verdensproblemer og livet generelt - liam i oslo

Once upon a time, on a small planet in a small solar system on the rim of a large galaxy, a child was born. He grew to become the founder of a NEW WAY OF LIFE. He began his public ministry by proclaiming that the Spirit of the Creator was upon him, inspiring him to proclaim GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR, THE OPRESSED, THE ENSLAVED.

Over some centuries, this new way of life became a religion, and this religion grew and became the largest and most prosperous religion in the world. Its leading adherents became rich and powerful, often through oppression and enslavement of the very kinds of people their founder said he came to liberate and save.It was ironic, and that statement is almost ironic in its understatement.

The adherents of this religion developed a COMPLEX BUBBLE OF SUB-CULTURE in which they could rejoice in their beliefs and blessings, without having to remember the poor, the oppressed, and the enslaved outisde of their bubble.

Of central importance to the maintenance of this cultural bubble was a media system of religious broadcasting: TV shows and radio stations that played 24-7 preaching and music to reinforce the bubble. There were also massive festivals where people gathered to hear the bands and preachers live, in person. A large industry produced CDs and books and other "ministry resources" which helped keep THE BUBBLE STRONG AND ITS MEMBRANE UN-TORN. Everything was going very well, 'in an ironic sense of the word "well".

Ironically (again), the adherents of the religion gradually became incapable of understanding the actual message of their founder, because after all, that message was largely directed to the world outside the bubble. But of course, they had no idea that their UNDERSTANDING OF THE MESSAGE WAS SKEWED, because everything within the bubble reinforced their version of it.

There was a band that wrote and produced excellent music, music that was enjoyed by millions in the bubble. They inspired people to sing of God's love forever, rejoicing in how much God loved them, inside the bubble. BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. The members of this band occasionally travelled outside of it. They would go on tour to sing to bubble-dwellers and stay in five-star hotels and do their concerts at night. But sometimes would SNEAK OUT BY DAY and see, first-hand, the kinds of OPPRESSION AND POVERTY to which the founder of the way that became their religion had adressed himself in the world outside the membrane.

They began to realize that their BUBBLE WAS A PRISON, A FALSE KINGDOM from which they needed to be released. They began writing songs that they conspired to sneak back into the bubble, hoping that they could share with their fans what they had seen and felt, and together the band and fans could all go from complacency and satisfaction to a kind of HOLY DISCOMFORT, leading to an escape from the bubble in which they lived. In that way, the band hoped, that we could all RECONNECT WITH THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE AND MISSION of the founder - whom they really and truly loved.

(...)

They asked God to save them, not just from hell (which people within the bubble constantly sang about being saved from), but FROM THE BUBBLE ITSELF, which they called a "kingdom of comfort". They put all of these lyrics to music that would CATCH THE ATTENTION OF THOSE IN THE BUBBLE, and wondered if their songs could CUT A SMALL TEAR in the membrane.

Would this small planet in a small solar system out on the rim of this large galaxy be touched in some way through their labor of love, their effort to BREAK THE SILENCE AND PIERCE THE MEMBRANE? Would we all be inspired to sing of the Creator's love forever, and put that love into action, in the spirit of the founder we have aspiried to follow?

Fra booklet'en til CD'en "Kingdom of Comfort", av Delirious?. Skrevet av Brian McLaren.