FACE-MELTING TRUTH

HEAVY METAL, HARDCORE, THRASH, PUNK, FACE-MELTING TRUTH!

It can be harsh at times, very heavy, crushing and even violent and is always brutally honest. Out of everything you could tune into, nothing else really compares to it. At times it can be beautiful, poetic and melodic, but often is raw, edgy and in your face. Listening to it can leave you feeling as if you've just been kicked in the gut, but once you're hooked you'll keep coming back for more. It holds back on no one, but takes aim at its targets firing the truth at everything in its range. And once you've listened, you'll never be the same again. I'm talking, of course, about the Bible. NOT the cleaned-up, sanitized version that's usually read on television or in church on Sunday - but the raw Word of God, written by sinners to an audience of sinners. The Bible is brutally honest. It's heroes are real people like you and me, not spiritual superstars --- and the public record of their failures is submitted to us as proof of God's patience, kindness, love, mercy and grace.

No "Saints" in this Crowd: In the book of Genesis, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the patriarchs of the Judeo/Christian faith) were all liars. In the book of Judges Samson was a womanizer, Gideon was a coward In the book of Samuel, David had an affair with a woman named Bathsheba; resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. David tried to cover the affair by bringing the woman's husband home from the war; hoping Uriah would sleep with Bathsheba and assume that it was his child. When that didn't work out, David personally arranged for Uriah to be killed. David was not just an adulterer and a liar --- he was also a murderer. King David's son Amnon raped his own sister and as a result was later murdered by his brother Absalom. Absalom led a coup against his father and, in a public display of his rebellion, had sex on the roof of David's palace before ALL of Jerusalem with ALL of David's wives and concubines. The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament and the apostle Peter in the New Testament both confessed to having foul-mouths. Isaiah said of himself: "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live amongst a people of unclean lips." When Peter first met Jesus he said "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man" and on the night Jesus was arrested, Peter's denial of Christ was laden with curse words. In spite of their failings, God continued to love them. Some responded to that love --- others rejected it...but not one of them was perfect. No goody-goodies, just sinners embraced by mercy. And their faith? It was weak and full of angst.

Angst-Ridden Lyrics: The Bible is more than a record mankind's love and devotion to God. It also records moments of fear, hopelessness, anger and despair. "I am tired of living. Listen to my bitter complaint. Don't condemn me, God. Tell me! What is the charge against me? Is it right for You to be so cruel? To despise what You Yourself have made? And then to smile on the schemes of the wicked? Do You see things as we do? Is Your life as short as ours? Then why do You track down all my sins and hunt down every fault I have?" Job 10:1-6 "We are going to our final resting place, and then there will be mourning in the streets. The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered. Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us. Useless, useless, said the Philosopher. It is all useless." Ecclesiastes 12:5b-8 "You invited my enemies to hold a carnival of terror all around me, and no one could escape on that day of Your anger...You have bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape. I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen...He rubbed my face in the ground and broke my teeth on rocks. I have forgotten what health and peace and happiness are. I do not have much longer to live; my hope in the LORD is gone." Lamentations 2:22, 3:7-9 and 3:16-18 This is the faith of our "Bible heroes": challenging God's goodness and even cursing Him to His face; but God does not stop loving them and showing them His mercy. The prophet Jeremiah, in the midst of his own angst proclaims: "The LORD's unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The LORD is all I have, and so in Him I put my hope..." Lamentations 3:22-24

Do You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth? Like heavy metal, hardcore, thrash and punk, the Bible often uses strong language to make its point. Some examples: "All of us have become unclean, and all our righteous acts are as used menstrual rags." Isaiah 64:6 --- Most English translations say "filthy rags", but the original Hebrew words mean used feminine hygiene products which in those days was wadded-up pieces of cloth. It's one of the nastiest things God can say about us, but you have to understand He wasn't directing these words to people who already knew they were sinners, but to smug, self-righteous people who thought they were better than everyone else. Jesus used a similar tactic when he said to the self-righteous Pharisees of His day: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." Matthew 23:27 --- We dress up our crypts on the outside and put headstones on our graves which distract from what lies inside the coffins: stinking, decaying flesh and rotting bones. Cleaning up the outside does not remove the sin that is inside of us. According to Jesus, it isn't the clothes you wear or how often you go to church that makes you righteous. In front of a holy God, we're all in the same boat...we're all sinners. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Micah all call Israel a "Whore" and Ezekiel in particular (ch. 23) spells out exactly what the Israelites did using explicit sexual metaphors to describe their sins against God. The apostle Paul said ^"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them SHIT, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." Philippians 3:7-9 --- The Greek word skubalon is normally translated "rubbish", but it really refers to that which is flushed down the toilet, raw sewage --- SHIT. Paul's point is that no matter how goody-goody you may be, how religious, how conservative, how polite, etc in the end we're all still sinners. But the good news is that even with our dirty mouths, lack of faith and consistent failures God still loves us and wants to redeem us. Even when we cry out "I hate You God", like a broken-hearted father He still loves us.

So Your Point Is? First off, the Bible has far more in common with the extreme music I listen to than it does with Top 40 pop fluff and much of the happy-go-lucky music played on religious radio stations! Most heavy metal, hardcore and punk is intense, in-your-face, ass-kicking, heavy-duty, serious attitude music. That's one of the reasons I keep listening to heavy music - the heavier the better! And second, when Jesus walked the Earth He spent more time hanging out with "sinners" than in the Temple with the religious crowd or in the burbs with the Jones's. If He were walking the Earth today, I wouldn't be surprised to find Him down at the local rock club or banging His head at Ozzfest. You might even catch Him tearing it up in the mosh pit. Back in His day, the self-righteous Pharisees called Jesus a drunkard and a glutton because He publicly ate and drank with people they regarded as sinners. But that's the whole point: Jesus didn't come to Earth to condemn sinners, but to save sinners --- unfortunately the only people He can save are the ones who realize they can't save themselves.


What About the Devil? It's hard to talk about rock music (and Heavy Metal in particular) without someone bringing up the Satanic influences or Satanic origin of the music. These people have obviously never listened to the music or taken the time to read lyrics or liner notes! I could go into a 25-page dissertation on this subject, but for now I'll just point out a few things: Regarding goat's-heads and just plain goats in general: GOD created goats, not the devil. In Jesus' parable of the Sheep and the Goats He used the metaphor that God will separate the "saved" from the "damned" in the same way a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats; other than that the Bible doesn't speak of goats in negative terms nor are they regarded as evil. (Not to mention one of the metaphors for Christ is that He is our scapegoat)
Regarding making "horns" with your fingers and raised horns being a symbol of evil: GOD created horns, not the devil. Horns are used metaphorically in the Bible to refer to strength (as in "My horn is lifted high.." or He is the horn of my salvation"). I don't know if anyone in the Bible ever lifted their fingers in the shape of horns, but the idea of lifting up horns is not evil; in fact, it's actually somewhat Biblical!
Regarding stars, upside-down, upside-right, 5-pointed, 6-pointed, etc: GOD created the stars, not the devil. Not only did He create the stars, but according to Psalm 147 He calls them each by name. How much more does God know and call each of us by our names! Satan could give a fuck about you - all he cares about is himself.
Regarding music, of ANY kind: GOD created music, not the devil. Some music is crap, granted --- but I have listened to Hardcore, metal, thrash and punk bands screaming out who-knows-what as the guitar and bass players run through endless riffs with the drummer keeping time with his double-bass pedals and to me it's a freakin' symphony. Whether intended or not - written and played to God's glory or not - our creative expressions always give glory to the God who made us to be intelligent, artistic and creative beings. We CREATE because we were created in the image of God. The devil does not and cannot create. All the devil can do is corrupt that which has already been created. When a tree brings forth fruit in season, God is glorified because He created it to bear fruit. When the sun sets in the West and the horizon hues with purples and oranges, God is glorified by the beauty of His creation. And when a heavy metal band plays a face-melting symphony, the God who created us in His image is glorified by our talents, our skills and our creative expression. He takes pleasure in watching us sub-create with music, poetry, architecture, the written and spoken word, drama, art, etc. Satan doesn't own any of this; he just wants to take credit which was never his to begin with. To hell with the devil! Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God alone be the glory ~