Amazing Science?

[rug]

September 29, 2013
By James F. McGrath

Atheist Jaclyn Glenn rewrote “Amazing Grace” and performed it (HT Hemant Mehta):

In this instance, I really don't find the new song at all appealing (lyrically speaking, I mean – Glenn sings nicely). I have no objection to “Amazing Grace” being rewritten. And I don't always disagree with atheists, even about their criticism of Christianity. But in this case, the message of the song overall, such as the suggestion that because people have science, all fear vanishes, all tendency towards hatred or abuse disappears, is simply not at all persuasive. Picking the worst anti-science and anti-rational examples and using them as the target standing in for “religion” is taking the easy shots, and avoiding the more challenging ones. Anyone can do that with any worldview.

I actually found myself talking about this very topic at a party yesterday evening. When asked what I think of the “new atheists” I said that I prefer the “old atheists.” The ones who can say “I think Christianity has contributed some great music and some important values to the world, and I still don't think the God they depict exists” are a serious challenge, while those who paint with broader strokes and say things like “religion poisons everything” are easier to dismiss.

In church today, I'll be involved in a slightly modified but still fairly traditional rendition of “Amazing Grace.” But are there other versions, perhaps with significantly modified lyrics, which neither simply reproduce the old nor satirize it in an uncharitable and lyrically unsatisfying way? And if we broaden beyond this one hymn, would anyone – religious or atheist – really choose the atheist “Amazing Science” over something like this?

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2013/09/amazing-science.html

For your Sunday morning accompaniment.

[Jim__]

1. It's pathetic.

If you want to put something down, you shouldn't begin by trying to imitate it.

I heard Judy Collins sing this at 2 different performances. Both times everyone sang along. I don't believe in God, but you would have to be made of stone not to be moved by her singing that song. I can't embed any version with her singing; but here's a version:

[dimbear]

2. "those who ........say things like “religion poisons everything” are easier to dismiss"

That must be why Richard Dawkins often speaks to sold-out crowds.
His remarkable popularity can't be solely due to his modesty.

[struggle4progress]

3. The meaning of "Amazing Grace" changed for me when I understood who had written it

... At just 11 years old, Newton went to sea with his father. In 1743 he was on his way to a position as a slave master on a plantation in Jamaica, when he was pressed into naval service ... Eventually he reached the coast of Sierra Leone where he became the servant of an abusive slave trader ... In 1750, he made a further voyage as master of the slave ship 'Duke of Argyle' and two voyages on the 'African' ... Newton mounted guns and muskets on the desk aimed at the slaves' quarters. Slaves were lashed and put in thumbscrews to keep them quiet ... In 1754, after a serious illness, he gave up seafaring altogether. In 1757, he applied for the Anglican priesthood ... In 1787, Newton wrote .. 'Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade' ... It graphically described the horrors of the Slave Trade and his role in it. He later joined William Wilberforce in the campaign for abolition of the Slave Trade ... http://abolition.e2bn.org/people_35.html

... I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see ...