(**Verse 1**)

Forget the steeple, the scheduled hour,

The dusty tome with coercive power.

God isn't boxed in by creeds we design,

Or a mansion above in a celestial line.

Church isn't mortar on some city street,

But the hands reaching out to the neighbors we meet.

And Jesus? He walked with the broken and scarred,

Not demanding allegiance from some lofty guard.

 

(**Chorus**)

No more cages built by fearful hands!

No more judgments on these shifting sands!

We're tearing down the walls of twisted lore,

To find the Sacred knocking at the door.

Oh, this is unlearning, soul-deep and true,

The living Spirit making all things new!

 

(**Verse 2**)

They labeled the questions as seeds of doubt,

Told her her voice wasn't worthy to shout.

Called human bodies a curse, a disgrace,

And love between some an unholy space.

But "Sinner!" ain't the name we embrace,

And hellfire's just fear in a dark, desperate place.

Woman stands equal, a partner, a friend,

And holiness isn't where true selves must end.

 

(**Chorus**)

No more cages built by fearful hands!

No more judgments on these shifting sands!

We're tearing down the walls of twisted lore,

To find the Sacred knocking at the door.

Oh, this is unlearning, soul-deep and true,

The living Spirit making all things new!

 

(**Verse 3**)

Don't twist the offer to "fire escape,"

Or think the shepherd wears some heavenly cape.

The coin in the plate? That ain't holy tax,

And prayer isn't magic for fixing life's cracks.

Conformity's chains won't make you like Him,

True giving flows outward, never feeling grim.

This earth isn't evil beneath our bare feet,

Nor seeking your purpose a sinful conceit.

 

(**Verse 4**)

They called the heart wicked, a darkness within,

Said crush every longing, that's how you win

Some prize of perfection, a hollow disguise,

Where self-denial's mistaken for holy skies.

But seeking your purpose, that fire in your soul,

Isn't worshipping self, it's becoming whole!

This life isn't practice for somewhere above,

It's embracing the journey, discovering love.

 

(**Verse 5**)

Don't mistake doctrine for ultimate truth,

Or ancient tradition, uncouth or aloof.

True faith isn't blindness, it questions, it seeks,

It wrestles with answers on mountaintops, in creeks.

Critical thinking's the compass, not sin,

As we navigate pathways, without and within.

And caring for rivers and forests and sod?

That's loving creation, the footprint of God!

 

(**Bridge**)

The heart isn't wicked, a wellspring of night,

But capable of kindness, of shining bright.

Don't crush its longings, don't fear its true song,

This life is the place where we all can belong.

Don't trade your keen mind for a blind, simple trust,

True faith can hold wonder, and questions, and dust.

This body, this passion, this precious, green earth,

Are gifts to be cherished, revealing our worth.

 

(**Chorus**)

NO MORE CAGES BUILT BY FEARFUL HANDS!

NO MORE JUDGMENTS ON THESE SHIFTING SANDS!

WE'RE TEARING DOWN THE WALLS OF TWISTED LORE,

TO FIND THE SACRED KNOCKING AT THE DOOR!

OH, THIS IS UNLEARNING, SOUL-DEEP AND TRUE,

THE LIVING SPIRIT MAKING ALL THINGS... NEW!

 

(**Outro**)

Not belief-systems... not divine dictation...

Not eternal Disney... not a cursed creation...

Not ungodly questions... not a magic wand...

Just a love that sets us free...

On this sacred ground...

Yeah, a love that sets us free...

Making all things... new...

 

(Lyrics © Peter Parthoens)