Songs for Lent #7: Bjork's "All Is Full of Love"

I'm a sucker for Bjork. And for an old metal head, that's something. "All Is Full of Love" may seem too ambiguous, too "easy" as far as theological truth goes. I'm not saying such a critique is totally off-mark. But for me, that ambiguity is something to not be afraid of. Love is larger than we imagine. God's love exalts us, breaks our hearts, seems hidden from us more often than not. Or maybe we're -- at least I'm -- blind to it? "You just ain't receiving." Lord, let me see your love shining through others, through this creation, through... myself. Let me allow it to do so.

By the way, I hate the high-production techno-robot themed video done for this song, which seems to me to nearly completely undermine the song's message. This live version, which quite appropriately takes place in a church, is far nicer.

Bjork - "All Is Full of Love"

You'll be given love
You'll be taken care of
You'll be given love
You have to trust it

Maybe not from the sources
You have poured yours
Maybe not from the directions
You are staring at

Trust your head around
It's all around you
All is full of love
All around you

All is full of love
You just ain't receiving
All is full of love
Your phone is off the hook
All is full of love
Your doors are all shut
All is full of love!

All is full of love
All is full of love
All is full of love
All is full of love
All is full of love

Songs for Lent #6: Adam Again's "I Mean Every Word I Say"

"I Mean Every Word I Say" is raw truth, as we used to say in the old days of Cornerstone magazine. This clip is from the other Cornerstone -- Cornerstone Festival back in 1992. I think the song is its own sermon and prayer rolled into one. "If you tell me you love me / It had better be the truth." Who's saying that... Jesus? An unbeliever? A fellow believer who's in deep trouble and desperate for some compassionate honesty and comfort?



[To hear the studio version with better sound, here.]

Everybody is talking, many words are spoken
And they're telling me things they think I wanna hear
Enough is enough it's time to get serious
If you tell me you love me
Well it better be the truth

I mean every word I say

Well I know that the things that we say are sometimes automatic
We just follow a script like a character reading his lines
Enough is enough it's time to get serious
And if you talk about love
Know the meaning of the word

I mean every word I say

From my heart to my head
From my head to my mouth
Can the words cross the air between us
Oh, and be true?

I mean every word I say

Project 12 Response to "God Hates Fags" Chicago-area Protests

Project 12 students will be gathering in downtown Chicago tomorrow to voice our opposition to the message of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church. The latter will be picketing the offices of Barack Obama, the Canadian and Chinese embassys, and the Democratic Party headquarters.

Below is the text of a flier we will hand out at tomorrow’s events downtown. Hopefully, photos and perhaps even video will appear here and on http://project12.wordpress.com tomorrow.

–

God loves Fred Phelps.
God hates Fred’s hate.

God commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We affirm that loving our neighbor means robustly loving the homosexual, the non-Christian, even loving Fred Phelps and his family. This is the message we of Project 12 (a discipleship program sponsored by Chicago’s Jesus People USA Evangelical Covenant Church), offer here today. Our message is an attempt at one Christian response to the very unchristian message of Westboro Baptist Church.

Fred Phelps and his extended family misrepresent both God and the Bible in their continuing assault on homosexuals, Jews, U. S. servicewomen and servicemen, other Christians, Swedes (?), and various others. Selective and out of context interpretation of Scriptures does not make one’s own moral darkness into Christian theology. From our biblical viewpoint, Mr. Phelps’ teachings are not Christian in any way, shape, or form.

We mourn the spiritual wasteland Mr. Phelps has led his family into, as well as the incredible pain he and his family have inflicted on others all over the world. Mr. Phelps over and over again violates the heart of the gospel – Grace.

The book of Proverbs, Chapter 26:4-5, says two things about someone who refuses wisdom:

“Do not answer fools according to their folly,
or you will be a fool yourself.”

And,

“Answer fools according to their folly,
or they will be wise in their own eyes.”

In short, Project12 understands that to come here today is somewhat of a fool’s errand. By speaking out we are calling more attention to Mr. Phelps, thereby fulfilling his felt need for media attention. That is frustrating. But as the second half of the above verses point out, if we do not answer Mr. Phelps’ assault on our neighbors, we are not fulfilling the calling of God to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Proverbs also says:

“Lying lips conceal hatred,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.”
Proverbs 10:18

We are here today to bear witness to the Triune God of Love, who to bridge the relational gap between human and human, and God and human, sent his own Son. That is the good news of the gospel.

Fred Phelps’ failure to understand that God is a God of Love rather than Hate lies at the heart of his own agony. We sincerely pray that Fred will hear God’s truth and learn of God’s all-encompassing love, but in the meantime we must stand against his false message that God hates our neighbors.

Hating human beings on God’s behalf is a hellish deception, and smolders at the heart of much darkness in the world.

Sincerely,
The Students and Staff of Project 12 Discipleship Training School
939 W Wilson Avenue, Chicago IL / 60640

Contact: Jon Trott (jon@jpusa.org) Phone: 773 633 6026
Websites: http://project12.us http://bluechristian.blogspot.com http://www.jpusa.org