Inspiring tune -- especially when played with bagpipes -- but lousy lyrics. I think the whole idea of depending on God's grace is pretty banal. It's far more exciting and far more effective to take control of your own life.
I remember in my student days being present in a dining hall in London when haggis was piped in. A Scottish tradition in England? That was, of course, indoors, btw.
I also remember from my childhood in Africa seeing black men playing the bagpipes. Did they really sport the kilt and sporran as well or are those three so strongly linked together in my mind that if i think of a piper he has to be in a kilt and sporran. And yes, in my mind a piper is always a he. I don't know how true that is either.
I've only seen the haggis piped in on Tv (in an episode of Taggart). I think the bagpipes originated in Greece so the kilt and sporran wouldn't be at all necessary.
The best version I ever heard was at All Saints Winery beside the Murray River. Their label features a castle with a turret so they built on on their property. The day I was there they had a piper on that turret and he played Amazing Grace. It sounded fabulous across the open countryside. I never forgot that.
It was back in the 1970s and the picture below is more elaborate than I remember. They've clearly given it a makeover since then.
Three years ago I had open heart surgery and fell away from the pipes. I can play a very nice Amazing Grace on the penny whistle and ocarina. A nice tune which many people enjoy. Too bad Newton didn't get some grace, amazing or otherwise, before becoming a slaver.
Indeed! Of course, it was a different world in those days and he probably wouldn't have seen anything wrong with enslaving people.
As late as 1960 I remember attending a Baptist church in Sydney where a visiting American preacher, Gardener Taylor, was speaking. He told us that he appreciated being given to opportunity to speak in our church. He said, "At home, I wouldn't be allowed to attend a church like this." He was black.
Things are still changing and, hopefully, getting better. But there's still some distance to travel.
"There is no reason to accept Islam and Allah as true over any other religion." not even the teeniest bit? What about this graduate, for example. He was an atheist, and one with an evangelical zeal to boot. Yet he chose God, and Islam in particular, even when it lead to him being expelled from his own home. Was he insane or was there SOME reason?
It may well have been for a reason. It does not follow that the reason reflects reality. Also this is a anecdote it lends no credence to Islam, the Koran or Allah.
1- I admire your willingness to grant the guy some credibility. He IS using rational argument, after all.
2- "It does not follow that the reason reflects reality." but reason is a valid, and excellent, process by which to arrive at a position, isn't it?
3- "Also this is a anecdote it lends no credence to Islam, the Koran or Allah." We have to accept that it is an argued position. The only way to discredit it is to point out flaws in the argument or present a counter argument that is better, more credible.
4- Since you've used the following terms it's best if we understand what they mean
a] Islam means willing acceptance to live by the guidance [moral code] defined by the creator of all the laws by which everything exists
b] the Qur'an [to use the more widely accepted spelling] contains an outline of a moral code referred to above
c] Allah is simply Arabic for God, just as Dieu is French for God and Khoda is Persian for God etc
Reason, or perhaps better, reasoning is an excellent way to search for the truth of a matter. But the premises one works from must be sound to arrive at a true explanation. If one starts from mistaken premises one does not arrive at truth. So in your premise 3 the flaw might be there is no god. My counter would be that the natural order is all there is. Unprovable, yes as is the idea of a creator god. Both are assumptions, starting points to begin considering other matters.
Benedict Arnold 