The OCD Diaries

February 18, 2015

First Heavy Metal Church of Christ: It Exists!

From the no-joke file: There’s a church that uses heavy metal to preach Christ’s teachings. I was skeptical when reading about it on Vice.com, because that site runs a lot of bullshit. But I looked around and sure enough, The First Heavy Metal Church of Christ is for real.

Mood music:

As a devout but rebellious Catholic and heavy metal fan, this was a thrilling find.

The church uses some awesome slogans:

A Church Where Every Saint Has A Past And Every Hellion Has A Future!!!

A Holy Spirit Freak of Nature

That first line resonates with me for many of the reasons my Catholic faith does: I’m a guy who has done bad things in the past but believes Christ offers me unlimited chances to get it right. St. Peter is probably the ultimate example. He made some bad decisions in life, not the least of which was denying his discipleship three times when the going got tough. But he went on to be the rock of the church, the first pope.

The First Heavy Metal Church of Christ presents itself as a nondenominational alternative for those who love Christ but have had bad experiences going to more traditional churches. That it reaches out to the metal crowd isn’t surprising, because metal fans have been accused of devil worship from the beginning.

What does surprise me is how they built an entire church around a metal theme.

Sermons are often built around classic metal song titles like “To Hell With the Devil,” “Slave to the Grind” and “Peace Sells But Who’s Buying?”

From the website:

To put it in a nutshell, we are a non-denomination, Bible-based Church in a comfortable atmosphere with great music! Our congregation consists of people from all walks of life and age groups. We don’t care what you wear because we just want you there! Our Church has no racial, ethnic or gender barriers and we could care less about your past or present life. We only care about your FUTURE life in Christ!

Now, some of you are probably wondering if I’m ready to drop out of the Catholic Church to go embrace this. The answer is no.

Frankly, I love and need the rituals that encompass the Catholic way of life. I believe in the sacraments and believe I need them, especially those of reconciliation, baptism and matrimony. I am also acutely aware of the failures and evils that have become attached to the church in recent decades and I prefer to be part of the fix instead of abandoning it. And despite my love for heavy metal and the fact that I find a spiritual need fulfilled through the music, I like to keep that part of my life out of the same blender my faith spins around in.

But I’m glad this church exists. There are outcasts out there who yearn for Christ. Traditional denominations have alienated them over time. It’s better that they have a place to go. If it keeps just a few people true to Christ, it’s worth it.

Rock on.

Motorcycle rider with halo on head

December 8, 2014

An EddieTheYeti Christmas

Every year, I have trouble finding my Christmas spirit. I’ve written a lot about why that is, and this year is no different. But I feel like God is throwing me more clues than usual.

Mood music:

The first clue came from my wife. We were discussing my father’s ongoing health problems and I noted how that was contributing to what I see as the same old pattern of shitty things happening during the holidays.

Erin noted, rightly, that this season isn’t about having a constant warm glow in the belly and not having a care in the world. It’s about celebrating the second chance Christ’s birth gave humanity. A lot of people have a hard time with the concept and the faith, but it is what Erin and I believe. She’s just better at seeing it than I am this time of year.

The second clue came as I was reviewing some works from Eddie Mize, known in the infosec and art communities as EddieTheYeti. I recently vowed to do a series on his art and the feelings it stirs in me. My faith is a good place to start.

A disclaimer before I go further: My take on Eddie’s art won’t necessarily be the same as what he was thinking and feeling when making these works. We haven’t discussed religion, and I don’t know what his beliefs are. This exercise is about what his work brings out of me. The results may well be light years from what he intended.

Which brings me to two of his works.

“Prayer”

The look on the angel’s face is sad, not at all characteristic of an angel. I’ve carried that frown a lot lately, even I feel like the warm glow of Christmas should be shooting out from my fingertips. I still believe that if I keep Christ close everything will work out.

The angel reminds me that in the face of sadness and despair, there is always hope. I’m a flawed person, but Christ never gives up on me.

“Pierced”

For those who don’t believe, it’s a hard concept to wrap the head around: Christ allowing himself to be killed in one of the most brutal ways imaginable. Yet I believe that Christ suffered and died to give us all a second chance. It opened a path by which sinners could find redemption.

He saved us by sacrificing Himself. No matter how much I screw up, He has my back.

That will strike many of you as bat-shit crazy. I’m not going to debate the truth and science of it all. It’s what I believe, and I don’t have to defend it.

Eddie’s art has no warm, glowing Christmas tree lights. There’s no mistletoe, no Santa Clause and no chestnuts roasting on a fire. It’s bleak and dark. But it gives me more clarity about the purpose of the season than any Rockwell painting could.

May 21, 2014

“Why Are You Religious?”

A security industry friend and self-proclaimed atheist asked why I’m religious. She ‘s surprised that there are so many religious people in an industry built on a foundation of technology and truth, of only believing in what can be seen and proven.

Specifically, she asked:

I want to ask you why you’re religious. It’s odd. I’ve been in tech for almost 20 years, and infosec seems to have the highest concentration of religious people of any sub-section of technology. As an atheist, it’s hard for me to reconcile such diligent pursuit of truth and provable evidence as comes with technology and religion. It just doesn’t parse for me.

This is my attempt to answer her question.

Mood music:

History

I’ve always believed in God. As a kid hospitalized multiple times with dangerous Crohn’s Disease flare-ups, I asked God to make the pain stop. Whenever I got better, I did what a lot of people do and stopped praying. I was born Jewish, but mine was a fairly secular household. We celebrated Jewish and Christian holidays alike, but God had little to do with it.

A lot of people become religious after life-altering events like a heart attack or the death of a loved one. I know people who found religion after nearly getting killed on a battlefield. There’s also the belief in a higher power that’s central to 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.

I’ve been around the block, seeing the death of a sibling and a best friend to suicide. I’ve had scary medical problems. I’ve experienced deep, dark depression and addiction. I fell in love with a Catholic woman.

Those things shaped my faith, but there was no aha moment. My beliefs evolved over time. The more I experienced the Masses, the more I believed. So I converted.

What I Believe

That history led me to these beliefs:

I believe that Jesus came down here and sacrificed himself to give sinners like me a shot at redemption.
I believe in the Sacraments, and that through them, Christ lives in me. His teachings of kindness, charity and self-sacrifice — the Golden Rule, if you will — are principles I try to live by. There have been times where I’ve failed miserably — lying, giving in to temptation and anger and letting fear keep me from doing the right things.
I’m a sinner who strives to turn away from sin, and I have a long way to go.
I believe Christ never gives up on me, or anyone else for that matter.

If that sounds crazy to you, so be it. Just as you don’t have to justify your atheism to me, I don’t have to justify my faith to you.

I don’t think it’s possible to give you a satisfactory answer, anyway. You’re set in you’re beliefs, as am I. We won’t change each other’s minds, nor should we.

Jerks in Every Belief System

What matters to me is that people accept each other’s differences.

I don’t like when people force their beliefs on others. Talking down to someone because they see things differently pisses me off. I’ve seen a lot of Catholics do that and I’ve called them on the carpet for it. I’ve seen atheists behave just as badly.

Some believe you can either be religious or be someone who, as you said, diligently pursues truth and provable evidence; that you can’t have it both ways.

I disagree.

I don’t see it as an either-or proposition. You can practice faith and still be a seeker of physical truth.

Sometimes, one pursuit helps the other. Sometimes not.

cross shadowed by rising sun