# I believe I may have just written a gospel song for athiests **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754 "2012-08-17T05:50:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/1 "2012-08-17T05:50:33Z")
It certainly wasn’t what I set out to do. But, I was thinking about how one of the neighbors of the old lady I take care of has a young pitt bull, and I heard today that he wants to use the dog for fighting. This guy is a generally ok guy; I know he has a sense of right and wrong. But in Oakland, there’s all this pressure to be a certain kinda way, like, emotionally bulletproof. And then I happened to ride by a church where the choir was practicing; I had to get off my bike and stop to listen, it was beautiful and uplifting. Now, I am not a Christian. I’m an animist, but that’s another thread. But I was thinking about how you don’t run across many churchgoing young folks in Oakland these days; and I can completely relate to that. That doesn’t mean you can’t have an ethic, or a philosophy, or a code. So I was ruminating on all this while riding to the grocery store, and anyway here it is: \*\*You got to believe in something Have reverence inside you for something that’s good If you don’t believe in God in Heaven Then believe in peace in your neighborhood If the church and the preaching just ain’t your thing You can always believe in the power of love You can fight on the side of truth and justice If your god is inside, instead of above A little child that loves you, that’s sacred A small creature who trusts you, that’s sacred When you help somebody who’s hurting, that’s sacred When you’re kind because you wanta be, honey, that’s sacred Every day in your life, you will find that there are choices You say now, I could be hard here, or I could do right It’s okay if you don’t have a religion You can do right because you’ll sleep better at night So believe, believe, believe in something Believe in yourself, and don’t mess with nobody else Because when all is said and done, I don’t believe there’s nothing You will always have what you make of yourself When you stand up for what you believe in, that’s something When you show some mercy, that’s something When you try to help in some kinda way, that’s something When you live and let live, baby that’s something \*\* ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/2 "2012-08-17T08:37:45Z")
Puh-raise Je-sus, brothers and sisters!! Puh-raise the Lord!! (Never make it: you said “I could be hard here”–wash your mind out with soap!) ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/3 "2012-08-17T11:49:55Z")
Silly me! Being hard _ **is** _ doing right! 🆒 …But in my head, you see, it was a woman singing – being one myself – and so the double entendre did not occur to me. I must be slipping. (in case it isn’t clear, that’s “hard” like in “hard looks.” Like in, “easy to be hard.” Etc.) ---
**Author:** ![President\_T\_Toilet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@President\_T\_Toilet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_T_Toilet)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/4 "2012-08-17T11:55:07Z")
I think it’s beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/5 "2012-08-17T13:18:07Z")
Steve Martin wrote [“Atheists Don’t Have No Songs”.](http://pacificvs.com/2010/05/28/atheists-dont-have-no-songs-video-and-lyrics/) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/6 "2012-08-17T13:29:06Z")
I need a tune. I can’t judge song lyrics without a tune. Do you know of an existing hymn with the right meter? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/7 "2012-08-17T17:06:18Z")
I really like it. Can I share it on Facebook? A friend of mine is a local atheist celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/8 "2012-08-17T17:23:53Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > I need a tune. I can’t judge song lyrics without a tune. Do you know of an existing hymn with the right meter? It almost works with “Every Sperm is Sacred” but not quite. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/9 "2012-08-17T17:28:19Z")
Unnecessary. As Mr. Martin points out in the song linked to above, we have rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/10 "2012-08-17T17:30:11Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > I really like it. Can I share it on Facebook? This! I don’t have any famous atheist friends, I don’t even identify as atheist \ but I do live in an area where most people think that ethics are attached to God and that’s it. I _know_ they know better, but still…would be nice to remind them that good!= religious 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/11 "2012-08-17T22:57:45Z")
Wonderful! Another vote for needing a tune to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Sanam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sanam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/12 "2012-08-18T14:11:57Z")
Hmmm. I can see what you mean by the tune “every sperm is sacred” almost fitting, especially the first stanza. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/13 "2012-08-18T15:25:19Z")
Where’s the verse about the blessed dog fighting and Saint Vick? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/14 "2012-08-18T15:27:18Z")
Let’s set it to some music and get 'er goin! ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/15 "2012-08-18T16:13:53Z")
I’m a musician. It might be interesting if I tried to put a tune to it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/16 "2012-08-19T07:53:25Z")
Heck, as a Christian I like it. It’s not anti-theist. It’s more “Just because you are an atheist doesn’t mean you are a horrible person.” And that’s a message every Christian needs to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/17 "2012-08-19T22:55:52Z")
Pretty cool. It’s definitely got a lot of promise. I’d personally reword the “If your god is inside” line to something else as it seems to endorse the view that atheists don’t believe there is no god but instead believe they _are_ a god. Some fundamentalists have argued, for example, that anything not endorsing religion should be removed from public schools because they argue that secularism is a religion saying people are gods, and if we can’t remove all religious beliefs we ought to then go with the most popular one (which, tah-dah, they’ll tell you is theirs). As a matter of historical trivia, the song [“Die Gedanken sind frei” (“Thoughts Are Free”)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Gedanken_sind_frei) was sung at meetings of followers of the [Freethought](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freethought) movement, which, while not exactly the same as atheism, has a large degree of overlap. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/18 "2012-08-27T22:53:39Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Unnecessary. As Mr. Martin points out in the song linked to above, we have rock and roll. Yeah, kind of undermines the point of Steve Martin’s song. I like that the OP has a nice generic ethical song. It’s different from what I think of as the classic songs of atheist belief, like Lennon’s “God” and XTC’s “Dear God.” ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-believe-i-may-have-just-written-a-gospel-song-for-athiests/631754/19 "2012-08-28T01:49:30Z")
Nice, I like it. Here’s some prior art in the genre: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XLwtqwnI6ko/hqdefault.jpg "Hand Of The Almighty - John R. Butler") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLwtqwnI6ko)