Heavy Metal vs. Jesus

They tried to tell me that I couldn't be a Christian if I listened to Heavy Metal. Some guy standing behind a pulpit decided that he didn't like it, so he told all his parishioners that it was evil. After all, if he doesn't like it, it must be bad. Once you become a man of the cloth, you become the voice of God, don't you?

Men standing behind pulpits once told people that using herbs for healing was witchcraft, and anyone who practices this must be in league with the devil. The fact that God created these herbs, not the devil, was irrelevant. The church said it, so it must be true, and so people were burned at the stake. Witches, they were called.

The church told my Uncle Andy that it was wrong for him to marry out of his religion, and so most of his family weren't allowed to attend his wedding. They would fall out of favor of God and incur his wrath if they went to their brother's wedding to a Mennonite. Just a couple of years ago, I attended my Uncle Andy and Aunt Matilda's 50th anniversary, and they're still going strong, despite what the church said. Most of my other aunt's and uncles now regret not going to their wedding.

If Jesus were walking the Earth today, in the flesh, I don't think he would be anything like the church tells us he is. I think he is beyond their understanding. He wouldn't be so quick to judge people, or to pass judgement on things that he didn't understand. He came into the world as a common man, and, unlike the men in 3 piece expensive suits who call themselves men of God, he would probably wear blue jeans and a tee shirt. He wouldn't ride around in a Cadillac, he would probably take the bus, or hitchhike. He'd be just an common man.

When my time comes to meet him face to face, I honestly don't think he's going to care what kind of music I listened to. I think he's got more important things to worry about than that. And those men standing behind pulpits presuming to pass judgement on others in His name, they will have much more to answer for than I will.