Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Divine Milieu...Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction...
Woke up this morning and had a New York Times breaking news e-mail on my Blackberry saying that, “North Korea is severing all ties with South Korea as tensions mount…” and yesterday the United States stated it was going to increase covert ops in the Middle East. All this with the backdrop of Afghanistan and Iraq wars still ongoing and the words of Barry McGuire started playing in my head. Even though the song, Eve of Destruction was first released in 1965 it asks questions that are just as or even more valid today.
Barry McGuire's song along with Courtney Love’s, Letter to God I believe ought to be getting a lot of air time on “Christian” radio stations as both songs in their lyrics ask existentially fundamental, authentic, real questions of what it means to be human and be in co-existence with ourselves, our neighbors and with God…unfortunately neither song will be on “Christian” radio as the “deceptive state of being” is to comfortable. Jesus is preferred as a domesticated “caged” deity and the god of nationalism and prosperity is worshipped with sword in hand as opposed to the God with a towel in his hand and dying on the cross.
As Ghandi said, “I like your Christ, but not you’re Christians” – grace…grace…grace… hmmmm…
The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say
Can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away
There'll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Yeah, my blood's so mad feels like coagulatin'
I'm sitting here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don't believe
We're on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
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"We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount....Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants"
ReplyDeleteGeneral Omar Bradley
mom (again)
You only refer to a Christan god/religion...as you know, there are many others.
ReplyDeleteThe "eve of destruction" has been an ongoing eve, if I recall the old testament stories, Greek wars, Hiroshima, and so on and so forth....I guess your god is not doing a very good job is he? But maybe man is doing a better job than you think. Afterall, we are still only at the "eve', aren't we?
When humanity heard about "HIM" and found "HIM" they sized "HIM" up, trimmed "HIM" to fit their expectations, and tried to force "HIS" image into a puzzle of their own making......false gods. They missed finding the "PEARL" because they stooped to grasp a copper.
ReplyDeleteHow many millions have perished over the centuries in this endless battle to cram the infinite, omnicent, omnipresent God into a finate space bordered by mankind's politics, intellect and war? I have learned that those who make religion their god will not have GOD for their religion. Messiah does not want to be an actor in their charade....caught up and waved about like a prop in their hyprocrisy.
There is not God but "mammon" in America.
That is what the slogan means on our bills. In
money we trust. For money we fight, for money we bury our sons. If God is interested at all, I don't believe human motives fit anywhere in His agenda. We need to quite bowing down at the alter of mortal "Charisma" It is difficult to be a rationtal man in a world that embraces lunacy.
great blog Chris.....(b.b.t.)
I have started reading Greg Boyd's book "Repenting from Religion" second time
ReplyDeletearound. I would like to quote his very last
paragraph in his book...
" We must testify that it is only by the outrageous love and mercy of God that any of us have any hope. And THAT, in the end, is the only message we have ever had to offer anyone."
Thank you for this book. mom
But what if someone disagrees with that theory?
ReplyDeletePerhaps four other poets said the same thing without the the overtness of saying the word "God" and yet the message is the same and is what we all are yearning for in some real and tangible sense...
ReplyDelete"Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.
All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need."
Also, in regards to God or gods of faiths...that is why I posted the brilliant op-ed piece by the Dali Lami from the New York Times as his piece I believe really gets to the heart of that issue in may respects.
In the last analysis, whatever it is any of us postulates or theorizes it comes down to a leap of either faith or doubt...be it Christianity, Buddism, Atheism, Agnostism or whatever - all require faith and doubt and all are a deity unto themselves in some unique way. It is love and the pursuit of truth that drives each of us on in our personal and collective journey's and it is certainity that is limiter of such a journey.
Please keep commenting so we can all continue a dialogue of discovery and experience...
"Doubt" tends to be lacking with certain Christians who make it be known often in a self-righteous way that THEIR WAY is the ONLY way and they are incapable of understanding any other way of thinking. I don't agree that the only way I have any hope is through the "outrageous love and mercy of God". What does this say to an Atheist, for example? Or humanist? Or a critical thinker who reads many types of works, not just religious or theological ones?
ReplyDeleteAll you/we need is love is a tad simplistic and we certainly can see by looking out at the world's peoples that we need a hell of a lot more than love.
Chris, I respect your attempt to be more inclusive with your theology. Still, as an Atheist, I do find some of your quotations, though beautifully stated, hard to swallow. But that is your choice and what I like about you is that you seem to be able to respect that there are other viewpoints in this huge world population and in the various cultures out there. This is one way not to breed intolerance and religious self-righteous attitudes.
The above quotation by Gen. Omar N. Bradley was in response to the song Chris put on. I thought
ReplyDeleteit was an interesting quote because Bradley served in the 11 World War and saw & experienced first hand the horror of war. Gen.O. Bradley was born on Feb. 12,1893 and died April 8, 1981.
The quotation by Greg Boyd from his book Repenting from Religion is on the wrong page.
I don't know how to delete anything I write,
It should have been a comment in response to Christopher's feelings about someone saying he
is a phoney
I would never tell someone who is an atheist that
her only hope is the outrageous love and mercy
of God. When it comes to being self-righteous, I believe that sinners saved by Grace cannot be
self-righteous, as we do not believe that we
save ourselves through good works, we believe
that we are saved because of what Jesus did for
us on the cross. He has taken our self-absorption & our stinginess, our anxieties & infidelities, our dark secrets and wandering hearts---wrapped them up in his tender garment of sacrifice. Understanding our own brokenness is the door to recognizing the incredible love of our Savior. It is not what we do, but what
Christ has done for us, it is not our self-righteousness but the righteouness of Jesus.
Legalistic religion tells us we have do all of
these special things to get saved, and when
you do so many wonderful things for God you become self-righteous, just like the Pharisees.
One quote caused a bit of misunderstanding, each of us are entitled to believe what we believe.
You are not going to change me and I am not going to change you.
About love being a tad simplistic, I guess I don't know your definition of love, but I don't believe it can be the same as mine. I believe that we are all loved by God, but if we don't respond to His love, there can be no experience of His love. I believe that God broke into human history to offer us the gift of eternal life,
we either accept the gift or we don't. God does
not force Himself on us, He allows us always the freedom to choose and this huge world population has.