That's a wonderful page, Foro. A quick cursory glance matches up a lot with my formal schooling, which includes 24 credit hours in Celtic studies.
Nicko McBrain appears in the French magazine Batterie issue 27/September 2006
- Thread starter JackKnife
- Start date
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Must admit that I haven't read it well myself yet, but there's a lot of info. Slowly I get more interested in that particular past.
(Reading The Warlord Chronicles (a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian mythology) by Bernard Cornwell and The Isles: A History by Norman Davies made me more interested in this topic)
(Reading The Warlord Chronicles (a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian mythology) by Bernard Cornwell and The Isles: A History by Norman Davies made me more interested in this topic)
You could say that about the song, but I think it's overreaching. It's likely just about the end-of-life beliefs of the classic Celts. I think it is natural for men in their late 50s to be thinking about death, so that's the source of the imagery.
Masonry draws some influence from Celtic Christianity, so it's easy enough to see where links between the two might be.
Masonry draws some influence from Celtic Christianity, so it's easy enough to see where links between the two might be.
I think I worded that wrong. I meant people inside Christianity. I have a friend who is very religious and I doubt he would think of Lucifer as the Lord Of Light, I will ask him tomorrow.LooseCannon said:
As far as Lucifer and Satan, Lucifer was an angel of god's and was sent to hell. If Lucifer is ruling Hell wouldn't that make him the Devil? (or Satan) I think this is talked about in the book of Revelations. I will read it today or tomorrow and see.
As far as the Celtic thing goes, I think I have it mixed up. I will read that page. I thought there was something about the Earth in satanism but I just looked at the Church of Satan website and I can't find anything.
Satanism isn't really a combined movement, anyway. Some are hedonists, others are atheists who pick a label, and there are many inbetween.
Celts are very, very different; they're closest to modern Wiccans, but really, there's huge differences there too.
Celts are very, very different; they're closest to modern Wiccans, but really, there's huge differences there too.
But the Satanic bible isn't really believed by most Satanists. Like I said, it's not a movement like Christianity with a core doctrine. The closest thing it has to a core doctrine is anti-religion.
It's literally just some guy saying what he thinks Satanism should be. I believe Atheistic Satanism is very much similar to his thoughts, but the concept of a core document is really alien to what Satanism is, which is a rejection of pretty much all of Christian belief. The extent of that rejection is how you tell what sort of Satanist there is...there's some who think the Bible is a lie and Satan is the real "good" god, some who think the Bible is fiction and that you should live contrary to the teachings of some guy from 3000 years ago, etc.
The Knife Master said:interesting first post! At first I thought this was another pointless bump advertising some blog but this one has substance and an interesting look at the Religion aspect of A Matter of Life and Death as well as bringing in a new tidbit about Bruce that I certainly did not know about. Have a Praise!
Now as for your post, let me start by saying I am in fact a Christian. I too, hate organized religion pretty much for the same reason as you, but I believe in God and his teachings in the bible. That being said I'm not sure that all parts of the Bible are 100% accurate. Most of the Old Testament is teachings and proverbs handed down by many generations. Since the New Testament is mostly letters and actual accounts of experiences by real people, I find it easier to believe. Satan and hell itself isn't described to much extent in the New Testament making it hard to know exactly what the concept of Satan is. That is why when you tell a Christian who doesn't understand outside religion that Satan is the Lord of Light, they won't believe you as most people associate Satan with darkness. It is interesting to note that Satanism is a very peaceful, earth loving religion. The problem with it is that the deity is a symbol of evil. When people fall into this trap of peace and being of the earth (this is visited in Isle Of Avalon) they see Satanism as the correct way to go but in the end they are cast out to hell, according to the bible. Just like Lucifer who, legend has it, tried to find a universe better than the one that existed and rebelled against God to gain that.
The Lord Of Light is Lucifer. Give your life and be good to the earth and in return the earth will be good to you, free your soul from the grasp of God and you will be rewarded. Or so Lucifer says.
There's an older interview on youtube about Bruce's personal faith journey. I think it's in three parts. You'd probably enjoy it. I think the lyrics to Lord of Light are open to interpretation. Maiden tends to do that on purpose, and I like it that way
. I'm guessing though that if Nicko likes the song, the Lord of Light in his mind isn't Lucifer. Maybe in Bruce's mind it was. I think your take on the song certainly makes sense, especially if God is portrayed as an arbitrary tyrant. I have to say that a lot of theology seems to paint him/her that way. So do extremists who name-check God to try to justify their hate, judgment, latest holy war etc.. On the other hand, if God really is love and the source of all good things, it seems harder to make a case for an angelic coup. I think how one perceives/experiences God becomes pivotal. Having read a lot about religion and history for interest sake, it's fascinating how people seem to project their own biases onto God, and then react accordingly. Similarly, I think I'm projecting my own personal spiritual experience onto this song. I used to practice the occult and think that God was either fictional, or arbitrary. Back then I would have seen this song from Bruce's point of view. Then I had a spiritual experience with Christ that completely changed things for me. Now I'd be more inclined to think of the song like Nicko seems to.
P.S. There's a good Nicko interview about this album here: http://www.thegauntlet.com/interviews/2 ... aiden.html
Maybe the lord of light in Nicko's mind is Lucifer. Again, I'm Christian and my first Maiden album was NOTB. I try not to let my beliefs interfere with my musical taste and I think Nick is the same way. If he wasn't, then he probably would've refused to record Starblind. I'm pretty sure Nicko knows what Bruce was trying to say with Lord Of Light and Nicko seems to be the type who believes in religious freedom. He might not agree with the others, but he isn't going to rob them of their ideals.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Which doesn't explain much. People can believe in/live by different philosophies, with or without being Christian.
One can believe in God. One can also believe in/have a philosophy about friendship or nature (or something else), without any necessity of Christianity or religion at all.
One can believe in God. One can also believe in/have a philosophy about friendship or nature (or something else), without any necessity of Christianity or religion at all.
Jeffmetal
Ancient Mariner
Forostar said:
One can be a Christian without knowing just as most christians know they aren't christian, but they know it's a great deceiver. These things, generally, can't find an explanation. When I'm talking about these issues, I always remember a quote from William Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge: "You are a deeply religious man who doesn't believe in God. God will seek you out. You'll come back. Whether here or elsewhere, only God can tell."