“God is in the House:” Religion and Morality Control

“God is in the House:” Religion and Morality Control

For more than 20 years, Nick Cave has been cranking out some fairly bleak punk-influenced music with his band “The Bad Seeds.”  The song you’re seeing performed live is on a more stripped-down, piano-based album called “No More Shall We Part.” The lyrics are pretty...
How far is Heaven?: The Pluralistic Challenge to Jesus

How far is Heaven?: The Pluralistic Challenge to Jesus

The following video is “Yahweh,” by the band U2.  The name “Yahweh” is one of the primary names for God in Hebrew.  It was a deeply personal name, so much so that when the name “Yahweh” was printed, the Hebrews used to switch to the name “Adonai” (analogous to “Lord”)...
“Vertigo:” Half-Price Messiah

“Vertigo:” Half-Price Messiah

“Hello, hello…you’re in a place called Vertigo…” The song is “Vertigo” by U2, from their album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.  You’ll notice the obvious mixture of sacred and secular imagery, including the story of the girl wearing some...
Restoring the Image: Jesus the New Adam

Restoring the Image: Jesus the New Adam

Our stories are precious things.  They flow through us—and out of us—in rivulets of nouns and verbs and all the other fragments of human speech that give life its form.  Language is how we enter the world—both literally as well as figuratively.  The Christian Bible...