Guest wrote: Has similar lyrics to Emerson Lake and Palmer's - Jerusalem.

That's just the hymn this song is based on set to music.

Has similar lyrics to Emerson Lake and Palmer's - Jerusalem.

The line "vying with those..." is the key to the song. The point is that there are many things which people have devoted themselves to, not just God. The question is, is god up there competing with all these other things for your attention?" God is just one of the many distractions and ideas people devote their energy to.

It's a very classic BR topic. The disbelief in God is painted very vividly with the line: "Religion's just synthetic frippery. Unnecessary in our expanding global, cultural efficiency..."

Recently, I read about an interesting theory. It said that a civilization is more likely to become extinct when its people stop their religious beliefs and behavior including rituals to worship the dead. The theory is based on the observation that religious rituals are widespread among all human cultures in the present an past. These rituals might therefore be considered as some kind of human characteristic. The evolutionary biologist regards every trait of a species as a property which must somehow contribute to its biological fitness and survival respectively. Since religion is not an "invention" of modern times, he might ask: If it wasn't for any good, why should a Neanderthal waste all those costly weapons or elaborate adornments to his ancestors' grave?

A possible answer could be that those gifts are associated with the belief in his ancestor living on in some way and probably watching him from "above". Since he cannot flee from his ancestors' surveillance and possibly fears his vengeance he is more likely to stick to his final requests, one of which might be: "Take good care of my children!" The same is true for God. He says things like: "Don't commit adultery!" - and nowadays: "Don't use condoms!" While it is quite comprehensible why adherence to the latter will contribute to your species' survival it is not so obvious what the evolutionary advantage of restricting your sexual life to a single partner is. Maybe it's just that the probability that your children will turn out well is higher when they are not just served by one single person but grow up in the environment of a whole family. Generally speaking, when it comes to matters of conscience a religious individual will stick harder to the laws of the supernatural powers he believes in than a non-religious one would do to the advice of a wise man. This person is more likely to just give a crap about those words and choose an evolutionary unfavorable alternative.

Anyway, if there is something true about that theory, this would indeed be the ultimate impasse to our future.

There is certainly more to this song then religion is bad. Anyone familiar with BR knows well enough that Graffin doesn't blindly trust science and logic anymore then religion. After all religious power in society waned only in the face of the over-indulgent, self-absorbed and materialistic culture of industrial consumerism, and Graffin clearly is no more a supporter of this culture then of blind faith in religion. So perhaps the problem is not religion per se but rather the corruption of religion and the culture divide that it creates.

The song begins as a clear critique on most religions for creating anthropocentric (not to mention ethnocentric) Gods. But at the same time, it's a clear indictment of those who believe in nothing. As Dave notes, the quote marks are not accidental. Faith and philosophy and belief in higher ethical codes have been trumped by corporate globalization. As a result, we see a vast culture war between the excessively religious and the almost-nihilistic.

Its premise is simple: In order to live a religious life, you have to give up control of your life and live by someone else's standards. The song identifies the black and white thinking associated with religious lifestyle, in that you're either living for God or living against God. It also identifies the frightening idea that we are limiting ourselves and our future because we are unwilling to step beyond the point that religion has told us we must stay at.

We must get to the point of distinguishing the obvious and the more complex implications of each song (after all, any good poetry says more than you can point in the first reading). This song is the description of a tragedy of sorts, as it depicts the big human problem: the joint between the need for hope and belief and artificial creations that degenerate into the blatant. I don't think this song is associated with atheism, in fact you won't find a direct attack to faith in Bad Religion. The song goes against a concrete way of organizing and administrating that faith (Christianism or religion), thus reducing that legitimate need to a series of conventions that turn decadent and misleading.

God song is explaining to the people that all religions and gods are man made. Also that they are unnecessary for a good life. In my opinion, I think religion was made for control over the people. Threats and lies to get people to follow your ways.

As you can find in 'The Answer' section of this page, this song is an echo of William Blake's 'And did those feet.' While Blake's poem is obviously a religious ode of sorts, 'God Song' is quite the opposite. Graffin calls the Christian god 'anthropocentric,' a blatant shot at western religion. He asks, has this God faded away in our modern time? Well, not really, but he's assumed a perverse form - god (and religion, in general) is responsible for people ignoring the present to focus on a non-existent afterlife. As Graffin says, religion simply attempts to cleanse your mind of 'sepsis and autonomy' (he is being sarcastic). However, the song turns partway through, probably at the word 'depravity.' Obviously, irreligious people who 'regale in depravity' are not envious. Graffin gives us the point of view of an atheist, but one who seems to worship efficiency and a lack of belief (the quotation marks cannot be ignored). I think the point here is that, while religion blinds us to the reality of everyday life, a world without belief or faith of any kind would be a scary one. It is this paradox, or 'impasse,' as Graffin calls it, which is to fear.