A Grain of Salt

I’m getting tired of not being able to embed videos.

Like this one.

Well, anyway, here are the lyrics.

it’s been so long I’ve been out of my body with you
I feel alone, feel at home, feel like nothing is true
she took me to a place where my senses gave-way
turn it round, shut it down, what the people say
climbing up, killing time, let them give you some
take my hand and let it come, let it come, let it…

take it back when she knows that your doing it right
cuz everybody else knows what their taking tonight

but I just wanna play it right
we’re gonna get there tonight!

it’s been so far, I’ve been walking the line on my own
lift me up to the stars, we are coming home
I only had a chase, but were out of time
we are souls in the cold, physical design
set me free, set me out on the run
lift me up to the sun, to the sun, to the…

we are burning down, we are burning down
it’s the way that you fake it, I know it’s too late

but I just want to play it right
we’re gonna get there tonight!

I just want to take you down
we’re gonna get there tonight!

but I just want to play it right
we’re gonna get there tonight!

Songs like these can be hard to analyze for one simple reason- they really don’t say much. Notice I said songs LIKE this one; this song has a true meaning behind it. What it seems to be happening to me (taken with the video, of course.) Some may disagree, or think I’m being naive, but I believe this song is another message about drugs. It seems that the narrator is describing his girlfriend encouraging him to take drugs, and, not wanting to upset her, agrees. The hospital scene in the video reflects this- he did not make a wise choice.

Don’t just take this as a “drugs are bad” message– it goes further than that. Acceptance is not worth your life; peer pressure IS effective; and desire to fit in actually is a huge influence. And if you think this is another “drugs are bad message”, enjoy the song anyway.

If I wasn’t so lazy, I would have embedded this video.

Start out with listening to the song, then hop back here for an analysis.

“I do not exist,” we faithfully insist
sailing in our separate ships,
and in each tiny caravel -
tiring of trying, there’s a necessary dying
like the horseshoe crab in its proper season sheds its shell
such distance from our friends,
like a scratch across a lens,
made everything look wrong from anywhere we stood
and our paper blew away before we’d left the bay
so half-blind we wrote these songs on sheets of salty wood

you caught me making eyes at the other boatmen’s wives
and heard me laughing louder at the jokes told by their daughters
I’d set my course for land,
but you well understand
it takes a steady hand to navigate adulterous waters
the propeller’s spinning blades held acquaintance with the waves
as there’s mistakes I’ve made no rowing could outrun
the cloth low on the mast like to say Ive got no past
but I’m nonetheless the librarian and secretary’s son
with tarnish on my brass and mildew on my glass
I’d never want someone so crass as to want someone like me
but a few leagues off the shore, I bit a flashing lure
and I assure you, it was not what it expected it to be!
I still taste its kiss, that dull hook in my lip
is a memory as useless as a rod without a reel
to an anchor-ever-dropped-seasick-yet-still-docked captain spotted napping with his first mate at the wheel floating forgetfully along, with no need to be strong. we keep our confessions long and when we pray we keep it short
I drank a thimbleful of fire and I’m not ever going back

Oh, my G-d!

“I do not exist,” we faithfully insist
while watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew
if ever you come near I’ll hold up high a mirror
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you

I’ll start out with a quick look at some of the lyrics.

To start out with, I believe the general meaning of the song is quite obvious. The speaker is caught in an adulterous relationship that he cannot seem to escape. He tries his hardest to get away from his problem, (the propeller’s spinning blades held acquaintance with the waves, as there’s mistakes I’ve made no rowing could outrun) but can’t seem to be able to.  Even when he is leaving his situation, he falls into another sin (as shown by the section on the fishhook.) Even though it appears alluring, he is trapped by it. The only thing that frees him from his capture is the memory of God’s love (…thimbleful of fire…). Without the sin holding him down, the narrator is free to bask in God’s glory.

The last verse contains as much theological significance as the rest of the song in it’s entirety. “While watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew,” I believe, symbolizes the author’s final commitment- getting rid of his former self entirely, and accepting God entirely. However, the one line that sticks out to me more than any other in this song is the last– “Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you.” It’s pretty self explanatory. Nothing we could ever do would be an adequate representation of the love God has for us, much less the enormity of the sacrifice of his son.

The rest of the song is chock-full of good nuggets- I just scratched the surface. Feel free to leave other impressions in the comments.

Well, I’ll be darned.

People are arguing again.

It seems that CBS approved an ad from Focus on the Family, a Christian organization, that seems to portray an anti-abortion slant, featuring Tim Tebow and his mother. She talks about her decision to ignore a doctor’s advice and carry tim to term, despite health risks. I personally have not seen the ad yet, and I’m not entirely sure anyone has. But many groups have decided that they do not like the message one bit.

“An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year — an event designed to bring Americans together,” Jehmu Greene, president of the Women’s Media Center, said in a statement.

Well. Although I can’t find  a direct quote, I can remember that I heard one woman from a similar organization call the commercial a “message of hate.” She said that it was wrong for the group to only present it’s point of view as the correct one. Well, I have a problem with that.

Everything presents an opinion. Watch any commercial. Do you hear “Buy our product, but the others are just as good?” No. Anyone with any message comes an opinion. It is ridiculous to believe that any one message can be banned for not supporting it’s detractors. Some may take another route, however, and claim that CBS’ decision to not air ads from the Church of Christ and PETA show obvious favoritism. Short answer- they recently changed there practices regarding ads. Long answer- THEY RECENTLY CHANGED THERE PRACTICES REGARDING ADS. There. I said it. Now everyone, shut up and watch the Super Bowl.

Very original.

Woah, nelly.

According to that purply-looking text up there, 87% of people in the United States believe that “sin”, which was defined as something “that is almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective.” Of course, that’s good news, in a way. But what I think is more important are the actual statistics behind that one.

The top-rated sin ( Wow, never thought I would say that) is adultery, with 81% of people saying they believe that it is still a sin. Strangely enough, however,  only 45% believe that premarital sex is a sin. What seems to be the difference? Well, if you were to ask me, I would probably give two reasons. First, I would say that it has something to do with our society’s disregard for the consequences of sex in a relationship. There’s an excellent article in The Week (one of my favorite magazines)  about the state of relationships among young people today that I thought explained the problem well. Without getting into too much detail, I’ll just say that without a permanent relationship, sex does nothing but provide a connection that will be torn apart.

The other is selfishness. People as a whole (myself included) are inconsiderate. We only like to think about ourselves, and what benefits us in the here and now. It’s as simple as that- we want what feels good, we want it now, and as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone know, go right ahead. Too bad for us, I guess.

First, check out the song, and read the lyrics.

A cat came drifting onto my porch from the outside cold
and with eyes closed, drinking warm milk from my bowl,
thought:

“nobody hears me!(nobody hears me) I crept in so soft!
and nobody sees me!(nobody sees me) as I watched six steps off.”

like the peacocks wandering the walkways of the zoo
who have twice the autonomy the giraffes and the tigers do,
saying:

“no one can stop me,(no one can stop me)
no one clips my claws! now everyone watch me(everyone watch me)
scale these outside walls!”
you took the pious and profane,
turned around the praise and blame,
said “a glass can only spill what it contains”
To the perpetually plain and the incurably inane
a glass can only spill what it contains

what new mystery is this?
what blessed backwardness??
the Immeasurable One is held and does not resist!
struck by wicked words and foolish fists of senseless men
the Almighty One does not defend!

I was halfway listening to what she thinks she knows
We’re like children dressing in our parents’ clothes, saying:

“Nobody knows me,(nobody knows me)
no one knows my name,
No, nobody knows me,(nobody knows me)
nobody knows me…”
I half-heartedly explained
but gave up peacefully ashamed
as a glass can only spill what it contains
we went to Portugal and Spain
and in her mind the entire time it rained!
a glass can only spill what it contains

what new mystery is this? in overflowing emptiness
the Invisible is seen among the shadows and the mist,
before my doubting eyes the Infinite appears in time-
the Unquestionable is questioned but makes no reply!

what new mystery is this(x5)?!
“my Rabbi!”
my lips betray with a kiss

what new mystery is this?

What powerful lyrics. mewithoutyou, a Philadelphia based experimental rock band, has always made me think twice, but this song really amazes me. I’ll break it down into two parts. First, the lines that involve the seemingly egotistical animals. (Wow, what a strange sentence.) These phrases tell about a problem that many people don’t really recognize- this is God’s world. What gives us the right to march around, saying what we will and will not do, acting like no one can stop us and we are masters of our own fates. How proud! Like God is some distant figure, looking the other way as the little ants march around, sneaking little sins while he shakes his head, unable to stop them. What we (myself included) need to figure out is that GOD IS WITH US. He is watching you, waiting for you to make your choice to do what is right. When we become the peacock, proud of our power and ability to do anything, we slowly start to lose our respect for God and his boundaries.

Next are the other sections that describe the crucifixion- or, more accurately, the betrayal, along with one of the most baffling moments in the Bible. During the betrayal at the garden, the Lord of the universe is bound in human form and beaten by his own creations. Imagine his disciple’s fear! This man, who says he is God, is now “held powerless and does not resist!” Even now, as we see the whole story, we seem to have missed out on quite a bit of the meaning by skipping the various trials before the actual crucifixion. How could the “Immeasurable One” allow himself to be struck down by his own foolish creations? The necessary love is absolutely mind-boggling. We should realize this and give more (if it’s possible) weight to the terrible suffering Christ endured.

Lying is FUN!

It’s been a desire of mine to see this movie for the longest time. Then, an article in Entertainment Weekly, which is summed up here, brought my attention to the true point of the plot. It seems that in order to comfort the residents of the world that cannot lie, the main character invents religion as a whole, or as he puts it, “the man in the sky.” “It’s not atheist propaganda,” says Ricky Gervais. I don’t think that the simple inclusion of the plot device is the main issue here. It’s the movie’s rating.

Other movies have had anti-religious viewpoints before, but they were very up front about the ideas portrayed in the movie. Any one who wanted to see the film, and the ways that other people view our religion, and even some ways that we can defend the faith. But this is an anti-religious film hiding in the clothes of a comedy. I haven’t seen it- it could be the most hilarious movie in decades. But that won’t change what it is trying to sell. The hundreds of thousands of teenagers that go to see this movie will be met with a statement-  “God is a good idea, but c’mon, who actually believes that?”

At a certain point, thoughts like this will become all to prevalent. Then we reach a point that Frederick Nietzche talked about- God is dead. I think now would be a good time to explain that I still believe in God. I think Christianity is the best explanation for everything that has ever gone on in the world, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven. But, at a certain point, the idea of God is beyond saving in a society. This is getting ever closer in ours– even now the name of God is seen as the epitome of irrational, illogical thought. Unless we make a stand for God, it will soon bet too late- his cause will be seen as “only for the unintellectual.”

Wow.

This is totally awesome.

Well, it was to begin with. Then I started reading into it. Go ahead, read the article. Seriously. Do it. Done yet? I’m not continuing until you’re done.

There we go. Now read some of the comments. they all seem like nice people trying to suggest what to do with the money. But I see something different- after reading most of the posts, it seems to me like people are just trying to find ways to GET AROUND the law. They’re not looking for ways to do the right thing- just ways to make it LOOK like they did. C’mon, folks. We need to go back to the days when people were serious about sin. I’ve heard of ( but sadly ) not experienced days when sin was confessed before the church. Now, sin is a polarizing issue– some consider it a taboo (although taboo is a taboo, but that’s a different post.), some consider it a completely personal choice to decide what is and what is not sin, and some see all issues as strictly black and white. While all these can have certain flaws in certain situations, seeing every issue as black and white is definitely the closest to the truth, and a place that America should come back to. Now, like alot of my posts, I’m gonna say- but that’s not the main issue.

Why is no one serious about Hell anymore? It seems to me that Hell has simply moved out of the minds of the nation, and if it hasn’t left completely, then it has moved to the realm of a joke. Hell is no longer a place of torment, but a cavern where Satan pokes you while you rotate on a spit with an apple in your mouth. Shows like Family Guy show Satan as a comic character who shows up every once in a while to tempt the characters humorously. It’s time for christians to get serious about Hell again. Can you imagine what it’s like to know someone who will spend all of eternity in absolute torture- it’s unimaginable. And it’s time that we rememebered that.