This poem was inspired by Munch's painting "Scream"
I know it’s coming,
I can feel it in my bones.
The sky turns to blood.
The blood of the dead,
And of the dying.
Screams rend the air.
Earth is reduced to cinders,
Crunching under my feet.
They said this day
Would come.
On the horizon I see,
Apocalypse, and Death
Come to take the world
To its grave.
Terror and chaos
Surround me.
But there is,
No escape.
Fate has
Chosen
Now.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Fear
A bit of prose... this was inspired by the question: What do you fear the most?
I am hunted by a monster.
It has wild eyes, bloody horns, matted hair, and a bone-chilling scream. I can always see it lurking in the shadows. It whispers lies, taunts, and torments me. I can’t seem to hide from it no matter how hard I try.
I remember the first day I saw it. I don’t know how I never noticed it before. It came up behind me, and when I turned I froze with fright. Its cold eyes pierced my flesh and told me lies. With a hollow shriek, it leaped at me, bloody claws reaching for my heart. I snapped out of my frozen state, and jumped out of the way just in time. Then I ran. I ran as fast and as hard as I could, and the creature pursued me. I could hear it so close behind me; its hot breath brushed my neck.
I ran all the way to my house, up the stairs, into my room, and slammed the door. Quickly, I locked the door. Slowly, I backed away from the door, never taking my eyes off it. My breath came in quick ragged gasps. Relief settled in me. It could not come through the door. My blood turned to ice when I turned around.
It stood behind me, blood dripping from its talons. My heart stopped, and my blood turned to ice in my veins. With one desperate effort, I threw myself at the creature. I flailed my arms and yelled all with a vain hope that the thing would leave. But I did not collide with the bloodthirsty monster. Instead, I crashed headlong into a mirror. The blood on my hands was my own where the glass had cut my skin.
I am the monster.
I am hunted by a monster.
It has wild eyes, bloody horns, matted hair, and a bone-chilling scream. I can always see it lurking in the shadows. It whispers lies, taunts, and torments me. I can’t seem to hide from it no matter how hard I try.
I remember the first day I saw it. I don’t know how I never noticed it before. It came up behind me, and when I turned I froze with fright. Its cold eyes pierced my flesh and told me lies. With a hollow shriek, it leaped at me, bloody claws reaching for my heart. I snapped out of my frozen state, and jumped out of the way just in time. Then I ran. I ran as fast and as hard as I could, and the creature pursued me. I could hear it so close behind me; its hot breath brushed my neck.
I ran all the way to my house, up the stairs, into my room, and slammed the door. Quickly, I locked the door. Slowly, I backed away from the door, never taking my eyes off it. My breath came in quick ragged gasps. Relief settled in me. It could not come through the door. My blood turned to ice when I turned around.
It stood behind me, blood dripping from its talons. My heart stopped, and my blood turned to ice in my veins. With one desperate effort, I threw myself at the creature. I flailed my arms and yelled all with a vain hope that the thing would leave. But I did not collide with the bloodthirsty monster. Instead, I crashed headlong into a mirror. The blood on my hands was my own where the glass had cut my skin.
I am the monster.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Instinctive Rock
RED: Innocence and Instinct
Rating: * * * * ½
A band’s sophomore album is a good test to see if a band will endure. RED exploded onto the Christian Rock scene in 2006 with End of Silence. Of all of the new bands to release albums that year, Red is one that stood out. Few bands in the world of music have a sound like Red’s. They combine orchestral music with hard rock. Innocence and Instinct had been greatly anticipated and Red did not let their fans down.
The opening track “Fight Inside” sounds a lot like some of the songs on Red’s first album but its still a well written, well-preformed song. The next song “Death of Me” is a hard rocker but is only a taste of what is still coming on the album. The next four tracks, “Mystery Of You,” “Start Again,” “Never Be The Same, and “Confession,” though lumped together here, are each memorable songs with exquisite rock hooks, beautiful piano and strings, and haunting lyrics. The song “Shadows” is one of the most memorable tracks on the album and “Ordinary World” (a cover of Duran Duran) is also a great surprise. The last two songs, “Out From Under” and “Take It All Away,” wrap the album up very nicely. “Take It All Away” is different from the rest of the tracks. It is slower paced with quieter, but no less haunting, lyrics.
Red passed the sophomore album test with flying colors. Innocence and Instinct is an improvement on their first album, End Of Silence. Red kept the elements that captured their fans attention and even improved on them. I look forward to this band being around for a long time.
Rating: * * * * ½
A band’s sophomore album is a good test to see if a band will endure. RED exploded onto the Christian Rock scene in 2006 with End of Silence. Of all of the new bands to release albums that year, Red is one that stood out. Few bands in the world of music have a sound like Red’s. They combine orchestral music with hard rock. Innocence and Instinct had been greatly anticipated and Red did not let their fans down.
The opening track “Fight Inside” sounds a lot like some of the songs on Red’s first album but its still a well written, well-preformed song. The next song “Death of Me” is a hard rocker but is only a taste of what is still coming on the album. The next four tracks, “Mystery Of You,” “Start Again,” “Never Be The Same, and “Confession,” though lumped together here, are each memorable songs with exquisite rock hooks, beautiful piano and strings, and haunting lyrics. The song “Shadows” is one of the most memorable tracks on the album and “Ordinary World” (a cover of Duran Duran) is also a great surprise. The last two songs, “Out From Under” and “Take It All Away,” wrap the album up very nicely. “Take It All Away” is different from the rest of the tracks. It is slower paced with quieter, but no less haunting, lyrics.
Red passed the sophomore album test with flying colors. Innocence and Instinct is an improvement on their first album, End Of Silence. Red kept the elements that captured their fans attention and even improved on them. I look forward to this band being around for a long time.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Orothoxy or Orthapraxy?
Orthodoxy is having correct belief.
Orthopraxy is behaving correctly.
So which is more important in the modern Christian church? Or maybe more specifically, modern Christian faith? Is it more important to attend church (nearly) every Sunday, read your Bible (almost) every day, and pray, or to maybe not do those things so often but to have a real relationship with God.
I began thinking about this last week when my history professor defined these terms for us. That week his lectures were focused around Christianity and its impact on Western civilization. He said that Christianity is unique because it is the only world religion to place such importance on Orthodoxy or having the right belief and doesn’t focus so much on actions. An example of orthopraxy is the Roman religion, which concerned itself with keeping the gods happy and didn’t care so much what one believed.
Is that what modern Christianity has become? One can call him/herself a “Christian” so long as she does x, y, and z. I don’t think it’s more important to read the Bible everyday than it is to have God “in my thoughts” all day. I’m NOT saying that reading the Bible isn’t important. I’m simply saying that I’ve always been taught that I should read my Bible and pray every morning. However, that becomes a routine and as with any routine, eventually, I do it without thinking. That is closer to behaving correctly than it is to believing correctly.
Say, I forget or do not have time to read my Bible for a couple days or longer. That’s bad some might say. During that time, however, what if every day I talk to God during my day and every time I go to make a decision I think about what is God’s will. If my focus is on God all day that way I’m closer to him than if I simply read my Bible and prayed without even thinking just that morning.
I don’t want my faith to be ruled by correct actions and routine. Actions certainly have their place, but these actions should come from having the correct beliefs. I would rather embrace love than rules and regulations.
Orthopraxy is behaving correctly.
So which is more important in the modern Christian church? Or maybe more specifically, modern Christian faith? Is it more important to attend church (nearly) every Sunday, read your Bible (almost) every day, and pray, or to maybe not do those things so often but to have a real relationship with God.
I began thinking about this last week when my history professor defined these terms for us. That week his lectures were focused around Christianity and its impact on Western civilization. He said that Christianity is unique because it is the only world religion to place such importance on Orthodoxy or having the right belief and doesn’t focus so much on actions. An example of orthopraxy is the Roman religion, which concerned itself with keeping the gods happy and didn’t care so much what one believed.
Is that what modern Christianity has become? One can call him/herself a “Christian” so long as she does x, y, and z. I don’t think it’s more important to read the Bible everyday than it is to have God “in my thoughts” all day. I’m NOT saying that reading the Bible isn’t important. I’m simply saying that I’ve always been taught that I should read my Bible and pray every morning. However, that becomes a routine and as with any routine, eventually, I do it without thinking. That is closer to behaving correctly than it is to believing correctly.
Say, I forget or do not have time to read my Bible for a couple days or longer. That’s bad some might say. During that time, however, what if every day I talk to God during my day and every time I go to make a decision I think about what is God’s will. If my focus is on God all day that way I’m closer to him than if I simply read my Bible and prayed without even thinking just that morning.
I don’t want my faith to be ruled by correct actions and routine. Actions certainly have their place, but these actions should come from having the correct beliefs. I would rather embrace love than rules and regulations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
