"Atheist Songs are not All Necessarily About Believing/Disbelieving in God"

Started by AnimatedDirt, November 14, 2011, 05:45:08 PM

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Tank

Personally I think this thread really does demonstrate that people will argue vehemently about the most trivial of subjects  :D
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

The Magic Pudding

Quote from: Tank on November 16, 2011, 06:39:10 AM
Did you write this with a particular tune in mind?

No


Quote from: AnimatedDirt on November 16, 2011, 05:03:05 AM
I'm amazed by more and more songs/poetry against the make-believe from those of higher understanding that ignore exactly there IS to be sung about...THAT can't be ignored.

:)

I don't listen to much mainstream new music because it's crap, is it truly full of Atheists shaking their fists at the sky?
I find it quite hard finding anti god songs.  I think if Tank applied his stats skills to the proportion of anti god songs to songs produced by atheists the result would be fuck all negligible.
Mick Jagger is an atheist apparently, but I don't recall him declaring himself as such.  Its very hard finding any mention of anti god references in his work, sure he did the satan thing, but that helps sales, anti god didn't.

Richard Clapton is a local guy, respected for his lyrics and a long declared Atheist with a large collection of work.  I couldn't recall striking anti god themes in his work, I checked but it's all social issues and relationships, maybe a rare slight reference.

There's a list of supposedly atheists in music here  Nick Cave is on the list but what does he say on the issue "I don't believe in an interventionist god" he seems to believe in a something so not exactly atheist.

Paul Kelly is on the list, probably our greatest lyricist with a huge collection of songs but its just the usual, love and loss the human condition, social injustice.  He does have this one though.

QuoteMy name is John Johanna, I am misunderstood
Lately, I have been accused of grievous murder in cold blood
My mission is most righteous, my cause is true and just
The wicked need chastisement, you know it's either them or us

God told me to
I did what I had to do
'Cuz God told me to

All around me, empty chatter, the wise men wring their hands
Meanwhile in broad daylight Satan gathers his unholy bands
The mighty strength of angels carries me on my seeking flight
My anger is a hammer, you know not its power or the hour it strikes

God told me to
I answer not to them or you
'Cuz God told me to

Seven golden candles flaming bring forth the Son of Man
In his mouth a two edged sword, seven stars shining in his right hand
The beast has eyes before him, the beast has eyes behind
Those not with me are against me, they're surely gonna feel my holy fire

God told me to
To thine own self be true
And God told me to

God told me to
I'm just doing what I had to do
'Cuz God told me to
And God told me to

AnimatedDirt

Quote from: Tank on November 16, 2011, 06:42:29 AM
Personally I think this thread really does demonstrate that people will argue vehemently about the most trivial of subjects  :D

I'm sure it seems like an argument, but the question on my mind is; why must "Atheist" music be mostly about God?  Is there not an abundance of themes other than God or the making fun of or anger toward the supernatural?  If the answer is that there is a multitude of songs from Atheism that sing of the natural world...and so on, why is it that on an Atheist forum the predominant post is a song about God?  Is it just better to poke fun at someone rather than promote the Atheist views?  To me, looking back at the Atheist Songs thread, it seems like it is exactly that.

I say this because of the contrast there is on the opposite side of the coin.  A thread amongst Christians asking for good Christian songs is going to have close to 100% of the songs posted about Christianity and the claims therein.  There are certainly songs that mention Satan/the Devil/Lucifer and even the nonbeliever, however they are very few in comparison and probably would be even less in mention...that and the mention of a nonbeliever would not be in poking fun at, but rather compassion for.

Davin

Quote from: AnimatedDirt on November 16, 2011, 03:43:50 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 16, 2011, 06:42:29 AM
Personally I think this thread really does demonstrate that people will argue vehemently about the most trivial of subjects  :D

I'm sure it seems like an argument, but the question on my mind is; why must "Atheist" music be mostly about God?  Is there not an abundance of themes other than God or the making fun of or anger toward the supernatural?  If the answer is that there is a multitude of songs from Atheism that sing of the natural world...and so on, why is it that on an Atheist forum the predominant post is a song about God?  Is it just better to poke fun at someone rather than promote the Atheist views?  To me, looking back at the Atheist Songs thread, it seems like it is exactly that.

I say this because of the contrast there is on the opposite side of the coin.  A thread amongst Christians asking for good Christian songs is going to have close to 100% of the songs posted about Christianity and the claims therein.  There are certainly songs that mention Satan/the Devil/Lucifer and even the nonbeliever, however they are very few in comparison and probably would be even less in mention...that and the mention of a nonbeliever would not be in poking fun at, but rather compassion for.
Perhaps it's the contrast between being the people that emotionally abuse others and those that are being emotionally abused? Even if unintentionally, religious friends, family and society emotionally abuse people that don't believe through derision, insults, condescension, outright hate, guilt trips, and many other methods (pretty much every host on Fox News). Bacause there is so much of that going on in America, how can you even question why there are many atheist songs out there that express opposition to it? It's like asking why so many peace loving hippie songs mention war if they want peace... also adding in the knowledge that America has been in a minimum of four wars since the 90's. It's like asking why a person who is punched by their father on a daily basis talks about it so much. The idea that you can't grasp why an atheist would sing songs about their frustration with people treating atheists poorly is not something I can even fathom anyone would have a problem understanding.

I would love to live in a world where atheists could just sing about things other than how they're frustrated, angry and hurt by religious people, but we're not living in that world where religious people aren't treating atheists that way yet. So long as people are being treated like shit, people are going to be upset about it.

BTW, the singer Maynard James Keenan also has a song that expresses frustration of the Hollywood culture called "Aenema", a song against war called "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rythm of the War Drums," a song taking a dig at alien conspiracists, a song angry at people that hate on bands just because they get a record contract, and songs that dig at many other things. The point is, that even though there may be a few songs dealing with religious folk, most are not. The carrot song Disgustipated is more about making fun of people who are against eating meat than it is about taking a dig at religious people. If you read the lyrics without any preconceptions, I'm sure you'd see that. Also, Maynard has a song that pokes fun at people for taking things at face value without actually digging into what the thing is actually about, it's called Die Eier von Satan (the eggs (balls/testicles) of Satan). It's talked in German mimicking Hitler-esk preaching, with crowd chears and all, but it's a recipe for cookies (hashish cookies, but still cookies). The message is simple: make sure you understand something before you get upset over it, because you might be getting upset over nothing.
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Whitney

I still don't see how a song could be "atheist" without in some way speaking about how one doesn't believe in god.


There are plenty of secular songs about nature and science but I wouldn't call them "atheist" songs.


Atheist is a very narrow description...it's just someone who doesn't believe in god.   All the other stuff that an atheist may believe/think etc is in addition to that person being an atheist.    Anyone that tries to tie more than absent of god belief to the word atheist is simply wrong.

Crow

Quote from: AnimatedDirt on November 16, 2011, 03:43:50 PM
I'm sure it seems like an argument, but the question on my mind is; why must "Atheist" music be mostly about God? 

Without a god concept atheism wouldn't exist as it is solely a lack of a belief in a god which atheism represents, it has nothing to do with a lack of a belief in the supernatural (even though you do find a tendency for atheists not to believe in the supernatural, but some do). In the western world because of the impact Christianity has had atheism is more often than not in referral to the god Yahweh as it is the most present factor in western society. Like hymns "atheist songs" have an entertainment factor for some of those that associate themselves with the content. For me atheist songs in general are crap just like hymns, there are a few exceptions due to their humor, it may be a bit cheap but I like cheap humor.
Retired member.

Whitney

I submit a bunch of atheists speaking turned into a song that doesn't mention god:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk

So...I stand a little corrected (by myself) it's possible for a song to be an "atheist song" without mentioning god ;)

The Magic Pudding

I've heard the music documentaries, when gospel singers replaced "my god" with "my baby" they were warned of their wickedness, their move away from god.  Every song that does not praise god is an atheist song, or Satan's but I'm OK with sharing.  ;)

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Whitney on November 17, 2011, 12:16:14 AM
I submit a bunch of atheists speaking turned into a song that doesn't mention god:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk

So...I stand a little corrected (by myself) it's possible for a song to be an "atheist song" without mentioning god ;)

I don't think you've really corrected yourself since it's not actually an atheist song, it's a science/nature song which just happens to be sung by atheists.  And was that Richard Feynman on the bongos?
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany