Ozzy Osbourne and the Apocalypse

Like many who follow religion in the media, I found it hard to look away when reports of Harold Camping's doomsday scenario began circulating.

The Family Radio Bible teacher announced the world would end on May 21, 2011, and just as it was with William Miller and a thousand other modern-day prophets making similar pronouncements, people took notice. The story garnered international headlines and supplied ample fodder for pundits and late-night television hosts.

May 21 came and went, of course, but the story continues. After a few tweaks of the eschatological forecast, the Family Radio website now identifies Oct. 21 as the end of the world. Apparently a form of judgment occurred back in May but "universal judgment will not be physically seen until the last day of the five month judgment period, on October 21, 2011."

And so it is we live between two eschatological moments, an interregnum of sorts, as the kingdom of Satan gives way to the kingdom of Christ, according to another Family Radio document: "warfare ... exists between [these kingdoms and] ... That warfare continues to the end of time in one sense. Revelation 19 ... describes the conclusion of that warfare as a great battle. That battle will be Judgment Day itself, when all of Christ's enemies are judged and removed into hell."

What has Ozzy Osbourne to do with all this? To speak of these two in the same context involves an unlikely pairing, to be sure, but allow me to suggest that comparing the most talked about preacher of 2011 and heavy metal's prince of darkness offers a colorful illustration of a simple point. There are occasions when organized religion gets things very wrong, and occasions when wisdom appears in the most unexpected places. When hype about Camping's end-of-the-world billboard campaign reached fever pitch earlier this year, Ozzy Osbourne's newest album Scream (released June 2010) was in regular rotation on my iPod and here I discovered a very different eschatological narrative. The song "Diggin' Me Down" (written by Ozzy Osbourne, Kevin Churko and Adam Wakeman) involves an angry first-person address to the "Father" and "Mr. Jesus Christ." The song is a lament, of sorts, expressing anger at all manner of calamities that are part of the human condition. "Why don't you save us?" the narrator asks. "C'mon Jesus, don't keep us waiting just for you." The song grapples with a classic, enduring theological knot sometimes referred to as theodicy: If God is benevolent and all-powerful, why does evil exist?

Surprisingly, "Diggin' Me Down" is not just an angry rant that mocks religion and denies the existence of a deity. To do so would merely repeat an unimaginative, hackneyed idea. By addressing the Father and Jesus directly, the speaker (not to be equated with Osbourne, necessarily) cleverly heightens the dramatic force of the lyrics, an effective device for articulating the bewilderment and anger explored in the song. There is even an admission of struggling faith, one that uses terms evoking the biblical laments: "How long 'cause my faith is breaking" (cf. e.g., Psalm 13:1-2: "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long?"). The closing words of the song are particularly striking against the backdrop of Harold Camping's apocalyptic countdown. The singer couples weakening faith with awareness of his limited understanding, wondering aloud how he will recognize Jesus Christ and assess his credibility when he comes: Have you been here once or twice? How will I know you are the son of God? Are you an "obsolete facade"?

So why do I prefer Ozzy Osbourne's eschatological lyrics to Harold Camping's apocalyptic sermons? For one thing, Camping's biblical exegesis and prophetic pronouncements lack humility whereas Osbourne's narrator concedes his doubts and questions ("How will I know that you're the son of God?"). Few Christian leaders outside the Family Radio organization endorse the Camping doctrine, and this lack of accountability and deference to the opinions and expertise of others is regrettable. Furthermore, Camping's interpretation of Scripture involves escapist fantasies that in effect abandon real-world traumas.

Osbourne's lyrics, on the other hand, are often constructive and world affirming in their own way. This may seem an odd remark when talking about heavy metal music but consider, to illustrate, the anti-war stance of Osbourne's Black Rain (2007). This album decries the Iraq conflict with a force reminiscent of Black Sabbath's anti-Vietnam anthem "War Pigs" (Paranoid, 1970): "What is the price of a bullet? / Another hole in the head / A flag draped over a coffin / Another soldier is dead / ... Why are the children all marching / into the desert to die? / ...War killing sons and daughters" ("Black Rain"). We find similar sentiments in "Diggin' Me Down," where he laments a world suffering under slavery, genocide and socio-economic inequity. He wants answers to these real-world atrocities, not the rescue of an elect few, which is a key element in Camping's eschatology. According to Family Radio, "the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21." This leaves little motivation to promote peace or help the downtrodden.

To be clear, I am not speculating about Ozzy's personal beliefs. There should be care not to equate the first person of lyrics with a singer or songwriter. Nor do I mean to ridicule Harold Camping and his followers. (At some point, the Family Radio story went from being eccentric and interesting to sad and pathetic). No, I merely suggest that wisdom and thoughtful, constructive reflection on religious themes emerge in the most unlikely of places. My iPod selection for the Oct. 21 apocalypse? Ozzy's Scream.

 

 

 

Comments

[magicmary]

03:45 PM on 07/21/2011

Why do people believe that wisdom is only found in the realm of religious faith? Why do people believe that inspiration can only be found in holy books?

I have always found that to be absurd. Music poetry art random chatter or images can convey the immanence of the divine to us if our eyes would just be open to it.

By the way, I will take Ozzy over just about any given Christian preacher any day. He's as honest as a man can be.

[horseguards]

02:45 PM on 07/21/2011

An academic takes rock-and-roll cliches and platitudes of a rock star, not noted for his erudition (which are?), and provides a pseudo-intellectual framework to elevate and legitimise the said work. Any originality is most likely imitation without knowledge and thus superficial posturing.

[quorthon]

06:06 PM on 07/21/2011

Cliches and platitudes they may be, but there is more profundity to be found therein than all of the callow output of Family Radio combined. And it is a matter of course that rock music is to be taken seriously by academics--it is genuine cultural expression simultaneously encoding and deconstructing many of the conflicts with which we are confronted as a society.

[horseguards]

08:39 PM on 07/21/2011

"it is genuine cultural expression simultaneo­usly encoding and deconstruc­ting many of the conflicts with which we are confronted as a society." But the question is, are these expressions sincere or merely lip service, ie a "genuine [or false] cultural expression"?

Does his music sell because it sounds good or because the lyrics resonate with his fans? No way.

I am only familiar with early Black Sabbath; as kid, it sounded great but the lyrics were irrelevant if not nonsensical.

Also, how can rock music not be a cultural expression?

[SimonBao]

09:43 AM on 07/21/2011

I'm exceedingly uncomfortable with the author's comment that, "Few Christian leaders outside the Family Radio organization endorse the Camping doctrine, and this lack of accountability and deference to the opinions and expertise of others is regrettable. Furthermore, Camping's interpretation of Scripture involves escapist fantasies that in effect abandon real-world traumas."

The reader is left with the impression that other Christian leaders ARE accountable and do show deference to the opinions and expertise of others, and that is laughably untrue and preposterous. Other Christian leaders are every bit as likely to be unaccountable egotists as poor old Harold Camping

The reader is also left with the impression that it is only "Camping's interpretation of Scripture (which) involves escapist fantasies that in effect abandon real-world traumas." Countless Scriptural interpretations from mainstream Catholic and Protestant sources as well as from minor, renegade sources involve nothing more than escapist fantasies.

Go ahead and criticize Harold Camping but don't do it by making other Christian clergy, ministers and leaders seem responsible and sensible when so many clearly are not. Harold Camping hasn't done anything worse than what so many others are also doing right now.

Camping just did it with greater entertainment value for the masses.

[Binea]

08:44 AM on 07/21/2011

only 5 responses ? ok...um..well now
"Few Christian leaders outside the Family Radio organization endorse the Camping doctrine, and this lack of accountability and deference to the opinions and expertise of others is regrettable. Furthermore, Camping's interpretation of Scripture involves escapist fantasies that in effect abandon real-world traumas. "

They don't endorse him because he said the end of the "Church age" is here.That the part in Revelations speaking about Babylon,is speaking about organized religion. and "Come out of her my people". He thinks just as the disicples taught mostly outside of the religious institutions,christians are to do the same. Church leaders will lose their jobs,and power..of course they don't support him.

"Camping's interpretation of Scripture involves escapist fantasies that in effect abandon real-world traumas. "
Uh..that's a matter of opinion..I wonder if you ever even read any of his studies.
As for Ozzy...I like his "crazy train" and "Mama,I'm coming home" I do disagree with Camping on music :)

[JohnFromCensornati]

08:15 AM on 07/21/2011

"There should be care not to equate the first person of lyrics with a singer or songwriter."

Especially in this case. Back in the days of Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler wrote most of the lyrics. I've seen Ozzy's reality show. It seems unlikely that he has the mental capacity to write them now.

[ToniQ]

01:11 AM on 07/21/2011

"So why do I prefer Ozzy Osbourne's eschatological lyrics to Harold Camping's apocalyptic sermons? For one thing, Camping's biblical exegesis and prophetic pronouncements lack humility whereas Osbourne's narrator concedes his doubts and questions..."

This is why conservative values obsess in tearing down artistic expression in arts, music, and education. Hierarchical criticism is not allowed in the official list of virtues.

[MilesToGo]

08:22 AM on 07/21/2011

Spot on, Toni! The conservative list of values, kept by self-inflated & self-aggrandized social elitists who must keep up affronts against the unwashed masses.

[Binea]

07:03 PM on 07/20/2011

Bob Dylan's "Every Grain of Sand" and "pressing on"

[Hendrik van der Breggen]

04:30 PM on 07/20/2011

"[T]hat wisdom and thoughtful, constructive reflection on religious themes emerge in the most unlikely of places" -- Amen. Thanks for the insightful article.