h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been doing some research on 19th-century Freethinkers in the US, and I came across the fact that a 'Christian mob' had attacked Mr CB Reynolds in his agnostic tent revival in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1887. (I'm working on a guide entry about the ensuing blasphemy trial, it promises to be amusing.) The intriguing thing was that contemporaries sympathetic to the Freethinkers praised the ladies in the choir for keeping a cool head during the riot.

Choir, I thought. Did atheists have hymns, I wondered. And what did they sound like? Of course, I just HAD to know. Wouldn't you?

So I did some detective work, and found 'The Truth Seeker Collection of Forms, Hymns, and Recitations', published in 1877. Here's the link, in case you want to read some, or even sing along. Harmless stuff.

http://archive.org/details/truthseekercoll00unkngoog

Some of the hymn tunes are given - one is to 'Home, Sweet Home', and another to 'Father, Dear Father, Come Home to Us Now'. I can just hear those ladies singing them.

One, 'Work for the Night Is Coming', is word-for-word the same as it was in the Baptist hymnal I grew up with. If they'd only known...

Anyway, I noticed that many of these hymns were written by Abner Kneeland. Rev Kneeland was the last person ever JAILED for blasphemy in the US. In Massachusetts, of course. They only did it because Kneeland was 'cantankerous', they said. I think we would all have liked him - his 'heretical' views were, for instance, that women ought to keep their own names when they got married. And that slavery was wrong, stuff like that.

Anyway, Kneeland wrote this hymn, and it occurred to me that it could easily have been sung in a Vulcan church, if Vulcans had churches. I suspect Spock would have agreed with the sentiments expressed. See what you think.

SCIENCE

Science! Thou fair effusive ray,
From the great source of mental day,
Free, gen'rous and refin'd,
Descend with all thy treasures fraught,
Illumine each bewildered thought,
And bless my labouring mind.

Say from what simple springs began
The vast ambitious thoughts of man
That range beyond control,
Which seeks eternity to trace,
Drive through th'infinity of space,
And strain to grasp the whole!

The last, best effort of thy skill,
To form the life and rule the will,
Propitious power impart,
Teach me to cool my passion fires,
Make me the judge of my desires,
The master of my heart.


If you want a tune, here's a suitable one from the online hymn folk:

http://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/21

See? Who says the evangelicals have all the good hymns? Now you have something to sing besides Tom Lehrer songs. Although it's hard to beat his version of the Periodic Chart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYW50F42ss8

See, science fans? Never say I didn't give you anything.

This science fan approves, Dmitri! (of the Vulcan science paean as well as Tom Lehrer's periodic table song.)

Thanks, Willem.

Thread and links copied and filed.

(Christians have)
Christians have their hymns and pages.
(Hymns and pages)
Hava Nagila's for the Jews.
(For the Jews)
Baptists have the rock of ages.
(Rock of ages)
Atheists just sing the blues.

Catholics,
Dress up for Mass.
And listen to,
Gregorian chants.

Atheists,
Just take a pass.
Watch football in their underpants.
Watch football in their underpants.

Atheists
... Atheists
... Atheists
Don't Have No SONGS!
(Don't Have No Songs)


Atheists Don't Have No Songs-Steve Martin With The Steep Canyon Rangers:

http://youtu.be/CWlqpowKkBY

My maternal grandmother taught me:

Wo man singt, da lass Dich ruhig nieder
Böse Menchen haben keine Lieder

("Where there is song, you can safely stay, wicked people have no songs")

I like that one, Pierce.

And HN, maybe somebody should send Mr Martin a copy of that hymnbook.

Having searched and failed to find a video of Bill Moyer's "Agnostic's Song", refrain, "I don't know..."(r×2)!?, delivered in one of his televised AHA events, I'd still toss in my own alternative lyric sung to the same tune in the same mild spirit, "I don't care..."....

Ah. We're going to get a songfest, now.

As in "this theme will fest-er in our minds now"?

It made me think about different songs simply describing the wonders of this world without caring about where they came from, how and why

And now I have a playlist of wonderful music lined up on my player

Can I suggest one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRDxpmV27p8

It's from the English version of Zeferelli's biopic of St Francis, called 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon'. But the song's done by Donovan - I always associate his approach more with Eastern religion.

I might as well throw in anything by Cat Stevens, too - another eclectic approach to spirituality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjSHazjrWg

Thank you! Right up my alley!

and now you've got me going through all of Youtube looking for old and new stuff. Guess I'll be here all week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c_MEGrZmLA

What?? . (reading postings)

What??

This is a bit of a classic hootoo conversation.

I love it.

Ahhh, Cat. Peace Train. That song is soooo evocative. The soundtrack to that time of life when you need to ride on the peace train wearing your Cat Stevens tee shirt, not knowing your destination, the music was enough.

I was thinking about a Cat Stevens track the other day. The first line returned to haunt me.

'Well I rode a while for a mile or so, down the road to the 18th avenue...'

I must check it out. I think it was quite a dark song, and irrelevant to this conversation, , but it was beautiful, haunting.

Yeah, you would. He's good.

I heard it was his son who convinced Yusuf Islam that it would not violate his belief to play Cat Steven's old songs. In that case I thank the son and congratulate Mr. Islam for having such a sensible son

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLG91tOLPdQ