1. |
True Faith
00:20
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If true faith knows
without proof
why are you always trying to prove
what you know, with
The Case for Christ and the Shroud
of Turin and church-certified Catholic
miracles – what do you smell
when driving out there in the cornfields,
by the pastures, in the country:
roses and miracles?
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2. |
Fire and Brimstone
01:51
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John Smith, bland as his name, never believed
in anything much until he heard a voice,
a staticky fire and brimstone radio preacher
inhabiting his head with exhortations
to change his ways. “Repent!” it hollered,
haranguing John deliberately, it seemed,
when he stopped off at the usual bar
for the usual drink. “Water of the Barley
Is Only Gulped By Sinners!” it claimed.
John couldn’t turn the voice down even as
He gulped his beer guiltily and stole glances
At the bartender’s buxom chest.
“Fornicatiooooooooooonneeeeeeeeeee”
The voice screeched, debasing into feedback.
“Fornicators are Salvation Haters!”
The friendly homosexual who everyone called
Big Gay Tim like he was a character on SouthPark
Popped onto the stool next to John’s
And now the voice was really going,
Cataloguing the moral failings of men
Who lay down with men. This carried on
Wherever John went. He tried to get away from it.
He’d take a walk on a trail in a nature preserve
And the voice would warn against nature, witches,
Animism. Grabbing a tray of frozen shrimp
At the supermarket, the voice would motormouth
Leviticus without ever stopping. John tended toward
Passivity, and just assumed this was the way things
Would work in his head from now on. He wasn’t much
For talking – even at the bar – so he told no one.
He kept hoping the preacher in his head would have something
Nice to say, some exhortation to treat others kindly,
To feed the starving or volunteer at the homeless shelter,
But it never told John what to do. It only told him
What he was doing wrong.
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3. |
Sit There and Listen
00:24
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It’s interesting
that you went into public education
to “share the light of Christ”
with young people.
You’d think one might start a church
or a youth ministry to do that
but I guess if you want to tell
some impressionable kid
what to believe in
you’ve got to do it some
place where she has no choice
but to sit there and listen.
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4. |
Manifesto
01:48
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You spineless nincompoops. You can’t beat death. You can’t beat death
and you’re gonna fuckin die. We’re all gonna die. We’re not here to die,
but we’re going to die. There are no magic words to beat death.
There’s no cosmic please-and-thank-you. There’s no Santa Claus God
waiting to grant you wishes, or post-suicide-bomb virgins, or a special
Mormon heaven just for the Mormons, or a special Catholic heaven
for the keepers of the True Faith, or anything, or anything,
or anything at all. You’re gonna fuckin die and you don’t know
what happens next.
That’s the truth.
If anything happens next. If nothing happens next. You’ve never
talked to anybody who’s come back. You’ve heard a story. A very
compelling story. A story so compelling it spread like wildfire
in the pre-literate, pre-scientific world. The story is not all bunk.
There are pieces of the story that purport to direct human behavior
that are worth listening to. The Golden Rule didn’t come from
more than one religious tradition on accident. Be kind. Be caring.
Love each other. These are noble principles. These are worth
our efforts, worth our every ounce of humanity.
But the truth of your place in the Cosmos is something so ineffable
you can’t contemplate it. If there is a God, you don’t think
like It. If there isn’t, you can’t fathom why. You’re gonna die,
and you’re gonna die, and you’re gonna die, and you’re gonna die,
so you damn well better live the life you believe in living
before you get there.
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Auris Apothecary Indiana
Auris Apothecary is a Midwestern publisher of limited edition experimental audio/visual media from artists located around
the world.
We embrace obscure formats, atypical packaging, and DIY ethics.
Established MMIX.
... more
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