We opened yesterday’s WIRED service with the song “The Scientist” by Coldplay. Seemed pretty fitting based on the theme of “Science vs. Religion.” Here are the lyrics and at least one way to view their meaning:
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I've set you apart
Could this be the cry of our heart? A cry to God? Seeking God, telling Him that we need him. Then we hear God’s voice saying...
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh, let's go back to the start
Running in circles
Coming up tails
Heads on the science apart
Could this be God saying to us...come to me, pray to me, seek me.
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start
Life isn’t easy. God never promises an “easy road.” We need to have faith. Hold on. What does it mean to go “back to the start”? Maybe going back to Genesis 1-hearing God’s voice saying “I am here - I have always been here and will always be here!” Isn’t this the true starting point of faith? Hearing God’s voice, responding to God’s call.
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
Sometimes it seems like science and progress will allow us to “outgrow” God. That we won’t need God anymore, like when a child no longer needs their parent. But hear the lyric that says that all of these things “Do not speak as loud as my heart.” Again, the cry of the heart is that we will always need God. There is something hardwired in us that makes us seek God. Then we hear the prayer to God...
Oh tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles
Chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I’m going back to the start
Take the time to go read Genesis 1 on your own. Hear God speaking to you. Find your faith strengthened.
PS-I know this song is probably about a “lost love” or a “broken relationship,” but it is fun and fulfilling to find the “double meanings” in the songs of our day. Songs, movies, TV shows, and other art forms are just another way that we can express ourselves. What we see and hear in these art forms shapes our values and our faith. I hope we can continue to find ways to bring our faith to life in the everyday art forms that fill our minds!
Here are a few cool versions of the song in addition to the original Coldplay version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsUK4mlv9m0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obFH-IO1vgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4YqSYfsIXE
