Read:
"Verse 1:
I heard they found a way to no set place
That they�re way ahead and winning but there�s no real race
And they�re feeding on the thrill of a chase
When they�ll never find a way to keep the pace
I heard they found a way to build our dreams
Can they engineer a world in which we hear no screams
And I heard that they can make vaccines
But our sick routine isn�t keen to relieve
I heard they found a way to see through walls
Do they have the sight to see my scars
And can they find a way to view who we are
Or does such vision just exist in the far
And can incisions ever fix all the vying that persists
Can a needle cure the evil through the arm
I�m told they have the means to travel to the stars
But can�t journey to the start of the savage in our hearts
So if I�m ravaged and afraid
Damaged and apart, tired of charades
How can I clear the smoke that billows
Wade through to cope and chisel out a life that�s worthy and of praise


Chorus:
My whole life�s passing me by
As I sit and wonder why
I�ll find a way


Verse 2:
They say tomorrow brings a brighter day
But do they know about the sorrow that�s beyond the fray
Do they see all of the madness that man obeys
And can they understand that sadness won�t go away
But it�s okay cuz the truth is I�m feeling whole
Feeling like the emptiness inside has found a home
And I�m hopeful that my destiny is one of heights
One in which the apathy in me no longer strikes
And I wonder how this ending has come to pass
When just yesterday was carefree and full of laughs
But if there�s certainty in anything it�s what we have
Is but impermanent cuz no thing will always last
Yet still I can�t help but question fate
Can�t shake the feeling that I hold the key to great escape
And I feel in me a yearning that still endures
A spirit wandering and eager now to find a cure
Believe me this is pure essence
Pure intention
It goes beyond mere conversation and confession
It�s much too vague to formulate into expression
But perhaps there�s something greater that we�ve all been set in
And this is not to say I know the way
This is not to say attachment�s been put away
This is not to say my love for you�s been held at bay
And I don�t possess or know a simple route to change
But it is to say I hold you close
And it is to say the love in me is more than most
And it is to say your absence has left it�s mark
But I tell myself this plays within a bigger part
Now you are not the only way to make me whole
Know that I won�t ever turn my heart to stone
You are not the only way to make me whole
And I won�t ever turn my heart to stone

And I�ll find a way


Verse 3:
I�m not without a spirit that can hold up to the torture
Not without a will to stop the cycle that marauders
Not without a mind to free the hate within my border
And to cleanse the vessel into which my consciousness is ordered
I�m not afraid of monsters that intimidate and taunt ya
Not afraid to challenge all the violence and slaughter
The leviathans that haunt are hardly deadly out of water
I�ll find a way to offer the elixir of disorder
So many trails have crossed the rivers forged from all our tears
So many paths have left us all alone during these years
So many that we�ve lost but I can feel their presence near
I can see a road ahead that leads beyond the known frontier
So lift yourself up slowly and rest your eyes upon me
And let the sad and lonely float away and disappear
And leave the guilt and shame and all the anger and the fear
Lets trade it for the will to find a way to persevere


Chorus


Verse 4:
How long can I surrender for
How deep can my descending bore
How long can I neglect me for
How long is this confinement for
How long can I arrest me for
How long can I detain me for
How long before I stray off course
How long before all hope is lost

How long can one survive among the horror
Live among the demons that all seethe in darkened corners
Cling to all the grief released in tidal waves upon ya
Proclaim it isn�t fair, content to bear forever mourner
This moment is in order
Now let the waters pass
Let the smoldered ash remain beside the olden past
Leave it on behalf of those who crave to hear you laugh
And walk among the living as you find a way to last

How long can I survive this for
How long can I abate this for
How long can I remain this strong
Well how long can I just sing this song


I�ll find a way"

Love this song.

I used to argue about religion a lot. Public forums, youtube comments, stuff like that. It was really stupid. You can't solve anything by arguing. People aren't going to be open to change just from hearing some unconvincing arguments from an anonymous punk. And how could the arguments be convincing? Beset by trolls on both sides, and fighting pride with pride? Even if people were always super logical online, it'd be hard to have any sort of meaningful discourse like that...and people are rarely logical online. Everyone thinks they're right and that all naysayers are personally attacking them. That's not sharing your faith. So I haven't done that in a while.

(Although, I did have a "friendly" debate with this guy from Australia a few years ago. A physics major like me. I should catch up with him soon.)

I saw on Facebook that two of my friends were making comments on such a thread. Apparently some guy had gone to an atheist group and posted something along the lines of "Hey, I've been reading through this group, and I just wanted to apologize for all the Christians who've been complete hateful jerks. We're not all like that! I'm not trying to start any arguments or anything. Anyway, God loves you, I love you, have a great day!"

It blew up. There were several...vocal individuals who were incredibly offended that he'd said "God loves you." They took at as a condescension, as if he meant "You don't believe in God and you're all bad people, but God loves you anyway." I dunno. Maybe he did, but I find that hard to believe. He was definitely making an apology first and foremost. I honestly think he only threw in a mention of God in order to make it clear where his beliefs lay. "Yes, I believe in God, and I agree with those people theologically, but I don't want that to get between us." Even if you agree that it was a stupid and foolish comment to make, I'd be hard pressed to agree that he meant it as a slight. I think they over-reacted.

So I joined in. It was interesting and sort of liberating. I didn't argue any points. I tried to explain what I thought of his statement. I talked about beliefs. I asked people what they thought about certain things. I told how I came across my own special beliefs, briefly. It seemed to go well. The situation certainly wasn't diffused...people really just wanted to be angry.

I hate that. People get offended about something and it seems like they're only getting offended because they feel like it's their right. One guy compared the original post to an atheist walking into a church and politely explaining how God is a figment of the imagination. Um, no? It's more like an atheist walking into a church, declaring himself to be atheist, and apologizing for rude atheists.

Bah. What do you guys think? There's a pretty good mix of religious and irreligious people here. Do you think the OP was out of line? If he was, do you think it's worth getting so angry about? In retrospect, there were people saying that I was stupid, illogical, ignorant, full of BS, hateful, etc. I'm not particularly angry about it. Is that weird?

I understand the intentions completely. BUT, telling people who don't believe in God that "God loves them" is inflammatory. Even if it isn't meant to be, it comes off as an assertion that belief is right, and that non-religious individuals/agnostics/atheists/other non-believers just don't realize that God is out there. Even though, to you, it seems pretty safe and like an automatic kindness, it's actually kind of offensive. It's still an assertion that God exists, and we're wrong. Which...honestly, I think Christians of the same inflammatory caliber as the members of that particular group would react just as badly to being told that God DOESN'T exist, so it makes sense. To me...it's very slightly offensive. It's something I can brush off. But it's still kind of...in the back of my mind, sort of pushy.

You know I'm not the type to get offended if people say "Bless you," if they pray for me, et cetera. I think everyone can practice in peace, and that even religiously-charged statements are about the same as any other cultural difference. It's benign. It isn't bothering me, and I can still feel personally parted from religion. But the "God loves you" business...that isn't something I would suggest saying to non-believers. I've never met anyone who enjoys being told that.

Honestly though, I saw that thread, and the name was really inflammatory. He was dead on arrival with that one.
» Unicornasaurus on 2013-03-07 12:06:17

Regardless of what else the guy said, saying "God loves you" was unnecessary in the situation. It's fine that he wanted to apologize, but "God loves you" has nothing to do with saying sorry, as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't add anything to the apology and comes off as being passive aggressive.
» randomjunk on 2013-03-07 03:08:13

Gotta go with unicorn and random on this one.

I don't consider my self an athiest, but I'm not a Christian either. Non-religious is probably the best way to describe it. And I've been told many times, in (seemingly) nice, non-aggressive ways, by Christians, that they'll pray for me. And while I understood they were trying to be well-intentioned (most of the time), I thought it was pretty condescending. You wanna pray for me? Cool, pray for me then. But I don't need to know, and to be honest, I don't care.

And a couple of those times, I think I was being judged harshly and the only reason they said, "I'll pray for you," was to make me feel bad or guilty. And that's not fair, because, other than unintentionally offending their personal beliefs, I had done nothing morally/ethically/legally wrong.

That, "Anyway, God loves you," bit seemed inflammatory to me, whether it was intentional or not. It gave me the same feeling that the "I'll pray for you!" people used to give me. It's not being particularly respectful or understanding to my/other people's personal beliefs.
» Amelie on 2013-03-07 03:21:56

I would have to agree with the other the three on this. I get that someone wants people to know that they are religious, but adding "God love you" in to an apology is unnecessary. If someone says "bless you," "God bless you," "I'll pray for you," etc, I tend to brush it off or I'll make some kind of remark like, "uh huh, thank" before walking away. I don't care what religion other people are, but I don't appreciate when it is pushed on me, even in the slightest. Some people don't always realize that there's a difference between gaining support and forcing an opinion. It sucks, though, when people get really offended and make the whole situation worse.
» LostSoul13 on 2013-03-08 12:03:25

Yeah, I agree that he tried to reassert his theological beliefs with the "God loves you" bit, especially after having to admit that some people of his faith make the rest of them look bad by being "complete hateful jerks." It was a message of love but done really tactlessly and I think it was just a blatant disregard for non-Christian believers. :0 Has he never seen religious arguments on the internet? It's 2013! lol

When my friend used to tell me that she'd pray for me, I would think in my head that it wouldn't work. Realistically and also the fact that it just wouldn't "apply" to me because I don't believe in the same thing. >< But that's me being unaccepting of her beliefs if I said anything so I just... nodded along.
» feelthesound902 on 2013-03-08 04:02:50

Oh wait I just thought about what I wrote about how my friend's use of prayer doesn't "apply" to me and then it got me thinking about the bible's stance on atheism. Maybe it actually does apply to me. After reading this article, I did feel a little offended after all. :0

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-biblical-view-atheism-8416145.html
» feelthesound902 on 2013-03-08 04:12:36

Ah, atheists on the internet. Another way to waste 1000 years of your precious time.
» Zanzibar on 2013-03-08 09:09:58

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