I AIN'T AFRAID

Several weeks ago, I went to church. It was the first time I'd been in church for decades except for weddings or funerals.

At the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation, Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) spoke about the case the FFRF had won in a Wisconsin court declaring that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional. The case is being appealed. Dan doesn't have much hope of winning in the Chicago court in which three judges will rule on the case, and in this situation, the three judges seem to lean toward rulings which favor religion. If the FFRF does win in Chicago and it is appealed to the Supreme Court, with the present court in which the majority of the justices are highly religious, the FFRF will probably not pursue the case.

If I were forced to join a church, I probably would join the Unitarians because they don't have a dogma and openly accept members who are religious (of any belief system) or non-religious. They don't teach or preach a particular creed, but encourage members and their children to learn about different religions and make up their own minds.

However, even the Unitarian service was too much like "church" ---the church I attended in my youth ---for me. I especially disliked the parts of the service that included responsive readings. The leader read something, then everyone responded in unison from a written text.

It reminded me of my favorite part of the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian" when Brian is telling the hoards who are following him and think he is the Messiah, to leave him alone. He says that they don't need him. "You're all individuals" he declares.

In unison, they respond, "Yes, we are all individuals."

Dah!

I did enjoy several things about being there that day. It was the first time I had attended a get-together of the local Meetup group, Secular Freethinkers. So I met and enjoyed speaking to some of the members. I will be attending a party they are sponsoring on May 22, 2011 ---to celebrate that we missed the rapture predicted to happen on May 21st ---TODAY.

After hearing numerous judgment day predictions in the past 60+ years, I am 100% certain we will all still be here at the end of the day.

I admit that there are times I wish all the "good Christians" and other religious people would be raptured. I'm sure this would be a less violent and more peaceful world without them.

At the Unitarian church, the reception afterward had great food. I am a nightowl and would normally have been in bed on Sunday (or any) morning. So I was tired, a bit cranky, and hungry. The coffee, fruit, juice, baked goods, and cheese were much appreciated.

And finally, the choir sang Holly Near's "I Ain't Afraid." I have always loved the lyrics and the tune is so catchy I found myself humming it for days afterward.

For your enjoyment, I am including several versions of the song, along with the lyrics (which are a bit difficult to hear on these videos.) Note that some versions seem to include or leave out some of the lyrics.

Enjoy!

I Ain't Afraid

by Holly Near

I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

verse
Rise up find your higher power
Free up from fear, it will devour you
Watch out for the ego of the hour
The ones who say they know it
Are the ones who will impose it on you

I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

verse
Rise up, and see /find/ know/ hear a higher story
Free up from the gods of war and glory
Watch out for the threats of purgatory
The spirit of the wind won’t make a killing off of sin and satan

I ain't afraid of your Bible
I ain't afraid of your Torah
I ain't afraid of your Koran
Dont let the letter of the law
Obsure the spirit of the your love--it's killing us

I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God


Money
Culture
Choices
I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Sunday
Spirit
Teachers
I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Sabbath
Borders
Dances
I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your God double

Children
Music
Stories
I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Rise up to your higher power
Free up
Rise up to your higher power
Free up
Let's try to be highly evolved
I aint afraid