the theology and doctrine of the fellowships/congregations.
As I moved away from conservative evangelical fundamentalism towards liberal, progressive, radical and deconstructivist theologies the words quoted above came to mind. Indeed I did feel that the stifling, restrictive chains of fundamentalist conservative evangelical doctrine and theology had fallen away: I had been released and was free to explore and articulate theological concepts based on the love of neighbour and social justice.
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