Verse 1 I opened up the ancient pages, Thinking I would hear Your voice, Looking for a God of mercy, Calling broken hearts to choice. But somewhere in those sacred stories, I found things I can’t explain— Words that sounded less like heaven, More like echoes of our pain. Pre-Chorus They told me every line was holy, Every word was heaven-breathed, But if compassion is a virtue, Why am I ashamed of what I read? Chorus These are books I’d rather ignore, They shake my faith down to its core. Kill the Amalekites—leave no one alive, Every man, every woman, every child. Even the cattle fall beneath the sword— And they tell me this was from the Lord. If that’s the voice I’m listening for, These are books I’d rather ignore. Verse 2 You can own another person, You can beat them and survive The judgment of the ancient law If they don’t immediately die. Women pushed into the shadows, Voices silenced, doors held closed— And somehow I am asked to call These words the wisdom God composed. Pre-Chorus Maybe ancient people saw You Through the limits of their time, Putting human fear and violence Into words they called divine. Chorus These are books I’d rather ignore, They shake my faith down to its core. If slavery can somehow be allowed, If women must be silent in the crowd, If mercy stops when enemies appear, Then something doesn’t sound like heaven here. I cannot pretend like I did before— These are books I’d rather ignore. Bridge Or maybe this is not a test Of whether I believe each line. Maybe it’s a test of whether I can recognize the divine. Maybe faith is not surrender To whatever has been said. Maybe conscience is a candle I was never meant to deaden. If a passage tells me hatred Can be righteous, pure, and good, Maybe I should choose compassion Like I always hoped You would. Breakdown I refuse to call cruelty holy. I refuse to call slavery good. I refuse to silence my conscience Just because an ancient people could. If God is love, then love must matter. If God is good, then goodness too. And if these words contradict them, I won’t pretend that they are true. Final Chorus These are books I’d rather ignore, They shook my faith down to its core. Maybe they belong to another age, Human fingerprints on every page. I’ve wrestled with the things I’ve read, With every troubling word they said. I cannot believe like I did before— And I choose to believe no more. Outro No more fear of asking questions, No more hiding what I see. If truth is truth, it won’t be frightened By the doubts inside of me. Perhaps the test was never “Will you believe what you are told?” Perhaps the test was simply: Will you choose love when the words turn cold?
