Sisters and brothers and everyone in between, welcome to the Church of John! [insert organ riff] One of the great blessing of being a skeptic is that you can find your scripture anywhere. Emily Dickinson, Bad Religion, William Gibson and Joss Whedon are my prophets. When I was lost in the darkness of religious faith, little snatches of poetry, song lyrics and pithy prose lit little lights of skepticism and gave me hope.
So, my fellow doubters, questioners and unbelievers, I’ve made it my mission to spread the spicy sauce of doubt! Hallelujah!
To aid in this might task, I’ve added a new feature: Music Mondays! Each week, I’ll point you to a song or music video that offers solace or wisdom to the true seeker. This week’s hymn is “Do You Realize” by the Flaming Lips. Let the choir sing!
Can I have an A-Men! And an A-Woman! Peace be with you!
11 responses so far ↓
1 John // Feb 18, 2008 at 10:41 am
Don’t ask about the baby doll dancers and the big rabbits. It seems to be a trend:
Cake - The Distance
And neither are as strange as this one:
Bat for Lashes - What’s a Girl to Do
One more note: Wayne Coyne, the curly headed an bearded lead singer for the Flaming Lips, has a great essay on NPR’s This I Believe.
2 amelia // Feb 18, 2008 at 2:00 pm
i love that song. it’s long been scripture for me, too. and dickinson? she’s been a prophet for me for years. but the funny thing? i don’t identify as skeptic, unbeliever, or doubter. maybe the category “questioner” has me covered. but i think there’s more room for believers to find scripture and prophets beyond the traditional realms than you allow.
3 John // Feb 18, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Amelia, I thought about that as I cranked that out. I tried to make it broad by using the “questioner” label, but there’s only so much qualifying one can do in a slightly satirical blog post before it becomes unwieldy. Scratch that, there’s only so much *I* can do. That’s what comments and commenters are for. Thank you.
That said, you have to admit that I have a few less constraints on my choice of scripture than the majority of Mormons do. I have no social or moral obligations to regard the Book of Mormon or The Bible as scripture (though I can if choose to). Jana has a friend who just lost her position as a YW leader for citing an inspirational quote a popular musician in a Church lesson.
You, my friend, are atypical in my personal experience in the amount of thought you put into your religious belief, and in your comfort in carving out a space in which you can adhere to your tradition and community and yet hold to positions that your fellow members may find very discomfiting. I wish that you were more representative of Mormonism as a whole.
4 wren // Feb 18, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Heh. I read your post then went off to find the link to the essay Wayne did for “This I Believe”. Then I clicked on the comments link, and well, there it already was.
Great minds… teehee
You had a post awhile back… something to do with meditating on a word or phrase (or maybe I’m remembering it totally wrong). Anyway, I mentioned was the song “Pilgrim” by Enya. It’s a song about becoming self aware and finding what seems right for you. full lyrics) That’s how I see it anyway.
An excerpt:
One way leads to diamonds,
one way leads to gold,
another leads you only
to everything you’re told.
In your heart you wonder
which of these is true;
the road that leads to nowhere,
the road that leads to you.
5 xJane // Feb 18, 2008 at 7:49 pm
wow…I’d always thought the Flaming Lips were kinda like Kiss; or the Rolling Stones. This is a great song: I’d been thinking recently about doing a post that has to do with songs & war (that is, songs about war). The first time I realized that I was really listening to song lyrics was “Hotel California” (you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave), with “Losing My Religion” (oh, life! It’s bigger than you & you are not me) a close second. But now there are many: and lyrics are often more important to me than melody (with the notable exceptions of Sting & Nickelback: the first I rarely like the songs even if the lyrics are profound & the second I always do, regardless of the inanities of the lyrics).
6 wren // Feb 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm
xJane, you bringing up Sting reminded me of the song “If I ever lose my faith in you”. I think John’s brought that up before (or maybe Pilgrim Girl?).
Another song about spiritual doubt - this one an oldie - is Blood, Sweat, and Tears song “And when I die” (full lyrics)
An excerpt:
Now troubles are many, they’re as deep as a well.
I can swear there ain’t no heaven but I pray there ain’t no hell.
Swear there ain’t no heaven and I pray there ain’t no hell,
But I’ll never know by living, only my dying will tell.
7 amelia // Feb 18, 2008 at 8:56 pm
well, there are certainly limitations on how someone can use their non-traditional scriptures or prophets when they formally participate in institutionalized religion. and i do think that someone who chooses to participate in such a religion should recognize that doing so involves a choice to edit oneself when in certain settings. but i think jana’s friend’s bishop (or YW pres or whoever) was likely overzealous. more of us should just chill out a bit and be more charitable in our responses. it would make the world much better.
on to more cheerful things: some of my nominees for musical scripture.
the arcade fire’s “intervention” (on neon bible). and bishop allen’s “things are what you make of them” (on charm school). among many, many others.
i’m looking forward to more music mondays. i’m sure i’ll find new treasures (after all, you love regina, too. her “samson” is scripture for me, by the way. because of its renunciation of scripture).
8 amelia // Feb 18, 2008 at 8:58 pm
p.s. do you know wilco’s music? if not, you should. let me know and i’ll get some to you (i have it all).
9 Elaine // Feb 18, 2008 at 10:14 pm
You got an A-woman from me on this one, John.
“Do you realize that we are floating in space” is one of my favorite meditations. Thinking about that for awhile really puts things in perspective, perpahs even more than “Do you realize that everyone you know will die someday” does.
Concerning Jana’s friend…either the Mormons have gotten much more rigid in their inforcement of the church-approved sources only rule or, as Amelia said, her bishop is way too overzealous. While it has been a few years now since I attended, I can recall hearing (and using) material from all sorts of sources in talks and lessons. There was even the occasional, “And, as Professor Dumbledore said…” from over the pulpit, and no one seemed to mind.
10 John // Feb 19, 2008 at 11:10 am
Amelia, I’m ready for the Wilco.
11 catBonny // Feb 19, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I love this.
It made me think about how when I converted to Pentecostal Christianity they asked us to throw out all of our secular CD’s and how I re-bought most of them shortly after.
I never really got the concept- that I couldn’t gain anything good or inspirational from non-Christian music.
Music if one of the most spiritual/ scriptural things in my life.
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