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Author Topic: Polka/Christianity  (Read 4034 times)

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Accordion Dave

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Polka/Christianity
« on: July 28, 2009, 02:31:35 AM »

I read with interest the "Morris/Christianity discussion. Rather than add my comments to that thread, I have started another.

Beer drinking and dancing are two of the numerous activities considered to be sinful in the church in which I grew up.

The various Catholic churches have no problem with either activity. In fact some of the best polka events are sponsored by the churches started by European immigrants. 
I remember being at a church that was part of my abomination, oops denomination. The neighboring catholic church was having their annual polka festival. The pastor of my denomination made some comment about how we should pray for the heathen. I wanted to grab my accordion and join the party.

Now that I am an adult, I join the party every chance I get.
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sCANdanADIAN

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2009, 04:52:59 AM »

In heaven there is no beer... you know the rest.

Chris
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2009, 07:05:29 AM »

I read with interest the "Morris/Christianity discussion. Rather than add my comments to that thread, I have started another.

Careful, laddy. There be aligators here ...

Quote
Beer drinking and dancing are two of the numerous activities considered to be sinful in the church in which I grew up.

I've found the Reformist Churches's relationship to dancing strange, even inexplicable over the years. The original Church quietly took over heathen practice and festivals (hence Christmas at Mid Winter - no evidence for the date AFAIK) 'Carol' comes from Greek for ring dance.  Other dancing was commonplace.

Why Lutherans and subsequent splinter groups cracked down I don't really understand. But post the Civil War, dancing was historically banned. Also the 'singing' of carols - this has been offered as an origin of Sheffield pub carols?

A notable exception were the Shakers, whose worship involved dance qv below.

Quote
.. The pastor of my denomination made some comment about how we should pray for the heathen. I wanted to grab my accordion and join the party.

Catholics on the other hand found dance OK, but had deep issues wrt sex (which I'd consider just a continuation of the dance, albeit in horizontal position). Even now, its heirarchy agonise whether priests may marry, while the flock (certainly in Europe) more or less ignore their encyclicals. 

Now your Shakers had this same hangup "Shake out of me all things carnal" and a real Shaker didn't do it at all ... strangely the sect died out after 100 years  ;)

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Now that I am an adult, I join the party every chance I get.

   

I gave up giving up things for Lent one spring, about the same time I took up Melodeon  Never looked back ;D
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HallelujahAl

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2009, 07:17:49 AM »

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Now that I am an adult, I join the party every chance I get.

Amen! As a minister I am often appalled at the stupidity of religion, doxa (belief) so rapidly translates into dogma (rigidity and rule) and before you know it all the joys of life are annulled by a warped sense of duty and a positively anal fear of pleasure.

I remember once when I was minister of a large church in North London which was situated next door to a pub/restaurant. The pub had a new Landlord, a really friendly fella who hailed originally from India. I decided one day to go and say hi to him and get to know my new neighbour. We chatted out in his beer garden, which was near to the entrance of my church, over a long cold drink. As we reached the end of our conversation he leaned over to me and said, 'hey Al, do you have funerals in your church EVERY Sunday ...its just that every Sunday since I've been here I always see a load of people dressed in black and looking miserable going into your church?' Wow - that comment brought me to my senses pretty rapidly. Jesus was criticised for eating, drinking, partying and hanging around with the 'wrong' crowd - as a minister and church leader I just wish more of us would follow HIS example.

So Dave - Hallelujah! I love to Polka too - and if ever you're in our kneck of the woods come and join our party!
AL
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cw67q

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2009, 09:09:50 AM »

The catholic church hasn't always and everywhere had a positive relationship with music and dancing.

In Ireland at times it did its utmost to supress both. And not just in times long past, try googling for radio interviews by Tony MAcMahon and you'll find a fair few stories about what he describes as the Taliban in Ireland when he was a child and a younger man.

- Chris
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Accordion Dave

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2009, 01:21:46 PM »

Why does my church frown upon pre-marital sex?

It might lead to dancing.
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TomB-R

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2009, 03:29:17 PM »

I think it is very hard for us to realise now just what a huge social evil drink was in the nineteenth century etc.  In every community you really did have families going hungry, in poverty, and getting knocked about because of the drink. (And I'm not saying it doesn't happen now.) Part of a church's job is to preach certainty so it's hard to change attitudes as times change.

On the other side of the coin I like the saying  by Benjamin Franklin (?) that "I take the existence of beer as proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!"
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triskel

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2009, 05:36:04 PM »

The catholic church hasn't always and everywhere had a positive relationship with music and dancing.

In Ireland at times it did its utmost to supress both. And not just in times long past, try googling for radio interviews by Tony MAcMahon and you'll find a fair few stories about what he describes as the Taliban in Ireland when he was a child and a younger man.

Chris,

That may have had more to do with both the clergy and the Irish Government wanting to have the traditional house dances under their control, for various reasons - to which end they enacted The Public Dance Halls Act 1935. Thereafter, dancing was pretty much limited to Parochial Halls, and the creation of "ceili bands" became necessary, to be heard over the dancing in a large hall.

Junior Crehan summed it up very well: http://www.setdance.com/pdha/pdha.html

cw67q

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2009, 09:25:47 AM »

Thanks for the link Triskel, an interesting article.

- chris
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C age ing

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2009, 06:27:09 PM »

In South Wales during the fifties, it was almost impossible to get a drink on Sundays unless you went to the morning service in the village i used to visit. Following that, you crept into the side door of the pub where you were joined by the vicar and local booby.
It might actually been better then, except for the Cold War.
Old Bill.
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Mike Higgins

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Re: Polka/Christianity
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2009, 06:29:41 PM »

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it was almost impossible to get a drink on Sundays unless you went to the morning service in the village

IN North Wales it was the Ffestiniog railway on a Sunday.
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Mike from Ponte Caffaro
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