Thursday, January 30, 2014

Rotting Christ: Visions of the Dead Lovers



The old glory is failed
The old emperor in a lonely empire
Eternity so shiny
But followed by noone
Among the crowd
Princes & kings
Those who defeated
All lovers... of monarchy
The sky is mourning
Near to the sun... human blood
It's too late for nation
After this misery
A bigger one is coming
The promised centuries... recycling
The dog have died
Around the tyrant
Mythic sovereigns
In sea and land
Shout loud
But voices come back
The eagle has throwned
The beast has enough
The days of the omen
Visions of the dead lovers

Read more: Rotting Christ - Visions Of The Dead Lovers Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Here is why I have no problem with this video, although I still identify as Catholic, albeit a very unorthodox one.
The video was not disparaging the suffering that Jesus endured. In fact, it showed a fairly accurate depiction of the horrors of crucifixion. Anyone being killed in this manner would have suffered greatly. 
Whether or not they believe in Jesus as the Messiah, they respect the fact that Jesus the man suffered. This video in no way mocks that suffering. In fact, it asks us to examine whether any of the followers of Jesus truly realize what he endured, or if he is for them simply a symbol of their belief system. To make him simply a symbol is to deny the real horrors he was subjected to.
The band professes anti-religious beliefs, stating that Christianity is one of the worst things to happen in human history. In many ways, they are correct. For the most part, Christianity has had nothing to do with Jesus other than to use him as sort of a holy enforcer. In other words, if you don't do what we say  Jesus says, you are going to endure eternal torment in the fiery pit.
Jesus the activist, Jesus the kind, forgiving person, Jesus the evolved soul would have deplored the tactics of the so called "Christian" church. Jesus loved the outcasts. The "flock" of most churches sanctimoniously pushes the outcasts away. They do not want the homeless, the mentally ill, the unpretty making their house of worship look bad.
Jesus would deplore the existence of mega-churches.
In any case, I have a much bigger problem with the theocratic extreme right in the United States today than I do with the viewpoint of the members of Rotting Christ that religion is a social negative. It is a social negative because of the fact that it has been primarily used as a political tool to control people, no matter what the claim may be.
I actually do believe in a "great beyond," although I have no way of knowing what it is really like. I like the imagery used in depicting Heaven. I like the positive messages that Jesus left for us. I do not like those who use his name as an excuse to act like bigoted assholes.
~Viki~