{"id":423,"date":"2010-04-11T16:47:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-11T16:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/daniel-dennett-doesnt-like-uu-hymns\/"},"modified":"2010-04-11T16:47:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-11T16:47:00","slug":"daniel-dennett-doesnt-like-uu-hymns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/04\/daniel-dennett-doesnt-like-uu-hymns.html","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Dennett Doesn’t Like UU Hymns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here\u2019s an interesting quote from uber-atheist Daniel Dennett:<\/p>\n

I know and love the Unitarians, but I don\u2019t like the words to their hymns. The words are so insipid I can\u2019t stand them. I\u2019d rather sing the good old ripsnortin\u2019 words and then put a little flashing light over the pulpit that says \u201cmetaphor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, I know that UUs are hardly the first people to do this \u2013 religious music is filled with plagiarism. A lot of folk songs were turned into hymns. Pagans have reversed that in the past 20-30 years putting occasionally-imaginative lyrics to Christian songs. Some of them are actually decent.<\/p>\n

But still, Dennett has a point.<\/p>\n

The quote comes at the end of an interview he did about a research project<\/a> on ministers who become atheists. It\u2019s a tough situation \u2013 their lives and livelihoods are tied up in their churches and their denominations. If they suddenly say \u201cI can\u2019t honestly do this any more\u201d their friends and families are likely to desert them. And they\u2019re out of work, sometimes with no skills for anything else. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m reminded of a quote from Rev. Eric Posa: \u201cif you\u2019re a UU, you don\u2019t have to change churches just because you stop believing in God. Or in my case, if you start believing in God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good luck to the ministers who struggle to serve with integrity where they can no longer accept the creeds they\u2019re expected to preach.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s an interesting quote from uber-atheist Daniel Dennett: I know and love the Unitarians, but I don\u2019t like the words to their hymns. The words are so insipid I can\u2019t stand them. I\u2019d rather sing the good old ripsnortin\u2019 words and then put a little flashing light over the pulpit that says \u201cmetaphor.\u201d Now, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDaniel Dennett Doesn't Like UU Hymns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's an interesting quote from uber-atheist Daniel Dennett:I know and love the Unitarians, but I don\u2019t like the words to their hymns. 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