|
| Headline | Is Paul christian? |
|
Page:
[1] [2] |
| Author | Comment |
Jalle
May-13-2005, 00:53 GMT
IP:
Denmark
 | Is Paul a christian. Im thinkin about the words in the song "The Teacher"
He sings: "whoses words were like the tablets of stone" Normally christians think that jesus` words are like the stones with the ten commandments (from moses) So is this "teacher" Jesus
He also sings: "Gather your goods and follow me
Or you will surely die" - and jesus also said that (maybe not in the same words...)
On the "youre the one"-DVD Paul also sings "This is the only light" (The Coast) and then he makes the sign of a the cross while he sings it.
S&G also recorded some christian christmas songs in the 60`s.
I know Paul is born as a jew - but has he converted to christianity.
Do you think its normal for Paul Simon fans to be christians (or are any of YOU christians)
Hope to hear from you...
|
| | |
Travis
May-13-2005, 02:01 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America
 | Though from what I know Paul is Jewish and the song The Teacher is a song about his Jewish heritage, I am a Christian and find his music very spirutual. When I first began listening to Paul I assumed from songs like Obvious Child, Duncan, and Slip Sliding Away that he was in fact a Christian. Though I find this to no longer be true I still get a spirtual sense from many of his songs. I feel for this reason that many of Paul´s fans would be of some sort of strong faith. Two of my closest Christian friends coincidently (or not) are also the only Paul fans I know. |
| | |
Alain
May-13-2005, 08:18 GMT
IP:
France
 | In the Bible, Jesus often compare Simon as a rock ...
I don´t know if "I´m a rock" is an allusion and a joke about this ? |
| | |
John Whapshott
May-13-2005, 12:14 GMT
IP:
Sweden
 | I think I can say definitely that Paul is not a Christian. I´m not judging him, just using the evidence of his songs. ´Duncan´ is very clever and very funny at the end, but it´s hardly Christian! And in ´Old´ Paul refers to the Bible as the ´greatest story ever told´, and I get the feeling the emphasis is on the word ´story´! ´I Am A Rock´ is a clever variation of John Donne´s line that ´no man is an island´.
Jesus didn´t say that Simon (Shimon) was a rock - He said that the declaration that He is the Son of God is the rock of truth, on which His church would be built. Personally, I would be really happy if Paul were to become a Messianic believer! |
| | |
jarda
May-13-2005, 13:27 GMT
IP:
Czech Republik
 | Is it important for a poet? People are same in basic things and if every one followed the rules of his/her religion, they would never fight. It is great that Paul Simon offers his thoughts and emotions to people of all confesions and even atheists as well. Poetry is wider than any religion, I think. |
| | |
Alain
May-13-2005, 13:29 GMT
IP:
France
| John 1, 35-42
He not only addressed Simon by his personal name, but he gave him a new name which signified the call God had for him. "Cephas" or "Peter" literally means "rock". To call someone a "rock" was one of the greatest compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon". Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was -- the Anointed One (Messiah) |
| | |
Jalle
May-13-2005, 15:42 GMT
IP:
Denmark
| But if he is not a christian, why does he make the cross in front of him and sings "this is the only light" - to me this sounds like a christian statement... I dont see why he should sing that if he doesnt beleive it. And do you think the song "The Teacher" is about Jesus? |
| | |
Turkey
May-13-2005, 17:08 GMT
IP:
United Kingdom
 | He might not be either-maybe he is still trying to find the true faith. Maybe doesn´t beleive in formal religions, but does believe in Christ as the Messiah. It doesn´t really matter, Paul isn´t a religious singer, essentially he is a secular singer. His songs are so deep, we can´t decpher exactly what they are about, considering he doesn´t even know what they all mean (Me and Julio for example) |
| | |
reika
May-13-2005, 19:14 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America
| I´m 99% sure that Paul is Jewish. I can recall reading about it over the years and most recently a place called FORWARD you can find issues of it online. It is in capital letters.I believe it may even be a Jewish publication. |
| | |
reika
May-13-2005, 19:21 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America
| I would give you a link but in all honesty I´m extreamly inept at computer stuff. I just nowsearched for Jewish Paul Simon on Yahoo and found it again, so try that. Sorry I can´t give you a link |
| | |
Lekornee
May-14-2005, 04:11 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America
| That´s interesting. I always thought it was "this is the only life" every time. He does sing a lot about Christian issues but I don´t think he ever does it in a preaching or affirmative way.
"I have a friend who is a born-again, found his savior´s grace" is also one of those lines that´s talking about someone else finding "his" savior´s grace, not, for instance, "THE" savior´s grace. |
| | |
anon
May-15-2005, 07:33 GMT
IP:
USA - United Staates America
| I read that Paul and Carrie Fischer had a traditional Jewish wedding. She was half Jewish. |
| | |
Scaaty
May-15-2005, 20:40 GMT
IP:
Ireland
 | and the words hearts & bones one and onehalf wandering jews was referring to that relationship. I wonder is Edie from a christian background, and may this coould explain the apparent move towards christianity in YTO. Although Ive always felt the last song Quiet fits in beautifully. BTW someone gave a very good interpretation of The Teacher in a a previous thread. |
| | |
John Whapshott
May-16-2005, 12:12 GMT
IP:
Sweden
| Music and religion - dangerous subjects! So here goes...
Jewish and Christian are not mutually exclusive! There are a lot of Messianic believers around, i.e. Jews who have accepted Yeshua as Lord. Yeshua is the fulfillment of the Torah, not its replacement. (I am not Jewish, but I am a believer!).
So Paul will always be Jewish, whether he becomes a Messianic believer or a Hindu or anything or nothing. And his Jewish background informs a lot of his songs, which is great! |
| | |
Anne-Mie
May-17-2005, 16:20 GMT
IP:
Belgium
 | I have always felt Paul is not really someone who is religious, someone who goes to church or to the synagogue, but I could be mistaken. I mean, so much of what he sings comes alive for me, and since I am not a religious person, I may be reading my world image into his songs. If you know what I mean? Anyway, he uses a lot of biblic images, but I think that could also be because the bible is such a cultural icon in our lives, not just a religious icon. In some way we have all been brought up with those stories, haven´t we? I was raised a catholic but the new and Old testament were always just stories to me (the greatest story ever told!).
By the way, the line in The Coast is not "This is the only light" but "This is a lonely life". I checked it in the little lyrics book that accompanies the cd. |
| | |
|
Page:
[1] [2]
|