Thread #154815   Message #3706858
Posted By: GUEST,Dave the Gnome
06-May-15 - 09:04 AM
Thread Name: Mudcat - changes in style and profile
Subject: RE: Mudcat - changes in style and profile

What is the difference between someone mocking religious beliefs here and doing it in song? If it should not be done here why have, for instance, Plastic Jesus in the DT? Why did Ed Rush and George Cromarty (the song's authors) not just say they did not share the belief?

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Interesting question, Dave. I think there's a distinction to be made here, one that's hard for me to explain. Would it surprise you to hear that I learned "Plastic Jesus" in a Catholic seminary in the 1960s, and that it was a song that was almost universally enjoyed among the students and faculty? After all these years, I still like the song and its message. It pokes gentle fun at an idolatrous mindset within Catholicism that I think deserves a bit of ridicule. Another song that was very popular in my seminary was Tom Lehrer's Vatican Rag, although there are parts of that song that come very close to hitting a nerve. Another is Matt McGinn's The Pill - I think Pete Seeger used to sing that one on occasion. I didn't learn Bridget and the Pill until much later, but I think it falls into the same category.

There are also many songs that poke fun at aspects of evangelical Christianity. Two I like are God May Forgive You (But I Won't) and Woody Guthrie's There'll Be No Church Tonight.

So, what's the difference between these songs and Musket's "Imaginary Friend" and "God-botherer" mantras? It's a subtle difference, but an important one. The Musket Mantras are a bomb blast, meant to attack and destroy believers indiscriminately. There's no reasoning behind this sort of shotgun attack - it's just an attack. The songs I've listed target real, specific shortcomings within religious groups - most often hypocrisy, with is certainly an endemic problem in religion.

And that's the difference between bigotry and legitimate criticism. Bigotry attacks all members of a group, simply because they are members of a group. Legitimate criticism addresses a specific problem and the specific individuals who are responsible for that problem.

There's more I could say, but this is the general idea that I'm trying to get across.

-Joe-

I've spent a good amount of time thinking out and composing this message. I have to say that it's come to the point where it has happened several times that I've spent time to type up a message and not been able to post it because the thread has been closed in the meantime. I tend to think that it's better to resolve disagreements with reasonable debate instead of by closing threads. I also want to say that I take the time to write these things partly because of the esteem I have for people like Musket and Dave the Gnome. I may disagree with them, but I like them.