Finding God in secular culture part III: Yet, more music

Note: I scheduled this earlier than I meant to.  Hopefully it's alright!

I know I’ve already written about music and finding God in pop culture.  Eventually, I want to do an article about movies, but, my goodness, so much music has Christian themes, that it’s almost always going to be music related to me. 

Before we get started, please read my previous article, Yes, clergy deserve a wage

And definitely read Finding God in Pop Culture Part I: Secular music and Finding God in pop culture Part II: More secular music

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you After Forever by Black Sabbath. 

Also check out, my latest on Locals, The problem of the kayfabe Conservative

Sometimes, you find God in the least likely places.  Or rather, he finds you.

I’ve always been a rocker, and while I won’t consider the first Heavy Metal band (arguably), a Christian Rock band, when you listen to what a band has to say, instead of a moral panic calling Rock music “satanic”, then you can learn a lot.

Now, those satanic Rock bands do exist, but Black Sabbath isn’t one of them. 

And the message is actually pretty explicitly biblical! 

“Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say If they knew you believe in God above? They should realise before they criticise That God is the only way to love”,

Say what you want about Ozzy Osbourne, but this reminds me of where Jesus says, “So, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven”. (Matthew 10:32-33, ESV with Deuterocanon, 2017, Crossway), and don't forget this fact, God is love! (1 John 4:8)

“Well I have seen the truth, yes, I've seen the light And I've changed my ways And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared At the end of our days “ (John 14:6)

The fact that Black Sabbath is calling you to repent, is amazing.  But, again, also more proof to me that you can't judge a book by its cover.  And by the way, I believe it's one hundred percent sincere (if I recally correctly, Ozzy is Anglican).  

Listen to this song a few times, and realize that you need to be living for God. 

Adam Charles Hovey is the founder of the Catholicism, news, and whatever community and host of the weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity