Finding God in the godless - Can God be found even in Hell?

In my younger years and especially when I went through a more anti-religious period in my life, I indulged quite a bit in a genre of music called black metal. Though there are a few bands that stand out like sore thumbs who expound on lyrical themes other than the mainstream, the vast majority of the genre is very heavily Satanic, Pagan, anti-Christian, or all three at once. I have always found the Pagan ethos admirable and still enjoy Pagan-themed lyrics. Though some of the Church Fathers would condemn exploring Pagan myths, others saw in them a way to work an anti-venom in order to cure wounds. There is in Paganism an ethos that I've been finding wanting in a "robot Christian" world. I'm not saying all Christians are like this, but I think the obsession with political power in Christendom and the fact that Christians are not used to real persecution in the Western world has made many Western Christians stagnant in the Faith.

So I had listened to a Grecian black metal several years ago called Rotting Christ. That was the name of the band. The name always came off blasphemous. What it is particularly unusual is that their lyrical themes actually express themes of Pagan mythology, Ancient Near East religious tradition, and various other things of the sort. It's hardly the anti-Christian focus of other black metal bands. If it weren't for their name, they would probably have a bigger following. It would be incredibly difficult to find any sense of holiness in their band's name, founded by two brothers from Greek. There was, famously, a photograph taken by Andres Serrano. It was called "Piss Christ" and it was a photograph of a Crucifix which was bathed in urine (or what looked like urine). A group of Catholics attacked the image back in 2011 as part of an anti-blasphemy campaign. But a British nun, Sister Wendy Beckett, famously defended the image as a reflection of what we've done to Christ. In fact, it seems that in this world, it is people who would attack the perceived blasphemy unquestioningly who make far worse Christians. What if the name "Rotting Christ" isn't so much of a blasphemy but a reflection on what culture has done to Christ in rejecting Him? This is very similar to the "God is dead" statement of Friedrich Nietzsche. It's not so much a statement of fact, but in context of man's sentiment to removing God from the picture. If God is ultimate Creator, then even nihilism must ultimately come from Him, regardless of whatever distortions in the philosophy there are.

The album I have started listening to again is called Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy. This is an indirect reference to the trial of Socrates where he mentions that he has a "demon" (daimonion). In ancient Greek tradition, the word does not mean the same as it came to be in Christian tradition as referring to spiritual entities who had fallen into malice. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy means "Unleash Your Inner Demon". Speaking of the Socratic "demon" and not of the Christian understanding of demon. This is the equivalent of saying "unleash your inner spirit". Socrates was put to death for defying the authorities of his time and for teaching children philosophy that was opposed by the authorities. The later Christian Platonists invoked the authority of Plato and Socrates very often and Plato's influence is still seen in much orthodox Christian theology today. Though the statement can also have a much more rebellious statement. I think of the statement made by Jesus that the second greatest command is to love your neighbor as yourself and yet we speak of self-love as a sin because we fail to communicate that the love to your neighbor is a different kind of love than the self-love warned about. It's not that loving yourself is evil, because if you fail to do that, you cannot love your neighbor properly, but there are multiple words in other languages for love while English has the one word.

The first track on the album, "In Yumen Xibalba" is about the Mayan underworld and realm of the dead. It starts off dark, gloomy, and with a strong element of a doom metal riff that then transgresses to a power metal riff finally letting you know you've arrived at your destination. Though the underworld might not necessarily be a place you find God in, nor is getting attacked by the undead warriors and various animals seem like a place to find God in, the Prophet David says otherwise (Ps. 139:8). God is omnipresent. Even in the darkest areas. In fact the fast-tempo power metal riff seems to almost present a different mood from the first part of the song. Power metal's effect is to make the listener feel powerful in spite of overwhelming odds against his person. What could be more powerful than the knowledge that God is still present?

"P'unchaw kachun / Tuta kachun" is a Quechuan phrase that means "Let it be Day / Let it be Night". The focus on the song is about ancient cultures and cultic ritualistic practices. It's the sacred and the profane. Here we see a guarding of the sacredness. In Catholic tradition, there are certain ritualistic practices that should not be profaned. The Western world has lost a lot of its sense of the distinction between sacred and profane. Many disregard the holiness of the Lord's Body they receive in the Eucharist. While Catholic practices are not directly referenced by any means, there is in Paganism a much stronger sense of this sacred and profane distinction that most Catholics used to hold to but no longer. I actually mourn over this loss of spirit. "Grandis Spiritus Diabolis" is an inverted version of the "Our Father" directed to the Devil. This one makes me think of that part in The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis where a worshiper of Tash, the demon-god, is brought into Aslan's restored world in the end because all service that was done to Tash for honorable purposes was actually done to him. "Gilgames" also makes me reflect on the same thing. Especially their already established intuition for the distinction between sacred and profane lacking in many modern Christians.

"Cine iubeste si lasa" is a dark rendition of a Romanian proclamation against faithless lovers. "Cine iubeste si lasa / Dumnezeu sa-i dea pedeapsa" roughly means, "May God punish those who love and quit". It is a warning to never back away from a loving commitment and a calling to stay firm in one's commitment to love that which one places love in. In our world which is dominated by divorce, it is interesting to see this come up on an album involved in such an otherwise dark genre. "χξς" is mostly Biblical Apocalyptic references. "Ahura Mazda - Anjra Mainu" is a song about the Zoroastrian deities. Though there seems to be no doubt that Zoroastrianism inspired much of the Gnostic heresies, especially with concepts of ditheism, the theology of ancient Zoroastrianism has stark similarities to Christianity as well. Obviously, they aren't the same religions, but with concepts such as a battle between God and the created fallen angel (Christianity) or a good god against a bad god (Zoroastrianism) being a cosmic event and effecting the ongoing course of the material world, it shouldn't be any wonder that much of these concepts still exist in heretical forms of Christianity.

"Iwa Voodoo", "Rusalka", and "Welcome to Hel" are predominantly Pagan-themed. "Iwa Voodoo" is about the loa in the African Voodoo religion. "Rusalka" is a feminine spirit, associated with water, found in Slavic folklore, who is hostile to men and often times tries to lure them to their deaths. Much like a siren. "Welcome to Hel" is about the Scandinavian underworld (not to be confused with the Christian version of Hell). These showcase that the human individual, in various cultures, still possesses spirituality that has been endowed upon him by God from man's very creation.

Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy is a musically strong, fast-tempo, dark, and lyrically heavy album focusing on differing ancient cultures. It starts with a Mayan underworld and finishes off with a Scandinavian underworld. While I wouldn't recommend Christians be listening to music such as this, I think that is clear that even in the darkness, God is still present. It's impossible for anyone to shut Him out, no matter how far they try to stray from Him. Especially with a melody like "Cine iubeste si lasa" in our world where we put adulterers in power and praise them as a standard to follow.

Looking for God in a godless world - Slipknot's All Hope is Gone (1)

Just the title All Hope is Gone sounds like there should only be despair and gloominess. And yet, there are several prophetic lines throughout this entire album. Indeed, perhaps the title of the album and being released in 2008 during the Obama Presidential campaign, is coincidental, but aren't coincidences God's way of remaining anonymous? There is much to be reflected on in the hope that is offered by man and the hope that is offered by God. As much of the album's theme is focused on criticism toward the State and societal decay, it seems that the hope that is gone is not the one that God offers, but the hope that the princes and the sons of men can ever hope to offer is gone. "Put not your trust in princes nor in the sons of men" (Ps. 146:3) is a line I often remind myself of and is one of the very many reasons I have been consistently libertarian in my political philosophy. Conformity and power will always lead to corruption of the good which is what many of the songs on this album discuss.

The album begins with the introductory instrumental ".execute." and then proceeds to "Gematria (The Killing Name)". With a lot of screaming, blast-beat drumming, and tremelo-picking throughout the album, you can gather extreme anger directed at societal decay. Gematria is a numerology that is rooted in ancient Judaism. It's what's referred to in the Book of Revelation when the number of the Beast is discussed. "Oh, this is so typical, apocalyptical". It then identifies America as the killing name. It doesn't feel or discriminate. "We'll burn your cities down" is a line often repeated. Before the main chorus, "What if God doesn't care?" is repeated twice. While there is an obvious reference to American foreign policy from neo-conservatism, there is also a very strong point to take the lyrical themes metaphorically. How politics corrupt and corrode religious ideals, turn things into apocalyptic references and make apocalyptic points about how voting for the "wrong" party leads to introducing all of us to the Antichrist. Etc. It gets tiresome for those living in this two-party State who have experienced oppression from both the major political parties.

"Sulfur" is another incredible track on the album. It reflects on feelings of guilt and shame, and that while life will be filled with suffering, it is to be acknowledged that "I'm not a failure but I know what it's like". Too often, repentance is conflated with the constant feeling of guilt and impending doom. But this attitude toward repentance can lead to what is called despair. It is hopelessness that there can be redemption. "Sulfur" is a song about perseverance.

Stay, you don't always know where you stand
'Til you know that you won't run away
There's something inside me that feels
Like breathing in sulfur

There is also another indirect jab at religious hypocrisy and judgmentalism. "And I'm a sinner to most but a sage to some / And my Gods are untrue". People's opinions about whether the God you worship is untrue or whether you're a sinner or a sage to some don't matter. The question is whether you've learned to stand faithfully and dismiss those views that people have of you. The only Judge Who ultimately matters in the end is God.

"Psychosocial", which immediately follows "Sulfur" is the song most relevant for today's world, especially with the happenings in Iran and the intensity of it all. There's too many themes in it. Sometimes, I find myself just thinking about the line, "The limits of the dead!" Exactly what this means is open for interpretation, but looking at the lyrical direction of the song, you see similarities to "Gematria (The Killing Name)". "I did my time, and I want out!" It's a feeling of a desperation, being crushed within a system that tries to deaden your soul. "Packaging subversion, pseudo-sacrosanct perversion" shows how our political leaders corrupt sacred ideals of freedom and religion and then pervert them for their own agendas, leading people blindly to accept that they are really fighting for righteousness and goodness when it's about their resources and power. "Go drill your deserts, go dig your graves / then fill your mouths with all the money you will save!" Our political rulers and their sheeple will often times to manipulate those who oppose wars that we overthrew a brutal dictator. In the end, the ruling class gets resources and the people often times just get a replacement puppet-dictator and the cycle continues. The chorus is done in clean vocals which gives a symbolic idea to the fact that we're still standing in light of this and we can still persevere.

And the rain will kill us all
We throw ourselves against the wall
But no one else can see
The preservation of the martyr in me

"There were cracks in the road we lay, but where the Temple fell, the secrets have gone mad!" is a reference to the corruption of religion by political leaders and the clinging to political power. This political manipulation of religion is prevalent today when I see people denouncing religious people for voting one way or the other as if acting like their vote for one party's candidate over another is an abandonment of their Faith. I think it's the people who embrace that mentality that actually end up abandoning their Faith in favor of political idolatry though. "Now there's only emptiness / venomous, insipid / I think we're done / I'm not the only one". How many of us have lost friends due to political differences? And we finally get to the most fun part of the song where we're all coming together to shout, "The limits of the dead!" It's a reflection of the martyrdom that we stand in from being oppressed into conformity with all of those trying to lead us into the societal decline. Those who refuse to go along with that decay are dead to the rest of the world but those who go along with the decay are also in a dead state as well. So what are our limits? Before the final chorus comes a full-fledged indictment against the ruling class - "Fake anti-fascist lie / I tried to tell you but / your purple hearts are giving out / can't stop a killing idea / if it's hunting season / is this what you want? / I'm not the only one!" Once again referencing how our political leaders will corrupt ideas of freedom to generate propaganda in order to get us thinking that we're actually fighting a war for a holy cause.

Honestly, this album is too good to leave a reflection off so I'm going to end up making this reflection a multi-part reflection. I will conclude for right now with "Psychosocial". 

Looking for God in a godless world - Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil

I've been doing something drastically different this Lent. Most people I know generally punt things that they find to be "perverse", "banal", or "crude". Or they focus on "more spiritual reading". Or something else. But then Lent is over and they go back to their usual every day lives. But Lent should be about refocusing our spiritual perspective to focus on the Holy even beyond the season of Lent. So instead of giving things up, I've been doing something that many would find, on surface value, counter-productive to the focus of Lent. But in the long-run, probably more beneficial. Let's face it, we give up things like video games for Lent but then we'll come back to playing them right when Lent is over. Why? It's just going through the motions. Maybe it's the sacrifice of pleasure that justifies it? But that pleasure sacrifice is going to be substituted ultimately by something else. Sure, I miss meat, but that can be substituted with another pleasure. And then I'm going through motions.

This Lent, I wanted to do something that I'm ordinarily confronted with on a daily basis. That is seeming godlessness. We all feel like we live in a world that is subjected to Satan. It's a spiritual reality. Our Lord refers to the Devil as the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31). While we know his time is temporary and Our Lord's reign will be eternal, we see godlessness everywhere. But if God is omnipresent, even He is present in the godlessness. In 2005, the hardcore rock band Avenged Sevenfold released an album called City of Evil. I know many people who would look at the Death-Bat on the album cover, look at the genre of music, and the parental advisory label, as well as the title of the album, and state that there is no way this is of God. Yet many of the tracks on the album, listened to carefully, reveal quite the opposite.

What is the City of Evil that is described in the album? The album starts off with the song, "The Beast and the Harlot". "This shining city of built of gold / a far cry from innocence ... a City of Evil". The song is about the Great Harlot of Revelation and her destruction. She "makes us drink the poisoned wine to fornicating with our kings". This sets the tone for the entirety of the album. There is an oppressive condition to this City of Evil that detracts us from reality, leads us to drunkenness, advertises things as an escape. "Bat Country" explores the destructiveness of drug addiction and how things that are ugly are made to look attractive in this delusion to the point that we explore giving up our humanity, making a beast out of ourselves to get rid of the pain of being a man. "Burn it Down" is a metaphorical reference to burning down bridges after someone has betrayed you severely, forcing your own self to wonder if you can even put trust in anyone ever again. "Bat Country" and "Burn it Down" are the two tracks where God may be hardest to find, yet even in here, we see the basic human need to find connection, to be able to trust in something or someone, to escape from the Hell of pleasures that the City of Evil leads us to believe are good.

One of the most prophetic songs on the album is "Blinded in Chains". Though it is severely harsh, the overall message is how our politicians brainwash us and convince us to believe that their side is the truly right side, even manipulating religiosity to swing followers over to them. "As they thank the Lord the blind can't see! / Like a plague fed to the brain deadly disease!" It starts off lamenting that another war has already begun. Looking for the source of the problem, he points to the radical leaders first and foremost. But "as clowns you follow suit, behind the blood between the red and white and blue / ... 'cause it's in sight you take the left, I'll take the right / I feel the hate you've built for me". While the radical leaders are divisive, it's our fault for following them to begin with! The entire political manipulation of both extremes and "if they had it their way I'd burn in Hell / and your future's a f***ing disaster!" Why can't we escape? "I'd run away tonight with my mind still intact / I'm gonna make it alright / Easier said than done!" It's a "scared, seductive system" that we're absorbed into. But here's the most impressive part of the song:

Please help us, please save us
Of course they have control, we're all the same
Up on the cross
Crucified their problem, drove the nail and let Him rot
Family and friends
It won't matter in the end, I'm sure they'll understand

The political discord and manipulation of religion by our political parties is re-crucifying Christ. Though there are profanities in the song, it's hard not to see the presence of God directly in it. The City of Evil subjects us to mental blasphemies and brain-rot in thinking in terms of us vs. them or guarding our sacred institutions which are the exact opposite of sacred.

"The Wicked End" is another powerful track on the album about the extent of sin and depravity in the world. "Man's becoming more corrupt now, godless, wicked, and cruel / The soulless man stood silence, Mary's words rang so true". People are pointing to Christ's coming, people are falling into wickedness, there's deception, deceit, false Messiahs, etc. "The Wicked End" starts with the current state, goes back to the beginning, and shows the cycle that we are headed in as a society. With the overtly religious and Christian content of the lyrics, it is impossible not to see God in that song.

While there are a dozen songs on the album, the last one I want to touch on is "M.I.A." That one's really deep. The entire song is about the experiences of a soldier in war, doing nothing but carrying out duty, going through motions, and now questioning what he's done. "I shot a mother right in front of her son (Change this from my consciousness and please erase my dreams)". In all of this, he begins to wonder if he's truly on the right side or if he's just a tool for his country, being used as a weapon. "Fight for honor, fight for your life / pray to God that our side is right" - all he can do is pray that his side is the right one at this point as his patriotic duty has corroded his sight from right and wrong. He takes other soldiers' lives just so they don't take his. In all the carnage in war, he realizes that the battle between flesh and blood is not the battle that is most significant.

I walk the city lonely
Memories that haunt are passing by
A murderer walks your street tonight
Forgive me for my crimes, don't forget that I was so young
Fought so scared in the name of God and country

I think it's important to remember in the current state of our own seeming godlessness to remember that God is ever-present with us. We are constantly caught in a spiritual battle. That we reflect on our own inner actions isn't what makes us monsters, but what helps us to become more humane. The sacrament of confession is about our own inward reflection on ourselves. I find a lot of "Christian" music to be corny at times. I much prefer it when a secular band like Avenged Sevenfold can put together songs that derive meaning from their own individual experiences which allows us to see the Image of God in such artists.