So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Maybe it's too late for an intellectual debate,
But a residue of confusion remains.
Changing with the times,
And amphetamine tortured minds
Are average the citizen's sources of pain.
Tell me what we're fighting forâ??
I don't remember anymore,
Only temporary reprieve
And the world might cease
If we fail to tame the beast
From the faith that you release
Comes an atheist peace.
Atheist peace.
Political forces ran
Political winds of discontent,
And the modern age emerged triumphantly.
But now that safety's gone,
And it's time to de-evolve
And relive the dark chapters of history
Tell me what we're fighting forâ??
No progress ever came from war,
Only a false sense of increase
And the world won't wait
For the truth upon a plate
But we're ready now to feast on an atheist peace.
Atheist peace
But a residue of confusion remains.
Changing with the times,
And amphetamine tortured minds
Are average the citizen's sources of pain.
Tell me what we're fighting forâ??
I don't remember anymore,
Only temporary reprieve
And the world might cease
If we fail to tame the beast
From the faith that you release
Comes an atheist peace.
Atheist peace.
Political forces ran
Political winds of discontent,
And the modern age emerged triumphantly.
But now that safety's gone,
And it's time to de-evolve
And relive the dark chapters of history
Tell me what we're fighting forâ??
No progress ever came from war,
Only a false sense of increase
And the world won't wait
For the truth upon a plate
But we're ready now to feast on an atheist peace.
Atheist peace
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OK to the people criticizing agnosticism, I believe agnosticism to be a completely logical belief system. The human mind is not capable of understanding the universe. Therefore one can conclude, although unlikely, there might be some sort of creator of the universe. Agnosticism isn't about sitting on the fence. It is just saying the god question is unknowable. There are also different degrees of agnosticism.
The bottom line is, whether you are atheist, agnostic, deist, or any other similar belief system, we share a common structure - we are all "seculular humanists".
I agree with you. Faith is a belief that cannot be proved. You either choose to have it or you don't. However, we are not all "secular humanists." One cannot claim to be a Christian and be one. Secular humanists do not subscribe to a god (any god) and they believe the world rotates around the individual. They also do not believe in Heaven and Hell, which are concepts crucial to the Christian religion. As for the song, I find it pure irony. I have found just one truly content atheist in my many years of living (and during my couple of decades as an Atheist). If you look at their motives, they are angry with someone...they OR they don't like God's sometimes tough stands on issues (sex; homosexuality; divorce; etc) and as humans they need someone to blame. They are unable or unwilling to grasp why a god would leave them (even though He never did) or support a teaching that is not easy to follow.
Firstly, agnosticism is a claim(or rather disclaim) to knowledge when the question asked it merely about faith. <br /> <br /> Secondly, I don't give a flying f*ck if there's an abstract chance of a deity existing, the same can be said for the flying spaghetti monster.