It's All Crazy! It's All False! it's All A Dream It's Alright!

Scene 1: Curtain up.

It was December 2004 and Joby and I were on our way to Lynchburg to visit my then girlfriend Anna. We stopped off at Ace's Basement, a little venue in the basement of a hotel, to see a then small band play: Mewithoutyou. Joby and I were both huge fans of the band then early on in their "Catch for us the Foxes" tour. To see them is to love them. They are raw, energetic, and frankly just don't care about anything that touches materialism with a 10 foot pole. The album was beautiful, it was new, it was full of Spiritual themes. Aaron's unprecedented honesty shone through in each verse as he poetically related his deepest secrets and struggles of life through song. Their next album was "Brother Sister." This album progressed musically away from the post-hardcore of Foxes to some in between stage of folk and rock. Brother Sister was just as beautiful, honest and raw as Foxes, and previously A B Life. Their Spiritual highlights in this album came to a stunning climax in "In a Sweater Poorly Knit" as Aaron's heart shines through in a prayer to the Lord to increase to such a point in his life that Aaron would no longer exist, but only He would exist. I have been encouraged, challenged and pleased with every listen of these fine albums. In 2009 Mewithoutyou's newest, and possibly final, album came out. "It's all Crazy! It's all False! It's all a Dream It's Alright!." Musically this album completes the transition from post hardcore to folk. It begins with an odd sort of Mates of State beat before bringing in signature sounding riffs. The trouble I have with this album is the lyrical content. It is, to say the least beautiful. So many lines are so well written that often times I have to pause the song and just think about them. However many of their songs talk about Sufi fables. "The Fox, The Crow, and the Cookie is one of these. All throughout this album Sufism and the teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen are seen. The other huge issue I have with this album is the last song entitled "Allah Allah Allah" In this song Aaron sings that in everyone we meet, in everything we see, in everything we do, Allah Allah Allah is in all those things. Now, I know that Aaron's father is Muslim and his mother Jewish (weird huh!) and based on his previous albums I would assume that he is simply using the word "allah" as the standard arabic word for "god," instead of the proper noun that denotes the "one and only god of the Muslim religion."

What is this saying? What is being implied or stretched here? I began to think, what if I were riding in the car with my pastor and that song came on, what would he think? But also isn't it easy to assume and confuse the "standard arabic name for god" and the "muslim name for the one and only God?" is it THAT far of a stretch to assume that the muslim Allah is simply the way Muslims worship the same God as christians worship? From there it's not that far of a skip to assume that if Muslims are worshipping the same God as we are, then anyone who worships whole heartedly is actually worshipping the same God as the Bible. This just is NOT the case. Over and over again the Bible proclaims that there is one way to God, through Jesus Christ.

The MOST frustrating thing about this to me is that I keep talking to my friends about it and I ask them specifically what they think of "Allah Allah Allah" and they love it. They're like oh such a cool concept, I like how it stretches traditional christians, and makes them think outside of the "box."

Who knows, maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe all my friends are just getting lazy, but I'd be willing to bet that it is the same old trick the our adversary has used since day 1, taking Biblical truth and subtracting or adding small parts in order to deceive.

Bottom Line, concept wise I am very disappointed with this album. I am also a little concerned with people who think this is perfectly cool. If i have it wrong PLEASE let me know because I'd LOVE to LOVE this album. But if you're going to tell me to step outside the traditional "Box" then I'd rather not hear it. I know what the traditional "box" is and I know that it's the only way to live and worship the One True God for eternity, and I'm just fine with staying there even if it's not the coolest thing to do.

What are your thoughts on this? Do I have it wrong? Do I have it right? Do you care?