Ok, I'm not defending secular music here; but millions have misinterpreted a popular secular song, and I am all about correcting wrong thinking...so I am trying to change thinking and correct wrong thinking (please do not be afraid to correct my thinking when it is wrong.) I love it when I have a revelation about an idea or concept that I (or others) have held to be true for many years. A secular song has been misinterpreted since its release in 1976. Not only opponents of this kind of music have misinterpreted the lyrics of this song, but fans have misinterpreted it as well.
Now, I do not condone listening to this type of music in any way shape or form; but once one looks at the meaning of this song objectively a great truth can be proved, "Context is King." For those of you who are lucky enough to NOT have your minds tainted with this music (unlike myself) the song is (Don't Fear) The Reaper, written by Donald Roeser. This song has received much airplay on the radio, has been covered many times, featured in a video game, has been playing in the background of many movies, and even has been used as skit material for a couple of comedy TV shows. This song has been labeled evil because many believe it is about teenage suicide. But just because the song makes a reference to Romeo and Juliet and has Reaper in the title does not make it about suicide. Here is the lyric used in the song.
Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity (we can be like they are)
Most people think that Don meant that we should be like Romeo and Juliet, tragically eliminating ourselves because of unrequited love. However, he meant that we should not fear death because there is an afterlife. The context is not "we can be like they are," a tragic double suicide, but "we can be like they are," "TOGETHER IN ETERNITY." An earlier verse states that
Seasons don't fear the reaper; nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain (we can be like they are)
Should we be constantly changing like the seasons, or unpredictable and unseen like the wind, bright like the sun, or wet like rain? No, "we can be like they are." And how are they in this CONTEXT? They are in a state of not fearing death. That is how we should be. Fall cares not that winter is coming. We, as Christians, know there is more than just being together in eternity; for being together in a lake of fire for all eternity would not be an ideal afterlife.
Which brings me to a different point for a moment; we are never commanded to keep the world from being the world. We are commanded to not be in the world. (Forget for a moment that I am writing about a secular song.) Christians are not commanded to march on Hollywood and demand that they clean up their act, or sue record companies so they stop producing filth. We need to touch the lives of the people we pass by and have daily contact with. We need to show them there IS an afterlife; but only a pleasant one for those who have accepted Christ as Savior. And the reason to accept Christ is to glorify God, not a 'Get Out of Hell Free' card.
I do not believe the motive behind this song is to get the fans to kill themselves as ticket sales would drop. Don is a musician because it was his hobby; he taught himself how to play guitar. I do not believe he wanted to drag everyone who listens to his music into a lake of fire. He was just doing what he was interested in and became talented enough to become famous. The scenario he envisioned was that of a man consoling his terminally ill companion; saying that she should not fear death because death could not separate them from the love that they share. Love conquers death, was Don’s intent. The line at the end of the song, “it was clear she couldn’t go on” meant, to him, that she was unable to struggle anymore with her illness and was overcome. And Don does not give any notion that the man desires to follow her immediately into death. He never meant for people to interpret this song as promoting suicide.
So, if you ever meet a Blue Oyster Cult fan, ask them if they believe in an afterlife. And then hit them with the Gospel. And don’t forget: “Context is KING!”
TR
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