Leper Messiah

The first time I read the lyrics to this song I thought they were condemning Christianity and religion in general, now that I reread them, however, they seem to be talking solely about corrupt churches with corrupt ministers, and not condemning Christianity as a whole. I'm suddenly reminded of hearing a story about how sometime in the 80s there was a preacher saying that God told him he would die if he didn't get one million dollars from his church. Ozzy Osbourne then sent the preacher a gun.

The song, according to an interview with Metallica in the 80s, was written as a direct outcome of the televangelism scandal, where millions were given to two ministers who used it for their own personal gain rather than that of the church. The song reflects the control that religion, in specific, the Christian Church, has upon millions of people. They blindly follow their preachers and the story of a man who lived two thousand years ago, doing whatever their abstract lord says. I could go on with this for hours, but I won't, as this is not the place to do so. I was a member of the brainwashed elite for quite some time, but I've been questioning for quite awhile. A year or so ago, I left the Church and all organized religion behind and became agnostic. It remains as the best decision I've made in my life. This song reminds me of the chains I left behind.

Traditionally, a leper messiah was someone who was brave enough to preach to the lepers. Leprosy was feared greatly and lepers were ostracized and sent to live by themselves. Most priests feared these colonies and refused to have anything to do with them.

In context of these lyrics, the phrase takes on a slightly different meaning. Metallica, specifically, uses the phrase to refer priests and preachers who use religion to appeal to those who feel disenfranchised and alone. However, they don't use religion to make these people feel better, instead they guilt them into donating money. The term is not used with fondness in the lyrics. Most people see these fly by night preachers as little better than con artists.

Actually, according to one site I visited, It was about all these "other" so-called "religions" that make you think that you will be "saved" and you have to pay them to join and it's really all bullshit 'cuz they money is all there after.

This song is not anti-god. It's just about the corruption of religion. God is a personal thing that some people choose to have faith in. Metallica is talking about evil people who exploit the concept of god for personal profit, turning it into a business and a way to control people.

Metallica is my favourite band, even though I am a Christian, which some people may find hard to believe. When I heard this song and "The God That Failed", I wanted to know why these songs were written, whether they had meaning or were just sticking their finger up at God. When I found out what the song "The God That Failed" meant, I felt quite bad as I felt I wrongly judged them. The same with this song, I thought it was taking the pee out of Jesus, saying that he was wrongly healing the lepers, now I know that it was about the false prophets, I feel better about the band.

If you are an atheist, or agnotic, please read this and honestly give it some thought...

Your belief that there is no God, or belief that there is nothing, is just as much of an act of faith as a Christian's belief IN God. Just as a christian cannot "prove" the exitence of God, an atheist cannot prove that there is NO God. Are you 100% sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no heaven, hell, or afterlife when you die? Have you been dead? You belive whatever you believe based on faith. Faith that you are right. Faith that whatever knowledge and facts you used to ascertain your conclusion is correct. So there is no need to call anyone "mindless", or "morons" for practicing their faith, when that is exactly the same thing that the atheist is doing. Do you know everything there is to know? If so, you would know the intimate details of the sex life of Napolian's great-grandmother's black cat's fleas. With that as a baseline, would you say you maybe knew 1% of everthing there is to know? or even 1% of 1%? I'm just saying it would be good that you be pretty knowledgeable before you go betting your eternity on what you know, or worse, what you don't know.

If you're a logical thinker and an atheist, I challenge you to read, "God doesn't believe in Atheists". It's filled with logical examples like this. Atheists are nothing if not logical thinkers, and this book really appeals to that kind of reader. In fact, if you are not quite sure what you are sure of regarding your belief in God and would like a copy of that book, email me at gsjones1234@gmail.com with your address or po box or whatever, and I will buy a copy from Amazon and have it sent to you, no questions asked. If only one person receives the greatest gift God ever gave us through this, then it will have been worth the money.

For the record guys, Christianity is not about thinking you're better than anyone, or judging anyone for their sins, or trying to gather up $ from mindless masses. PEOPLE do that. Jesus did not like organized religeon for this very reason. It's not God's fault when humans do evil in the name of God. Don't condemn yourself to an eternal life away from God because you associate Him with the evil that men have done in the name of religion.

We're all sinners. It's human. You can't be a good enough person to just go to heaven because you're a good guy. It doesn't work like that. That is not a good "fall-back" plan if you happen to be wrong about the whole atheism thing. Have you ever been wrong about anything? As much as heaven is a real place, so if hell. You need to be right about this.

The good news is that it doesn't cost a thing. No payments to the "Leper Messiah" lol. You just have to repent, and believe. That's it. Free as the air you breathe. Pretty good deal, especially when you consider the alternative. It's all in the book mentioned above. I was serious about that offer if anyone is still reading this board. Maybe you're reading this for a reason. I did not plan to come here to write all this. Just seemed like there was a surprisingly large atheist majority here to speak to I guess.

this song is about fake priests that preach fuckin shit and just want your munay

Awsome song, i disagree with some of you guys ranting ^ , i think religion can be a good thing as it hides the truth from people and, as we all know, ignorance is bliss. (you never see a sad fish)

i agree with you friskitty. you are right about the fact that these 'holy wars' were fought for greed for money and power, but religion has been used as the 'motivator' for all the wars i mentioned. thats why i mentioned them.