What if God was one of us

Joan Osborne

Van Morrisons' See me through, part II, off the Hymns to The Silence album. Just brings tears to my eyes.

@artemus_5 - I am a non-religious person, so perhaps there is such a thing. Of course, you may have some definition of 'religious' that would force me into being so unwillingly, but words can mean different things to different people. 

Let it go for 2-3 minutes and crank up the volume.

A very interesting thread which goes a long way towards verifying my idea that there is no such thing as a non religious person. I had this belief while I was an atheist many years back and still believe it as a Christian

BTW  Larnelle & Sandy are a great duet

To Hell With The Devil

One of my favorite duets!

Christmas with the Devil - Spinal Tap

Pre-Baroque: Palestrina, Missa Papae Marcelli

Baroque: Bach, B minor Mass

Classical: Beethoven, Missa Solemnis

Romantic: Mahler, Symphony No. 2, "The Ressurection"

Contemporary: Arvo Pärt, Te Deum

Popular: Alison Krauss, "A Living Prayer"

Cynical: Tom Waits, "Chocolate Jesus"

Unclassifiable: Arvo Pärt, Credo

@uncledemp Do some of you read the question as it’s posted? I didn’t read this to understand your feelings. 

What question would it be that you refer to?  Anyway...

I do love Pete Fountain's " A Closer Walk With Thee"

"I'll Fly Away"  Favorite rendition is Allison Krause on "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

Tom Lehrer - The Vatican Rag

Do some of you read the question as it’s posted?

I didn’t read this to understand your feelings toward religious songs.

But since we’re here, Johnny Cash, Man Comes Around.

To you fellow Christians, Happy Easter!

Palm Sunday -- Jerry Garcia Band 3/18/78 Warner Theater, Wash. DC

@travelinjack Thats a good one and the child singing in the intro is Andy’s son. Love XTC.  

Dear God by XTC

Blind Faith “Presence of the Lord”. 
Winwood and Clapton each at their best.  One of EC’s most touchingly beautiful guitar solos. 

Alison Krauss  100 miles or more, but she has so many more great very well done religious songs

When Jesus Left Birmingham

(2) John Mellencamp - When Jesus Left Birmingham - YouTube

"Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. Also the best fuzz guitar lick of all time.

"Many Rivers To Cross" Also from "The Harder They Come" soundtrack and the best reggae album of all time.

"Ave Maria" by Aaron Neville. If you don't hear the voice of God on this cut, you probably will never hear it at all. Unless Mavis Staples is at the mic.

There are 10 or 12 really great songs from Dylan's 3 album Christian period.

When the greatest lyricist of the last 100 years writes something, it's likely to be ground-breaking.

There are a few duds as well but hey, he was totally committed.

Slow Train Coming is right up there, helped along by Knopfler's arrangement and his inspired noodling on guitar.

To learn about football - you need to look where it is!
It is useless to go to America, New Zealand or Japan - they have heard about football there, but they don’t know how to play ... the game is not very popular across the country ...

But Diego Maradona, Pele, Messi - could demonstrate miracles on the field ... They are from another planet - football is very developed there.

Amazing Grace

The story of John Newton and how the song was written speaks volumes.

‘Bethel Music - Pieces (Spontaneous) Live’

‘Mary did you know’ - there’s loads of good versions of this

"Kinda Dumb and a Little Ugly on the Side," Frank Zappa.

But also this:

Off the top of my head (there are hundreds more):

- Brian Wilson: "God Only Knows"

- Iris Dement: "God May Forgive You (But I Won't)"

- Ry Cooder (Traditional): "Jesus On The Mainline"

- Julie Miller: "Broken Things"

- Julie & Buddy Miller: "I Will Follow You"

- Dylan: "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"

- Leon Russell: "Roll Away The Stone"

Mary Gauthier's "Mercy" was a great nomination, as was Dylan's "Every Grain Of Sand".

I'm not religious, but when I do...

U2/Where The Streets Have No Name

2nd-

One Toke Over The Line : secular.

It Is Well With My Soul : traditional.

@lg1 - While I don't agree that "One Toke Over the Line" is a religious song, I do enjoy the song. Just listened the the album that contains that track - Brewer and Shipley - "Tarkio" on the turntable a couple of nights ago. Really, pretty good folk/rock album from that era

I live 6 miles from Tarkio. They came back & did a show a few yrs ago. Still good.

Rolling Stones - Shine A Light from Exile on Main Street.

Pretty much any death metal song will do for me.... 

Mississippi Fred McDowell - Glory Glory Hallelujah

"Amazing Grace" by a log shot.

Best rendition I've ever heard was @ a funeral in Arkansas in the early 1960's (spent the summer there in the middle of nowhere with my Aunt/Uncle - nearest town was Bonnerdale - I think).

DeKay

Great song, great singing, some tasty guitar, religious or not. Just a great song...

Interesting so many reference Elvis. At the time many Christian leaders thought his songs were referencing CRT. Oops, I meant to say they thought he was corrupting the youth with gyrations and pelvic thrusts. 

Milky White Way--Elvis

Some great Christian artists like Josh Garrels and Jon Foreman. Check out Josh’s Jacaranda and Over Oceans recordings.  Jon Foreman’s Limbs & Branches. 

I do not listen to religious songs on my home system.  If I want religious music, there are churches everywhere

It took me a couple of decades to realise they snuck it into there using like a dog whistle.

Others songs of their’s are more apparent, but not overly “in our face”:

How about Greg Brown’s “Jesus and Elvis”;

Jesus had some water, said “wine would be better yet”

Elvis picked up his guitar and made all the women wet.

It’s not religious.

“It’s a rather joyous song,” Cohen said on the release of “Various Positions,” and, he argued often, a secular one. He wanted to push the words of praise back to Earth, “to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion.” -  The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of ‘Hallelujah’ by Alan Light

Hallelujah-Leonard Cohen

My favorite Dylan religious work is “Every Grain of Sand.”

The Rock opera Jesus Christ Super Star

Some of the best writing and singing ever.

Cheers

The Rock opera Jesus Christ Super Star

Byrd's  - Turn, Turn, Turn

Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody