"And I will hold fast to the profession of my hope, because He who promised is faithful.
(My King is alive! My King is alive!)
Time and time again, in my weakness, He’s been strong for me.
I’ve not just heard about Him, I’ve heard Him.
I’ve not just seen evidence of Him, I’ve seen Him.
(My King is alive! My King is alive!)
He’s alive, and He’s conquered the grave once and for all and for all My King is alive!"
For Today, 'My Confession', from the album "Immortal"
"Rise up.Never again do we fight alone. Rise up. We are the resistance. Rise up.! Now is the time to rise up."
For Today, 'From Zion' from the EP "Prevailer"
Why is it that heavy metal is vilified?
A lot of people have told me that I, being a Christina cannot listen to heavy metal, for it is Satanic, evil and spitting in the face of God. I have always been into this genre of music, since I was a kid and first heard the iconic riff of Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man', and by 6th grade, I was hooked by the rhythmic pulse of 'Du Hast', the US debut of German industrial band Rammstein. Something about it just ...I couldn't understand how this music was bad, and I loved it. I grew up and soon found myself drifting into the music of bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marylin Manson and similar acts. Perhaps it was the fact that I identified myself as an outsider, and these bands spoke to those who felt that way. Brian Warner (aka Marylin Manson) has remarked many times he was the weird kid in school, and he was the outcast. I was like that, the kid who didn't like sports, or many of the things that most of the kids did, I preferred scifi and comics, fantasy and art, and music more than other things. As I grew up, I just felt more disconnected, I felt like no one understood, I lost myself even more in the works of Tim Burton (which i grew up enjoying, specifically 'Edward Scissorhands, which even at 6 years old I understood completely the feeling of being different, a little odd and that it was looked down on by common society) and clutching to bands like Korn, Dimmu Borgir, and some very dark bands and things, eventually drifting into occultism and the like.
Until I had my eyes opened.
When i accepted Christ in 2008, I was at my end, considering taking it all and throwing in the towel, but then I found what life is really about. History is HIS story, and now knowing my background, I pose the question: Why is heavy metal vilified?
Some bands intentionally go out of there way to make themselves that way, and yes studies have shown that fans of heavy metal ARE more likely to behave in sexist ways, to engage in unsafe sex, to be more likely to break the law, in general metal fans stire worse for things . However, when you really look at the genre, which has its roots in power rock trios like Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience and Grand Funk Railroad back in the late 60's, the msuic itself...well, isn't evil. There are a select number of bands who do claim they are satanic rock bands or whatever , but they ar ein the minority of the myriads of acts out there. Far and away, because they go out of there way to make a name for themselves, THEY get the attention from the media (and no press is bad press right?) and then when you mention metal THAT is the public image people get.
What is the answer? Is all metal bad?
No.
Is all metal therefore, god?
Goodness, no.
I found my taste for the bands of yesteryear started leaving bad tastes in my mouth, and just didn't feel right with me. I then began purging these bands from my collection, which still continues even now, as I really go behind the music so to speak and look at the words, and see the message contained within. Sometimes, its really obvious why (Marylin Manson) and others more personal (Staind) why I get rid of them. Hiowever, God doe not take from you without returning something better and since then I found so many bands that are ten times heavier, and infintely better than secular acts (For Today, as quoted above, Impending Doom, Fit For A King, TFK etc) that musically, sound better and spread the Gospel with it, to a group oft neglected because they are the outsiders, and as believers, in a sense we too are outsiders. We believe in that which we cannot see, we use a 2000 year old book as our guide, and do not act as the rest of the world does. Those who call themselves 'rebels', who claim that title by doing drugs, being promiscuous, and other such 'rebellious' acts...WAKE UP! You are doing everything everyone else is!!!
"..He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels."
Issiah 53:12B
We as metalheads, rebels...we ARE NOT BEING REBELLIOUS! We are simply playing right into the plan of the enemy!
I use the band For Today earlier, and hearing the lyrics, in a death metal growl, pounding drums...THIS is true rebellion. Wake up, join the uprising, for WE are the future
Join Christ, for He alone saves. Be not of this world. Join the resistance.
17.5.13
16.5.13
Musings.....
Is it bad I do not care?
Let me show you what i mean...we moved to Billings a year ago, with two suitcases a back pack each, and a duffel bag. Neither of us had jobs, or even a secure place to live. But I didn't care, for I KNEW we were going to be taken care of
" “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matt. 6:25-26
So yeah. That is the proof right there. And you know what, we got jobs within two weeks of arriving, we were staying in the local Rescue shelter, so we had a roof over our heads. Within 5 months, we had our own apartment, a car, and all of our belongings back out of storage. It was such a blessing, and to be honest..I didn't see it until the last second. We had spent 5 months in a homeless shelter. Curfews, we were unable to do much of anything, and we weren't allowed to cook our own food. But we held on to that promise, and we saw it come true.
So yeah. I simply do not care about the day to day, for I have other things to worry about. Now, I do not take my kitchen for granted, and it is so fun to cook. I do not take my wife for granted. We have spent the last year together just barely married when we arrived, and i am so amazed she came along on this journey. She knew that God was guiding us, and trusted Him, even through the hardships of the first 6 months. I love her so much, it is hard to explain, other than it seems that although I still am me, she knows it, and even though we are not perfect, we are loved by a God who is, and that makes it all ok.
Let me show you what i mean...we moved to Billings a year ago, with two suitcases a back pack each, and a duffel bag. Neither of us had jobs, or even a secure place to live. But I didn't care, for I KNEW we were going to be taken care of
" “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matt. 6:25-26
So yeah. That is the proof right there. And you know what, we got jobs within two weeks of arriving, we were staying in the local Rescue shelter, so we had a roof over our heads. Within 5 months, we had our own apartment, a car, and all of our belongings back out of storage. It was such a blessing, and to be honest..I didn't see it until the last second. We had spent 5 months in a homeless shelter. Curfews, we were unable to do much of anything, and we weren't allowed to cook our own food. But we held on to that promise, and we saw it come true.
So yeah. I simply do not care about the day to day, for I have other things to worry about. Now, I do not take my kitchen for granted, and it is so fun to cook. I do not take my wife for granted. We have spent the last year together just barely married when we arrived, and i am so amazed she came along on this journey. She knew that God was guiding us, and trusted Him, even through the hardships of the first 6 months. I love her so much, it is hard to explain, other than it seems that although I still am me, she knows it, and even though we are not perfect, we are loved by a God who is, and that makes it all ok.
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