Jeremiah Cataldo
Drew University, Madison, NJ

Abstract

According to some popular musicians in the United States, Christianity has been used to justify exclusion, oppression, and death through its practices, beliefs, and doctrines. Such justification runs contrary to the fundamental bases upon which Christianity is founded. A religion based upon love and acceptance, the musicians claim, should not justify the aforementioned; either Christianity redefines its doctrines and their acceptable uses, or society must reject Christianity's championing of fundamentals, such as love, defining these fundamentals in ways truer to their own nature.

Introduction

[1] In September of 2002, Disturbed, a band whose previous album, The Sickness, dealt with the immanent ills of society, released their follow-up album, Believe. According to D. Draiman, Disturbed's lead singer, the album and the specific track, Prayer, were responses to comments from clerical figures such as Jerry Falwell blaming the September 11, 2001 attacks on gays, lesbians and feminists.1 "In particular [Prayer] is about the clergy's reaction to 9/11," says Draiman. "Instead of consoling their flock, people like Jerry Falwell and Oral Roberts chastised them and used the situation as a means of empowerment, saying it was our own fault because we're a decadent and promiscuous people."2

[2] What frustrates Disturbed is noteworthy. Christianity bases itself upon a belief that God is a god of love; however, this so-called god of love apparently does not love everyone. As voices speaking from the sphere of Christianity, Falwell and Roberts cast the onus of September 11th's tragic events upon those they believe outside the love of God–in so doing, they define who is in and who is outside of this love. While in theory they would not disagree that God does love everyone, in truth, only those who find their names on the appropriate membership roster authentically enjoy this love. Everyone else, it would seem, is expendable: for blame, to bear the burden of evil, and to be used as object lessons for the "righteous." Moreover, they believe that gays, lesbians, and feminists are products of a society not in sync with God's divine intention for it. Disturbed reacts to this conclusion. Religious belief founded in love should not demand a worldview negating society and individuals within it. Such a worldview already sets in place the parameters for exclusion; it divides social existence into those who endeavour to materialize divine intent for creation and those who are stumbling blocks hindering materialization. Because divine intent is the ultimate goal of creation, as the worldview goes, removing those hindrances and stumbling blocks ultimately benefits creation. Christians, therefore, bear a divine responsibility to bring about such removal. When Christians fail to do so, God will react, to discipline and to teach a lesson.

[3] Disturbed is not alone in their frustration with Christianity and its various voices. This investigation will set musical lyric into conversation with academic work to demonstrate musicians have important voices of criticism that should be heard by Christianity. Collectively, their voices call for Christianity to reevaluate its beliefs on society and to faithfully practice the very doctrines–e.g., love–that are fundamental to it. One should also note that for any variety of reasons–be it the length and format of the song, an incomplete understanding of religion, among others–some musicians quoted show a tendency to reduce all Christianity into a single, analyzable bloc. Without doubt, Christianity exists a complex and multifaceted religion; one cannot reduce it to a single refutable element. To be clear, these musicians are not presented to dispatch Christianity but to offer external perspectives of reaction and critique. Where these voices are important is in their experiences of Christianity (in whatever form). In addition, where I insert my own theological generalizations–to move into specifics would require a great deal more literary space–I do so to address general forms of thought found in fundamentalist and/or conservative thought, bringing them into a dialogue with selected lyrics. Moreover, I also work in and out of a discussion with certain Calvinist-influenced presuppositions (e.g., predestination) because I see a common plane of dialogue between these and some of the selected lyrics.

Christianity's Rejection of Society

[4] In spite of its obvious dependence upon society, Christianity struggles to separate itself from society and culture. Society and culture, this religion teaches, are tainted products of evil and sin and God therefore requires the faithful Christian to separate the self from them. The sacred cannot dwell within and among the profane. Note, for instance, N. Pearcey:

The danger is that if Christians do not consciously develop a biblical approach to the subject [i.e., a specific area of knowledge], then we will unconsciously absorb some other philosophical toolbox, stuffed with terms and concepts. . . . In other words, not only do we fail to be salt and light to a lost culture, but we ourselves may end up being shaped by that culture.3

Pearcey assumes the membership of her audience; her readers, the "we," are Christians as she understands the term. In addition, she assumes one true perspective on knowledge and "truth" and only Christians can attain it. This so-called Christian perspective is the only true perspective because it belongs to those who are members of the saved–without this membership and conscious perspective, a "lost culture" will greedily shape the individual into something lost. She believes culture, in its very nature, is lost.  Note Pearcey again: "Our calling as Christians is to progressively clean out all the "idols" remaining in our thought life, so that we may pursue every aspect of our lives as citizens of the City of God."4 She qualifies any perspective on knowledge other than a "Christian" perspective an idol. Nevertheless, what is a "Christian" perspective? From what society and its produced set of beliefs does this definition come?

[5] The Indigo Girls may have a theory critical of Pearcey's conclusions: "And as for the truth it seems like we just pick a theory / the one that justifies our daily lives / and backs us with quiver and arrows / to protect openings cause when the warring begins / how quickly the wide open narrows / into the smallness of our deconstruction of love."5 To what extent is Christianity guilty of narrowing truth and reality to the "smallness" of its own deconstruction? If one judged from the voices collected in this article, "to a great extent" would be the conclusion. The "theory" of Christianity has become in countless ways a means through which to "justify one's daily life." Truth partitions itself against evil, the excluded, and those things that are threatening to the Christian worldview. To read the Girls more closely to this last statement: Christianity controls access to truth and life through the means of membership, access to which requires one to accept a narrowed definition of both.

[6] Thus, the benefit of membership is life and salvation. Yet the idea of eternal salvation, and even the necessity for it, is strictly a religious idea defined by Christianity. At its root, Christian salvation entails the liberation of an individual from the ensnarement or oppression of the world because salvation refers to being freed from the ensnarement and oppression of sin or evil, which, of course, are traits defining the world.6 Christianity teaches the individual cannot find true freedom or happiness, being bound by the world, until he or she obtains this salvation. Yet because attainment is through religion, those who maintain control over the religion, its doctrines, and its ideologies guard this path to true freedom and happiness. Note, for instance, how Christian conversion narratives demonstrate the manner through which one ultimately receives life and salvation: the narratives entail/require the admission of one's state of being destitute and lost; burdened by this lack of fulfillment, the individual searches endlessly (often unconsciously–to be realized in retrospect) for answers in anything and everything until he or she "finds Jesus" or is found by him. Jesus found illuminates the individual, granting full understanding of truth and life and the sought-after membership resulting in eternal life. To find or be found by Jesus, however, the individual must utter a specific script in a manner similar to magical incantation. Knowledge of this script often eludes those not familiar with the methods of Christianity.

[7] Of course, this can lead to a belief in "divine election." To obtain salvation one must obtain membership,7 and to obtain membership, one must first meet several criteria, among which the religion's control over a lifestyle is prominent. This definition develops quickly into a feeling of "chosen-ness" by those who are "in the group." Perhaps it is for reasons not too far from this that Metallica echoes a feeling shared by those who do not–even cannot (physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually)–conform to a Christian categorical lifestyle. Because the religion often rejects difference, such people may feel they are left without access to freedom and happiness: "Where do I take this pain of mine / I run but it stays right by my side / so tear me open and pour me out / there's things inside that scream and shout / and the pain still hates me / so hold me until it sleeps."8

[8] A different approach is taken by Jewel, who obliquely suggests that salvation is found in the here and now, in social and individual relationships and responsibilities:

If I could tell the world just one thing / it would be that we're all OK / and not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful / and useless in times like these / I won't be made useless / I won't be idle with despair / I will gather myself around my faith / for light does the darkness most fear. . . . we'll fight, not out of spite / for someone must stand up for what's right / 'cause where there's a man who has no voice / there ours shall go singing.9

Action defines this faith, in being a "voice" to those who have none. Faith, in other words, is an acceptance of social responsibility, to be an active part of society, to aid those in need. Salvation, then, is to "gather oneself around one's faith." No qualification for membership exists other than being: being an active part in society, and being concerned for those whom society or religion has rejected and/or silenced.

[9] Jewel's understanding of "salvation" demonstrates that conventional religious belief and salvation have become functional and mechanistic. Belief's functionalism, the gears driving its mechanics, is not willing to meet the needs of society. Instead, it rooted in the conservatism of doctrines and ideologies that have turned to an inward focus upon self-preservation. Note, for instance, P. Glynn who writes,

Modern organizational theorists have noticed how bureaucracies tend to replace the goal for which they were originally established with the goal of advancing their own survival and interests. This is no less true of churches than of other human institutions. Through much of human history, even modern history, churches have been tribalistic.10

[10] Peter Berger writes that legitimations of social reality in the face of death are necessary for any society; religion offers to maintain this reality by legitimating events such as death within a sacred reality: "This permits the individual who goes through these situations to continue to exist in the world of his society–not "as if nothing happened," which is psychologically difficult in the more extreme marginal situations, but in the "knowledge" that even these events or experiences have a place within a universe that makes sense."11 Yet if religion is used to justify the problematic causes of death or the act of killing (which brings about death), the so-called sacred reality that has a legitimating function in society has become defined by those holding death's tools. When Christianity justifies war, it positions itself to be nothing more than a religion of death; no preservation of life can be found there. Christianity must therefore ultimately commit itself to whether or not it believes that God desires the elimination of human life. If Christians decide in the affirmative, then they must redefine Christianity's idea of love. If hate equals the absence of love, then a love that justifies killing can be perceived easily as hate. Still frustrated with the Christian voices who make the affirmative conclusion, Disturbed writes,

can't you see that the pace / has just fallen behind / all the hate in your heart / will be leaving you blind / so bold motherfucker / don't you limit your mind / this time / waiting. for your modern messiah / to take away all the hatred / that darkens the light in your eye / still awaiting. I.12

[11] The dissonance created by Christianity's perceived stumbling fulfillment of its social role  has led many to reject both God and religion together. Disturbed feints toward this conclusion, but retains some level of hope that religion in general will cease creating dissonance. Some point out the deficiencies in religion, its offered explanations, even its function, because they have felt abandoned by Christianity's exclusivism–an exclusivism produced through control over salvation, membership and its inward focus, among other things. The Indigo Girls write, "We go to the bible, we go through the workout / we read up on revival and we stand up for the lookout / There's more than one answer to these questions / pointing me in a crooked line / the less I seek my source for some definitive / the closer I am to fine."13 Christianity, as the Girls understand, has become nothing more than a workout, at its best, it can only be one answer to life's questions. A Perfect Circle (APC, hereafter) likewise proclaims their frustration: "You're such an inspiration for the ways that I'll never ever choose to be / oh so many ways for me to show you how the savior has abandoned you / fuck your God / your Lord, your Christ he did this / took all you had and / left you this way / still you pray, you never stray / never taste of the fruit / you never thought to question why."14 APC spits the futility of remaining loyal to an institution and its god, both of which have apparently done nothing for the individual or society. Promised freedoms and salvation, it would seem, are nothing but hollow promises.

[12] A religion that teaches love but legitimates war is problematic for many. In the United States, the vocabulary used by the presidential administration to justify the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is often influenced by religious terms and ideas. The "other" is "evil" and perpetuates it. No good comes from this other and so the other should be "hunted down" in order for the "divine right of freedom" to be bestowed upon a wanting people groaning under the weight of social and religious oppression.

[13] A commonly held belief in the United States is that capitalist democracy is God's choice for the human social environment. "God bless America," and "May God continue to bless America" reveal a belief God blesses the United States–and not, for instance, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria–because the United States correctly embodies the social reality God desires for individuals and society and their expression of freedoms and rights. Under God's blessing, the belief goes, the country enjoys material gain and international influence and holds the responsibility to spread democracy, which equals freedom (or so it is believed), to other less "prosperous" nations. Before the growing dominance of this belief and its justifying of war, APC writes, "And so once again / oh, America my friend / and so once again / you are fighting us all / and when we ask you why / you raise your sticks and cry and we fall / oh, my friend / how did you come / to trade the fiddle for the drum?"15 (The drum is a reference to a war drum.) Does God favour one political nation over another, giving the divine seal of approval on destructive acts, a seal which Christianity seems to claim is confirmed in the material prosperity of the chosen nation?

[14] To justify the death of others as God's will is self-refuting, especially so if Christianity presents God as love and the giver of life through self-sacrifice in the material world (cf. Matt. 5:43-48). Yet throughout history, both God and religion have been used to justify a great number of acts destructive to humanity. In Joshua 9:24 the Gibeonites tell the "sons of Israel" they know God (YHWH) promised Moses to give their land to the children of Israel and to destroy the inhabitants–which included the speakers–already there. Or a different example, the Crusades were wars against Islam "legitimated" in part by the belief God despised the presence and threat of the "infidel."16 Christianity teaches that God is the giver of life, but death often seems to be its outcome throughout history. Modest Mouse responds, "Well we sat on the edge of the river / the crowd screamed, 'Sacrifice the liver! / if God takes life, he's an Indian giver.'"17

[15] To many outside the sphere of Christianity, the religion has not exampled the love of its god. Some have made a plea to one of religion's fundamental bases, love. R.E.M., for instance, writes, "Now love cannot be called into question / forgiveness is the only hope I hold / and love, love will be my strongest weapon / I do believe that I am not alone."18 Others have simply voiced a question that is poignant in its lack of an answer: "What will I tell my daughter? / what will you tell your son? / where were all the doves? / that we were nothing but a shadow / a faceless generation devoid of love? / the crucifix ain't no baseball bat / tell me what kind of God is that? / ain't nothing more godless than a war / so what are we fightin' for?"19 Live rejects the idea of membership, as does Jewel (above), claiming that heaven and God are accessible in and through life and nature.20

Christianity and the Preservation of Life?

[16] Christianity claims God's ultimate intent for the world is the preservation of life and the dramatic activity and presence of love. Yet it fails to escape limiting its intended audience, which  is not open to all humanity but to those who meet the right criteria. Others can only look forward to death and emptiness: "On a cobweb afternoon / in a room full of emptiness / by a freeway I confess / I was lost in the pages / of a book full of death / reading how we'll die alone / and if we're good we'll lay to rest / anywhere we want to go," Audioslave mournfully admits.21 Should the freeway imagine for Audioslave's listeners a means of death (such as suicide), or a path toward somewhere, something, or someone the speaker is not on? Emptiness has driven the speaker to a book, perhaps in a search for something hopeful. Yet the book—an unspecified reference to the Bible—offers no life, only death.

[17] Advocates of the Bible argue that it is the path or key to life, freedom, and salvation. Yet such ideas are accessible only through a knowledge that is attainable upon membership.22 Outside this "enlightenment," anyone who read the Bible would not be likely to reach the same conclusion. One finds in this book a divine a commandment and legitimation of genocide; overshadowed by the modern political turmoil occurring in the Middle East, this key's promised life, freedom, and salvation may appear quite empty. How accessible is salvation or its necessary component, redemption, when Christianity wraps the ideas in beliefs such as, "This is the rich content that should come to mind when we hear the word Redemption. The term does not refer only to a one-time conversion event. It means entering upon a lifelong quest to devote our skills and talents to building things that are beautiful and useful, while fighting the forces of evil and sin that oppress and distort creation."23 (That same sentiment has been used to justify wars, giving them divine legitimation).

[18] And herein lies another problem: militaristic vocabulary is common in Christianity. Members often describe the "struggle" of the religious institution against society and culture as a religious and social war.24 The book of Revelation, for example, is often interpreted to suggest only through war can God ultimately restore the world and God's original intent for it. Even children do not escape such influences. An old Christian children's song, for example, indoctrinates them early on: "I may never march in the infantry / ride in the cavalry / shoot the artillery / I may never zoom o'er the enemy / but I'm in the Lord's army." The child may never physically march, ride, shoot, or zoom, but the song inescapably links the terms to the military. Moreover, the actions are not portrayed as wrong or being contrary to Christian belief. Terms such as "army" and "enemy" are not the words of one surrounded by peace. With the motions attached to the song, children act out being marchers, riding horses, flying/being airplanes, and mimicking the sound of artillery. So whether or not the actions are physically undertaken, they are "spiritually" performed.

[19] Because of the prominent position the Bible holds in Christianity and the widespread nature of Christianity in the United States, one cannot avoid these issues. How is it that the same God who creates life commands death for those outside divine election? Outside the religious sphere these issues are troubling, while within it many justify such narratives through the concept of sin. People are sinners and therefore God commands their deaths. Some Christians even legitimate the war in Iraq on this doctrine: Islam is contrary to God's will because only Christians are "in tune" with God; Islam threatens the fabric of Christianity, therefore Islam must be put down. For these ideas, the Bible offers easy justification: the punishment of sin, after all, is death (cf. Rom. 6:17-23; Jude 1:1-27).25 Yet this argument conflicts with an even more fundamental doctrine: God is love; God intended the salvation for all as embodied in the person and atoning sacrifice of Jesus.26 Accordingly, if the punishment of sin is death and Jesus fulfilled that punishment, then death as a retributive act should no longer justified within Christianity (cf. Heb. 2:9-18).

[20] So does God really actively punish sin–a concept defined differently in each society by virtue of culture–with death? A positive answer might reveal a rationalized belief that God is looking out for the Christian specifically while untold thousands die by human and natural disasters.27 So how does one determine whether actions are "good," being righteous, or "bad," being sinful? "And on I read / until the day was gone / and I sat in regret / of all the things I've done / for all that I've blessed / and all that I've wronged / in dreams until my death / I will wonder on."28 Audioslave's narrative "I" concludes that the only option left is for one to regret everything ever done, all actions both good and bad. After all, how can one be certain? God, for a related biblical example, strikes Uzzah down in 2 Samuel 6:6-7 because he was "irreverent." Now, one should note that all Uzzah intended to do was protect the ark from falling when the oxen nearly upset it. Irreverence? Before this event, the Philistines, enemies of the Israelites, took the ark–by hand, they had no forklifts–and placed it in a temple of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:2). Only the idol of Dagon was knocked down (1 Sam. 5:1-7).29 Does God knock people off at a whim? For what purpose did God command the Canaanites be utterly wiped out because of sin (cf. Deut. 9:4) but restored the Judeans after God exiled them for virtually the same reasons (cf. Ezra 1:1-11)?30 Christianity legitimates these glaring inconsistencies with the concepts of sin and divine selection–concepts it itself defines.

[21] Each religion defines what it believes is sin, and often such definitions are situated around what distinguishes individuals from being in or out of membership. Divine action and judgment are means through which God insures the perpetuity of the chosen religious body. This is done by preventing, through death or other means, "sinners" from setting up camp against religion's walls. In desperation, Audioslave concludes, "On my deathbed I will pray / to the gods and the angels / like a pagan to anyone / who will take me to heaven."31 Not having membership, this is the only possible cry, that some divine being will take pity and show love.

[22] Modest Mouse takes a different approach. "If God controls the land and disease / keeps a watchful eye on me / if he's really so damn mighty / my problem is I can't see / well who would wanna be? / Who would wanna be / such a control freak?"32 Even more, if, as Christianity teaches, God keeps "track" of every individual, then the thousands that die every day were chosen for death. If God watches over "me" to preserve and keep "me" safe, then in the face of so many dead, God has rejected the life and salvation of others.

[23] Live anguishes over Christianity's presentation of God with the following: "and to love / a god / and to fear / a flame / and to burn / a love that has a name."33 The love of God is the very same that casts individuals to the flame. The irony is this: God loved everyone so much God created hell. Christianity teaches true life is found in membership and without it, one can only look forward to the flames of hell. Live, however, rejects the modern religious qualifications for both heaven and hell: "I don't need no one to tell me about heaven / I look at my daughter, and I believe / I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth / I can see the sunset and I perceive."34 If existence testifies to God, then all who exist, who live in and have lived in the present moment have access to God.

The Purpose of Christianity in Society

[24] Is the social function of religion to create and uphold a system of boundaries and criteria that causes those not a part of the system to yearn for what they cannot have? Should religion recognize its genetic tie to society and respond to social trends?35 Throughout history, religions have given societies a sense of morals and ethics, or as Durkheim describes, fundamental modes of conduct.36 Perhaps an appropriate question is, can Christianity ever fail in its social function? That is to ask, in spite of all actions taken or products produced, does Christianity still fulfill its social function no matter whether or not it actively chooses to admit its dependence upon society? Weber writes, "But the more the development tends toward the conception of a transcendental unitary god who is universal, the more there arises the problem of how the extraordinary power of such a god may be reconciled with the imperfection of the world that he has created and rules over."37 How much more so this becomes a problem when religion justifies pain, death, and oppression. When Christianity justifies these, it calls into question the nature of God and whether or not God really loves all individuals. Perhaps some reconciliation does occur between a universal God and pain, death, and oppression, but its "rationalism" is only accessible by those who are its members. And therein lies a paradox.

[25] G. Leibniz, as is generally accepted, coined the term theodicy to refer to the theoretical justification of God's goodness in the face of evil within the world. The conflict that many others before and after Leibniz have also addressed (although perhaps not with the same term) is based on a western notion of the world being divided into good and evil. All reality is placed within one or the other category, and religion controls the means that legitimate an object's or individual's placement in either category.

[26] Max Weber describes the problem of theodicy being resolved in several ways. One resolution is to teach a messianic eschatology, pointing toward a future political and social transformation of this world.38 The presence of suffering was the result of ancestral sin, contaminating this world, and for which God holds the descendants responsible (cf. Ex. 34:6-7). Religion patiently endures the pain of society until such time it is liberated (often by the divine).

[27] Another resolution is the idea of predestination, and here the problem of theodicy disappears.39 Predestination asserts that individuals were preordained either for salvation or for condemnation. God chose at the beginning of existence those whom God would ultimately save and those whom God would condemn to hell: "In such a context, ethical behavior could never bring about the improvement of one's chances in either this world or the next."40 Audioslave's despair sounds even more poignant under this possible resolution: "In your house I long to be / room by room patiently / I'll wait for you there / like a stone / I'll wait for you there / alone."41 No favourable resolution, no salvation exists for the speaker; although longing and waiting patiently, he waits forever alone and in emptiness.42

[28] So we have arrived temporarily at a problem with predestination, a problem that lies in its entirely inward focus. The saved are saved, the rest of society must accept its place and suffer; actions, good or bad, are of little consequence. God, who has a complete understanding of the identity and actions of individuals, foreordained their fates from the beginning of existence. Here, religion offers to society the explanation that things are the way they are because they simply are and nothing can change it.

[29] Perhaps it in response to this outlook that Jewel writes, "We are God's eyes / God's hands / God's mind / we are God's eyes / God's hands / God's heart."43 God is no longer accessible to only a few, whether through categorical membership or divine election; God is accessible to all. In fact, every individual comprises a part of the essence of God. To be sure, panentheism is not the only logical conclusion to these words. Within monotheistic Christianity one often hears the phrase "we are Jesus to others," reminding the hearing member of the Great Commission given by Jesus (cf. Mark 16:15-16). Even more, the concept of imago Dei makes a quite similar claim: God made humans in the image of God (Gen. 1:27).

[30] The sources from popular music I have used appear to share an understanding that religion is important as a structure for belief in love and the goodness of humanity, in the preservation and salvation of life. Several of these representatives have despaired of the institutional Christianity because they believe it to contradict not only this belief, but also itself through an incompatibility between ideology and practice. This contradiction led APC, for example, to write, "Christ, so many ways for me to show you / how your dogma has abandoned you / pray to your Christ, to your god / never taste of the fruit / never stray, never break / never, choke on a lie/ even though he's the one who did this to you."44 Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, had stated that rock music was "the vehicle of anti-religion," and because one "lowers the barriers of individuality and personality" to "liberate [the self] from the burden of consciousness," rock music is "the complete antithesis of Christian faith in the redemption."45 Not only are such claims based on rock/popular music reduced to a singular, analyzable bloc, they reject any possible means of conversation between popular culture, in more general terms, and Christianity. Where one can understand APC, for instance, to be writing from the perspective of an individual(s) rejected by or frustrated with the tendency toward a rejection of others in domains of Christianity, the cardinal's comments seem to legitimate such a perspective, seemingly enforcing such perceived rejection by dismissing rock/popular music as a legitimate voice of human expression.46

[31] In summary, Christian belief has been used to justify exclusion, oppression and death. While this is not the only possible outcome, this justification has become an insurmountable obstacle for many. The discussed musicians have responded by broadening the definition of Christianity, doing away with membership criteria, and presenting God in ways more accessible to everyone. The frustrations of these popular musicians and their subsequent responses demonstrate an implicit call for Christianity and those controlling the flow of Christian doctrine and ideology to reevaluate Christianity's role and function in society, and for Christianity to see society not as an evil "other" but as the hand and heart of God.

Notes

1. Jon Wiederhorn, "Disturbed Conjure Fire, Earthquakes for 'Prayer' Video." VH1.com, June 13, 2002, accessed February 23, 2005, <http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1455152/06122002/disturbed.jhtml>;  "Falwell Apologizes to Gays, Feminists, Lesbians." CNN.Com, September 14, 2001, accessed February 22, 2005, <http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/>.

2. Wiederhorn, "Disturbed Conjure Fire."

3. Nancy R. Pearcey, Total Truth (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004), 44.

4. Pearcey, Total Truth, 40.

5. Indigo Girls, "Deconstruction," in Become You, Audio CD (Sony, 2002).

6. Weber, The Sociology of Religion, translated by E. Fischoff (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), 44.

7. W. Craig puts it in terms of belief. One is either a believer or an unbeliever; see William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1984), 32-36. Note the distinction. Human society is reduced to division-based action: one either believes or does not believe.

8. Metallica, "Until It Sleeps," in Load, Audio CD (Elektra, 1996).

9. Jewel, "Hands," in Spirit, Audio CD (Atlantic Label, 1998).

10. Patrick Glynn, God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World (Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1997), 149.

11. Peter L. Berger, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967; reprint, New York: Anchor Books, 1990), 43-44; see also Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York:  Basic Books), 109.

12. Disturbed, "Liberate," in Believe, Audio CD (Warner Brothers, 2002).

13. Indigo Girls, "Closer to Fine," in Indigo Girls, Audio CD (CBS, 1989).

14. A Perfect Circle, "Judith," in Mer de Noms, Audio CD (Virgin Records, 2000). M. J. Keenan's commentary on Judith explains that the phrase "fuck your God" is said with an emphasis on "your" god and not an actual God. He rejects the concept of a god defined by, what he says, fundamentalists and extremists, a god who isolates and is devoid of compassion.  Billy Howerdel, A Perfect Circle–Amotion, DVD (EMI Distribution, 2004), 75 min.

15. A Perfect Circle, "Fiddle and the Drum," in EMOTIVe, Audio CD (Virgin Records, 2004).

16. P. Glynn puts it uniquely: "By the Middle Ages the Church was hardly distinguished from any other political entity. The pope ruled the papal states, vied in secular power struggles, and even rallied Christians to war–including, of course, the Crusades, in which Christians slaughtered Muslims as a way of witnessing to their faith. . . . The Inquisition burned witches and heretics and persecuted independent thinkers. The bloody persecution of the Jews was a recurrent phenomenon." Glynn, God, the Evidence, 157-58.

17. Modest Mouse, "Bukowski," in Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Audio CD (Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 2004). In ancient Near Eastern societies, the river was a tool of divine judgment. Livers, opening to an even greater number of societies, were used by augurs to discern divine will and action. It is not clear Modest Mouse intended these nuanced meanings, but the possible connection is informative.

18. R.E.M., "Final Straw," in Around the Sun, Audio CD (Warner Brothers, 2004).

19. Live, "What Are We Fighting For?" in Birds of Pray, Audio CD (MCA, 2003).

20. D. Bonhoeffer, while still holding onto the notion of membership, defines the church, or Christian body, not as structure or institution, but as a social community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, translated by J. W. Doberstein (New York: HarperCollins, 1954). His understanding of religious body was developed under Nazi oppression.

21. Audioslave, "Like a Stone," in Audioslave, Audio CD (Sony, 2002).

22. P. Johnson opines, with specific reference to a discussion anti-naturalism and pro-creationism, the most important knowledge is an understanding of the values and purposes of "the Creator." Phillip E. Johnson, Reason in the Balance: The Case Against NATURALISM in Science, Law and Education (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 13.

23. Pearcey, Total Truth, 49, emphasis mine.

24. For instance, see  Johnson, Reason in the Balance, 12, 112, 116, 183-84. See also  Craig, Reasonable Faith, xi-xvi.

25. This concept has been used to justify social acts of punishment such as the death penalty.

26. P. Glynn suggests Christian history might have been very different if Christians had remembered the human motivation for killing Jesus was religious persecution (Glynn, God, the Evidence, 150).

27. As J. Falwell and O. Roberts proclaimed, God brought on or allowed the 9/11 attacks as punishment for the "ills" of society. The presidential administration explained these same attacks as "evil" acts by "evil" people. The rational behind such terms has been extended to justify even the current wars in the Middle East.

28. Audioslave, "Like a Stone."

29. Seven months later, tumors and smiting would visit the Philistine town, but this is because the ark was ready to return home and not because anyone touched it (cf. 1 Sam. 5-6).

30. Exile is explained as punishment of covenant disobedience, or sin (cf. Deut. 3:1-20).

31. Audioslave, "Like a Stone."

32. Modest Mouse, "Bukowski."

33. Live, "Selling the Drama," in Throwing Copper, Audio CD (Universal, 1995).

34. Live, "Heaven," in Birds of Pray, Audio CD (MCA, 2003).

35. H. Küng admits to religion's (his term is "church") dependence upon society. "Our concept of the Church is basically influenced by the form of the Church at any given time. All too easily the Church can become a prisoner of the image it has made for itself at one particular period in history. Every age has its own image of the Church, arising out of a particular historical situation; in every age a particular view of the Church is expressed by the Church in practice, and given conceptual form, post hoc or ante hoc, by the theologians of the age" (Hans Küng, The Church, 1967, translated by  R. Ockenden and  R. Ockenden [New York: Sheed and Ward, 1967], 4).

36. Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, translated by  K. E. Fields (New York: Free Press, 1995), 4.

37. Weber, Sociology of Religion, 138-39.

38. Weber, Sociology of Religion, 139.

39. Weber, The Sociology of Religion, 142-43.

40. Weber, Sociology of Religion, 143.

41. Audioslave, "Like a Stone."

42. Compare John 14:2-4.

43. Jewel, "Hands."

44. A Perfect Circle, "Judith." The song is about M. J. Keenan's mother who suffered paralysis and the so-called faithful who would compliment her faith–"Your Lord and your Christ / he did this / took all you had and / left you this way / still you pray, you never stray / never taste of the fruit / you never thought to question why"–and then talk behind her back.

45. The cardinal’s quotes are taken from, John Allen, "Cardinal Paradox," The Tablet, September 18, 2004, accessed May 14, 2005, <http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-00936>.

46. Compare also n. 14.

References

A Perfect Circle. "Fiddle and the Drum." In EMOTIVe. Audio CD. Virgin Records, 2004.

———. "Judith." In Mer de Noms. Audio CD. Virgin Records, 2000.

Allen, John. "Cardinal Paradox." The Tablet. September 18, 2004. Accessed May 14, 2005. <http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-00936>.

Audioslave. "Like a Stone." In Audioslave. Audio CD. Sony, 2002.

Berger, Peter L. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967; New York: Anchor Books, 1990.

Billy Howerdel. A perfect circle–amotion. DVD. EMI Distribution. 2004. 75 min.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Translated by J. W. Doberstein. New York: HarperCollins, 1954.

Bourdieu, Pierre. The Field of Cultural Production. Edited and translated by  R. Johnson. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Craig, William Lane. Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1984.

Disturbed. The Sickness. Audio CD. Warner Brothers, 2000.

———. "Liberate." In Believe. Audio CD. Warner Brothers, 2002.

———. "Prayer." In Believe. Audio CD. Warner Brothers, 2002.

Durkheim, Émile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Translated by  K. E. Fields. New York: Free Press, 1995.

"Falwell Apologizes to Gays, Feminists, Lesbians." CNN.com. September 14, 2001. Accessed February 22, 2005. <http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/>.

Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Vultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.

Glynn, Patrick. God: The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular World. Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1997.

Indigo Girls. "Closer to Fine." In Indigo Girls. Audio CD. CBS, 1989.

———.  "Deconstruction." In Become You. Audio CD. Sony, 2002.

Jewel. "Hands." In Spirit. Audio CD. Atlantic Label, 1998.

Johnson, Phillip E. Reason in the Balance: The Case against NATURALISM in Science, Law and Education. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Küng, Hans. The Church. Translated by  R. Ockenden and  R. Ockenden. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1967.

Live. "Selling the Drama." In Throwing Copper. Audio CD. Universal, 1995.

———. "Heaven." In Birds of Pray. Audio CD. MCA, 2003.

———. "What are we Fighting For?" In Birds of pray. Audio CD. MCA, 2003.

Metallica. "Until it Sleeps." In Load. Audio CD. Elektra, 1996

Modest Mouse. "Bukowski." In Good News for People who Love Bad News. Audio CD. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 2004.

Pearcey, Nancy R. Total Truth. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004.

R.E.M. "Final straw." In Around the Sun. Audio CD. Warner Brothers, 2004.

Weber, Max. The sociology of Religion. Translated by  E. Fischoff. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993.

———. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Translated by  T. Parsons. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Wiederhorn, Jon. "Disturbed Conjure Fire, Earthquakes for 'Prayer' Video." VH1.Com. June 13, 2002. Accessed February 23, 2005. <http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1455152/06122002/disturbed.jhtml>.