ADDENDUM::Tim Lambesis world exclusive interview: The As I Lay Dying singer breaks his year-long silence - Alternative Press

It was ingrained in my mind, then, that if there was no God, there is no objective morality. So when I abandoned all belief in God, I had nowhere to put my feet. I was 30 years old and asking myself that same question, “Where does morality come from?” If there was no God, then morality is whatever I want to make it. That began to justify a lot of crazy behaviors in my life.

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I find it fascinating that out of a six page story, this is what the Christian news sources are focusing on:

Now, the founder of As I Lay Dying is now making another confession—the Grammy-nominated Christian metal singer says he's not really a Christian at all.

In an interview with Alternative Press, reporter Ryan J. Downey asked Lambesis a pointed question about a YouTube video in which the rocker discussed a new side project called Pyrithion. Lambesis described it as "satanic."

[Wrong, this is what he actually said: " I was trying to put out the fire by saying the easiest thing, “I’m not a satanist!” Truthfully, I was an atheist. The “strategy” I had at the time was cowardly. Two of the songs on that record were about coming to grips with the idea that life has no purpose, no meaning. These were negative themes I wasn’t “allowed” to deal with in As I Lay Dying songs. I thought making As I Lay Dying darker would be bad for my career. That was my thinking.]

And

As he continued to fall deeper into sin, Lambesis asked a personal trainer at his local gym if he knew any hitmen that could kill his wife. The lead singer was soon arrested and taken into custody following an undercover sting operation where he allegedly supplied police with directions and cash to carry out the murder. He was sentenced to six years in prison in March of this year.

But Lambesis just recently came forward with the truth about his atheism and the front that the band put on to sell records.

While also ignoring this:

I was a philosophy major in college. I thought it was something I’d enjoy that would help me grasp what people are thinking in order for me to help people better understand Christianity. I thought I would learn how to defend the faith. I was naïve.

I ended up touring, so I finished it up through a distance study program. I switched from philosophy to religious studies, as they wouldn’t let me do philosophy via distance learning. I’d get three pages of the traditional evangelical conservative point of view, then three paragraphs or sometimes even just three sentences from the atheist perspective. But even in just a few sentences, I’d think, “This point of view makes more sense,” even when it wasn’t being well represented. In the process of trying to defend my faith, I started thinking the other point of view was the stronger one.

And glossing over this:

Have you seen the movie The Unbelievers? It's Dawkins and Krauss traveling the country spreading the gospel of new atheism. These guys travel the world, creating a movement for new atheism with a seemingly divine sense of purpose. Now they have this movie that's supposed to inspire people to become unbelievers. But what inspired them to want to do that in the first place if it's all meaningless? William Lane Craig is a brilliant writer. He wrote about the movie and about how there’s a part of human nature that yearns for a divine sense of purpose. Whether those guys admit it or not, they are definitely preaching their message as if it's the calling on their lives. It’s important for me, where I’m at now, to acknowledge these guys are brilliant scientists. I can agree with their science without abandoning a belief in God. It may conflict with super-conservative Christianity, but that’s not what Jesus was teaching to begin with.

But what really galls me forgetting why this is news in the first place:

Heavy metal Christian rock star Tim Lambesis admitted last month to hiring a hit man to kill his estranged wife. He was sentenced to six years in prison for paying to have Meggan Murphy Lambesis murdered.

And

A so-called Christian heavy metal band whose frontman was convicted of attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife has admitted that it duped fans into believing that they were Christian in order to sell their music.

Here's the back-story: Lambesis was in a custody dispute with his wife over their three children. According to charging documents in the criminal case, in May 2013 he asked a personal trainer at his gym if he knew anyone who could kill his wife. The trainer called the cops and an undercover sting led to his arrest.

That's it, that is all they wrote on his attempt to have his freakin wife, mother to his children, murdered. Priorities!!

Tim Lambesis world exclusive interview: The As I Lay Dying singer breaks his year-long silence - Alternative Press