Sunday, April 7, 2013

Dave Matthews Band | Theology | Christianity

Most of you who know me, know that I love the Dave Matthews Band. I also love listening to music of any kind and seeing how it resonates with me and life at any given moment. Do you ever have those experiences where you hear a song or read a quote and years later you hear the same song or read the quote and it means something completely different?!?! Well I just had this experience. Either I'm sad or stressed or something, but any music I was playing was not doing the trick so I went to my default....Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets album. (You want to experience the best hour of your life, listen to this album). Anywho, I was painting one of the rooms in our house and played this album in Spotify (I wanted to hear the "Spotify Live Series" version). I began at the beginning because every song on this album is my favorite. Well when "The Last Stop" began playing I heard it in a very different light. Maybe it's because of all the Facebook arguing, bantering, disagreeing, "tough guy" mentality that has occurred (myself included) recently around Christianity, gun control, same sex marriage, et all. Well I heard this song and I could not hear the lyrics and think this is EXACTLY how I have been feeling about faith and Christianity lately.

When he sings "you're" I hear him singing this to Christianity. I have no idea if his intentions were meant in this direction, but that is how I hear it today. I've listened to it so many times today and it has made me think our approach has been wrong for too long on how we engage with one another on areas of difference. (Sara also presented a paper yesterday at a conference on something very similar to this - Change Theory).

We (Christians) always think WE are right when it comes to (name the issue) and there is no room for doubt, error, questioning, or God forbid we are wrong on how we read the Bible or view God. So many of us cannot be "wrong" otherwise our lives are turned upside down. I get it. It hits all to close to home for me too. I'll let the song speak for itself. Maybe you won't see anything that I do and thats fine, then move on about your day. I just resonated with it and thought, for better or worse I'd share it.


Take a listen. Read the lyrics. See what you think.

Fire 
The sun is well asleep 
Moon is high above 
Fire grows from the east 
How is this 
Hate so deep 
Lead us all so blindly killing killing 
Fools are we 
If hate's the gate to peace 
This is the last stop 

For raining tears 
War 
The only way to Peace 
I don't fall for that 
Raining tears 
You're righteous, so righteous 
You're always so right 
Go ahead and dream 
Go ahead believe that you are the chosen one 

Raining tears 
Oh no 
Gracious even God 
Bloodied the cross 
Your sins are washed enough 
Mother's cry 
"Is hate so deep 
Must a baby's bones 
This hungry fire feed?" 
As smoke clouds roll in 
The symphony of death 
This is the last stop 

Scream 
Right is wrong now 
Shut up you big lie 
This black and white lie 
You comb your hair to hide 
Your lying eyes 
You're righteous, so righteous 
You're always so right 
But why your lie 
Go ahead and dream 
Go ahead believe that you are the chosen one 

This is the last stop 
Here there's more than is showing up 
Hope that we can break it down 
It's not so black and white (in the live version he says "your world is not so black and white")
You're righteous 
You're righteous 
You're righteous 
You'are always so right 
There you are nailing a god to a tree 
Then say forgive me, forgive me 
Why 
Raining tears 
This is the last stop 
Here there is more than is showing up 
Hope that we can break it down 
It's not so black and white



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlAFu4aQINw

No comments:

Post a Comment