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Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?

ddw 18 May 00 - 12:52 AM
Bill D 17 May 00 - 08:28 PM
Penny S. 17 May 00 - 04:37 PM
GUEST,Pete Peterson at work 17 May 00 - 09:03 AM
McGrath of Harlow 17 May 00 - 06:53 AM
GUEST,micca at work 17 May 00 - 06:34 AM
GUEST,JulieF 17 May 00 - 05:10 AM
Stewie 17 May 00 - 02:25 AM
Joe Offer 17 May 00 - 02:05 AM
Escamillo 17 May 00 - 12:32 AM
Mark Cohen 17 May 00 - 12:06 AM
Rick Fielding 16 May 00 - 10:33 PM
Mrrzy 16 May 00 - 10:08 PM
Joe Offer 16 May 00 - 04:38 PM
dick greenhaus 16 May 00 - 12:16 PM
GUEST,Mrr 16 May 00 - 10:59 AM
GUEST,Paul Burke 16 May 00 - 08:15 AM
GUEST,JulieF 16 May 00 - 07:36 AM
GUEST,franz 16 May 00 - 06:36 AM
John in Brisbane 15 May 00 - 08:40 PM
McGrath of Harlow 15 May 00 - 08:13 PM
Penny S. 15 May 00 - 06:00 PM
Penny S. 15 May 00 - 05:59 PM
Joe Offer 15 May 00 - 05:55 PM
Mbo 15 May 00 - 05:16 PM
Penny S. 15 May 00 - 05:11 PM
dick greenhaus 15 May 00 - 05:06 PM
GUEST,Mimosa@work 15 May 00 - 05:01 PM
Escamillo 15 May 00 - 04:59 PM
Jed at Work 15 May 00 - 04:33 PM
Escamillo 15 May 00 - 04:30 PM
Wavestar 15 May 00 - 04:25 PM
sophocleese 15 May 00 - 04:10 PM
GUEST,Mrr 15 May 00 - 03:47 PM
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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: ddw
Date: 18 May 00 - 12:52 AM

Interesting thread.

Joe, I think I have to come down on Mrr's side on the meaning of atheist — it just means "without god" as far as I've ever been able to figure out. I think his term "antitheist" is closer to describing someone who is actively negative about about god and the religious trapping mankind has built around the belief.

All that said, though, I wonder if there really is such a thing as an atheist in the sense of it being a "religiously-held" belief. As Bertrand Russell and the cardinal (was it Cushing? I can't remember for sure) amply demonstrated in their famous debate, you can't PROVE the existance of god without first ASSUMING the existance of god. You also can't prove that god doesn't exist without assuming that god doesn't exist.

That makes agnosticism the only position open to a thinking person — an agnostic being someone who DOESN'T KNOW if god exists.

Then the relevant question becomes "Does it matter whether there is a god?" The only answer I've been able to come up with is that it doesn't, except to use it as a framework to scare people into adhering to societal rules if they're too slow to figure out for themselves that those rules — applied as evenly as possible — are what allows us to live with bunches of people without commiting or being victims of murder and mayhem.

Examples of this are easily found in the 10 Commandments. I don't remember all of them offhand, but take adultry, for instance. I really can't believe that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omni-everything being who really gives a shit about who's doing who, but I can sure as hell believe that a lot of men will kill you in a minute if they catch you dipping your stick in THEIR PROPERTY.

Same goes for "thou shalt not steal" and all the other commandments. They make sense for the peace and wellbeing of the group — no matter how narrowly or widely it's defined — but it has nothing to do with a god. Or at least it NEED NOT NECESSARILY have anything to do with a god.

There are several other points in the thread I'd like to comment on, but work calls. Back later.

David


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Bill D
Date: 17 May 00 - 08:28 PM

"We will follow Jim & Tammy
Get a condo in Miami
Pay no tax to Uncle Sammy...
And it's good enough for me"


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 17 May 00 - 04:37 PM

Passing through the Body Mind and Spirit portion of the bookshop it occurred to me to wonder - would Buddhist chants suffice?

Penny


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Pete Peterson at work
Date: 17 May 00 - 09:03 AM

WOW what a thread! For things that we believe in that deeply, it's good to see the amount of mutual respect that keeps being stated and re-stated. I agree with teh suggestion of some of the Joe Hill songs; I haven't seen Power in the Union (which U. Utah Phillips considered Joe's best song) mentioned yet. My two favorite songs along these lines: Give me the Roses (Dick, forgive me, I didn't look to see if it's in the database) which I know from the Carter Family but also found in my Sacred Harp book under the name of "Odum" Stan Roger's Mary Ellen Carter (Rise again!) I heard an anecdote that he had deliberately written it as an allegory. I hope so; he's not around for me to ask. And to Mark and John o' Brisbane (is that anywhere near Dreams?) thanks for Old Time Religion-- you had a couple verses I've never seen before! Some that I sing that aren't in most people's collection are:

We will all chant Hare Krishna
We will all chant Hare Krishna
I can't find it in the Mishna
but it's good enough for me

We will sacrifice to Kali
Though embracing her is folly
She is quite a handful-- golly
And she's good enough for me

It was good enough for Dagon
A conservative old Pagan
Who still votes for Ronald Reagon
and it's. . .


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 May 00 - 06:53 AM

"But if you are living up to your ideals - you are setting them too low."

I nominate that for the book of new Mudcat quotations that some eagle-eyed Catter ought to set up. Too good to lose.


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,micca at work
Date: 17 May 00 - 06:34 AM

For a mix of assorted "religous" and non religous "hymns" I would reccommend the recordings of fellow 'catter Animaterra.. the choir does some wonderful non "god" hymns.. ie "When the dark time ends" on there 99 winter CD... Animaterra is contactable thru' the private messages and could probably supply more info.. but the recordings are pure magic...and I couldn't reccommend them more..


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,JulieF
Date: 17 May 00 - 05:10 AM

Quite often, it appears to me, that just by stating you are an athiest people consider it a affront to their own religious beliefs. I have lost track of the times that I have had the response - " but you have morals so you really are a Christian/Believer - you just don't admit it". I could not imagine an athiest being allowed to wander down the street with a plachard that states - There is no God. I have weighed up the pros and cons and decided than on balance it is much more likely that God doesn't exist. Hence - Athiest.

Another reason people think that Athiests and the Athiest press are anti - religious is because some religious people can handle any critisms of their religion and more specifically any attemps to remove additional privledges that their religion has given them. (Please note I did say some - not all. You should see the feedback to the Secular web sites - among the you will fry in hell letters are well thought out and reasoned religious agruments). A good example of additional religious priveldge - is the maintaining of the places for bishops in the House of Lords.

This means that I have to live my life to my own design. I would now call myself a Secular Humanist. In that I think that I should live my life with utmost consideration for other people and secular in that I have come to the conclusion that there is no external spirutal input. Needless to say I never live up to my ideals. But if you are living up to your ideals - you are setting them too low.

Sorry if I sound a bit overbearing but I feel fairly strongly about this.

Julie


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Stewie
Date: 17 May 00 - 02:25 AM

GuestPaul Burke, the song you quoted from is 'Miracles' by Jim Woodland. It was recorded by Roy Bailey on his 'Never Leave a Story Unsung' CD. Bailey noted: 'While I don't think all fairy stories are "lies", I do agree with the way the song uses the image'. Magnificent song.

--Stewie.


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 May 00 - 02:05 AM

Hey, Mrr - have your semanticist call my semanticist. When they come to an agreement on terms, we'll talk. I think Mark is right - our ideas are probably pretty much in agreement, and it's just the terms that we disagree on.
-Joe-


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 17 May 00 - 12:32 AM

Let me introduce an example of atheism which is not at all a beliefs system : that of scientists (or an important part of them). The existence or non-existence of God is a matter of fact or fantasy, and not a belief for them. Many scientists are religious,but they will never establish a base for search, in any kind of faith, be it the main religions, or mythology or paganism.
This position does not qualify them for stating which beliefs are true and which are not, they simply remain neutral, and keeping an eye in facts. At the same time you will find a great, deep sense of humanism in them. (I adhere to that position as much as I try to humbly follow the philosophy of Jesus, though not in any church, but that´s a personal opinion.)
Un abrazo - Andrés


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 17 May 00 - 12:06 AM

Andres, is *that* what Carmina Burana is about??? I never knew! If only I'd known that when I saw the ballet 20 years ago with a certain young lady, it might have led to some interesting conversation...

My contributions to Old Time Religion:

We will worship Mother Earth
In her length and breadth and girth
For of Earth there is no dearth
And that's good enough for me

Oh I love to worship Venus
There is nothing comes between us
'Cause she doesn't have a temple
But she's good enough for me

We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants
We will sing Gregorian chants

And one from Meryle Korn in Portland:
Oh we all will worship Loki
Who's the ancient god of chaos
Which is why this verse doesn't rhyme or scan very well either
But it's good enough for me

Joe and Mrrzy, interesting discussion. I think what appears to be a disagreement is more a difference in definition (or understanding) of what each of you means by "atheism", and you're probably quite close to agreement in your basic ideas about religion itself. Or so it seems to me. (This is more thread precession than thread creep, and I'm enjoying it.)

Aloha,
Mark


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:33 PM

Damn, this is great! Someone to talk theology (in an intelligent way) with Joe.

I just sign my letters to him:

Heathen (but still thinking!)


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:08 PM

Joe, (and this can of course wait till you have time), I wouldn't say I was trying to convince you of anything - I was just defining my terms. I'm all for semantics!
First, I don't know enough about secular humanism to discuss that term, so I'll go back to atheism. Having now checked out the link to the American Atheists, I still think that even when all-out for the "total separation of government and religion" (quoting the site) - which I am all for - atheism still is a belief system that could be viewed as taking the lack of gods on faith. The atheists I know have full sets of ethics and morals, as well as mythologies for explaining natural phenomena with the occasional personification metaphor - but just no gods. I don't know what else you need for a belief system? After all, arguing with someone about their faith's variance from yours is as rude coming from one religion to another as coming from atheism to a religion, if you can call the Crusades or the anti-Infidel terrorism of the '80's rude.
Oh well, I guess I am trying to convince you of something - which is that atheism is -or at least, can be- a belief in no god, rather than no belief in a god.
I guess if more people used the term atheism to mean a belief system including (if you will) faith in there being no gods, maybe it would get rid of its negative overtones, in fact. Which would be a good thing for the atheists.

(Thread creep alert)
I guess I'm for freedom FROM religion as much as freedom OF religion: you can believe whatever you like, and I will respect the rites which demonstrate those beliefs, unless it conflicts too strongly with my own belief system. To wit, I don't urge bacon on inappropriate kith or kin though my system allows pork, but I'd try my best to argue them into having life-saving surgery if they were against such things.


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Subject: Is Atheism a belief system?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 May 00 - 04:38 PM

I dunno, Mrr. It is highly unlike me to admit defeat in a debate, but I may have to, in this situation - to a point.
I wish I had time to nuance my response a little more carefully, but I made the mistake of volunteering to work this week, so I suppose I'd better head off and do it.
Nonetheless, I'd like to make a few points. I think it's safe to say that atheism is not a belief system, in and of itself. It is a word that describes a variety of belief systems that do not believe in a God. Secular humanism is a belief system that I think can be used to describe a lot of English-speaking atheists, although secular humanism can be either atheistic or agnostic.
Sometimes, atheists join together for various purposes - usually, it seems, to oppose the imposition of religious beliefs on society (the American Atheists might be a good example). It generally seems that these atheist unions are typified by their a desire for a lack of belief, rather than a belief in anything. While their purpose may be noble (and I agree with their purposes many time), they serve primarily a negative function of the sort that does not ordinarily tend to generate hymns and inspiring songs.
My point is that atheists have various systems of belief that are atheistic in nature - but that atheism is not a belief system itself. Semantics, perhaps, but it never hurts to define your terms.
And yes, I think my atheist and Jewish and evangelical friends respect my liberal Catholic beliefs. They don't espouse my beliefs and they may consider me quaint and perhaps eccentric for what I believe, but they respect me for believing what I believe. I, in turn, have great respect for a number of different systems of belief; and I study other beliefs because I have much to learn from what others believe.
So, Mrr, I guess I'm not quite ready to admit defeat - yet.
But feel free to keep trying to convince me.
-Joe Offer, off to work-


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 16 May 00 - 12:16 PM

In a very real sense, Joe Hill's (and other unionists') rewrites of popular hymns fit the description nicely. Preacher and the Slave. Hold the Fort. he IWW version of Onward Christian Soldiers, (all in DigiTrad).


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:59 AM

All, thanks for the song suggestions, I especially like the one posted by John in Brisbane, even if it isn't "on point" exactly, it's great! Post more, everyone!

But Joe, I feel obliged to reply to your para which I repeat here:
I think there's a negative, antireligious tone to the term "Atheism." If atheisim exists simply to deny the beliefs of those are religious, then it is a creed that essentially negative and destructive in nature. [...] The idea of "secular humanism" and the practices of the ethical societies seem to typify the atheists I know.
When I meant Atheist, I meant a(NO - not "anti", which is "against")-the(GOD)-ist(BELIEVER) = One Who Believes There Is No God. It does not "exist simply to deny the beliefs of those [who] are religious" any more than Religion A exists to deny the beliefs of the followers of Religion B. (You could argue that all religions except the first, caveperson one, exists to deny the existence of the others, but that's specious, isn't it?)
Atheism is in its own right a belief system, which doesn't find the necessity to posit the existence of any gods to explain anything. The term Atheism is NOT equivalent to "secular humanism" which is more a form of agnosticism - which is when you don't believe in any particular god, but don't necessarily believe that there ARE NO gods. I really meant atheism, not secular humanism, in my query.

An atheist may respect the BEHAVIORS of religious folks, by not clapping in christian churches, covering women's heads in mosques and men's heads in synagogues, not eating till after someone says Grace, and so on. But no atheist I know respects (in the sense of thinking these are as valid as one's own beliefs) the BELIEFS of religious folks, any more than espousers of Religion A respect the beliefs of followers of Religion B.

If you want a term for radical rabid anti-any-religious-expression folks, use ANTITHEIST, not Atheist, as atheism is neutral in reference to theism, whereas antitheism is not.


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 16 May 00 - 08:15 AM

Only remember the chorus, someone fill in the details?:

I don't believe in miracles,

Don't believe that's true, One life, one fight, one little dance, and that's you,

I don't believe in fairy tales, don't believe in lies,

You don't need to fly, just have to try, and that's all you do...


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,JulieF
Date: 16 May 00 - 07:36 AM

The song that comes to mind is RotherSingaDonSong which is a tribute to the workers of South Yorkshire sung to the tune of the hymn Jesus Christ is Risen Today. As a folk chorus we tend to sing it like a hymn with the concentina sounding a bit like an organ accompaniment.

On the subject of songs for Athiests ( or secular Hummanists if you prefer). I always found it difficult when I stopped believing in God when I was about 11/12. I thought it terribly hypocritical to sing hymns in assemby. Teachers tend not to accept that you are not singing on as a matter of principal. I've got over that and tend to sing to appreciate a good tune. I also sing a weddings etc because you are then doing it for your friends. I suppose any songs that about generally looking after your fellow man are hummanist songs. What about some of Burns - A Man's a Man for all that.

All the best

Julie


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,franz
Date: 16 May 00 - 06:36 AM

I'm not sure if this is what you want, but maybe Nash's "Cathedral Song" or Randy Newman's "God Song" will do.

franz


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Subject: Lyr Add: OLD TIME RELIGION (filk version) ^^^
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 May 00 - 08:40 PM

I'd have to agree with Joe. I would probably choose What A Wonderful World, but I'd be just as happy singing beautiful hymns, as I did before Easter when I sang Faure's Requiem.

There are many, many sites around with hundreds of verses to Gimme That Old Time Religion, many of them separated into various conventional creeds and paganism. Here is a very small sample:

OLD TIME RELIGION-----a filk song

REFRAIN after each verse (if you can stand it!)
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
GIVE ME THAT OLD TIME RELIGION,
THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!



There are people into voodoo
there are people into voodoo
I know, I know, I hope that you do,
it's good enough for me.

There will be a lot of lovin'
When we're gathered in our coven
With your pushin' and your shovin',
so there'll be room enough for me.

We shall worship with the Druids
Drinking strange fermented fluids
RUNNING NAKED THROUGH THE WOO-OODS,...
and that's good enough for me.

There's an opera written for us
We all join in the chorus
It's an opera 'bout Boris,
and it's.....

With your trusty old Althame
You can blast a double whammy
Or slice and dice a whammy
which is .....

Well, she raised an awful flurry
When she made the scholars worry.
Thank the gods for Margaret Murray!!!
It's good......

Let us go and worship Hermes;
Got a staff that crawls with wormies
That could knock out all the germies,
He's good.....
Well, there's one thing that I do know,
(insert someone's name) favorite is Juno,
'Cause she's awfully good at...you know,
And that's ......

It was good enough for Sapho
With her lady on her lap-oh
She put Lesbos on the map-oh
with her pagan poetry

Meeting at the witching hour
By the bud and branch and flower
Folks are raising up the power
That's where I want to be.

Let us gather in our saunas
When The Spirit comes upon us
To perform the rites of faunas,
That's good enough.....

We went off to worship Venus.
And by gosh you should have seen us!
Now the clinic has to screen us.
But, she's good enough for me.

We will pray to Aphrodite
Even tho' she's rather flighty
And they say she wears no nightie,
And that's good .....

We will pray with those Egyptians
Build our pyramids to put our crypts in
Cover subways with inscriptions,
And that's ......

Oh, Old Odin we will follow
And in fighting we will wallow
"Til we wind up in Valhallooooo,
And that's good enough.....

Let me follow dear old Buddha
For there is nobody cuter
He comes in plastic, wood or pewter,
And that's......

We will pray with Zarathrustra
Pray just like we usta
I'm a Zarathrustra booster.....
And that's good .....

Hare Krishna gets a laugh on
When he sees me dressed in Saffron
With my hair that's only half-on,
Oh, he's good.....

I'll rise early in the morning
When the sun gives me a warning
That the solar age is dawning,...
Well, that's good. ^^^


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 May 00 - 08:13 PM

The best modern hymns - though he, for good reasons, prefers to call them "carols" - I would say, are those made by Sydney Carter. And the interesting thing about many of them are that they take a very agnostic stance.You can read them several ways, and sing them from a range of different views about the world we live in.

For example you have Friday Morning, where the song is in the voice of one of the thieves crucified alongside Jesus:

It was on a Friday morning
they took me from the cell,
and I saw they had a carpenter
to crucify as well.
You can blame it on to Pilate,
you can blame it on the Jews,
you can blame it on the Devil,
it's God I accuse.
It's God they ought to crucify
instead if you and me
I said to the carpenter
a-hanging on the tree.

Or George Fox, for that matter:

With a book and a steeple
with a bell and a key
they would bind it forever
but they can't, said he.
For the book it will perish
and the steeple will fall
but the light will be shining
at the end of it all.
Old leather breeches, shaggy shaggy locks,
Old leather breeches, shaggy shaggy locks,
with your Old leather breeches,
and your shaggy shaggy locks
you are pulling down
the pillars of the world, George Fox.


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 06:00 PM

Actually, we sang them.

Penny


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:59 PM

Joe - they were the sort of atheists I was thinking of - I just couldn't imagine them singing about it. Actually, there are quite a few "hymns" in our school hymnbook which do not mention God at all, and could be seen as atheist - last week we sanf "The Ink is Black" for example. Would those do?

Penny


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:55 PM

I think there's a negative, antireligious tone to the term "Atheism." If atheisim exists simply to deny the beliefs of those are religious, then it is a creed that essentially negative and destructive in nature. I don't think the atheists I know are like that - they're very positive, good people who just don't believe in God. They tolerate my religious beliefs quite well, and they share many ethical views with me. The idea of "secular humanism" and the practices of the ethical societies seem to typify the atheists I know.
A couple types of music that might fit the description of "humanist" music are the union and civil rights songs that were fashioned from old-time gospel songs. We had quite a discussion of those songs in this thread (click).
-Joe Offer-


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Mbo
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:16 PM

Sorry, Wavestar...if I have heard them, I'd have probably forgotten them very soon afterward.

--Mbo


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Penny S.
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:11 PM

All I can think of is to suggest that you find some tunes that were originally secular, but have now become known as "churchy", and then write your own words to them. I think the problem in finding them is that atheists are more likely to be diverse, and less likely to come together in bunches to sing that sort of thing than members of religious groups.What do you want to say? Our humanists in Britain are most notable for writing scathing letters to the papers slagging off the more ridiculous positions of the religious. (Church School bans Harry Potter, for example.) We seldom see what they do believe about human behaviour.

Second thoughts - try the French Revolution - or other writings of that period.

Penny


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:06 PM

Confusing Grace, how rich, how rare Each day we live, we learn And render daily all our prayer To Whom it may Concern

(Unitarian Gospel)


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mimosa@work
Date: 15 May 00 - 05:01 PM

check out "The Preacher and the Slave" in the database. i think many of the early labor movement songs might fit your description


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:59 PM

Jed, one of the songs says (approximately)
Yes I am, yes I am..
the Abbot of Cucania (a fantasy land of dissolution)
and my council are that of drinkers
.. and who looks for me
at the Tavern in the evening
will find himself naked in the morning
crying loudly "Oh, Fortune !!
Stupid goddess, what you've done ?
Our lives you ruined ! ahh!"

This would be something like a moral-free priest !:)

Un abrazo - Andrés


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:33 PM

Godless Hymns? Sounds to me like fat-free motor oil!

;-)


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Escamillo
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:30 PM

The only "churchy" godless hymns I've heard (and sang) are not folk but classical, inspired in medieval (and banned) profanity : Karl Orff's CARMINA BURANA is a cantata composed in 1937 on the basis of authentic poems dealing with carnal pleasure, wine, gambling and everything known to be good in medieval times. Some of the songs and dances could be adapted to pop and result in a pleasant surprise in a folk/pop concert. The melodies are simple and beautiful.
Un abrazo - Andrés


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: Wavestar
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:25 PM

I can't think of any church-y style songs that would promote aetheism, Mrr, but I can think of some recent popular songs that do.... Other than the screaming, shouting metal death ones, and NIN (Heresy, etc...) Sarah McLaughlin, Dear God certainly advocates atheism...

I'm sure Mbo and others can nthink of more...

-J


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Subject: RE: BS: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: sophocleese
Date: 15 May 00 - 04:10 PM

Well Mrr. its not quite what you were looking for but I thought thios might interest you I lifted it from the Private Eye Online page because it was easier than blue-clicking.

"The Council hereby grants permission for a weekly prayer call to be sung from the mosque of the World Islamic Mission in Oslo. The prayer call, or azan, will be allowed once every Friday, at midday, and the chant of 'God is Great' must last no longer than three minutes. "The Council also notes that a demonstration by members of the Heathen Society was held in Oslo last Saturday, protesting against the possibility that the weekly prayer call might be allowed. Therefore, in the interests of balance, permission is hereby also granted for the Heathen Society to chant 'There is no God' outside the mosque at five minutes before midday each Friday. This chant must also last no longer than three minutes. "By order, Old Town Council, Oslo." (Norway Post, 29/3/00. Spotter: Stedman)


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Subject: Godless 'hymns' or Atheism Church Music?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 15 May 00 - 03:47 PM

Tried to find any songs, preferably done in a church-y style, that are about not worshipping any gods at all. All I came up with was a very interesting thread on Music, Politics and the Mudcat, and a few mentions of atheism here and there in other threads. I know there are songs comparing gods, I liked the DoorKnockers one (I've seen it on a Tshirt), but can't find anything about not worshipping any god. Anyone know any?

Also, I should mention, that I'm really looking for songs promoting, rather than against, atheism. However, anti- would be fine too.


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