Dream Theater

February 1, 2003 | 15 Comments

Question:

Dear Rich,

Doesn't your belief compel you not to listen to music like Dream Theater? I'm sure you will not agree with some of DT's lyrics. Look at Lie and Scarred carefully. Or Scenes From a Memory's theme of reincarnation.

Just was curious. DON'T STOP LISTENING TO DT. THEY RULE!!!!!

W____________


My Answer:

Dear W________,

No, my belief does not forbid me to do this at all. Of course, I don't agree with all of DT's lyrics from a theological perspective, but from an artistic perspective, I think they are great! And believe me, I look and listen to all their songs carefully -- primarily because they are my favorite group of all time. I do think that I can learn something from everyone and from every experience -- even from the experiences related in songs like Lie and Scarred. Indeed, it is my Christian belief in sin and its overpowering effects in human lives and relationships that makes these songs even more appropo and compelling!

And of course, I believe in resurrection rather than reincarnation. But even though DT is not giving the right answers does not mean they are not asking the right questions. They are surely asking the right questions! For example, the words from The Spirit Carries On:

"Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go when we die?"

I'd much rather listen to a band singing about these issues of monumental importance than listen to some teeny-bopper talk about the gal he'd like to lay!

Anyway, rest assured, I won't stop listening to DT. They do rule!

If you'd like to know more about my beliefs concerning the Christian's role in engaging with culture, art, and the world check out my RealAudio sermons entitled "Creation, the World and Christ" at my website. I know it is a lot to wade through, but it does clearly express my opinion and defend my appreciation of great skill and talent in everyone -- whether Christian or not. I also express my thoughts concerning the Christian Ghetto in another Ask the Pastor letter.

Finally, there is a great book entitled "What in the World are We Doing?" by John Fischer that presents my perspective in a clear and cogent fashion.

Thanks for asking!

Rich Vincent

  © Richard J. Vincent, June 6, 2000

Categories:

15 Comments

dashrike | June 25, 2003 4:55 PM | Reply
do you know of any other similar christian bands. ive been looking for some for a while, but without much luck. any help?
dashrike | October 15, 2003 3:15 PM | Reply
Alright I found a band called Balance of Power. They have a kinda similar sound to DT (closer than anything else I've heard). Just thought I'd let you know.
mcc | January 2, 2005 4:21 AM | Reply
I do not care about the lyrics just the music. I listen to Japanese music all the time and they might say F**k Jesus and I won't care because it has good music.
Rational Man | February 3, 2006 4:51 AM | Reply
Come on people. Step back and think, if you still can, or were ever taught how. God belief?? It's a silly, silly concept; born of ignorance, fostered through hope and fear, and more ignorance. Do you worship Zeus? Ra? Thor? Baal? If not, realize that you and I are BOTH atheists. I simply believe in one fewer invisible man in the sky than you do. It's music. It stirs us emotionally, lots of stuff does. Neural chemistry folks, our perception depends on it. In fact our perception changes when the chemistry changes. Sleep, drugs, alcohol, injury, trauma, even aging. Just remember that no complete description of the observation can be made without a description of the observer as well. Enjoy the music, along the journey of your one mortal life. You're born, you live, you die. Very simple. All else reflects the hopes and fears of the ignorant. Hope is fine, fear has it's uses. But ignorance? Not a worthy state of any living brain. Faith? Have faith in yourself, and in your deeds here on Earth, and their bearing on the status of your fellow man and all life on this one small planet. The meaning of life is to get one. Rock on. -99-
Justin | April 18, 2006 10:23 PM | Reply
hey i think its great to here this issue i always listen to alot of non christian music not like satanic or anything but alot of metal (some christian ones are the crucified and believer are my favorites). any who id like to here more from the writer of this jsut to talk to if you can jsut about this subject cause i know alot of bands that are not christian yet have faithful lyrics and such my favorite band that has alot of this actually is korn if you listen and know the lyrics anyway if you ever get this comment i know the artical is very old but if you can get back to me id like to talk about it thanks. Rich: I'm grateful to hear that the short piece was encouraging to you. I believe that music, in general, is a gift from God, and that many artists glorify God through their work without even knowing it. Also, I especially appreciate the "God-haunted" bands who sing of issues that reflect upon God's presence/absence/hiddenness/mysteriousness or simply the question of God's existence in general and its relative significance. Finally, I also appreciate artists who are able to sing of the dark side of life with authenticity and passion. Too much Christian music is just too bubbly for my tastes. A good touchstone for Christian music is the wide variety of musical expressions and human emotions displayed in the Psalms. Hope this brief rant is mildly encouraging to you. Keep the faith... and God's richest blessings to you!
Robert Turner | June 13, 2007 2:11 PM | Reply
John Petrucci, DT's guitarist, from what I understand is a believer. Look at some of his lyrics, especially, "I walk beside you" and several of the songs off the new CD. In addition to, most likely, being the best guitar player in the world, he also is very clever at weaving very Christian principles into his lyrics. Sometimes you have to look a little deep and sometimes they are very explicit. I would most likely listen to DT anyway, but knowing there is a beliver and that Portnoy hangs out with Neal Morse, makes the listening all the better. Rich: Rock on, Robert! The new album rocks as well. It's impossible to listen to "Repentance" without thinking of the destructiveness of sin and the need to come clean.
Xynonu | May 25, 2008 7:44 AM | Reply
PETRA, that`s all there is to say. I have all the albums, and I like every song I listen to. They go from ballade do hard rock ^^ It`s Goooood
Will | October 4, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply
John Myung, the bass player, is a Christian, and John Petrucci claims to be Catholic. While agree that "I walk beside you" sounds very Christian, the fourth line undermines God's omniscience. "In the Presence of Enemies" is scary to listen to, but the charcter finds redemption at the end. "The Spirit Carries On" asks the right questions, but I think that it's the character and not the writer (John Petrucci). Dream Theater are incredible musicians, and are great inspirations. They are my favorite band ever!
Kurt | January 17, 2009 2:45 PM | Reply
Dear Rich, Thank you for answering the question in details. I am a huge DT fan and recently I just became a Christian. Part of reason I became a Christian was because of DT. I have the same question in my head and that's why I googled it and found this website. I started to open my bible, got baptized, read it, and decided to follow Jesus. There are a lot of thoughts in the lyrics that are overlapped to what bible said, and some are not. The best part I like about DT was it wrestling part that contradicting with each other either in believes, personal faith, life, science, human nature and so. Some vivid images and metaphors also gave me a great disenchantment and really cut my heart. Of course, DT is a powerful instrumental performance band. I believe whoever like DT will also find its deep meaning in lyrics and its complex compositions in the music. Rich: Amen about the deep meaning and complex compositions. Make sure to check out Spock's Beard and Neal Morse's new stuff since he's become a Christian. Also Kansas with Kerry Livgren and Livgren's AD - his Christian band. Great Stuff! God bless you in your new journey of faith! I myself was awakened to Christ partially through the lyrics of Kansas, AD, Triumph, and, believe it or not, Dio.
Laitnitebob | February 20, 2009 9:34 PM | Reply
Deep in the christian ghetto. That was what Eli Renner used to say in the podcast, WTFWJD. He, like you, was not afraid of living in this world, enjoying life, music, and also realizing that another phase of extistance is coming. Bob President, Athiests for Jesus
Laitnitebob | February 20, 2009 9:37 PM | Reply
Another band you may like is America Gomorrah http://www.americagomorrah.com/ Very professional musicians from Colorado
Eric from the Netherlands | February 28, 2009 10:08 AM | Reply
I'm a christian as well but some of the lyrics by DT are too much for me and I don't listen to those songs. Think of songs like "In the precense of enemies". It goes: "dark master of sin, i will fight for you (...) i will die for you" etc. That's just taking it a little too far imo. But a song like "The mirror" - to me - seems to have a positive attitude towards God en the Bible... Sometimes it's really hard to keep on listening carefully, especially when English is not your native language. So I just have faith that what they sing about in "The Mirror", "Lie" etc. is positive about having faith... But when you hear some of the other lyrics, I'm not sure again. It's just hard you know?! I just want to say: don't listen to songs with lyrics you know are satanic or to lyrics which you think of as being satanic. If you're not sure about a song or you doubt it's approaching feith, God or the Bible in a poositive way, just don't listen..
Krzysiek | March 7, 2009 5:08 AM | Reply
Eric, Regarding "In The Presence Of Enemies" just listen or read the lyrics till the end (http://www.justsomelyrics.com/1664812/Dream-Theater-In-The-Presence-Of-Enemies-Part-2.mp3-Lyrics). In a few words it is a story about transition of a soul/person who initially fights for evil and then things change. Also have a look at series of videos "chaos in motion" (can be found on YouTube) where DT video recorded their studio session while working on that song. LaBrie says there that while performing a song he needs to become the character the lyrics is about in a sense. He continues by saying that the best way to achieve this is to ask the author of the lyrics what it's about. Couple of minutes later (or possibly on another video) Petrucci explains to him how he should interpret the last words of ITPOE "I do NOT fight for you Dark Master". (using a swear word btw). Hope this helps, K.
Sam | March 20, 2009 1:47 AM | Reply
I think this discussion is important for everyone here. Sadly, most music today that calls itself "Christian" is simply not Christian at all. Most of it is just music to tickle your ears - telling you that a deep, abiding, struggling, dying-to-yourself relationship with God is NOT necessary to receive the eternal life of God (in the here and now). There are some wonderful exceptions, like some of the music of John Wimber (founder of the Vineyard movement) and John Michael Talbot (Roman Catholic neo-monastic). Attacking a group of musicians for singing about the things that touch and puzzle them is just plain un-Christian. Dream Theater is a fantastically talented progressive rock band which produces music they enjoy for our enjoyment and making money. Just listen to them talk in interviews. They are not just about the money (if that was the case, they would be producing different music). They certainly don't send the money back, however, and that is consistent with what they have said....it is an enterprise. God deeply enjoys it when sing songs to him out loud and quietly in our hearts. Sadly, I fall short in this area and listen to Dream Theater far too much. But giving up Dream Theater's music is a fools errand ("...do not touch...do not taste...does nothing to stop sensual indulgence"). May God hear my prayer for transformation of my mind and heart to focus on Him in all I do. Amen! Some here seem to question Dream Theaters morals because they cuss. There are three things: cussing, swearing, and cursing. Cussing is only wrong if it offends another you are with. Cursing (an angry outburst used to complain about God and the world) and swearing (I swear if you....) are always wrong according to biblical teaching. If I say something is "bull**#*" in the company of those who are not offended, I have not sinned. If I say, "S#@#!" when I make a mistake, I've sinned for that was a curse. If you say, "Shoot!" in anger, you still cursed. Think about it. Dream Theater's members cuss like sailors. Martin Luther cussed too. Read about it. Rich: Thanks for the words, Philosopher Sam. Here's a few articles I wrote long ago wrestling with living in the world but not of it: Walking the Wire and Like the Soul to the Body. I hope they help a little more in developing a Christian mind. God bless! And rock on, DT!
David Wallimann | May 6, 2009 8:53 AM | Reply
I'm a Christian too and a huge Dream Theater fan. Their lyrics don't bother me in the least. Some of their themes are not my beliefs, but don't forget that they are only themes. They don't advocate any of them really, at least not that I hear. The Bible is full of incest, murder, rape and all evil things. That doesn't make it a bad book to read..

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