Brand New and the Bible

So probably the best album I have purchased in the last 3 years or so is Brand New's "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me". It is one of the most brutally honest albums I have ever heard, and it's a beautiful image of a man struggling with his faith and who he is. Because of how much I have listened to the album, and because I have WAAAAAY too much time on my hands, I wrote up a list of Biblical references found throughout the album. I don't know if anyone will find this useful or even interesting, but, here it is.

Sowing Season

“No time to get the seeds into the cold ground” – (Matthew 13:1-23)

Milestone

“I was about my father’s work” – (Luke 2:49)

“I’m my own stone around my neck” – (Mark 9:42)

Jesus Christ

“Jesus Christ, I’m alone again. So what did you do those three days you were dead?” – (Luke 24:7)

“At the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?” – (John 20:27)

“I know you’re coming in the night like a thief.” – (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

“I’ll try to nail you back up.” – (Reference to Christ’s being nailed to the cross; Acts 2:23)

Degausser

(Heard in the background) “When I arrive will God be waiting and pacing around His throne?” – (Revelations 7:10)

(Heard in the background) “Will He feel a little Old Testament?” – (Reference to the idea that God is portrayed as more wrathful in the Old Testament than in the New Testament).

(Heard in the background) “Will He celebrate with fire and brimstone?” – (Psalms 11:6)

“Take apart the demon up in the attic to the left.” (Reference to the Biblical concept that the good will appear on God’s right side, while the wicked will appear on His left; Matthew 25:33)

“When we were made we were set apart.” – (Reference to being “set apart” for or against the service of God; Leviticus 20:26)

Limousine

“I saw our sad Messiah. He was bored and tired of my laments. He said, ‘I died for you once, but never again.’” – (Perhaps an allusion to the concept of a lost salvation, a heavily debated issue in Christian circles; Hebrews 6:4-6)

You Won’t Know

“I have burned the bush that covered my light.” – (Reference to Christ’s warning against hiding a light under a bushel; Matthew 5:15)

“My smiling face that’s on my head that’s on your silver plate.” – (Reference to the presentation of John the Baptist’s head to the daughter of Herodias; Mark 6:25)

“They say in Heaven there’s no husbands and wives.” – (Matthew 22:30)

Archers

“While you’re beating with a book everyone that book tells you to love.” (Probably an allusion to the fact that the Bible commands followers of Christ to love unconditionally, and yet Christians have a history of discrimination and injustice)

Strange websites, Posdmodernism, and "Indie Johnny"

Sometimes when I get bored, I look for the most obscure "Christian" website I can find, just to see what someone's opinions are. Sometimes I run across some pretty strange websites put up by some pretty fanatical people. I won't link any, because I don't really want to promote them (to all 2 of the people reading this). But as I read that stuff, the stuff that tells me that I am going to Hell for reading the New International Version of the Bible, or for having tattoos, or for "looking like the world," I just start to think to myself about how much damage it does to me to give equal weight to every opinion I come across.
Today at work, my friend Johnny (who I secretly call "Indie Johnny" for his affinity for music I have never heard of) and I were talking about post-modernism and universalism, etc. And he was saying that he hates the "post-modern" outlook because it gives equal value to every opinion. He said it "makes subjectivity king." I was definitely surprised to hear him say this because I, in my ignorance, had assumed him to be a post-modern poster-boy. But the point is, he sort of helped me to further understand that some people's opinions are not worth considering seriously. But who's opinion is worth my attention then? I am still working through this. I'm not sure. What if I dismiss someone who I really should listen to, or listen to someone I really should dismiss? Dang. Is it luck? I have been thinking more seriously about predestination lately. Maybe we are all just destined to believe what we do, and that's just that and we endure the consequences regardless. I guess it's not up to me anyways. Dang, this is frustrating.
Well, here comes the cliche Evangelical in me: I do know one thing. I believe Scripture. I don't always know what exactly it means, or how it works, or how I am to apply it, but I do believe it. It's like it's the only objective voice in my life. It's like it is the pinnacle example of what deserves my attention, and everything else gets less and less value placed upon it.
So that's a really "modern" thing to say, I realize, but I do find some beauty in a reference point. You don't have to agree with me. I make no apologies about hoping that you do agree with me, but I won't hate you if you don't.
I don't want to give you the impression that I have resolved all of my problems with this conclusion. I still don't have an answer for whose interpretation of Scripture I should believe, or why my own interpretation is superior to anyone else's. I guess the honest answer is that it isn't, which, of course, opens the floodgates for a barrage of problems and paradoxes. But I say bring 'em on.
Ok, that's all.

Waving My White Flag

So I did what I said I never would. I got a blog. I'm sure a lot of bloggers start their blogging career out by saying something like that, but I have to be honest: I really hate the idea of a blog. I have held out on getting a blog for the same reason I don't have (and am fundamentally against having) a myspace. "Myspace: a place for narcissists."
I just don't like the idea of promoting myself. I don't think I'm that special, and in the scheme of the other 6.7 billion other humans on Earth, it seems as if my voice deserves to be heard less and less every day. And I don't really feel like I have that much to say. Well- ok that's not true. I guess I feel like I have some stuff to say, but I just don't know why anyone would pay any attention to it. I have no credentials, I don't lead a particularly exciting life, and I don't think there is anything revolutionary about the way that I write or process information. I think what I'm hoping for in this is just that I will have a place where I can store the ideas that I often have that make me say, "I wish I could tell someone about this idea." I mean, I have my family, my girlfriend, and my friends but I suppose there is just something about sending your thoughts out into the vast nether-regions of cyber-space that make you think that someone will hear them and sympathize/agree/respond to you.
Well, to wrap this introduction up, I don't intend on pointing people in the direction of my blog very often. I won't advertise it everywhere I go, and I probably won't get a Blogger.com hoodie to sport around school. I'll just write what I have to write, maybe tell a couple of close friends about it, and just see where it goes. Whatever. I have no idea if anyone is even going to read this. Except for my friend Mike who pressured me into starting a blog in the first place. (Thanks Mike.) So here's to seeing pigs fly, money growing on trees, hell freezing over, and me eating my hat.
Ok, that's all.