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Philosophy/religion

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Cool Choirs, Clappy Choruses, Cringy Coffee: Religion Chat Thread No 5

999 replies

madhairday · 09/09/2012 16:16

I thought seeing as our other thread has gone somewhere into the oblivion that is old MN pages, I would start us up again anew for a new term. This is a place for those who are Christians (and anyone who's not, we're not an exclusive little club) Grin to chat about life, theology, church, any other stuff and of course Graham Kendrick, as nickel would not forgive me if I forgot to mention him Grin

So all welcome, old and new, it would be fun to chat and chew over anything that comes to mind. Lurkers say hello!

Anyone got a nice juicy topic to get the ball rolling then? Or if not come say hi anyway and tell us how you are doing. :)

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GingerCurl · 11/02/2013 22:31

Haha, you found the very old version with archaic spellings and everything so I think a translation tool might struggle somewhat Grin. The language has been updated and the modern Swedish hymnals tend to include six of those verses: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9.

Here's the translation by the American guy, E. Gustav Johson. Reading it, parts of it is closer to the Swedish in some senses but feels a bit clumsy and turgid. The translated verses correspond to Swedish verses 1, 2, ?, 8 and 9. The question mark is there because that does not appear at all in the Swedish Confused.

O mighty God, when I behold the wonder
Of nature?s beauty, wrought by words of Thine,
And how Thou leadest all from realms up yonder,
Sustaining earthly life in love benign,

Refrain

With rapture filled, my soul Thy name would laud,
O mighty God! O mighty God!
With rapture filled, my soul Thy name would laud,
O mighty God! O mighty God!

When I behold the heavens in their vastness,
Where golden ships in azure issue forth,
Where sun and moon keep watch upon the fastness
Of changing seasons and of time on earth,

Refrain

When I behold His Son to earth descending,
To help and heal and teach distressed mankind;
When evil flees and death in fear is bending
Before the glory of the Lord divine,

Refrain

When, crushed by guilt of sin, before Him kneeling
I plead for mercy and for grace and peace,
I feel His balm and, all my bruises healing,
He saves my soul and sets my heart at ease.

Refrain

When finally the mists of time have vanished,
And I in truth my faith confirmed shall see,
Upon the shores where earthly ills are banished,
I enter, Lord, to dwell in peace with Thee.

With rapture filled, my soul Thy name would laud,
Thanks be to Thee, O mighty God!
With rapture filled, my soul Thy name would laud,
Thanks be to Thee, O mighty God!

GingerCurl · 11/02/2013 23:21

I've just put together this quick translation of the verses in the Swedish hymnal, with no consideration to rhyme or meter:

Oh great/mighty God, when I behold your world,
Which you have created with your almighty word,
How graciously you weave the threads of life
And all creatures are fed at your table,
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise
Oh great/mighty God, oh mighty God. ://

When I hear the voice of thunder and storms roar
And blades of lighting burst forth from the sky,
When the cool showers of rain roar/murmur
And the arch of promise glistens before my eyes,
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise
Oh great/mighty God, oh great/mighty God. ://

When the summer breeze whistles/sweeps over the fields,
When flowers perfume [the air by] the edge of the spring
When thrushes warble in the green canopies
By the pine forest?s silent, dark edge,
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise:
Oh great/mighty God, oh great/mighty God. ://

When I see in the Bible all the miracles
That the Lord has performed since the time of Adam,
How merciful he has been all the time/throughout
And helped his people out of life?s sin and strife,
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise:
Oh great/mighty God, oh great/mighty God. ://

When burdened with sin and guilt I fall down
By Jesus? feet and plea for mercy and peace
And He leads my soul on the right path
And saves me from my sin and struggle
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise:
Oh great/mighty God, oh great/mighty God. ://

When [one day] all the shrouds of time fall away,
And I can behold what I now must believe
And the clear bells of eternity
Call my soul to its Sabbath rest ,
//: Then my soul bursts into sounds of praise:
Thank you , good/kind/merciful God, thank you good/kind/merciful God! ://

MadHairDay · 12/02/2013 08:44

Oh Ginger they are beautiful words - and I love 'How Great Thou Art' as well - but some even deeper beauty in the words love it! In nickel's version, does the phrase at the end 'Tack, gode Gud! ' mean 'thank you Good God?' - because it sounds like the words for that in Danish, don't know if there are similarities/same words (been watching Borgen and loving it, picking up bit of Danish along the way!)

Loving that NV is so great and younger than you nickel! As for Crown HIm, it was my memory that the hideous version mentioned above was from the hideous book, but I think it may have been Mission Praise Grin - they also completely destroyed 'Be Thou My Vision' iirc, taking out the whole battle imagery - breastplate, sword for the fight etc and replacing it with something terribly insipid. Trying to remember what, but it was awful Grin

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GingerCurl · 12/02/2013 09:04

MHD, yes the words are similar in Danish. Swedish, Danish and Norwegian are very closely related so, depending on regional accent and clarity and speed of the individual speaker, we can understand each other when we speak our respective languages. Danes tend to blend/"slurr/"swallow" a lot of sounds so that is probably the most difficult for Swedes to understand, but once you're used to it, it's not much of a problem.

nickelbabe · 12/02/2013 09:06

ginger you're so right.
I'm actually crying after reading those words!

Blush

they're exactly how to describe what's so amazing about god.
the tune's great but the english lyrics are just crap compared with those originals.

nickelbabe · 12/02/2013 09:13

talking of NV.
at evensong, which is traditional bcp, he kept telling everyone what to do (stand now for the mag, sit now for the reading...)
after the service I told him that he wasn't supposed to do that because it's all written down (quickly followed by a "I promise I don't complain avout everything")
and he said "oh, I am glad, I always feel really uncomfortable saying that - I feel it spoils the flow of the service"
Grin.
I think imight be a little bit in love.
Wink

GingerCurl · 12/02/2013 09:22

Long may the "Nv-honeymoon" continue! Wink

MadHairDay · 12/02/2013 09:49
Grin

aw bless him.

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nickelbabe · 12/02/2013 10:17

well, we'll see - it's PCC tonight Wink

we might all hate him after that Grin

newlark · 12/02/2013 11:32

Tuo - last year during Lent I read the Tom Wright "Lent for Everyone" book (on Mark as it was Year B in the lectionary) - a short passage (his translation) and some commentary and a short prayer each day - I thought it was very good. I presume that this year will be Year C - Luke. We usually have a Lent book recommended by church which is read in small groups - this year it is "A meal with Jesus" by Tim Chester

SESthebrave · 12/02/2013 22:51

Boo!!!

Thanks Nickel for nudging me back here. Hope you're all well? All fine here other than sleep deprivation from a teething 8mo DD!

Will try to pop back again tomorrow :)

niminypiminy · 13/02/2013 07:56

Tuo I bought Abiding by Ben Quash yesterday and started it last night. 'Tis very interesting.

nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 08:56

welcome back dearie Grin

talking of busy bags, I'm just posting myself a reminder that I'm supposed to be sorting out our church busy bags. there's a young lad who comes every week who has now coloured in every single picture in the books in every bag!

MadHairDay · 13/02/2013 09:30

niminy I've got 'abiding' too! Our team are doing it together for Lent. We'll have to share our impressions :)

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MadHairDay · 13/02/2013 09:38

wb SES! we've missed you. How are things going?

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niminypiminy · 13/02/2013 11:21

MHD I'd love to! There's no one else in my church who seems to do any reading. That's fine, but I get so much out of discussing what I'm reading.

Hello SES!

SESthebrave · 13/02/2013 13:03

Thanks for the welcomes back :)

All good. Still on mat leave til end of April.
Church is good and lots of change. We have 2 priests now across our 3 churches which isn't a lot but before Christmas we were down to one for a while! We have a brand newly built parish centre that will open in a few weeks. It is fantastic and built in keeping with the church b

I'm still running our RCIA group on a Tues evening. DD comes with me so she must be the most knowledgable 8mo on all things RC Wink

nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 13:30

ex-JC's mum is the one that just made the comment on my FB post about still making a noise during the service.
she's talking as if she comes to our church :(

nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 13:46

2 between 3 is pretty good going, SES Grin

I haven't reported back about PCC.
it went really quite well - only one little argument in the whole proceedings - and that was one that was based on us pretty unanimously saying that fetes and fairs are hard work and it always falls down to the same people doing the work and no one ever helps. I made a random throw away comment about maybe asking the uniformed groups to help, which got a slating from ex-scout-leader, who had a go at me about the fact that no, they don't help, and all it does is add to the organizers' work (which is true, but it wasn't what I meant - i didn't mean ask the uniform groups to help with the organizing/fete, but ask the uniform groups to hold a stall each, but I know she probably also meant that they wouldn't even find enough people to turn up on the day). then another lady said that she didn't find the fetes too much hard work, and enjoys the socialization of them. but as far as I know, that particular lady only does the fetes (and the plant stalls at that!), but then, that's her thing, and she loves doing it.
anyway, she said about doing "research" by finding out what other churches do, and NV agreed that that could be the next step. so the fetes/fairs in question are not going to happen this year and research will be done.
We have got plenty of other stuff happening anyway, so.

NV is just a very calm person - I saw one pcc member today (who wasn't at pcc) (M), who said that NV and NVW (New vicar's wife, who just also happens to be our new curate) seem to just float about - he had evensong here after service at St Mary's last week and M said that they were chatting away while putting their coats on and then just floated away Grin

I think they'll both prove quite good for this parish - i like calm people (well, at the moment, let's see how good he is defusing my tantrums Wink)

MadHairDay · 13/02/2013 14:33

They sound great, nickel. PCC meetings seem to be the same up and down the country! aaagh (not missing them in Fresh Expressions land) Grin

niminy - great! I've just read the intro and first few pages, trying to make it spread over Lent so doing what the author suggested in terms of breaking it up about a chapter a week I think. Liking it so far, love the idea of 'abiding' being a mindset as well as a state of being, a commitment. Like the stuff about the rule of St Benedict too.

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MadHairDay · 13/02/2013 14:35

Glad church is going well SES, and your RCIA group. Can't believe dd is 8mo already!

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nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 14:59

hmm.
he set us homework too - he's asked us to write a small bit about ourselves, about why we joined the pcc and what we're excited about for the future.

I can't decide whether to write something optimistic or something truthful.
the truthful will make them go "okay, slooooowly step away from the crazy lady" and the optimistic won't be realistic.
going to tricky this one.

nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 15:04

it's this - this is part of the problem

sigh

MadHairDay · 13/02/2013 16:24

Indeed nickel. lol at the secret stickers Grin

Watching my way through the Passion 2013 videos. Would just love to go This is a version of - wonderful.

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nickelbabe · 13/02/2013 16:46

don't even know what passion 2013 is...
[whistles]

it's a bit slow , that Crown him, isn't it?

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