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Lyrics of Amazing Space

Wednesday, December 21, 2011
... love the music but can't get into the message...
A
mazing Grace is a powerful song, known to many, but not everyone agrees with its message. It’s impossible for atheists to accept the notion that belief in a god, any god, will result in salvation of any description. It’s nonsense. It’s wishful thinking. It’s simply not true. How can belief in something that does not exist offer any benefit? In some instances I suppose, it can, but that means stepping away from a rational world and into a delusional one. Given that, it doesn’t matter what god you believe in to provide that comfort, any god will do. As long as it offers the same reward, the same reassurance, your job is to pick one and people do.
But not everyone. For those who want to remain in the rational world, that choice means: Atheism. So what songs celebrate that choice? I can’t think of any. None with the splendour of the music of Amazing Grace. None that aren’t pop songs about love and hedonism. So what do you do when something doesn’t exist and you wish it did, you create it. To that end, I present atheistic lyrics for the music of Amazing Grace.
You can read about the history of the song here. There’s also an excellent movie by the same title that deals with the abolition of the slave trade in the UK in the 18th century. Albert Finney plays John Newton. A must watch film.
I am interested in any comments you might have on these lyrics.
I am also interested in creating a choral version of the song. I would like to here the song sung.
Posted 2011/12/21 at 19h44ET in Atheism, Music.

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  1. UnknownThursday, 22 December 2011 at 08:59:00 GMT-5

    Thanks for sharing this, James! I retweeted it on Twitter for the rest of us atheist aficionados. :)

    ReplyDelete

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