Ed's Latest Facebook Post Options

[FishOutaWater]

Was something about seeing some painting and then instantly knowing his search was over and that Jesus was the true light he'd been searching for all these years. Don't remember the exact story.

Several years ago, Ed was travelling through New York and he went into St. Patrick's Catheedral. He saw a statue - I think it was of Jesus crucified - and he was deeply moved by the image of this ultimate act of compassion. I think he said that he broke down and cried. I do not believe that he mentioned in that blog post that he renewed his Christian faith right then and there, but basically from that point on, we have been seeing signs of Christian Ed.

[Bremang]

Several years ago, Ed was travelling through New York and he went into St. Patrick's Catheedral. He saw a statue - I think it was of Jesus crucified - and he was deeply moved by the image of this ultimate act of compassion. I think he said that he broke down and cried. I do not believe that he mentioned in that blog post that he renewed his Christian faith right then and there, but basically from that point on, we have been seeing signs of Christian Ed.

http://themergeshow.com/merge-outloud/edkowalczyk


OK here it is. 17 minute mark

it was not a painting.

It was a byzantine crucifix icon art piece hanging on his wall.........................................

[FishOutaWater]

http://themergeshow.com/merge-outloud/edkowalczyk
OK here it is. 17 minute mark

it was not a painting.

It was a byzantine crucifix icon art piece hanging on his wall.........................................

He also wrote about the St. Patrick's Cathedral thing on one of his various blogs that he has had over the years.

[OutToDry]

heard alot of talk about this Jesus
a man of love, a man of strength
but what a man was two thousand years ago
means nothing at all to me today

he could have been telling me about my higher self
but he only lives inside my prayer
so what he was may have been beautiful
but the pain is right now and right here

[World Dreamer]

heard alot of talk about this Jesus
a man of love, a man of strength
but what a man was two thousand years ago
means nothing at all to me today

he could have been telling me about my higher self
but he only lives inside my prayer
so what he was may have been beautiful
but the pain is right now and right here

The person that wrote that died a decade or so ago.

[jayda]

great, now you got me watching that interview! I'm surprised how much more into it his band is now! Especially the drummer - not stoopid Ramii! But they still look like imposters....

still watching...becoming gag worthy now. Over it.

[FishOutaWater]

The person that wrote that died a decade or so ago.

Here's the thing about Ed's Christianity and why I find it so frustrating.

Lots of people are Christian and they live their lives in that tradition and are not seekers. They don't learn about other religions or cultures and they are content being sheltered in a belief system that gives them comfort and refuge, because it supports their belief that they are right with God. Some people are seekers and world travelors. They learn about other religious traditions and cultures. Generally, when a Christian learns and gains a deep understanding of other religious traditions, that person grows and evolves and his or her paradigm shifts. That person begins to see the value and validity of the other traditions. The person begins to see that religions of the world reflect different traditions and cultural frameworks for understanding the same one creator. There are good, valid points in each religion. And good people in each religion who are on a valid path toward the creator. Maybe you know a good Jewsih person or a buddhist or a hindu and you wonder, how can my church be right when it says that this person has to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior or else my loving God will condemn him to suffer in hell for all eternity? When a person thinks and seeks and learns, and this paradigm shift occurs, it is odd for that person to retrench himself in Christianity and proselitize it and preach it and make it the single most important driving factor in his life. To me, that person has regressed, not progressed. That person has devolved, not evolved. As a general statement, Christianity is an exclusionary religion. You either believe Jesus Christ was God and the savior of the world, and then you get his grace and salvation, or you don't in which case you are most likely screwed for all of eternity. Those who don't believe, need to be convinced that the Christian way is the only way to salvation and they need to be converted to your way of thinking. There are some, including me, who are Christians in a different sense = who take Jesus in the religious, political, economic and cultural context in which he lived, and follow his practices and teachings in that context as a transformative personal journey. But it is an extremely obscure way of seeing Christianity that does not cause seperation and judgment and stake out the position that Christianity is the right way and the other ways are wrong. So how does someone read all the books and travel the world and practice other traditions and then retrench in a contracted way of seeing things?

That is what I find frustrating about Ed. And on top of that, he feels compelled to bring it into every song and it is getting worse. And on top of that, based on what I have seen and heard from him over the last 5 years, he is either a deeply flawed sinner or a hypocrit.

[World Dreamer]

So how does someone read all the books and travel the world and practice other traditions and then retrench in a contracted way of seeing things?

One word....Tebow.

[Gertjan]

He also wrote about the St. Patrick's Cathedral thing on one of his various blogs that he has had over the years.

You have a good memory. Google came up with a post of yourself quoting Ed from unknown source:

http://www.fansoflive.com/forums/index.php...indpost&p=22699

”
I am in NYC today. I visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There is a statue inside of the fallen Christ. He is lying in Mary’s arms. There is one just like it in the St. Mary’s Church in York, Pennsylvania where I was baptized and confirmed. Today, I knelt and wept at this beautiful and Sacred monument to the Dying God. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of deep, unfathomable Compassion. I cried and cried and cried. Not a single person looked twice at me. I touched His Blessed Feet, Caress His Wounds, and, in a New York minute, my entire life to this point, passed me by. What is any of this but the Dream of the Christ? Every-Thing surrendered perfectly in Compassion.

Good Night and God Bless You all.
”

[FishOutaWater]

You have a good memory. Google came up with a post of yourself quoting Ed from unknown source:

http://www.fansoflive.com/forums/index.php...indpost&p=22699

”
I am in NYC today. I visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There is a statue inside of the fallen Christ. He is lying in Mary’s arms. There is one just like it in the St. Mary’s Church in York, Pennsylvania where I was baptized and confirmed. Today, I knelt and wept at this beautiful and Sacred monument to the Dying God. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of deep, unfathomable Compassion. I cried and cried and cried. Not a single person looked twice at me. I touched His Blessed Feet, Caress His Wounds, and, in a New York minute, my entire life to this point, passed me by. What is any of this but the Dream of the Christ? Every-Thing surrendered perfectly in Compassion.

Good Night and God Bless You all.
”

Aha. That was it. 2006. That was an uncharacteristically religious post for Ed at the time. It came WAY before all of this Christian rock stuff. I think it may have been around the time of Ed's turn to Christianity that the threads of Live really started to unravel.

P.S. Wow, I had quite the rant a few posts up from that quote in the thread you linked, didn't I? I guess some things never change. Even 5 years later.

This post has been edited by FishOutaWater: Dec 20 2011, 10:59 am

[Bremang]

Here's the thing about Ed's Christianity and why I find it so frustrating.

Lots of people are Christian and they live their lives in that tradition and are not seekers. They don't learn about other religions or cultures and they are content being sheltered in a belief system that gives them comfort and refuge, because it supports their belief that they are right with God. Some people are seekers and world travelors. They learn about other religious traditions and cultures. Generally, when a Christian learns and gains a deep understanding of other religious traditions, that person grows and evolves and his or her paradigm shifts. That person begins to see the value and validity of the other traditions. The person begins to see that religions of the world reflect different traditions and cultural frameworks for understanding the same one creator. There are good, valid points in each religion. And good people in each religion who are on a valid path toward the creator. Maybe you know a good Jewsih person or a buddhist or a hindu and you wonder, how can my church be right when it says that this person has to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior or else my loving God will condemn him to suffer in hell for all eternity? When a person thinks and seeks and learns, and this paradigm shift occurs, it is odd for that person to retrench himself in Christianity and proselitize it and preach it and make it the single most important driving factor in his life. To me, that person has regressed, not progressed. That person has devolved, not evolved. As a general statement, Christianity is an exclusionary religion. You either believe Jesus Christ was God and the savior of the world, and then you get his grace and salvation, or you don't in which case you are most likely screwed for all of eternity. Those who don't believe, need to be convinced that the Christian way is the only way to salvation and they need to be converted to your way of thinking. There are some, including me, who are Christians in a different sense = who take Jesus in the religious, political, economic and cultural context in which he lived, and follow his practices and teachings in that context as a transformative personal journey. But it is an extremely obscure way of seeing Christianity that does not cause seperation and judgment and stake out the position that Christianity is the right way and the other ways are wrong. So how does someone read all the books and travel the world and practice other traditions and then retrench in a contracted way of seeing things?

That is what I find frustrating about Ed. And on top of that, he feels compelled to bring it into every song and it is getting worse. And on top of that, based on what I have seen and heard from him over the last 5 years, he is either a deeply flawed sinner or a hypocrit.

i agree with the assessment about religion. But I don't know if Ed is the type of exclusive christian as you describe, he might even practice in the same way you do. Asking for gospel songs or making an album like "alive", which isn't nearly as blatantly preachy as a typical christian record, is not close to someone who asserts that a non christian is going to hell for eternity. Also, what if Ed is just trying to sell christian music. I think thats a possibility, and might make him more of a shameless capitalist than a religious nut. In fact, that always seemed like a big purpose of religion. Leaders just milk their followers for cash, sex, etc. Fortunately religious nuts are just contained to themselves, they're isolated from anyone who doesn't believe their ways. Their impact can be pretty limited. There are many ways to look at it. On the other extreme end of the spectrum, maybe those religious nuts deserve to have Ed take their money.

This post has been edited by Bremang: Dec 20 2011, 11:06 am

[Hoodstock]

Religion, meant to bring peace, is actually the great divider of the world.

[World Dreamer]

i agree with the assessment about religion. But I don't know if Ed is the type of exclusive christian as you describe, he might even practice in the same way you do. Asking for gospel songs or making an album like "alive", which isn't nearly as blatantly preachy as a typical christian record, is not close to someone who asserts that a non christian is going to hell for eternity. Also, what if Ed is just trying to sell christian music. I think thats a possibility, and might make him more of a shameless capitalist than a religious nut. In fact, that always seemed like a big purpose of religion. Leaders just milk their followers for cash, sex, etc. Fortunately religious nuts are just contained to themselves, they're isolated from anyone who doesn't believe their ways. Their impact can be pretty limited. There are many ways to look at it. On the other extreme end of the spectrum, maybe those religious nuts deserve to have Ed take their money.

We already know Ed is all about the money. His coffee, his paintings, the phone calls, the lead singer bonus etc etc. I wouldn't put it past him. It is a gullible market.

[World Dreamer]

Religion, meant to bring peace, is actually the great divider of the world.

The worst of a group is usually what creates the stereotype.

Not all "religious" people or leaders are nuts or crooks. Some are the greatest people on the planet because of what they believe. Some are the worst because they use religion to take advantage of people.

Religion isn't the great divider. It is the great scapegoat.

If there wasn't religion then man would find some other way to hate or take advantage of each other. Money, power, land, drugs, oil, politics, envy, women etc etc etc. Hell, bloods and crypts aren't fighting over religion.

The list could go on forever.

EDIT: Did not mean to derail the thread.

This post has been edited by World Dreamer: Dec 20 2011, 11:31 am

[Sonic Tonic]

Religion, meant to bring peace, is actually the great divider of the world.

That was pretty much their idea