I think my friend was trying to provoke me a little. I think he was trying to get a rise out of me, testing me to see if I would be offended or if I would object. I think he was trying to determine the boundaries of our friendship.
We’re relatively new friends, you see. We met just a few months ago. We share similar taste in music – we both like the eclectic and the obscure. (We like music of both kinds, Country and Western!) We both like Mel Brooks movies. We both like reading science fiction. And we both admit to having enjoyed Dungeons and Dragons. There is a special bond between geeks like us and our twenty-sided dice.
But for all of that, we have some significant differences in those two most dangerous of conversational areas: Religion and Politics. (Gasp!)
We spent the other morning, as we drove to work, talking about politics – the role of government and et cetera. We didn’t agree on some things – but that’s the nature of politics, right? But still we talked and laughed and we’re still friends.
Later that day I had to drive out west across the long flat highways of North Dakota and my friend volunteered to go along for the ride. I was glad to have him along. It’s a pretty dull trip to make by myself. He plugged his Ipod into the van’s stereo system and began to play DJ for our trip. From his playlist he dialed up music from The Pixies, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle, Yes, and so on.
And as we listened to these great songs we talked again. Since we’d already covered politics, we moved on to that other dangerous area - religion. He asked about my faith. I told him what I believe and I told him some of the things I wondered and even some of the things I doubt. He reciprocated by telling me about his. I believe in the Truth as revealed in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament and more fully revealed in the person of the God-Man Jesus of Nazareth. He told me that he believes that all religions are more or less the same in validity (or invalidity as the case may be). We talked back and forth and listened to some good tunes.
As one song ended, my friend put our conversation on pause as he chose the next perfect song. And this, I think, was the test, the probe. The next song on his list was “Dear God” by the band XTC. I recognized it almost immediately. I know this song. I even like this song. And I think that I saw the tiniest upward lift of my friend’s eyebrow as I began to sing along.
Maybe he expected that a pastor would be offended by this song with its aggressive doubt. But, to be honest, I like the song. I wonder about these same questions, and share the songwriter's anger over these issues. Why shouldn’t I?
And I think maybe God does too.
I didn’t make a big deal about it. I sang along and drummed on the steering wheel. And we arrived at our destination shortly after the song finished. But I think I passed the test (if I was being tested). We’re still friends.
Dear God
Dear God, hope you got the letter, and...
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer
but all the people that you made in your image, see
them starving on their feet 'cause they don't get
enough to eat from God, I can't believe in you
Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but... I feel that I should be heard
loud and clear. We all need a big reduction in amount of tears
and all the people that you made in your image, see them fighting
in the street 'cause they can't make opinions meet about God,
I can't believe in you
Did you make disease, and the diamond blue? Did you make
mankind after we made you? And the devil too!
Dear God, don't know if you noticed, but... your name is on
a lot of quotes in this book, and us crazy humans wrote it, you
should take a look, and all the people that you made in your
image still believing that junk is true. Well I know it ain't, and
so do you, dear God, I can't believe in I don't believe in…
I won't believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, no
devil as well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You're always
letting us humans down. The wars you bring, the babes you
drown. Those lost at sea and never found, and it's the same the
whole world 'round. The hurt I see helps to compound that
Father, Son and Holy Ghost is just somebody's unholy hoax,
and if you're up there you'd perceive that my heart's here upon
my sleeve. If there's one thing I don't believe in
it's you....
Dear God – Andy Partridge, 1987, Geffen
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