I went to see the Maccabees the other night at the new 02 Academy and they were great live (their support ‘The Lyrebirds’ were good too) Anyway two stories -

firstly me and hannah rushing to pick our tickets from the box office and a steward convincing us that the maccabees had cancelled and their replacement was Paulo Nutini - we were GUTTED for about 20 seconds when the steward finally slapped me on the back and told me he was joking! Sounds funny now but at the time not so funny….

Secondly i was inspired (or challenged) by the maccabees lead singer Orlando Weeks lyrics in the song ‘Wall of Arms’ I think its a revealing look into an atheists mindset when it comes to looking at what God is and to what family means to them:

I woke up with a loved one's eyes upon me
Loved one's arms around me
Oh...She's my one and only

I grew up in the bosom of my family
Eight strong arms around me
Oh...from the seed they've grown me

And I thank those
Those who kept me company
They are a wall of arms around me
Oh...it is they who are my army
Oh… it is they who are my army

Through these eyes
There's no god above me
No devil below me
No purgatory, no pearly gates
The worms are what await me
It’s only me that can forgive me and
I have faith, oh...I have faith
I have faith, oh...I have faith
In those who put up with me

She's my one and only
If I'm the seed they've grown me
They who are my army
The wall of arms around me

Quite challenging eh?! i think the main theme of the song is great - that family has supported and loved him his whole life - they are ‘his army’ and that he has faith in them - and maybe because of the trying times that his family have supported him through - through his eyes he sees no God, no pearly gates no future in the world that awaits when we die, ‘the worms are what await me’

I think that these lyrics are a perfect example of postmodernism - a rejection of ‘victorian’ style faith - where being someone of faith meant your whole life was effected. Orlando has obviously looked at faith - the church - and decided that his whole life will be his family and those ‘eight strong arms’.

Its obvious that the church has failed EPICALLY in the past to be relevant to developing culture and has been shaken by a postmodern way of looking at the world - but how can we get better at this?! This song makes me feel lucky to have a loving family - but also makes me feel sad that people like Orlando haven’t got space for a ninth pair of arms - or even space for a life where we can stand forgiven and we aren’t weighed down by the mistakes of the past.

Don’t know why i posted this - it just challenged me! Isn’t that what blogs are for?!