Written On Their Hearts

I just read a very interesting article over at Paste Magazine. It talks about how John Darnielle, the front man for The Mountain Goats, and his deep struggle with his faith. I first heard about them through fellow Charlestonian Stephen Colbert. To tell the truth, their music was less than impressing, but this article is astounding to hear him talk about his faith.

While I was reading the article, I had Romans 2:15 flashing through my mind. Darnielle is apparently firmly of the belief that there is no god, but he states that "Anyone who says they never doubt is lying. But anyone who’s perfectly happy with there being no force of total love and forgiveness in the universe is also pretty foolish."

He has a firmly Catholic background, prays the rosary, and he loves "going to Hare Krishna temples to chant." His reasoning? "I believe in the spirit of prayer, and the process, and finding some way of acknowledging my own smallness in the infinite." Amen, I do to. "But I think you need to engage beyond technical exercises." Amen, I do to.

I can see him, so close to the truth, just getting ready to step into a big, messy pile of God's grace. I can see definite merit in engaging "beyond technical exercises," what I think he is using to refer to religious practice or organized religion.

We do get too often caught up with the right type of praise and worship, saying the right liturgy, and forget to engage God through the ways he's given us: His Word and prayer. And then we complain about not being able to hear God.

It is intriguing that a man of such staunch beliefs has devoted the entirety of The Mountain Goats new album to the Bible: song titles, narratives, et cetera. Apparently the final track is taken from Ezekiel's account of the end times. I kinda want to hear it.

His ending quote was particularly mind-blowing to me, I'll leave you with it: "There are plenty of people in the Bible who do things for which they shouldn’t be forgiven unless they beg, and they don’t. Yet grace, divine or otherwise, absolves the most monstrous sins. If there is grace."

What do you think?