Is Neal Morse too Preachy?

Snow Dog wrote: barbs wrote: Snow Dog wrote: I don't think he preaches. he expresses himself from his own viewpoint! To preach would be to say that we have to believe too! Is that animation of yours saying something about 'taking the log out of the eye' Snow Dog. I am not familiar with that phrase you strange Antipodean person!

I at first felt very special  because I have never been called an Antipodean person
but then I thought 'is it in relation to this thread' and is Podean some kind of deity
that Snow Dog is worshipping and does he think I am anti podean which I'm not because
I haven't even heard of Podea before but then I thought, perhaps Snow Dog thinks
I am The Antipode himself (which I am not and do not believe that I have ever been except
I did once have a very strange experience on some hash while watching TV along time ago in which my head appeared to enter the apparatus and take on the form of a test pattern until such time that I found myself at a set of traffic lights with another strange possibly antipodean person who was laughing hysterically at nothing in particular at which time I laughed with him until I think I nearly died.) Some instructions please. What is the code of the Antipode oh master Snow Dog.


Edited by barbs

fandango wrote: As I said in the SB thread, I love his music, but the lyrics still make me feel a bit uncomfortable.  I am quite prepared to accept that the fault lies with me, and would perhaps prefer to adopt the stance taken by Mike & Snow Dog, but I can't help that overt christian lyrics grate with me, even more than satanic ones. Having said that, if you had grown up being made to go to church three times on a Sunday, and summer bible camp, where you are told repeatedly that all other christian & world religions are 'apostate' and don't believe the truth, then you might understand how I feel. If any of you have Magellan's 'Impossible Figures', then I'm more in tune with the track 'Late For Church'... and that is not out of disrespect for the religious beliefs of anyone on this site.

Quite understandable point of view in the circumstances and unfortunately to many people have been put off by religiosity and the hypocrisy that goes with it when it is supposed to be about personal relationship.

Trouble with what that does is that it puts a wedge between a person and that persons concept of who Christ is, because he has been so closely identified with 'the church', when in fact it says that 'Christ died for freedoms sake'. That is supposed to liberate not ensnare.

barbs wrote: Snow Dog wrote: I don't think he preaches. he expresses himself from his own viewpoint! To preach would be to say that we have to believe too! Is that animation of yours saying something about 'taking the log out of the eye' Snow Dog.

I am not familiar with that phrase you strange Antipodean person!

As I said in the SB thread, I love his music, but the lyrics still make me feel a bit uncomfortable. 

I am quite prepared to accept that the fault lies with me, and would perhaps prefer to adopt the stance taken by Mike & Snow Dog, but I can't help that overt christian lyrics grate with me, even more than satanic ones.

Having said that, if you had grown up being made to go to church three times on a Sunday, and summer bible camp, where you are told repeatedly that all other christian & world religions are 'apostate' and don't believe the truth, then you might understand how I feel.

If any of you have Magellan's 'Impossible Figures', then I'm more in tune with the track 'Late For Church'... and that is not out of disrespect for the religious beliefs of anyone on this site.

Neal is just expressing how he feels.
IMO he tries to do that as excellently as he can.
Prog has always been about people expressing their thoughts and feelings about all manner of things which affect us as human beings and no one is totally unbiased in this.

Of course he is going to get a negative reaction from some people just simply because of the subject matter that he has chosen to write about, but I think he is a sensitive and thoughtful lyricist and his music has only been enhanced by his inspiration IMO.

No, love his approach.

He is completely honest. The things he says are authentic, and I guess that even those that consider him to be preachy still say that he believes in what he's singing.

Having said that, I - being an atheist of sorts - like the way he "promotes" Jesus. I think that the concept of Jesus is the essence of what religion should be about. It's about giving more than you take. It's about doing the right thing.

I even love his conversation with God (Cradle To The Grave). Phil Keaggy is awesome, and - as I said before - the complete authenticity of it all simply has to amaze everyone. That all that is built upon the grooves of a Jewish drummer makes it even more remarkable ...