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In 1971, Black Sabbath Releases the First Christian Heavy Metal Song.

11/28/2010

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Yes.  Oddly enough perhaps, Black Sabbath released the first Christian heavy metal song "After Forever" (from Master of Reality) in 1971.  Sorry, Jerusalem/Resurrection Band/Leviticus/Stryper fans, they may have been the first official "Christian hard rock/metal artists," but Geeze Butler and Ozzy Osbourne himself beat you them all.  Here's a video of Ozzy singing it for the 1998 reunion tour. I love the intro.  Lyrics and further commentary are below.
Have you ever thought about your soul - can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave
Is God just a thought within your head or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name that you read in a book when you were in school?

When you think about death do you lose your breath or
do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope
do you think he's a fool?
Well I have seen the truth, yes I've seen the light and I've changed my ways
And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared at the end of our days

Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say
IF THEY KNEW you believed in God above?
They should realize before they criticize
that God is the only way to love

Is your mind so small that you have to fall
In with the pack wherever they run
Will you still sneer when death is near
And say they may as well worship the sun?

I think it was true it was people like you that crucified Christ
I think it is sad the opinion you had was the only one voiced
Will you be so sure when your day is near, say you don't believe?
You had the chance but you turned it down, now you can't retrieve

Perhaps you'll think before you say that God is dead and gone
Open your eyes, just realize that he's the one
The only one who can save you now from all this sin and hate
Or will you jeer at all you hear? Yes! I think it's too late.

A bit accusatory for my tastes, but bassist and songwriter Geeze Butler lays it out like a true 1970s Jesus freak. There are various renditions of the religious life of Sabbath, Ozzy, etc.  You can do your own research on that.  I make no claims here.  I'm not that interested.  BUT, I do want to point out for any former or current Christian metal heads, 2011 will be the 40th anniversary of Christian metal...

Unless you count War Pigs from 1970, which is maybe the first (less overtly Christian) apocalyptic metal song (Christian anti-war song?).

"Ohhh LORD, YEAH!!!!"
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Who's In? Will Lewis and Graham have an inclusivist club in hell?

11/23/2010

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It doesn't take more than the first 2 minutes to get the idea.  This guy thinks Billy Graham is going to hell.  He thinks Graham is going to hell because Graham thinks some certain people might NOT go to hell.  Now, as far as I know, the preacher in the video above is a "nobody."  I mean, I'm sure God loves him and "all [people] created equal and endowed by their creator..." and all that, but you know what I mean.  Graham, on the other hand, is the most prominent evangelist of the 20th century (in case you didn't know).
So, there it is from the man himself.  In 1978, in a McCall's magazine interview, Graham (or the organization, for Graham) said, "I used to think that pagans in far-off countries were lost--were going to hell--if they did not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them.  I no longer believe that... I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God... and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying yes to God."

C.S. Lewis has been criticized for similar views (this link has some other interesting links).  At the end of The Last Battle, Lewis wrote the following famous exchange between a follower of the Anti-Aslan, Satan-figure Tash, and Aslan himself, narrated by the man:

"Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou shouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek."

So, the most popular Christian apologist of the 20th century was also an "inclusivist."  Of course, neither of these men were professionally trained "theologians" nor does their adherence to a belief turn that belief into the proper or even an acceptable Christian position.  In The Great Divorce, Lewis even suggests that some Christian theologians might have a theology club in hell. I'm not very interested in discussing the eternal fate of either of these men, or anyone else necessarily, but Gandhi usually comes up in these conversations.  So, in our class discussion on Friday, I took a vote.  On Nov. 22, 2010, 38 out of 70 Christian college students (with their heads bowed and eyes closed) raised their hands in answer to the question, "Do you expect to see Gandhi in heaven?"

I see that hand...
For another interesting video on the subject, head over to my friend Scott's site.
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What makes us who we are? A fruitful class exercise.

11/20/2010

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What makes us who we are? This is one of the most fruitful questions I ask students in many of my classes. 
Picture
This isn't St. Sebastian. It's each of us.
I draw a stick-figure on the blackboard. Inevitably, one student will say "our personality," to which I respond, "So where does our personality come from? What are the most basic building blocks of our humanity?" Then the answers start flowing.
"Genetics" "Physiology" "Biology" "Brain chemistry"
Me: Good. How many of those things do we choose?
Students: None.
Me: Right.  What else influences us?
Students: Family. Schools. Neighborhood. Church. Culture. Geography.
Me: Good. How many of THOSE things do we choose?
Students: None.
Me: Good.  We could also talk about nutritional habits, which are significantly cultural but we have a bit more "choice," our friendships, some of which seem to "just happen" while others seem more selective... 
 Other things come up.  We discuss advertising and other media which no one wants to personally admit being influenced by but everyone thinks other people are influenced.  I often ask how many of them seriously considered NOT going to college.  It is usually very few.  We talk about different kinds of experiences (positive and traumatic), teachers and youth ministers that they did not choose but who had significant influence.
At this point many of them are reeling and ready to become full blown socio-biological Calvinists.
Then I ask some version of this question:
"Do you think people decide to be (fill in the blank - racists, murderers, thieves, child-abusers)?"
Some students at this point might say: "Well no one MAKES them do it!" to which I reply, "So why do some people make those "decisions" and others don't?" 
At this point, the exercise has a number of directions we can take it.  The most basic is this:
"We all showed up in this classroom together having made very few (if any) real autonomous choices for ourselves.  At best, we chose from a very particular and narrow range of options, given that the most determinative aspects of our decision making capacity AND the menu of options were NOT under our control.  We are who we are, so let's try to be honest about our perspectives in here and give each other grace.  Let's allow each other to try out new ideas and perspectives without labeling or feeling like we have to embrace a whole new identity.  We are not fully formed, so we can challenge each other to think differently.  You each are now an unchosen influence on the others." 
I'll demonstrate some other directions to take this exercise in future posts.

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Evangelism, Vicious Babies and a "Failure to Communicate"

11/8/2010

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Nick:  Uh... So, why am I going to hell? (my very intelligent and funny student Nick Sterling assures me that this conversation from his high school days is nearly verbatim)

Her: Well… you see… it has do with the commandments. When we break them, even once, we go to hell.

Nick: Oh, I’ve heard of those. You mean like no killing, no stealing, no being bad? How did I break those?

Her: Well, we murder every day.

Nick: …. …. .… what? …. …. …. you do? (uncomfortable)

Her: I mean… well yeah. Like, when I don’t want to tip a waitress. What I’m really doing is thinking about how I would want her to be dead. So I’m really killing her.

Nick: What!?

Her: I mean that in my head, that’s the intent. That’s what we all do.

Nick: Uhh….okay .… …. well I really like to tip waitresses. I think that they work hard, and I like to surprise them with a good tip so that they can continue to support their families.

Her: See! You’re taking advantage of the waitress; you’re using the opportunity to leave the tip for your own satisfaction.

Nick: …. …. …. …. (nervously wiggling thumbs together)

Her: So you’re really killing her because you’re denying her humanity and taking advantage of an opportunity.

Nick: … okay… and I also have the intent to give to the waitress.

Her: But you’re covering up your real intentions in your head. You see, you’re also lying to yourself, breaking another commandment. We can’t help sinning. We do it all the time because we’re evil.

Nick: So this Christianity… the way you’re twisting my words… it’s like a trap?

Her: That’s the way it is for everyone. We all do these kinds of sinful things, and we’re all sinners.

Nick: You’re now seriously saying that I’m a sinner? I thought that you were joking before.

Her: Yes. We’re all sinners, and evil. All humans… We all are sinners.  We're born sinful.

Nick: You’re telling me that a little baby, when it pops out, is evil? You’re saying that it has evil intentions and would kill waiters if it could? Why did God make us if he knew that we would be bad?

Her: Well… essentially, yes. But God didn’t make us evil. We chose that ourselves.

Nick: What sort of insane religion says that babies are evil!? They can’t even wipe themselves! How can a baby choose to be evil?

Her: Well… it’s Adam… you know?

Nick: Wait… you mean…. like… “the” Adam. The guy with the fig newton leaf? You really believe that story?

Her: Of course The Bible says it, and the Bible is God’s word. Everything in it is true.

Nick: … … … I’m confused. It sounds like I’m missing some terminology. So how does Adam make babies want to kill waiters?

Her: Oh that’s easy! Adam sinned against God, and so we all are sinful because of that. It’s called the “original sin.”

Nick: Wait, so a naked fruit-eating man made me pop out one day… … … as a vicious baby, instead of a cuddly, harmless, innocent one?

Her: You see, since we all come from Adam’s seed, we’re all sinful. And because we –

Nick: (extremely uncomfortable) wait! … … … did you just say “seed?” (I point to a plant)

Her: Okay well. Um. Since he sinned, then we are all sinners. And since we are all sinners, we’re all going to hell if we don’t accept Jesus as our savior. He saves us from being burned in hell for eternity.

Nick: (exhausted) Oh.

Perhaps incredibly, Nick IS in fact a Christian today; one of the most thoughtful I know.  However, he still does not believe that babies want to kill waiters, so I guess he's a little unorthodox.  Must be all that "emergent" stuff floating around.
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Worship and Killing: Who did George Washington _________?

11/8/2010

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In Carolyn Marvin’s Blood Sacrifice and the Nation, she notes (perhaps stating the obvious) that “Americans have rarely bled, sacrificed or died for Christianity or any other sectarian faith.  Americans have often bled, sacrificed and died for their country (9).” She also observes that legitimate killing is reserved for the behest of the deity in most religious systems (10).  Which brings us to George Washington...
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There are numerous books, blogs and articles attempting to make some case regarding whether George Washington was "a Christian," generically, by some standard of orthodoxy or pious practice.  To that milieu, I add my own rather UNorthodox assessment: In 1779, publisher John Bell wrote that Washington was “a total stranger to religious prejudices, which have so often excited Christians of one denomination to cut the throats of those of another.”[i] This is evidenced by Washington’s forceful instructions to Benedict Arnold that he be “particularly careful” to avoid any disrespect of Catholicism in the Canadian expedition, even punishing officers who engaged in such actions.[ii] Nonetheless, historian Joseph Buffington (1855-1947) praised Washington’s wisdom in making the “Christmas Day” (actually December 26, 1776) attack on Trenton, NJ.  Buffington wrote that Washington devised the attack because he was “filled with the Christmas spirit himself… [and] knowing the German and British love of Christmas and their joy of Christmas cheer… [they] would, of all nights in the year, be off guard.”[iii] Reportedly, when Washington was informed by General Sullivan that the weather inhibited the army’s weapons from firing, Washington retorted “Tell General Sullivan to use the bayonet. I am resolved to take Trenton."[iv]
 So foreign to the throat-cutting religious prejudices of denominations, Washington apparently had no qualms about taking advantage of the celebration of a Christian holiday to kill (in this case 23) other Christians for his political prejudices.[v]  All told,
“If to be a member of a Christian church, to attend church with a fair degree of regularity, to insist on the importance of organized religion for society, and to believe in an overruling Providence in human affairs is to be a Christian, then Washington can assuredly be regarded as a Christian.”[vi]

[i] Boller Jr., Paul F., George Washington and Religion, 118.
[ii] Boller, George Washington and Religion, 124.
[iii] Boller, George Washington and Religion, 21.  Howard Peckham, ed.  The Toll of Independence: Engagements and Battle Casualties of the American Revolution (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974), 27.  It is granted that few groups of Christians throughout history would qualify if this test (unwillingness to kill other Christians) was applied.  Stories of informal Christmas Day truces during WWI are as heartwarming as the stories of the resumption of killing the following day are painful.
[iv] Wright, Kevin. “The Crossing and Battle at Trenton – 1776” An article for Bergen County Historical Society. http://www.bergencountyhistory.org/Pages/crossingatdtrenton.html
[v] Peckham, The Toll of Independence,  132.
[vi] Boller, George Washington and Religion, 89-90.
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    Matt Hunter, Ph.D

    Multidisciplinary religious scholar and practitioner

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