David Bazan is an indie-rock musician that once fronted and originated a musical group called “Pedro the Lion,” an easy-listening indie band with some distinctly religious overtones.
David grew up in a typical, evangelical, Protestant family in America, and the faith of his childhood came through in most of his music (whether explicitly or subtly), even when he was being snarky or contrary (often merely for the sake of being snarky and contrary, it seems). When he shuffled off to a solo career a few years ago, his music took a decidedly post-Christian direction and his lyrics and beliefs are now seemingly anti-Christian and a platform for “writing off” his once-adored childhood faith. One such song (that is a great song, from a purely musical and artistic standpoint), called “Hard to Be” makes his de-formation rather clear:
Fresh from the soil, we were beautiful and true
In control of our emotions, ’til we ate the poison fruit
And now it’s hard to be a decent human being
Wait just a minute, you expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving grew from one enchanted tree?
And helpless to fight it, we should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation for why the living die?
And why it’s hard to be a decent human being
The Holy Gospel According to John is the most “mystical” of all the holy scriptures.
The High Priest of Israel entered into the holiest recesses of the Temple while wearing a breastplate (Hebrew חֹשֶׁן or “choshen“) adorned with precious stones and jewels, along with the mysterious Urim and Thummim. The scriptures record:
One of the most distinguished characteristics of the Orthodox Church is the nuanced (some might say “eastern” or “Greek”) understanding of “symbol” that is transcendant and goes beyond mere externals or the recesses of one’s brain. The concept of “symbol” for most people in the west today is — in the words of the reposed Fr Alexander Schmemann: “an illustration whose purpose can be termed pedagogic or educational.” In other words, a symbol merely points to or teaches about an idea or concept, but offers no real or transcendant connection to anything beyond itself. In Orthodoxy, however, a symbol is a gateway or “window” to something beyond itself; it is something that truly connects the person with the thing signified.
As a follow-up to 
Among those who adhere to a radical “end times” philosophy (especially in our day), there is much attention paid to the Apocalypse to St John, or the book of Revelation.
