Children should not be exposed to Christian hymns

The Atheist Experience is a live weekly cable television show produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. TAE is available for free on iTunes and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in a lively critique of religious irrationality. The show is hosted by several talented and entertaining hosts, the best known of which is Matt Dillahunty. However, the smartest host (by a mile) is Tracie Harris, a former fundamentalist Christian who regularly skewers the intellectual bankruptcy of her former faith.

On the most recent episode of TAE (show #643: Hymns), Ms. Harris recites lyrics from a number of hymns that she sang in her church as a child. Ms. Harris is also a graphic artist and drew the cartoon pictured above.

Almost all of us who attended Christian demonization denominations as children can remember singing: Amazing grace! How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. In recent years, many religious publications have rewritten the second line to read "That saved and strengthened me", "save a soul like me", or "that saved and set me free". These rewrites represent attempts to downplay the sense of imposed self-loathing which is essential to Christian dogma. After all, if forgiveness of your sins requires a human sacrifice, you are certainly a wretch.