I would prefer to describe myself as a libertarian agnostic when describing my beliefs on religion rather than an atheist. I am not a libertarian in the strict sense in terms of my personal political philosphies by any stretch of the imagination, but would describe myself in those terms in regards to the one subject of religion. Personally I care little about another person’s religious beliefs unless I sense their religious beliefs as endangering my own freedom to believe as I wish. I hope and wish that no one (except perhaps my wonderful wife) cares about my religious beliefs. However, I am happy to report that I am not living in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 although I question whether that may again be part of nation’s future if we continue on the path of the last eight years.

The song posted below is described as an “atheist spiritual” on YouTube although I tend to think the former definition fits the song better. However, I made up the term libertarian agnostic and have no idea whether it is in common use or not. My beliefs on the subject of religion seem best described by some of the writings and letters of Einstein, although I am not he by any stretch of the imagination.

I don’t believe that another’s religion is anyone’s business unless they use religion as a force or club to infringe on the lives of others who choose a different path, as we often see happening in America today. Nevertheless, I like the song and I like the style of Chris Wood, the singer of this song, and thought I would share it with others who may find it to be helpful at this time in the life of our nation, whatever you chose to call the song. If religious songs, or libertarian religious folk songs are not your cup of tea, I’ll probably be serving whiskey on some upcoming post, so feel free to remain on the wagon for this one.

The name of this song is Come Down Jehovah, and it was written by Chris Wood. It is on somebody’s list of “top ten atheist songs”, but I'm not sure why. The song seems to have more of an agnostic than an atheist flavor to it in my opinion. I don’t see how an atheist song could possibly have a spiritual component to it, and yet we find the songwriter asking Jehovah to come down and the devil to come up and make themselves known to all their cohorts here on Earth. I find it to be a cup of tea and not a shot of whiskey, but then I regard folk music as a form of poetry more than a form of musical entertainment much of the time, so interpretations can often differ in this type of creative work.

[update: The link to Chris Wood above has a playable folk song called The Cottager’s Reply, which is or was a commentary about the huge rise in rural home prices in the English countryside in recent years and one cottage owners reasons for his refusal to sell. Worth a listen.]