What songs do you play at such a concert?
Prominent atheist Richard Dawkins is scheduled to appear at the event, along with musicians, speakers and other entertainment....Oh, don't you love his songs?
Okay, so I Googled "Top 10 Atheist Songs" — and some are really more properly characterized as anti-religion songs. #1 is what you'd come up with if you thought about it a bit...
Imagine there’s no countriesHere's a discussion of atheist songs. Somebody suggests The Internationale:
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too...
No saviour from on high delivers,I think a more inventive approach could be taken to finding the truly atheistic songs. Songs about the supremacy of the individual acting alone express a belief in the absence of God. For example, "The Greatest Love of All" (the greatest love is self-love). And I've long thought of this song as fundamentally atheistic.
No faith have we in prince or peer.
Our own right hand the chains must shiver,
Chains of hatred, greed and fear.
Posts
168 comments:
How about Losing My Religion? Yeah, yeah, I know Snipes said that was just a saying when he grew up about getting drunk. But it is a good song.
Oh yeah, this is gonna be BIG.
Stipe. My bad. I am losing my ability to spell and type.
Bob Hope's shows were considered a religious revival? Then, what do you call his bringing Jayne Mansfield out on stage?
What did you call his golf club?
What's all this atheist bullshit? Sounds to me like a lot of people could be sold the Brooklyn Bridge. And, told they could collect tolls on Sundays.
An army base is a great venue for a stand up comedian.
Atheists bore the pants off me. With everything going on in the world they just can't get off that one topic.
Morrissey's "I Have Forgiven Jesus" falls in the "anti-religious" category.
'Atheist-themed songs' is a useless concept. I am a hard-core atheist but I listen to a lot of Indian (Carnatic aka South-Indian) classical music which is by definition devotional, praising various deities and offering thanks. I ignore the lyrics and look at the craft, the artistry, the depth, and finally the sound they produce, vocally or by an instrument. I am celebrating the individual, the artist as I listen. Fortunately this category of music is deep and intricate in structure and highly mathematical which makes it a wonderful intellectual pursuit.
This one never seems to turn up on the atheist song lists. Not boosterish enough, maybe.
What badge does an atheist chaplain have on his collar?
Music for music sake. Don't let PC people take over.
As I always say, Atheism is just another religion.
Sinatra My Way
"The Noose" by A Perfect Circle might be construed at anti-religious, but it's more of an atheistic song...according to Maynard, anyway.
"Right In Two" by Tool, on the other hand, sounds like it's anti-religious, but it's actually more along the lines of "what the fuck, people, God gave you all these gifts and here's what you do with it".
Odd ends of the spectrum, possibly, but Maynard would tell you that having a son will do that to you.
How about "My Way?"
You know, most people couldn't guess your religion, unless you told them.
The same is true for people who claim they're gay. Because I say you haven't been marked with a dot on your head ... (No one really is. When you see those dots they're usually just dots of lipstick.)
Once a year? Those dots are put their by priests.
I no longer see dots as frequently as I did. And, I don't see yarmulkas either. (Something I thought men wore all the time. Because my parents stuck me in a religious school. Where I learned being different is okay. Okey dokey.)
What about woodys? Well, I don't have them. So I don't know. But I've never seen anything like a horizontal cigar sticking out on a man. Where he couldn't see his shoes.
A pregnant lady is different. Shoes go by about the 7th month. But pregancies take a long time to develop.
Meeting someone, and just saying "hello" ... doesn't clue you in at all to religious beliefs.
Which are sometimes faked. Just like some women fake orgasms.
What was that ... that Lincoln said about fooling some of the people ???
Behind military uniforms ... isn't it intended to make all the wearers look alike? Aren't they designed to be bland?
Who wants to go to a show that doesn't have a standup comedian? (Okay. If it contains a lecture about guns ... I can see men showing up.)
But for meeting God? Don't you have to die, first?
I always assumed Your Own Personal Jesus mocked Christianity, but Wikipedia (font of all wisdom) says otherwise.
The song was inspired by the book Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley. According to songwriter Martin Gore:
It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships; how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?
Well, that changes things.
Dear God by XTC which I disagree with. We could use a big reduction in the price of beer.
How about Best God in Show by NOFX?
I have no consideration
Zero mutual respect
For billions who suffer from rational thought neglect
I don’t wanna waste a sentence
I don’t want a conversation
That’s gonna end in disdain disbelief and aggravation
And I find it’s getting harder to hang out
With grown adults who actually believe
In Santa Clause and Noah’s Ark, and Their god is the best
My distaste has turned into detest
Who would read a 2000-year-old medical journal?
Techniques for blood-letting
Advice on trichinosis
Would you navigate the globe
With a map of a flat Earth?
Without DNA testing would you believe virgin birth?
And I find it’s getting painful to put up
With grown adults who actually believe
In unicorns and creation and god always takes their side
That’s when my innocent jabbing turns snide
Thank god for the Grammy
Thank god for the touchdown
Thank god for blowing up the enemy’s sacred ground
So how am I supposed to take anything you say seriously
When you swap free will for faith, hope and pre-destiny?
And it’s getting agonizing to hang out
With grown adults who actually believe
Mythology and history trump physics and science
My aversion has turned to abhorrence.
The most prothesizing people I have meet are Atheists. Suggestion...you people should wear white shirts and black ties when you go around trying to convert people to Atheism.
I thought of "My Way" when I was writing the post. I didn't go read the lyrics, but something about it felt to me as though the singer did acknowledge God. Looking at the lyrics, I think it is kinda atheistic, especially rejecting being "one who kneels." And as with "The Greatest Love of All," there's the total reliance on self: "What is man, what has he got, if not himself, then he has naught?" On the other hand, that question reminds me of Jesus' question: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"
AFG....are you wearing a white shirt and black tie right now? You are in full prothesizing mode. Lets here more of your Atheist gospel. Maybe you can get a convert or two today.
Here's a song for you:
Your God by Eric Taylor.
"Did your God ride the bullet
To the old Lorraine Motel?
Is it the blood of the lamb, is it another man down,
Did he catch him as he fell?
Did he calm the waters?
Did his heart just freeze?
What did your God see?"
When I served there we were very religious, in fact, our favorite song was Blood on the Risers. Sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"
(CHORUS)
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
he ain't gonna jump no more!
"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero meekly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;
He thought about the medics, and wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT" his blood went spurting high,
His comrades were all heard to say "A hell of a way to die!"
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
(slowly, solemnly; about half the speed of the other verses)
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots,
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
God, I wish I was a young man, again.
Remember when Grizzly Man mocked God, Buddha, and Allah in his rain prayer? Good times. What ever happened to that guy?
When I served there we were very religious, in fact, our favorite song was Blood on the Risers. Sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"
(CHORUS)
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
he ain't gonna jump no more!
"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,
Our Hero meekly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome,
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones;
The canopy became his shroud; he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind,
He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind;
He thought about the medics, and wondered what they'd find,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild,
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled,
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT" his blood went spurting high,
His comrades were all heard to say "A hell of a way to die!"
He lay there rolling round in the welter of his gore,
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
(CHORUS)
(slowly, solemnly; about half the speed of the other verses)
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a'dangling from his Paratrooper suit,
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots,
And he ain't gonna jump no more
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,
And he ain't gonna jump no more!
God, I wish I was a young man, again.
"The Greatest Love of All" (the greatest love is self-love).
That's narcissism, not atheism.
How about "Born Free" from the movie about the big cats? That's as much as I can remember from being 5 at the time. Born Free sounds like atheist canon, though, doesn't it?
"God Will" by Lyle Lovett would work too. At least for the atheists with a sense of humor -- both of them.
Wir Fliegen gegen England.
Seriously -- atheism isn't the same as anti-religion.
There are a number of self identified atheists on this list. Very few (IIRC) express themselves as "anti-religion" per se.
I appreciate the openness. Nice to have a list where people can talk about a lot of stuff without the ballistics. (There are a number of exceptions, of course. ;-) )
I am on another list where there is an amazing, and I do mean amazing, amount of "anti-religion" asides and snarks. Makes me lower the IQ of the writers exponentially. But also makes the list and some of the associated blogs less helpful to me.
So yes --- some atheists do seem to be able to make fools of themselves. (As do some Christians, Buddhists, Muslims ... name any human group ....)
Appreciate the commenters on Althouse. And the hostess of this soiree / sidewalk café.
I have identified the first DoD budget cut.
Hey Sofa -- snap -- way to go.
;-)
The Crack Emcee
"The Greatest Love of All" (the greatest love is self-love).
That's narcissism, not atheism.
---------------------------------
I'm guessing you saw this article in Slate?
http://www.slate.com/id/2300733/
Oh chuck, not sure if you noticed that all I did was paste the lyrics of a song I thought was "Atheistic." Maybe I confused you and you thought I wrote those lyrics. Maybe you just thought because I pasted those lyrics that I believed everything they say. Maybe you're just a complete fucking tool.
Fred4Pres,
How about Losing My Religion?
Atheism isn't about "losing" your religion, or abandoning it, it's about not having any.
Here are my candidates.
Aren't you a big Kinks fan, Ann? How about "Big Sky" from The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society?
There are probably a bunch of Rush songs that would qualify too.
Oh and I like Iron Maiden's "Quest for Fire" which I think would qualify. As would "sunlight on your steel."
Well, I don't care if it rains or freezes,
Long as I have my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations,
We will travel every nation,
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far.
{Refrain}
Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations,
We will travel every nation,
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far.
I don't care if it rains or freezes
As long as I've got my Plastic Jesus
Glued to the dashboard of my car,
You can buy Him phosphorescent
Glows in the dark, He's Pink and Pleasant,
Take Him with you when you're travelling far
{Refrain}
The question, perhaps, is whether atheism can define itself without reference to theism.
If there were not (thieistic) religions, would everyone then be an atheist? Or would there be no religion and no atheism too?
I suppose the Vatican Rag ("First you get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries, ...") is more a mocking of Roman Catholicism than a mocking of religion in general.
Blasphemous Rumors by Depeche Mode.
Atheists can only create from the ground up. Theists can create from the ground up or from the sky down. One works better than the other. They are not equal.
No, HD, that one fully acknowledges that there's a God. DM just says he's got a sick sense of humor.
They are merely a competing interest. Any other claims are incidental to their true motives. I'm surprised that they still manage to obfuscate their true nature. Well, they are not alone in playing games. I suppose this is how the natural order is processed in a civilized society.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
@JAL -- I agree. It's also interesting to see the way Althouse' religion posts scramble the usual commenter alignments.
Thank you Sixty Grit. I was starting to get worried.
You know, I'm a lifelong atheist.
And this is stupid.
As a non-religion, I'd think other atheists would, like me, not need giant Festivals Of Affirmation Of Our Non-Faith.
But I guess that's just me.
Sounds like a good opportunity to cruise for slutty atheist babes.
"...No, HD, that one fully acknowledges that there's a God. DM just says he's got a sick sense of humor..."
Ah yeah, my bad. Its been a long time :-)
A repeat of this program might work: Carmina Burana and Cantata Profana
"The Army has cleared plans for an atheist-themed concert at Fort Bragg..."
So...that would be all the concerts that aren't christian? Except maybe country.
Oh, Crack. Oh, Crack. At 1:03 PM
I am in awe. Always, to you, sir, my battery recharges on your wonderful clip.
You know I have that "foot" on a key chain! Yes, I do. It even says "stuff" when I press it's button.
Will Monty Python be forgotten? I hope not! Eric Idle even did a "Carl Sagan!"
It's the magic of the Internet to be "so" infinite in its joys.
"When I served there we were very religious, in fact, our favorite song was Blood on the Risers. Sung to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic........God, I wish I was a young man, again."
God can't make you young again but you can still hear 'your' song every morning just after dawn at the corner of Longstreet and Ardennes accompanied by the beat of 5000 pairs of boots hitting the blacktop.
JAL, Sigvold....I would argue that you are agnostic, not Atheist. Agnostics don't believe in God, and don't care if others do. it's a non-issue to them. Like me and soccer. I hate soccer, but as far as I am concerned, it doesn't exist in my world. I don't have any urge to destroy the event.
Athiests are an organized religion bent on destroying other religions.
Example, if someone honors a soccer player, I don't demand equal time or a lawsuit, I just ignore it. That makes me agnostic to the worlds most boring sport. I also don't try to convert soccerists to my cause.
As an agnostic, I have not written any anti-soccer books and had them placed in the sports section of Barnes and Noble. Yet many practitioners of Atheism have written books and you will find them in the religion section of Barnes and Noble.
Or maybe they should stage Jesus Christ Superstar with Dawkins as the lead. That should scare some people off religion for a while.
"Boys Will Be Boys"
Marlene Dietrich/Goldfrapp
Dietrich - “If there is a God, he needs to revise his plan.”
Musak
http://randomarrow.blogspot.com/2011/07/boys-will-be-boys-we-cheat-and-we-lie.html
See Dietrich cheering the troops in her time ...
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will
- Rush, "Freewill"
wv: repav - what my street could use
The problem with the whole "well we gave Group A a platform to promote their views, but we'll make up for it by giving Groups B, C, etc a platform as well" is that it doesn't really suit people in groups that don't want a platform.
What most atheists want isn't to spread the Good News about atheism, but simply to not be bothered by religious people. I don't want to ring your doorbell and invite you to listen to Richard Dawkins; I want you to stop ringing MY doorbell (at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning -- have these people no decency?) to invite me to church. And I really, really want you to leave the minute I say "I'm not interested, thanks".
But instead we get stuff like this. First we have to listen to a bunch of religious promotion, then we're embarrassed by this "atheist concert" nonsense, and then we get to sit through a bunch of Christians getting their hate on. Eesh. If I wanted to have to deal with religious issues I'd join a religion.
Comrades..
You Tube
You Tube
JAL, Sigvold....I would argue that you are agnostic, not Atheist. Agnostics don't believe in God, and don't care if others do. it's a non-issue to them.
A person who doesn't believe in gods is an atheist. Agnostics are the subset of atheists who believe it is impossible to know for sure if gods exist.
Blasphemous Rumors by Depeche Mode
Isn't that more of a "God exists and he's a sicko" song?
A person who doesn't believe in gods is an atheist. Agnostics are the subset of atheists who believe it is impossible to know for sure if gods exist.
Hoo haa –
An atheist or agnostic is a Christian (or other believer) who says he/she believes and who really does not ...
Rush, "Freewill"
Then Neil's wife AND daughter died years later and they gave us,
You can surrender without a prayer,
But never really pray,
Pray without surrender.
Excellent submission with Freewill though. I think that strikes right to the heart of non-religious without being anti-religious. Rush sprinkles a lot of that around...though truth be told, they sprinkle a lot of everything around.
If Dungeons And Dragon-playing nerds hadn't latched on to them in the early 80's, they might be more widely regarded. Me? I'm a die-hard, lifelong fan.
(and I did play D&D in the early 80')
Blogger Revenant said...
The problem with the whole "well we gave Group A a platform to promote their views, but we'll make up for it by giving Groups B, C, etc a platform as well" is that it doesn't really suit people in groups that don't want a platform.
---------------
Agree with you totally. PC people running amuck.
The army's been run by shits since Curtis LeMay and Westmoreland.
I'm not impressed by this party ... or whatever you want to call this "themed event."
Soldiers are used to fill the seats in the auditorium.
And, when Bob Hope was alive, he endeared himself to me, not with his comedy ... (sounded routine) ... but with his willingness to bring entertainment to our troops.
Meanwhile, I wonder if they'll sprinking a puffed up chest with a ribbon for this one.
Right out of McLellan's parade ground.
Reverant, is it different denominations of Atheism then? Some just don't care what others do. Some need to prothesize, and often use force to promote Atheism. Example, suing to get a war memorial removed from a very remote California desert because a cross is included in it.
Kind of like Jews, who tend not to try to get converts, vs Mormons, who do?
Example...Athiest groups from Madison like People for the seperation of church and state (I think that is their denomination name) are extremely evangelical.
Have to agree with Mr. MC on this: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is pretty clear.
"For life is quite absurd,
And death's the final word.
You must always face the curtain with a bow!
Forget about your sin -- give the audience a grin,
Enjoy it -- it's the last chance anyhow!
So always look on the bright side of death!
Just before you draw your terminal breath.
Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true,
You'll see it's all a show,
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you!
And always look on the bright side of life
(whistle)"
If more atheists had such a happy disposition, I'd join their dark side.
Maybe Dawkins will have his homeboy Brian Eno there to bore the soldiers into godlessness.
Isn't atheism just minimalist paganism. You still believe all the power is in the rocks and stuff, just less personalities and sacrifices.
Not in rocks, in the Higgs boson.
Thank God the Army is doing this.
Reverant, is it different denominations of Atheism then? Some just don't care what others do. Some need to prothesize, and often use force to promote Atheism.
That has nothing to do with what I wrote.
If your answer to the question "do you believe in gods" is "no", you're an atheist. You could be answering "no" because you are convinced no gods exist, or because you don't care if they exist, or because you think it is impossible to know if they exist, or simply because you see no reason to believe they exist. Any of the above may or may not be annoyed at the use of public funds for religion. Any of the above might not care, or might even support it.
Also, don't assume that just because a person wants Christian symbols removed from public land means the person's an atheist. Most of the Jews and Muslims I've known were annoyed by government endorsements of Christianity, too. For that matter there are some *Christian* sects (although no significant ones) that disdain such displays as falling under the "graven images" ban.
bago, such as lefties who worship Mother Earth. And those that oppose any and all mining, no matter how many safeguards are built in. It is part of their religion. Instead of science, they base their decision on faith. In this case, their faith tells them that all mining is bad and evil.
"Not in rocks, in the Higgs boson."
That's proving as hard to locate as God.
Isn't atheism just minimalist paganism. You still believe all the power is in the rocks and stuff, just less personalities and sacrifices.
I like that. :)
You're describing materialism, though, not atheism.
Palladian - "That's [Higgs] proving as hard to locate as God."
Yeah, but think of the dough you and I could have for our research budgets if we got God to sit in the dock for us ...
Atheist Convention in LA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s18AGB-DrXc
Palladian, the Higgs-Boson will only be found yesterday. Because I think it flings itself backwards in time. It's sorta the same with people who can't leave their parent's basement apartment. Why should an atom be any different?
Why stop looking when we still have no idea what rims the expanding universe?
You know I think there's a "ring" up there that spays out backwards in time. So that we can never explore it. But it looks like a Japanese (or Chinese) painting of a great big blue wave ... cresting its white spray backwards.
I also believe to each his (or her) own. It's all about wonders of wonders ...
People should be allowed to believe what they want.
Thank, God. It's about time the atheists got a chance to preach their gospel.
But atheism isn't a religion. Nah!
@Peter 8/9/11 1:08 PM
The question, perhaps, is whether atheism can define itself without reference to theism.
Spot on. Christians can put on a Christian concert, but can you imagine an anti-Buddhist (or anti-Muslim or anti-Hindu, etc.) concert? A truly atheist concert would need to push whatever positive values its organizers hold--humanism maybe?
Absent positive values, atheism becomes nothing more than anti-theism or, more shallowly, anti-religion.
AllenS-
Never heard verses 4 or 5 of that before. Nice additions.
For those who say Atheism isn't a religion with a set liturgy. At a certain point in the Christian church service, we say the Lords Prayer, or the Nicine Creed.
If you ever have been preached to by an Atheist, you'll notice at about the 7-10 minute point, they all say:
"And Christian symbols are really Pagen symbols that they adapted....." And then they go into detail of their theory. It's their equivelent to the Nicine Creed.
Chuck66, Revenant, I used to hear it as agnosticism, weak atheism, and strong atheism. Agnosticism: "I don't know if God/gods exist." Weak atheism: "I believe there is no God/I have no belief that God exists." Strong atheism: There is no God.
So one is uncertainty about the world, one is a truth claim about one's own beliefs, and the last is a truth claim about the world. It's only the last that has a inherent conflict with other views.
I know athiesm isn't a religion. Because you don't have to put money in the till ... for the operation to run.
Maybe, it's the perpetual motion machine?
Nobody gets to know if their answer is the right choice, until they drop dead.
And, nobody comes back with a score sheet. It's almost the perfect exam. You can't cheat.
But isn't Clapton God? I mean atheists have to at least believe that.
What significant difference is there between materialism and atheism?
If you are physics geek, then you'll have an answer that matters to no one, but do regular practicing atheists see a difference?
But isn't Clapton God?
Lemmy is god.
Song from Bobby Bare Greatest Hits, Bareworks Inc.
Words and music by Paul Craft.
CD, BWCD-040292
Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life
End over end neither left nor to right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.
Make me, oh make me, Lord more than I am
Make me a piece in your master game plan
Free from the earthly tempestion below
I’ve got the will, Lord if you’ve got the toe.
Most atheists aren't anti-religion. We appreciate that it's good for laughs.
Okay Palladian, you're killing me with your Higgs riff --
Palladian cross examining God (God sitting in the dock) – “Now, tell me, Almighty, just where in the holy hell did you hide those Seven Cities of Cibola with all that gold ...?”
God to Palladian - ".. I hid the gold in darkest America, right next to the Higgs .. do your own goddamn homework .."
Atheists getting together and praying.
What significant difference is there between materialism and atheism?
----------
Early Buddhism was atheistic and non-materialistic.
Absent positive values, atheism becomes nothing more than anti-theism or, more shallowly, anti-religion.
The "a" in "atheism" means "without", not "opposition to".
Agnosticism: "I don't know if God/gods exist." Weak atheism: "I believe there is no God/I have no belief that God exists." Strong atheism: There is no God.
"I believe there is no God" is strong atheism.
"I have no belief that God exists" is, as you noted, weak atheism. But a person who doesn't know if God exists *also* has no belief that God exists. He just has a particular reason for not having that belief.
Imagine is beyond atheist. It's a frickin' Commie song.
Back in the USSR is a Commie song, too, but at least that's fun to sing.
What significant difference is there between materialism and atheism?
Atheism means you don't believe in gods. Materialism means you think the physical universe is all that exists.
All materialists are atheists, but the reverse isn't true at all. There are atheists who believe in the soul, in spirits, in magic, etc. I think they're a pack of ninnies, but they do exist. :)
Absent positive values ... shallowly, anti-religion.
Old and lame trick used by theists.
Atheists don’t need absurd analytic arguments to put down religion. They need only to study history.
Nothing -- "shallowly" -- about it.
... then we're embarrassed by this "atheist concert" nonsense, and then we get to sit through a bunch of Christians getting their hate on.
Here?
See? That's the kinda mini version of the dumb anti-religion (usually anti-Christian / anti- Jewish) stuff that pops up like those stupid ads on some websites.
I fine tooth combed and don't see any Christians getting their hate on in these comments.
As usual, the commenters have spiralled off -- into a physics question this time. Bunch of random acts of thinking dummies on this blog.
Carol, I would counter that the collection plate doesn't matter.
I could go to any church I want and not give one penny. But I wouldn't be surprised if some Atheist groups have dues or a sugar daddy to fund their activities.
Also an Atheist group is not formed to feed the poor. Catholic Charities is the worlds largest charity. It costs a lot to do that work.
So what are Unitarians? They seem to be Atheists who want something to do on Sunday mornings. Do they really believe in God...or should I say "a god"?
Imagine is beyond atheist. It's a frickin' Commie song.
Is it atheistic? The song says, in essence, that the world would be a better place if there was no heaven, hell, or religion. But it doesn't say those things don't exist, and it doesn't say *anything* about gods one way or the other.
There's nothing inherently atheistic about disdaining religion, heaven, and hell. Deists do.
@ Chuck66 JAL, Sigvold....I would argue that you are agnostic, not Atheist.
Not I. (Or is it me?)
I have a friend who is an atheist and his group (?) started a Sunday School. Seriously.
So their kids had a place to go on Sunday mornings and learn about nothing.
So what are Unitarians? They seem to be Atheists who want something to do on Sunday mornings. Do they really believe in God...or should I say "a god"?
Unitarianism is a religion in which belief in god(s) is optional. Some of them are atheists, others not.
"There are atheists who believe in the soul, in spirits, in magic, etc. I think they're a pack of ninnies, but they do exist. :)"
Well those people need their own club, cause I think the "real" atheists would smite them. I know Crack would strike down upon them with great vengeance and furious anger.
Also an Atheist group is not formed to feed the poor. Catholic Charities is the worlds largest charity. It costs a lot to do that work.
There are plenty of non-religious charities.
Is there a charity that, say, distributes food to the poor while trying to convince them there's no God? No, not so far as I know. Why would we want to do that?
The big finish for an atheist concert has to be a rousing rendition of "You'll Always Walk Alone."
As far as popular music goes, listening to Sinatra sing a Gershwin tune arranged by Nelson Riddle qualifies as a religious experience.
Worshiping the god who does not exist must be hard to do.
Or is that self worship of man by man, which is called Humanism.
I think it's fascinating how difficult the concept of atheism is for most of you, that Revenant has to spell it out (and even restate it) but you still insist on infusing it with your beliefs rather than doing what's necessary - emptying your beliefs out. And Chuck666, with his insistence that atheism is a religion, is just absurd. Give it a rest, man.
I would strongly suggest you all go to my site and hear "The Galaxy Song" by Eric Idle. It's about as close to the atheist's world view that's been presented here:
We are on a spinning planet, in the middle of a spinning galaxy, within an expanding (and spinning?) universe, and - while we are fortunate to have the opportunity to breathe - life here is crazy because, even after thousands of years, most still refuse to deal with these facts (or any others) intelligently.
No mention of God or gods, or beliefs of any kind - pro or con - just what we conclusively know to be true, without embellishment or worship.
That's atheism. There's nothing "anti" about it because there's nothing to be "anti" about. Silly, tragic, touching even, yes, but what's in your head is just that - what's in your head - and that will never make it real.
BTW - Revenant, you do a great job, dude. I'm glad we're on the same "team," though (of course) we don't have one,...
If our atheist friends want to sing the Internationale, then here is another song in the same moral vein:
We are the happy Hitler Youth;
We have no need for Christian virtue;
For Adolf Hitler is our intercessor
And our redeemer.
No priest, no evil one
Can keep us
From feeling like Hitler’s children.
No Christ do we follow, but Horst Wessel!
Away with incense and holy water pots.
Interesting how religious people try to insult atheism by calling it a religion too.
The problem with atheism is that it defines itself by a negative. Without God, you people would have nothing!
"Interesting how religious people try to insult atheism by calling it a religion too."
Yes, those religious people... something should be done about them...
Atheists shouldn't be following Christ's teachings and flaunting their non-belief! Defy Christ, and keep your darkness hidden under a bushel!
But I kid the atheists...
Check out Steve Martin's "Atheists Got No Songs" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWA1A9XFi8 .
Crack...Since man has been living on earth he has worshiped spiritual forces/gods that seemed real to him.
If you have the courage to refuse to believe in such experiences, than I admire you.
But you also must also deal with the fact that the audience for 90% of popular Hollywood movies and TV shows is fascinated with supernatural forces the culture always called witchcraft.
Can you be that strong alone with no faith in the transcendent God of the Hebrews and the Christians who offers to accept you and strengthen you?
I'm an atheist and I recommend Crack Emcee's post on this, but unfortunately a lot of atheists *do* treat it as much a mark of personal identity. Their "anti-ness" seems to be a quality all its own and they seek out like-minded people to share in this common non-belief.
It really is bizarre at times. I would think the believers would be the ones gathering and singing songs and finding common-cause, while the non-believers would be walking about just minding their own business, but often that's not the case.
I just don't get it. Why would I want to get together with people just because we all don't believe in something?
The other day I was walking in the Mission (San Francisco) with a friend and we passed a sidewalk proselytizer. The guy had a bullhorn and a bible and was pleading with us to turn our back on sin--the typical stuff. But what was really bizarre was this hipster atheist standing two feet in front of the preacher, screaming insults at him and challenging him to prove the existence of god.
I turned to my friend and said "What's more pathetic, the guy preaching to hipsters and the homeless about embracing god, or the other guy trying to argue with him?"
I think it's fascinating how difficult the concept of atheism is for most of you, that Revenant has to spell it out (and even restate it) but you still insist on infusing it with your beliefs rather than doing what's necessary - emptying your beliefs out.
It is pretty similar to how some atheists and anti-theists choose to brush all Christianity with the same stripe as hucksters like certain televangelists and those people who choose to use religion as a power grab.
I don't claim to know what every atheist believes, but the trending has been to my eyes that some of them don't have anything better to do than to mock religion and sneer at Christians at every turn. (They're stupid, lazy, crazy, and I've heard much much worse to my face.) Taken in that light it's not surprising why some people think atheism is more about getting their hate on for God and believers rather than the absence of anything. Just like certain people who claim to be Christian give our side a bad name, you guys have yours as well. And it would do both groups well to try to stop letting these people be the face of the debate.
Palladian said...
The problem with atheism is that it defines itself by a negative. Without God, you people would have nothing!
To the contrary:
What will you do, God, when I die?
When I, your pitcher, broken, lie?
When I, your drink, go stale or dry?
I am your garb, the trade you ply,
you lose your meaning, losing me.
Homeless without me, you will be
robbed of your welcome, warm and sweet.
I am your sandals: your tired feet
will wander bare for want of me.
Your mighty cloak will fall away.
Your glance that on my cheek was laid
and pillowed warm, will seek, dismayed,
the comforts that I offered once –
to lie, as sunset colors fade
in the cold lap of alien stones.
What will you do, God? I am afraid.
– Rainer Maria Rilke, Poems from the Book of Hours
I don't claim to know what every atheist believes, but the trending has been to my eyes that some of them don't have anything better to do than to mock religion and sneer at Christians at every turn.
The trending I see is that Christians like to picket soldiers' funerals screaming "God hates fags".
I mean, that's what I see on the news. So that must be the norm, right?
Revenant,
Did you even read the first paragraph of my post?
I said "some" because it is "some" not all. I just find it rather funny that you seem to be getting out of sorts when both sides of this do the generalization thing to EACH OTHER all the time. One side does not have a monopoly on it. That was my whole point. Not sure how you got what you got out of my post.
It just is funny to me that you and CMC are frustrated when you say people misunderstand your lack of belief, but don't seem to understand that it's just as frustrating for religious people to have their beliefs twisted and told that "this is what you believe" by people who demonstrate no seeming understanding of my faith.
Chuck 66 @ 3:33 PM
Guess what? I never knew atheists had groups! When you become a member, do they give you a card?
I'm always amazed at how people can form themselves into groups. But atheists? REALLY?
I wonder if they have uniforms like the Boy Scouts wear. And, if you can get special hankies to wear around your neck. And, the badges! What do you have to do to get a badge?
Gee. It fooled me, this "group thing'y" I was sure atheists stood alone. And, weren't club joiners.
That's why I thought "club" was part of a soda label.
Where do the bubbles go when they leave the glass?
"It just is funny to me that you and CMC are frustrated when you say people misunderstand your lack of belief, but don't seem to understand that it's just as frustrating for religious people to have their beliefs twisted and told that "this is what you believe" by people who demonstrate no seeming understanding of my faith."
But that's the wonderful thing about not having the responsibility of faith: you don't really have to defend your faithlessness. You just get to put the God-botherers on the defensive, and act smug. See, it's all about appearing smarter than you, therefore better than you.
Both demonstrative atheism and demonstrative theism are, for many, just a path to the same, very mortal, concern: self-aggrandizement. Christ warns against this sort of satisfaction of superiority, advice that would serve both Christians and atheists alike.
I said "some" because it is "some" not all.
You also said this represented a trend, which was the bit that prompted my response. But you're right, I left out the "some" before "Christians".
What ever happened to Jimmy Carter's "Born Again?"
Did people stop getting born?
Or did they stop getting "born, again?"
So many sheisters showing up selling holy crap it's hard to keep up with all the offers.
Where did New Age fit in? Last century, already?
So many words for something a dyslexic could mistake for dog. Of course, I know you don't put a capital "G" at the end.
But I think even people who say they have faith ... have had it shaken once or twice.
We also don't know the right answer until after we die. Believe what you want. The answers are on the other side.
You just get to put the God-botherers on the defensive, and act smug. See, it's all about appearing smarter than you, therefore better than you.
The whole "atheists just want to feel smug and superior" thing would work better if you had devoted fewer posts to smugly expressing how inferior you consider atheists to be. :)
You also said this represented a trend, which was the bit that prompted my response. But you're right, I left out the "some" before "Christians".
The word trending was probably not the right word to use and not what I intended to convey, so I apologize for that.
I think it is interesting with all the press some of these groups are getting with these atheist-themed concerts, the hysteria around the Ground Zero cross, etc. in light of many atheists claiming not to have an organized group or religion if you will. It's actually kind of funny that atheists are now having to fight the same generalizations that Christians have to fight against.
Not all atheists want to cancel Christmas and not all Christians buy into the money-grubbing teaching that permeates some churches.
I guess I just wonder if atheists get offended by this kind of stuff given that the likelihood increases to get painted with the same brush as some of the more ridiculous stuntmakers because it's in the press more. I know I get pretty disgusted when I see Benny Hinn on tv.
"The whole "atheists just want to feel smug and superior" thing would work better if you had devoted fewer posts to smugly expressing how inferior you consider atheists to be. :)"
No, I consider everyone to be inferior. It's just that atheists are fresher targets than religious people.
You just get to put the God-botherers on the defensive, and act smug. See, it's all about appearing smarter than you, therefore better than you.
It's got nothing to do with acting or appearing. You're on the defensive because you're afraid we are smarter and better than you.
BTW - Revenant, you do a great job, dude. I'm glad we're on the same "team," though (of course) we don't have one,...
Hey The Crack Emcee, LOL.. well said, the rest of it.
I don't know if this song fits the atheistic theme but I love, love the sax..
"No mention of God or gods, or beliefs of any kind - pro or con - just what we conclusively know to be true, without embellishment or worship."
But the subject at hand is not what we know, but what we don't. That's the realm of faith. Atheist have a belief about this, otherwise they would be agnostic - the only true faith-free position and the only one that is free to accept truth as it comes.
As someone once said: When people move away from religion, they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything. One of those things is atheism.
It's actually kind of funny that atheists are now having to fight the same generalizations that Christians have to fight against.
"Now having to fight"? Was there a point in American history in which atheists weren't generally considered, by the religious majority, to be bad people?
Heck, Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates from both parties can make cracks about how atheists can't be moral and/or patriotic and it barely makes the news. I don't much care so long as they don't re-enact the blasphemy laws, but you have to admit that if a major party politician made that kind of remark about Christians, Jews, or even Muslims his career would be in the toilet.
traditionalguy,
Crack...Since man has been living on earth he has worshiped spiritual forces/gods that seemed real to him.
If you have the courage to refuse to believe in such experiences, than I admire you.
Tg, not believing doesn't take courage - I couldn't if I wanted to. There's nothing for me to believe in. I'm not refusing to do it, it's simply not possible.
But you also must also deal with the fact that the audience for 90% of popular Hollywood movies and TV shows is fascinated with supernatural forces the culture always called witchcraft.
Can you be that strong alone with no faith in the transcendent God of the Hebrews and the Christians who offers to accept you and strengthen you?
I don't have a choice. Conversely, as I get older and the world appears to increasingly be going insane, I wonder when, and/or what will make, the rest of you will snap out of it. I've worked in my share of synagogues, and there's always a subset of Jews who don't believe in God because of the Holocaust. That's what it took for them.
The rest of you will get there. Shit, from where I sit,it almost looks like you're working at it.
BeachGal,
It just is funny to me that you and CMC are frustrated when you say people misunderstand your lack of belief, but don't seem to understand that it's just as frustrating for religious people to have their beliefs twisted and told that "this is what you believe" by people who demonstrate no seeming understanding of my faith.
When it's defined as "having faith," why should anyone be concerned with it's intricacies? Aren't you the Bible's "Fool For Christ"? Then why complain? An atheist has reason (pun intended.)
In this way, being an atheist and being a believer are in no way comparable.
Atheist have a belief about this, otherwise they would be agnostic - the only true faith-free position and the only one that is free to accept truth as it comes.
How does having a belief about something preclude accepting the truth as it comes? I mean, you might believe your wife is faithful. Does that mean if you came home and found her banging the mailman you would say "gee, I must be hallucinating"? Or would you re-evaluate your belief in light of new evidence?
I believe the Christian god does not exist for the same reason I believe there is no alien civilization on the Moon -- we have no evidence of one and its existence is not predicted by what we know of the universe. But if we landed on the moon and an alien strolled up to the astronaut and was like "'sup?", I would say "whoa, aliens on the moon -- who'd have thunk it?"
Blue@9,
The other day I was walking in the Mission (San Francisco) with a friend and we passed a sidewalk proselytizer.
I made a song that featured a black woman with a bullhorn in the Mission. She was saying how much God wanted to make love to us, and how he was "gonna put his handcuffs on ya and treat you right!"
Fucking hilarious. Even better, I could see the twinkle in her eye - she enjoyed being the dirty girl.
bagoh20,
The subject at hand is not what we know, but what we don't. That's the realm of faith.
No it isn't - you just said it's what we don't know. That doesn't beg for faith, it either demands you admit you don't know or you do what any atheist would do and go by the evidence.
Faith doesn't come into it at all - that's the loony part.
Back in the USSR is a Commie song, too, but at least that's fun to sing.
I always thought of it as satire with a lot of double entdndre.
Back in the U.S.
Back in the U.S.
Back in the USSR
AllenS
I always thought the chorus was
Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die
With a rifle up your *ss and a bullet in your eye
Gory, gory what a hell of a way to die
And he ain't gonna jump to more
I also recall verses about scraping him off the sidewalk like a lump of strawberry jam, putting him in a baggie to send him home to mom, and mom not wanting him so she flushed him down the john.
bagoh20,
As someone once said: When people move away from religion, they don't believe in nothing, they believe in anything. One of those things is atheism.
Dude, you're too smart to repeat stupid shit like that. Or, at least, I like to think so,...
Rush’s Free Will is the classic song in this category. Also by Rush: The Big Wheel (“I placed no trust in a faith that was ready-made, Take no chances on paradise delayed.”) Also “Fucking Hostile” by Pantera.
Bago said: “Atheist have a belief about this, otherwise they would be agnostic…”
Yes, but this belief might be grounded in reason rather than faith. Belief doesn’t imply faith; do you believe that the sun will rise in about 10 hours? You could believe this not because you have faith that God will make it happen, but that you know that the earth and sun are quite large, and the earth can’t stop rotating overnight, nor the sun blink out in a few hours.
I’m an atheist, not an agnostic, because I can confidently state that in my opinion, there are no gods. I’m as sure of this as the sun rising tomorrow, because the notion of an omnipotent, omniscient being violates not just laws of physics, but logic and set theory, leading to logical contradictions. The idea that this is a religious belief on my part is just flat-out wrong.
In my younger days I was more convinced that our species would be better off without religion, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a natural part of the human condition. Wherever societies have sprung up, independent of one another, they’ve almost always developed a religion. Religiosity probably was a positive adaptation because it served as a mechanism of coping with mortality. Normal, healthy humans have this capacity to have faith in a religion; maybe I’m lacking a set of genes.
Carol,
As a rule of thumb, wind waves crest "backward," and tidal or current waves crest "forward."
"It's got nothing to do with acting or appearing. You're on the defensive because you're afraid we are smarter and better than you."
"We" who, honey? I never said whether or not I am a theist or an atheist. I'm just making jokes and observations. You're making assumptions. I often find both religious and non-religious people to care more about "us versus them" than about ideas.
"I did it my way."
Oh, here's a good one: Emerson Lake and Palmer: The Only Way.
This is a good one because it's an actual atheist hymn. That's a rarity.
I am not an atheist, but I am so tired of the spiritual materialist who dominate the discussion of the spiritual life that I welcome this concert-- after all we all need to practice compassion and understand our deep connections to each other.
"after all we all need to practice compassion and understand our deep connections to each other."
Nothing says compassion and deep connections to each other like a military concert with an atheist theme.
Palladian,
Nothing says compassion and deep connections to each other like a military concert with an atheist theme.
ROTFLMAO!!!!!
TO: CRACK MC.
Today.
What a bonanza! Pure joy! I not only looked at Eric Idle's piece. I copied your link. And, sent it out to everybody I know! Plus, I told my son it was "book-markable."
Then, all the other stuff! Wow.
Also, in my car. Where I listen to books on tape while I'm driving. I'm listening now to Huck Finn.
Mark Twain was juiced!
Yes. We are all of us alone in this universe. But it's a real blessing to hear Twain's "voice." Read aloud by Patrick Fraley.
I also know Abraham Lincoln went to church. And, specifically not just listened to the sermons. Be after this part was over ... he'd go out. And, all his friends came by ... so they could listen to him "retell" it all. Do you know why?
Because when Abraham Lincoln retold the Sunday sermon ... all his friends could laugh.
Even back then. It wasn't about sitting still.
As to rocks. As far back as you want to go. Tailors put pockets inside a boy's pants. And, he not only picked up rocks and "specimens." He traded some of his collection ... for something else.
The gold's in the story telling.
And, the gifts of appreciation weren't set in stone.
But was earned by the story tellers, themselves.
Meanwhile, if people thought Mother Earth was a goddess ... how did we come to allow flush toilets?
Heck, I even thought we buried dead people to avoid having dead bodies laying around ... making healthy people (then), sick.
The tears led to tombstones.
Cemeteries and haunted houses scared the kids, though.
What Roesche said
I imagine the half dead traveler beaten and robbed that the Good Samaritan came across experienced love meeting his needs.
It was not a doctrine that made the Samritan guy's heart compassionate enough to pick him up and take care of his wounds and also his expenses while healing.
It was probably having experienced that situation himself once.
Good night Crack. You are a good man.
Anybody who has ever seen Bob Hope, entertaining real troops ... would know it wasn't a religious experience at all!
Bob Hope went there to relieve stress.
Bob Hope then invited Jayne Mansfield on stage ... And, when she came out ... all the men jumped up. Threw their hats in the air ... if they had one on. And, they went crazy.
Nope. Not a religious experience.
Jayne Mansfield had ta'ta's. Zoftig ... as was said in the old days. Who could imagine nature could make fluffy pillows just like that?
While friends of mine who were zoftig (zoftik?) ... complained they couldn't find bathrobes they could close. Or suits where the skirts would fit them (without crazy alterations) ... just so the jacket could fit.
Again. We're not discussing a religious experience.
Then, when Walmarts began opening ... purposely outside of town lines ... Traffic drove in to fill their parking lots. Because retailers were fined by cops if they opened on Sundays.
BLUE LAWS. As crazy as rent control. And, as destructive as "minimum wage." Because no one would give a teenager more than a dollar an hour.
"Back then" means when abortions were done in a back alley. (And, my mom said kids at home got to loser mothers ... who dropped like flies.) And, she said that's how Cinderella's story also began.
Before Disney grew a business model based on a pretty myth about "main street." Where you don't see security. Or even cash registers. You just don't even see reality.
Once the province of religion.
Today? Lots of people are keeping the money they used to throw into the collection plates. Oh, and where grandmas went to buy candles. So they could light a candle ... in a special place where they thought god was listening.
Then? Candles went New Age.
While you could burn your house down with a candle.
As far as I know you can be an existential atheist and still understand human connections, after all why else would Crack call for Men to stand up to racism and eliminate the racist card if he didn't realize our common core?
For an atheist song you might try "Tom Ames' Prayer." Steve Earle wrote it, but a lot of people think Robert Earl Keen has the better cover. A good version here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7LdC9xjzo
For agnostics, try Iris DeMint's "Let the Mystery Be."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlaoR5m4L80
traditionalguy,
Good night Crack. You are a good man.
Good night, Tg. Love you back.
Go to Youtube and search for Steve Martin - First Atheist Hymnal - there is your atheist music for the concert.
It was not a doctrine that made the Samritan guy's heart compassionate enough to pick him up and take care of his wounds and also his expenses while healing.
It was probably having experienced that situation himself once.
Neither. Obviously, it wasn't doctrine. That was part of the lesson, to care for others outside of the group you were taught to care about.
I don't know where or why you think he must have cared because he experienced the same situation once, but if you can only feel compassion for those experiencing what you've experienced, you're a pretty sad individual. It's not that hard to understand what others are experiencing, even if you've never experienced it. To feel compassion, you don't have to fully understand, just care enough to do something to help.
roesch-voltaire,
As far as I know you can be an existential atheist and still understand human connections, after all why else would Crack call for Men to stand up to racism and eliminate the racist card if he didn't realize our common core?
I think religious belief - the very concept of belief, actually - is outdated. But what humans learned from religion still forms our core understanding of how to live.
And what anyone's skin color has to do with anything is a pickle.
I experience transcendence, I just don't delude myself it has a supernatural origin.
Things I don't understand are merely things I don't understand. For instance, I've seen U.F.O.s but I don't claim they're men from mars. They're just something "unidentified."
I've seen "ghosts," but I understand the mind enough not to claim they were real.
I'm not afraid of the dark, nor enchanted by sunsets, but a sky full of stars fills me with awe.
I know that to be alive - to be able to experience anything - is to be one of the lucky ones.
But all of these things, together, make my life difficult because I'm seemingly alone in these views:
I'm surrounded by people determined to push religion or spirituality or - something - and not let it go.
They see skin color, mine especially, and make assumptions based on that.
They experience transcendence and insist it must have supernatural origin.
They make up or accept stories for things things they don't understand. For instance, U.F.O.s must be men from mars. Nothing is "unidentified."
They not only see "ghosts," but hunt them - on television.
They're afraid of the dark, enchanted by sunsets, and have no clue of they're place - even when looking at a sky full of stars.
They don't think that to be alive - to be able to experience anything - is to be lucky. They think life is lucky to have them.
It's crazy-making.
How about Tom Lehrer's "Plastic Jesus" and the "Vatican Rag"?
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