There's a dresser in my bedroom. It's wooden (and it seems to be real wood) and the handles are made in some fancy design. I don't know what they're made of, but they're painted/colored gold. (It's not real gold.) I didn't purchase this dresser. My family's had it since I was young - perhaps even before my lifetime.
Where did this dresser come from?
It came from the people who made it, no?
But how do I know it was made by someone? How do I know the dresser didn't just appear one day by itself? I won't believe that it was actually made by a sentient being unless I see it with my own eyes.
We could ask my family. I don't know how old the dresser is, but someone in my family most likely remembers where they purchased it. Where did it come from, though? From where did that store get the dresser? From a distributor, most likely. Unless they made it by hand. But there are several materials here (for example, the drawers themselves aren't made of wood on the inside - they're made of something else) so it most likely isn't handmade - they most likely got the dresser from a distributor.
Which distributor was this?
We could probably, much to the inconvenience of the people at that store, if it's even still open, go through their papers from years ago and figure out which distributors they were dealing with at the time.
But that doesn't prove that the dresser was made by someone.
You say, "But it's clearly written on this paper in their books that it was sent out from this distributor, and it came from this factory! Stupid Christian, what more proof do you need?"
But I don't care what's written in a book - I want proof that this dresser was made by somebody. We could go to the original factory where the dresser was allegedly made - if it's still there - and inspect the place. We could, much to the inconvenience of the people trying to work there, check out all of the machinery they use to make their products.
You say, "Well, we've seen the factory, and the machinery within it. We even saw the machines make a dresser similar to the one you have. The dresser clearly originated from this factory. Stupid Christian, what more proof do you need?"
But I don't care about that. Sure, there's the possibility that the dresser came from this factory, but there's no proof that it did.
You say, "Look at the dresser itself! Look at all the details in it. You can clearly see that this didn't just appear by chance. There's so much evidence here that this dresser was designed by somebody. Look at all of the precise edges on it, look at the decoration around the edges at the top, look at the fancy design on the drawer handles, look at the drawer sizes - they all match! Do you think that's just a coincidence? Look at the smooth surface of the top of the dresser, look at the beautiful designs cut into the bottom of the dresser, did they get there by random chance? Look at the pieces and how they're all so carefully assembled. If you think this dresser wasn't clearly made by someone, I don't know what to even say anymore. Christian, what more proof could you possibly need?"
Do you understand yet?
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Lyrics 14
Written in 2015. The "OGD" in the song, is the "Organization and Guidance Department" - big wigs in the corrupt, self-serving, anti-Christian, bloodthirsty government of North Korea.
Jesus can be seen in North Korea
He walks downtown with his friends
Their money, combined, buys them a small meal
They eat it in a house
He blesses the meal, and they eat
They finish up, and Jesus stands bravely
They hear a knock at the door, from the authorities
Because a disciple forgot, and left his Bible outside
Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
The OGD thinks their reign will last forever
Never taking the time to see
The teachings that they ban tell of them
And their sad fate on Judgment Day
Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
When a Christian breaks the religious laws of Korea
Punishment is dealt
The Christian is punished for a day
But the OGD is punished forever
Prison camps will fade and break
The Christian persons will be saved
Their punishment will cease when God takes them
But the OGD's will have only begun
Forever is a long, long time
Here you'll last, here you'll last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
Jesus can be seen in North Korea
He walks downtown with his friends
Their money, combined, buys them a small meal
They eat it in a house
He blesses the meal, and they eat
They finish up, and Jesus stands bravely
They hear a knock at the door, from the authorities
Because a disciple forgot, and left his Bible outside
Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
The OGD thinks their reign will last forever
Never taking the time to see
The teachings that they ban tell of them
And their sad fate on Judgment Day
Forever is a long, long time
You can't last, you can't last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
When a Christian breaks the religious laws of Korea
Punishment is dealt
The Christian is punished for a day
But the OGD is punished forever
Prison camps will fade and break
The Christian persons will be saved
Their punishment will cease when God takes them
But the OGD's will have only begun
Forever is a long, long time
Here you'll last, here you'll last
Forever is a long, long time
Repent! Repent!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Lyrics 13
Probably some of the darkest lyrics I've ever written. Darkest in the sense of being unpleasant, that is. From late 2014, well after I quit the occult stuff. Clearly, I was kinda frustrated when I wrote these. A different perspective on occultism than what some other black metal musicians describe.
Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
Eerie faces and glowing malignance permeate sickly hopelessness
Emitting nonsense words in dimensions of nightmarish fantasy
Old, dusty, empty screams echo from abysses of false sunlight
Painted as beauty, deathly poison spews from hollow orchestras
Mouthpieces of mindless hatred attempt to consume a flock
That will defeat them all!
Fires spread from hateful mouths, vomiting lies of blasphemy
Raising stars and horns of their own adversary
Donning bullet belts and axes to wage war
On the hand which extends out to them!
Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
In nightmarish fantasy!
Altering reality subjectively, creating lies through astral feces
An air of occult death hovers over metal
Don all the inverted crosses and medieval weaponry you like
Describe the gore you wish on us
You are lost in the lies of demons
Astral portals of vomit and empty death poison the souls of those who seek them, mentally disturbing and physically sickening their propagators;
Sadness, puking, hating, dying
In an attempt to consume a flock that will defeat them all.
Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
Eerie faces and glowing malignance permeate sickly hopelessness
Emitting nonsense words in dimensions of nightmarish fantasy
Old, dusty, empty screams echo from abysses of false sunlight
Painted as beauty, deathly poison spews from hollow orchestras
Mouthpieces of mindless hatred attempt to consume a flock
That will defeat them all!
Fires spread from hateful mouths, vomiting lies of blasphemy
Raising stars and horns of their own adversary
Donning bullet belts and axes to wage war
On the hand which extends out to them!
Frosted, bereft, and hollow dimensions
Awaken in malevolent action in a portal of vomit
Spiritually piercing cries resound from polluted chasms
In nightmarish fantasy!
Altering reality subjectively, creating lies through astral feces
An air of occult death hovers over metal
Don all the inverted crosses and medieval weaponry you like
Describe the gore you wish on us
You are lost in the lies of demons
Astral portals of vomit and empty death poison the souls of those who seek them, mentally disturbing and physically sickening their propagators;
Sadness, puking, hating, dying
In an attempt to consume a flock that will defeat them all.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Room to Improve (Unblack) Part 2
With all glory to God, I just remembered one more thing I wanted to add to the first "Room to Improve" post. And remember, these two posts are directed to the unblack scene specifically, so this may not apply to everyone.
I feel we should stop lumping certain secular projects into the scope of unblack metal. This isn't about the people, but bearing in mind that "unblack" is an ideology, and not an actual genre of music, we should stop associating certain bands with unblack metal music. Gaoth Anair isn't a Christian project. Taur Nar Fuin isn't a Christian project. Wapenveld isn't a Christian project. I won't actually tell you to stop listening to such bands, and this isn't meant at all to be a diss to anyone -- although from past experiences I've extensively gone into here before, I do personally recommend you limit your exposure to secular music -- but it's just a matter of associating the music with unblack.
Also, there's just something off about bands that were specifically signed to E.E.E. for any period of time; there's an inner darkness that I just feel. E.E.E. was, apparently, never meant to be a "Christian" label, though they did release a couple Christian bands' albums over the years. One album; eh, whatever. Even Elgibbor and Requiem Eternam each had an album released by them, and those two bands are awesome, and still Christian today. But there are a lot of "Christian" bands that were signed to that label for a longer period of time, that turned out to be from various false converts who fell away, and there's a lot of darkness in their music. Again, not that I think at all that we should just throw people aside or something, quite the contrary, I've had a very friendly conversation once with one of the guys who runs that label when I was fixing data for him on Metal Archives, and for all I know, he might even be reading this right now. I invited him to some time ago; I don't know if he's still reading the blog today. Does this blog actually have regular "readers" in the first place? With how sporadic views are, I'm not sure if it actually has any or not.
I would like to repeat, yet again, that I'm not writing this out of hard feelings for any secular artist. This is very important. We're meant to follow Jesus, who did not come into the world to condemn, but to save, so when we discuss things like this, it should be out of devotion to God, and love for others. I'm NOT saying we need to kick anyone out of some special unblack metal club. I'm not saying we're all going to a party somewhere, and just not inviting certain people because they won't make for fun company, or something. (Many people are invited, they just decline the invitations.) I'm saying the scene just needs to make this one distinction, between what's Christian music, and what isn't. We're specifically called not to be conformed to the world, and to distinguish God's will, and the unblack metal scene is a great way for those of us who like extreme music, and for those of us who were once in darkness, and for those who are still learning to leave the darkness today, to still fulfill this verse in Romans. In this regard only should we stop associating some music with the scene.
This is partially why I like the South American unblack scene so much. Many of the bands there are very outspoken in their extreme sound and lyrics, but it's out of true devotion to God, and there's such a sense of community there, and those two things are ideally what I think (based on the Bible) God wants out of the entire unblack scene. There are churches in South America based on Christian metal. For those who don't have that, we still have the scene online; we can still talk to each other and listen to music that lacks the darkness many of us once felt so deeply while worshiping our Creator.
If you're truly someone who can listen to darker music and not be affected by it, go ahead, I suppose, though I do warn you, I used to think the same thing and I ended up in a very bad place as a result; I wouldn't take chances. Ever. But what I'm saying is that we have a responsibility to care for this scene we have here, for and through God's glory and grace, and as such, the scene needs to make this distinction. I, personally, don't listen to bands that have since fallen away - I can't stand the darkness I always feel in that music. Again, not out of disrespect, but out of spiritual need. I listen to some bands whose members began in darkness, but righteousness was sown in their hearts and they now serve God with their music instead (Malakh, Elgibbor, Edificador, and many more). Thus, I won't listen to a band that fell away, where darkness was planted, but just hadn't grown yet. This scene has yielded so much good for so many people... So many who were into that very darkness, making music about it even, have come to God and have been saved through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross because of the invitation this scene extended to them. Let's continue it now, let's keep making the scene even better for God's glory and purposes, and, if God will allow it, do these things for a long, long time to come. Amen.
I feel we should stop lumping certain secular projects into the scope of unblack metal. This isn't about the people, but bearing in mind that "unblack" is an ideology, and not an actual genre of music, we should stop associating certain bands with unblack metal music. Gaoth Anair isn't a Christian project. Taur Nar Fuin isn't a Christian project. Wapenveld isn't a Christian project. I won't actually tell you to stop listening to such bands, and this isn't meant at all to be a diss to anyone -- although from past experiences I've extensively gone into here before, I do personally recommend you limit your exposure to secular music -- but it's just a matter of associating the music with unblack.
Also, there's just something off about bands that were specifically signed to E.E.E. for any period of time; there's an inner darkness that I just feel. E.E.E. was, apparently, never meant to be a "Christian" label, though they did release a couple Christian bands' albums over the years. One album; eh, whatever. Even Elgibbor and Requiem Eternam each had an album released by them, and those two bands are awesome, and still Christian today. But there are a lot of "Christian" bands that were signed to that label for a longer period of time, that turned out to be from various false converts who fell away, and there's a lot of darkness in their music. Again, not that I think at all that we should just throw people aside or something, quite the contrary, I've had a very friendly conversation once with one of the guys who runs that label when I was fixing data for him on Metal Archives, and for all I know, he might even be reading this right now. I invited him to some time ago; I don't know if he's still reading the blog today. Does this blog actually have regular "readers" in the first place? With how sporadic views are, I'm not sure if it actually has any or not.
I would like to repeat, yet again, that I'm not writing this out of hard feelings for any secular artist. This is very important. We're meant to follow Jesus, who did not come into the world to condemn, but to save, so when we discuss things like this, it should be out of devotion to God, and love for others. I'm NOT saying we need to kick anyone out of some special unblack metal club. I'm not saying we're all going to a party somewhere, and just not inviting certain people because they won't make for fun company, or something. (Many people are invited, they just decline the invitations.) I'm saying the scene just needs to make this one distinction, between what's Christian music, and what isn't. We're specifically called not to be conformed to the world, and to distinguish God's will, and the unblack metal scene is a great way for those of us who like extreme music, and for those of us who were once in darkness, and for those who are still learning to leave the darkness today, to still fulfill this verse in Romans. In this regard only should we stop associating some music with the scene.
This is partially why I like the South American unblack scene so much. Many of the bands there are very outspoken in their extreme sound and lyrics, but it's out of true devotion to God, and there's such a sense of community there, and those two things are ideally what I think (based on the Bible) God wants out of the entire unblack scene. There are churches in South America based on Christian metal. For those who don't have that, we still have the scene online; we can still talk to each other and listen to music that lacks the darkness many of us once felt so deeply while worshiping our Creator.
If you're truly someone who can listen to darker music and not be affected by it, go ahead, I suppose, though I do warn you, I used to think the same thing and I ended up in a very bad place as a result; I wouldn't take chances. Ever. But what I'm saying is that we have a responsibility to care for this scene we have here, for and through God's glory and grace, and as such, the scene needs to make this distinction. I, personally, don't listen to bands that have since fallen away - I can't stand the darkness I always feel in that music. Again, not out of disrespect, but out of spiritual need. I listen to some bands whose members began in darkness, but righteousness was sown in their hearts and they now serve God with their music instead (Malakh, Elgibbor, Edificador, and many more). Thus, I won't listen to a band that fell away, where darkness was planted, but just hadn't grown yet. This scene has yielded so much good for so many people... So many who were into that very darkness, making music about it even, have come to God and have been saved through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross because of the invitation this scene extended to them. Let's continue it now, let's keep making the scene even better for God's glory and purposes, and, if God will allow it, do these things for a long, long time to come. Amen.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Message
Why does this blog get sporadic amounts of views? This blog could go a week, and get maybe 5 views, but in a single day recently, it got over 100. Why does that happen?
Anyway, I just wanted to point out a concern I had. I went to a certain doom metal band's page on Metal Archives recently, and they were listed as having Christian lyrical themes. Which I found to be strange, considering the side project I knew one of the band members had, but whatever. A glance at the lyrics revealed lyrics with Biblical symbolism, and discussion of certain Biblical events, which is fairly common in doom metal as I understand, but anyone who's actually familiarized themselves with the relevant passages would see that this clearly wasn't a Christian band. (Their souls should be in our prayers)
So I corrected the "lyrical themes" section.
I often used to think that most people had already familiarized themselves with scripture, and just didn't listen to it, but it's becoming increasingly clear lately that this isn't the case at all. A lot of people actually don't know... much of anything about the Bible. They have all these complaints about, for example, things the church does, never realizing they're actually often the same complaints God Himself has about the activities of the church. Not that pointing this out does a lot (though it's still worth doing).
But it really hit me when I read that band's lyrics. I won't say the name of the band, or write down any of the lyrics here, but were these lyrics, that clearly contradicted the Bible, really being mistaken for Christianity?
We've really got to get on the ball with this. Before this, I had no idea the situation was actually this bad. You could argue that it might have only been the person who added the word "Christianity" there, and everyone else just skipped over it, or something, but even one person is still too much when we're talking about eternal life and the word of the very Creator of the universe.
Keep this in mind. God bless you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out a concern I had. I went to a certain doom metal band's page on Metal Archives recently, and they were listed as having Christian lyrical themes. Which I found to be strange, considering the side project I knew one of the band members had, but whatever. A glance at the lyrics revealed lyrics with Biblical symbolism, and discussion of certain Biblical events, which is fairly common in doom metal as I understand, but anyone who's actually familiarized themselves with the relevant passages would see that this clearly wasn't a Christian band. (Their souls should be in our prayers)
So I corrected the "lyrical themes" section.
I often used to think that most people had already familiarized themselves with scripture, and just didn't listen to it, but it's becoming increasingly clear lately that this isn't the case at all. A lot of people actually don't know... much of anything about the Bible. They have all these complaints about, for example, things the church does, never realizing they're actually often the same complaints God Himself has about the activities of the church. Not that pointing this out does a lot (though it's still worth doing).
But it really hit me when I read that band's lyrics. I won't say the name of the band, or write down any of the lyrics here, but were these lyrics, that clearly contradicted the Bible, really being mistaken for Christianity?
We've really got to get on the ball with this. Before this, I had no idea the situation was actually this bad. You could argue that it might have only been the person who added the word "Christianity" there, and everyone else just skipped over it, or something, but even one person is still too much when we're talking about eternal life and the word of the very Creator of the universe.
Keep this in mind. God bless you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Lyrics 12
More lyrics from the notebook. Not the greatest, but the message is still relevant:
The church is becoming increasingly accustomed to appealing to modern beliefs for the sake of appearing intelligent to the non-believers. Respectable to preserve social relevance of Christ's name, but the means by which it is done are not; compromising beliefs in favor of following the deceptive shepherd of science. Many believers now say the world came to be through evolution (Genesis 1), sexual abominations are justifiable (Leviticus 18), various rules on marriage (Matthew 19:1-12), or that work on the Sabbath is forbidden today (Luke 10:1-5)
The way to bring a respectable reputation to our beliefs is to stick to our guns, and not blindly adhere to what humanity simply says is true, but to wisely adhere to what the Maker, existing before the beginning of the world, has said is true.
This is written at the bottom of the page: John 12:35-36, John 12:41-43
The church is becoming increasingly accustomed to appealing to modern beliefs for the sake of appearing intelligent to the non-believers. Respectable to preserve social relevance of Christ's name, but the means by which it is done are not; compromising beliefs in favor of following the deceptive shepherd of science. Many believers now say the world came to be through evolution (Genesis 1), sexual abominations are justifiable (Leviticus 18), various rules on marriage (Matthew 19:1-12), or that work on the Sabbath is forbidden today (Luke 10:1-5)
The way to bring a respectable reputation to our beliefs is to stick to our guns, and not blindly adhere to what humanity simply says is true, but to wisely adhere to what the Maker, existing before the beginning of the world, has said is true.
This is written at the bottom of the page: John 12:35-36, John 12:41-43
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Lyrics 11
More lyrics from the notebook. A few words were changed. It was/is written for a folk metal kind of tune. So yes, this was definitely influenced by Holy Blood. It's worth noting, in case there were confusion, that in the third verse, God isn't talking to the new Jerusalem, the city talked about in Revelation 21, but rather the earthly one. While Jerusalem is name-dropped here, this whole song applies to most of the world, not just one city.
Following traditions of
The scribes and pharisees
You stone the prophets, keep tradition
Your children you mislead
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
For the wrong side you fight
Your house is left to you desolate
So saith Jesus Christ, saying
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"
The modern age, so turn the page
What do we see today?
A planet of misguided souls
All being led astray
The prophets of today all look,
And read the word of God
And wonder as the look around
At all the land beyond
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"
And one day when the world shall end
And old things pass away
New Heaven and new Earth come and
Lead no one else astray
And all the souls who kept the faith
Will come and gladly sing
As God comforts His children
Taking them all under wing, saying
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not."
Following traditions of
The scribes and pharisees
You stone the prophets, keep tradition
Your children you mislead
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
For the wrong side you fight
Your house is left to you desolate
So saith Jesus Christ, saying
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"
The modern age, so turn the page
What do we see today?
A planet of misguided souls
All being led astray
The prophets of today all look,
And read the word of God
And wonder as the look around
At all the land beyond
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not"
And one day when the world shall end
And old things pass away
New Heaven and new Earth come and
Lead no one else astray
And all the souls who kept the faith
Will come and gladly sing
As God comforts His children
Taking them all under wing, saying
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
How often I have longed
To take your children under my wing,
But willing you were not."
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Lyrics 10
More lyrics from the notebook. I'd really like to make this into an actual song someday.
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
We live in a world where heathendom reigns
Injustice disguised as "more of the same"
They worship all things except what is true
Forgetting that God can make things new
Forgetting all the ties that Judgment Day will sever
PROPHECIES CAN'T GO UNFULFILLED FOREVER
So worship your things, people, the end is near!
All waiting for the sound you will hear
Lust and the greed of these past ages
Fulfilling prophecies written on the pages
Money and survival come under scrutiny
The adversary controls man's imaginary economy
Hypnotism calls vain worship today,
Of all the things that God will take away
Lies and deceit pull a veil over you
Past centuries spent following evil's tune
God gave you life, without so much as a thanks
All media turns as corrupt as the banks
Illuminati swimming through our minds like sharks
HOW MUCH LONGER UNTIL WE HAVE TO TAKE THE MARK?
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
Turn your deceit, it's all in vain
You can't stop God, He forever reigns
When chaos erupts, and the end comes forth
While you still have a breath, cry to the Lord!
Nothing to worship, the end is here!
Gone are the past things you once held dear
Money is nothing, economies gone
All that is left before you is God
Borders are nothing, and heathendom ends
Everything on Earth shall break and bend
All of the evil the adversary planned
Smote in an instant by God's holy hand
Judgment comes forth, what is your light
At the end of the tunnel, fire or respite?
When the sky opens up, consider what's beyond
It was never this world to which we belonged
Before the fire and the chaos that's to come
Before the end is finally upon us
Prophecies, Judgment, the end of these nations
CAN REPENTANCE FROM THIS GENERATION?
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
We live in a world where heathendom reigns
Injustice disguised as "more of the same"
They worship all things except what is true
Forgetting that God can make things new
Forgetting all the ties that Judgment Day will sever
PROPHECIES CAN'T GO UNFULFILLED FOREVER
So worship your things, people, the end is near!
All waiting for the sound you will hear
Lust and the greed of these past ages
Fulfilling prophecies written on the pages
Money and survival come under scrutiny
The adversary controls man's imaginary economy
Hypnotism calls vain worship today,
Of all the things that God will take away
Lies and deceit pull a veil over you
Past centuries spent following evil's tune
God gave you life, without so much as a thanks
All media turns as corrupt as the banks
Illuminati swimming through our minds like sharks
HOW MUCH LONGER UNTIL WE HAVE TO TAKE THE MARK?
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
Turn your deceit, it's all in vain
You can't stop God, He forever reigns
When chaos erupts, and the end comes forth
While you still have a breath, cry to the Lord!
Nothing to worship, the end is here!
Gone are the past things you once held dear
Money is nothing, economies gone
All that is left before you is God
Borders are nothing, and heathendom ends
Everything on Earth shall break and bend
All of the evil the adversary planned
Smote in an instant by God's holy hand
Judgment comes forth, what is your light
At the end of the tunnel, fire or respite?
When the sky opens up, consider what's beyond
It was never this world to which we belonged
Before the fire and the chaos that's to come
Before the end is finally upon us
Prophecies, Judgment, the end of these nations
CAN REPENTANCE FROM THIS GENERATION?
We can't look forward to the future when the present is so messed up
How can we look forward to the future when we won't stand up in the present?
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
But we gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our FAITH INTO CHRIST!
We gotta stand up while we still got the time,
We gotta stand up while we still have a rhyme!
(I know it's hard, I know it's hard)
And we'll always learn
And we'll never be good enough
But we can still
Protect ourselves
By choosing to put our faith into Christ!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Lyrics 9
More lyrics from the notebook. I think these are from late 2014. These lyrics also remind me that repentance is easier said than done. God's always helping me, though. Even if I can still be stubborn.
In the end, it shall be
Heaven will shine bright, God as its light
The devil who tortured us
Will be tormented day and night forever and ever
Take respite, children, Christ is coming soon
The end is nearer than it seems
Heaven and Earth will pass away
The world we knew will be gone
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Pain and tears, all the things we knew will fade
Glory waits for those who gave it up
Servants of Christ, who see Heaven
Humbled before, will always worship God
Take respite, children, Christ is coming soon
The end is nearer than it seems
Heaven and Earth will pass away
The world we knew will be gone
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Time for remorse - repent while you can
Accept Jesus, the truth in all of life
The pain that you feel in your state of this doubt
Is the work of the beast, who will burn in the fires
The planets and stars
Will fade in the end
Spells and candles will all be gone
Demons will pay their dues
Only One will reign
When all those things are gone
You can be His soldier today
See the light, love God, worship in Spirit and truth!
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Today, Lord, the past is done in me
I am changed, all I do, let it be for You
Scriptures, prophecy, all fulfilled
Guide me to Heaven, I give my life to You!
In the end, it shall be
Heaven will shine bright, God as its light
The devil who tortured us
Will be tormented day and night forever and ever
Take respite, children, Christ is coming soon
The end is nearer than it seems
Heaven and Earth will pass away
The world we knew will be gone
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Pain and tears, all the things we knew will fade
Glory waits for those who gave it up
Servants of Christ, who see Heaven
Humbled before, will always worship God
Take respite, children, Christ is coming soon
The end is nearer than it seems
Heaven and Earth will pass away
The world we knew will be gone
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Time for remorse - repent while you can
Accept Jesus, the truth in all of life
The pain that you feel in your state of this doubt
Is the work of the beast, who will burn in the fires
The planets and stars
Will fade in the end
Spells and candles will all be gone
Demons will pay their dues
Only One will reign
When all those things are gone
You can be His soldier today
See the light, love God, worship in Spirit and truth!
Christ is coming soon, He will take us to the new Heaven
Greater than before, stop living for the world!
Heaven shines as another night falls on your treasures
Flame decays it all, give your life to God!
Today, Lord, the past is done in me
I am changed, all I do, let it be for You
Scriptures, prophecy, all fulfilled
Guide me to Heaven, I give my life to You!
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Room to Improve (Unblack)
I've defended unblack metal (Christian black metal) in the past. Most unblack metal is actually some of the most Biblically-based, uncompromisingly Christ-centered music I've ever heard -- much more so than those generic and borderline gross "I love the way You love" lyrics in a lot of popular "Christian" music! From the Bible passages in Elgibbor's lyrics, to the spiritually encouraging lyrics of Dying Blaze's "Сокрушая тьму".
But at the same time, there are still some ways I feel like parts of the scene could improve. We're definitely taking steps in the right direction, for sure, now that that awkward phase in the early 2000s is over where it seemed a few people couldn't tell if they were really into Christianity or not, and there's a solid scene going now. But there are still ways to improve, and a particular few have really stuck out at me lately.
First, it is possible to be too direct, but sometimes, the problem is that some bands aren't direct enough. I often edit Christian bands' pages on Metal Archives (doesn't seem like there are very many fans of Christian metal on that site) and I added a black/folk metal band last night. They have ties to a Christian church in Bolivia, one guy wears a cross necklace, etc. But the problem is, they aren't very obvious about their message. Without knowing the band at all, a moderator actually changed their genre to "pagan black metal" based solely on their sound. Not that black/folk metal is bad; the problem is, I don't have objective enough evidence that they're not pagans, since there's no other sign of their beliefs (such as lyrics, or something), so I guess that's what their page is going to say for now.
And another band released an album awhile back called "Under a Black Sky of Blasphemy", and they have an inverted cross in their logo. If it weren't for a few subtle clues, I wouldn't even know that this was a Christian band in the first place, and that's a problem. If you know the unblack scene at all, this is a pretty good example of another problem I see: bands that simply try to be "darker" or "more extreme" than the secular scene. Now, this is one that I'm kind of guilty of myself with that "War EP" I did back in January, though that was actually unintentional. I actually didn't want it to be quite that dark; I just did, pretty much, a one-take improvisation of some ideas, and, well, that happened! But I think most people reading this know what I'm talking about; the bands that take it too far with the medieval war metaphors, bands that take the "dark" themes too far, etc.
I really don't like giving examples; I don't want to disrespect anyone in the scene, but look at this:
You cannot stand against them
The hounds of Heaven seek your soul
No one and nothing at all can escape this force
They do not break their ranks
Who can endure it?
There is no refuge from them and you cannot stand against them
See, even now they come your way
The hounds of Heaven seek your soul
These kinds of lyrics aren't really doing anything to glorify God. They're definitely more "vicious" than what certain secular bands are doing, but the aim with Christian music isn't just to outdo each respective secular scene (though I certainly encourage doing it musically!), it's to spread a Christian message. Let's just remember to keep God first in this music. The violent/dark themes of extreme metal can be an interesting canvas for ideas (think of Christian goregrind), but it shouldn't be our primary focus. It should be about glorifying God through these themes and reaching out to those who are lost in them. (Edit September 2016: I used to have other lyrics here too. I've since read some information about those lyrics and they do make a lot of sense now, so I removed them from this part of the post.)
The last problem I've noticed is one I've mentioned elsewhere before: the hexagram. The "star of David". Several bands use this symbol in band logos or album art. There's very little, if any, evidence that it was ever associated with David or with Jews, before recent times, but there's ample evidence of its association with witchcraft. I can't complain too much about it, I guess. The meanings of symbols can change over time. There are some who are trying to take back the inverted cross symbol, and have it represent Peter's crucifixion again. But we should still be a little cautious with using these symbols everywhere. Especially since the hexagram isn't associated with Christianity at all, and is associated with two non-Christian faiths, witchcraft and judaism.
These are some things I think we should keep in mind in the future. I'm half exhausted right now while I'm writing this, but I wanted to write it. And I'm not claiming at all to be some kind of messenger being sent into the unblack scene, it's just observations I've made since I'm such a big fan of this music. Unblack metal is still my favorite genre, I just think some of these things should be taken into consideration in the future.
Edit: With all glory to God, I just remembered one more thing I wanted to add to this post. It's an important point, and I urge you to read it here.
God bless you all, and guide you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.
But at the same time, there are still some ways I feel like parts of the scene could improve. We're definitely taking steps in the right direction, for sure, now that that awkward phase in the early 2000s is over where it seemed a few people couldn't tell if they were really into Christianity or not, and there's a solid scene going now. But there are still ways to improve, and a particular few have really stuck out at me lately.
First, it is possible to be too direct, but sometimes, the problem is that some bands aren't direct enough. I often edit Christian bands' pages on Metal Archives (doesn't seem like there are very many fans of Christian metal on that site) and I added a black/folk metal band last night. They have ties to a Christian church in Bolivia, one guy wears a cross necklace, etc. But the problem is, they aren't very obvious about their message. Without knowing the band at all, a moderator actually changed their genre to "pagan black metal" based solely on their sound. Not that black/folk metal is bad; the problem is, I don't have objective enough evidence that they're not pagans, since there's no other sign of their beliefs (such as lyrics, or something), so I guess that's what their page is going to say for now.
And another band released an album awhile back called "Under a Black Sky of Blasphemy", and they have an inverted cross in their logo. If it weren't for a few subtle clues, I wouldn't even know that this was a Christian band in the first place, and that's a problem. If you know the unblack scene at all, this is a pretty good example of another problem I see: bands that simply try to be "darker" or "more extreme" than the secular scene. Now, this is one that I'm kind of guilty of myself with that "War EP" I did back in January, though that was actually unintentional. I actually didn't want it to be quite that dark; I just did, pretty much, a one-take improvisation of some ideas, and, well, that happened! But I think most people reading this know what I'm talking about; the bands that take it too far with the medieval war metaphors, bands that take the "dark" themes too far, etc.
I really don't like giving examples; I don't want to disrespect anyone in the scene, but look at this:
You cannot stand against them
The hounds of Heaven seek your soul
No one and nothing at all can escape this force
They do not break their ranks
Who can endure it?
There is no refuge from them and you cannot stand against them
See, even now they come your way
The hounds of Heaven seek your soul
These kinds of lyrics aren't really doing anything to glorify God. They're definitely more "vicious" than what certain secular bands are doing, but the aim with Christian music isn't just to outdo each respective secular scene (though I certainly encourage doing it musically!), it's to spread a Christian message. Let's just remember to keep God first in this music. The violent/dark themes of extreme metal can be an interesting canvas for ideas (think of Christian goregrind), but it shouldn't be our primary focus. It should be about glorifying God through these themes and reaching out to those who are lost in them. (Edit September 2016: I used to have other lyrics here too. I've since read some information about those lyrics and they do make a lot of sense now, so I removed them from this part of the post.)
The last problem I've noticed is one I've mentioned elsewhere before: the hexagram. The "star of David". Several bands use this symbol in band logos or album art. There's very little, if any, evidence that it was ever associated with David or with Jews, before recent times, but there's ample evidence of its association with witchcraft. I can't complain too much about it, I guess. The meanings of symbols can change over time. There are some who are trying to take back the inverted cross symbol, and have it represent Peter's crucifixion again. But we should still be a little cautious with using these symbols everywhere. Especially since the hexagram isn't associated with Christianity at all, and is associated with two non-Christian faiths, witchcraft and judaism.
These are some things I think we should keep in mind in the future. I'm half exhausted right now while I'm writing this, but I wanted to write it. And I'm not claiming at all to be some kind of messenger being sent into the unblack scene, it's just observations I've made since I'm such a big fan of this music. Unblack metal is still my favorite genre, I just think some of these things should be taken into consideration in the future.
Edit: With all glory to God, I just remembered one more thing I wanted to add to this post. It's an important point, and I urge you to read it here.
God bless you all, and guide you all according to His perfect will. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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