Fiach

A woman wrote this regarding the prolonged death of her mother in great suffereing, as her mother died of Cancer. I don't have a reference since this was sent to me by an American friend.

Mournful mournful we abhor thee
god of judgment god of law
Hearts recoil in horror before thee
standing before the pits of hell
Scare the smiles from light-hearted children
Drive the joys of youth away
Giver of all phobic madness
fill us with your dread this day!

Thou art taking and forsaking
ever cursing, ever cursed
Wellspring of the fear of dying
Ocean depths of misery
Made the world a place of suff'ring
blamed it all on someone else
We wish that you would leave this planet
or admit that you are false'

(Author unknown to me.)

happyboy

that's a very beautiful poem. if only more people could wake up and see how hateful the idea of the judeo-christian God is, they could work to make the world a better place, instead of falling on their faces in fear.

alas, it'll never happen. evolution made us into religious morons, for the most part.

happyboy, fearful for the human species

The Other Michael

This seems to have more of a GRD flavor to it, so I'll move it there.

cheers,
Michael
MF&P Moderator (Maximus)

Fiach

Hopefully as is my style, it is to prod Christians, especially legalistic fundies to THINK, THINK, THINK. I don't want them to think like me, I just hope that they think for themselves, and look at the real world around them.

Fiach

Fiach

GRD: Gastric Reflux Disease? It is OK, move it over. Otherwise I have a supply of wintergreen flavoured TUMS.

Fiach

MattofVA

It seems to be a rewrite/twist on the part of Beethoven's 9th(I think) symphony that is sometimes known as "Ode to Joy"when accompanied by vocals at all. It starts out

Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee
God of glory, lord of love....

And on it goes

can anyone confirm or correct this?

That woman was obviously verbally witted as well as really knowing both the bible and the implications that nature would have for any possible real God.

Fiach

I don't know. I think Beethoven's works are rubbish. I can't stand to hear them. They cause me to belch. I know I am in a tiny minority but I think few notables have ever been so overrated as this buggerer. However, I don't know if the connection of yours is correct since I walk a mile out of my way to avoid hearing Beethoven. I refused to see his movie. My wife went with her friends. None of the husbands did. We enjoyed a pleasant dart game to the sound of a fiddle and pipe band, in a pub.

Fiach

HelenM

You're partially right in that it's a cynical rewrite of a hymn that was set to the Ode to Joy music. The Ode to Joy music is part of Beethoven's 9th.

The Ode To Joy words in Beethoven's 9th were a previously written poem that was not theistic - see Notes on Ode to Joy.

But subsequent to Beethoven, a man wrote a hymn whose words were set to Beethoven's Ode to Joy music. Here are the hymn words, which the woman's poem clearly is a parody of:

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

(I got the words from here)

Given the choice I'd rather sing a happy song than an angry, despairing one. I hope it was helpful to that woman that she expressed her feelings, nevertheless.

Helen

Magus55

Beethoven wrote Ode to Joy. It's his song.

southernhybrid

Beethoven did not write the poem Ode to Joy. It was written by the poet Friedrich Schiller. Anyone who has ever taken a basic music lit course would know that. Beethoven simply added a few lines and set it to music. The poem certainly does not refer to the Xian god and some even interpret it as paganistic. I've never minded the words since the central theme of the poem is more about brotherhood among humans then about god. The supernatural elements could easily be interpreted as metaphorical. The poem says that hell will be ended and all sinners will be forgiven. That is certainly not a Xian idea. To me, it means that we should try to understand each other and not harshly judge each other. Thus, the idea of forgiving sinners and ending hell. Hell on earth perhaps. The beauty of poety is that each reader interprets the words in their own way. Poetry is ripe with methaphors and symbollism which is how I interpret the Ode to Joy. But I digress.


I do like the poem that Fiach submitted here. I think that poety provides a good outlet for grief and frustration. The writer of the poem expresses her feelings well.

I agree with Helen about happy songs though. I like the supernatural elements of P-Funk. Again not to be taken literally but as a metaphor for fun and joy.


we want the funk, gotta have the funk, we want the funk, give us the funk