Why did God become a man?
The proposition: Jesus is God come to earth in human flesh. Yes or No?
Moderator Hull: Don Henley. I’m already star stuck. He’s only here because I secretly purchased the copywrite to the Eagles entire catalogue. He has his personal Satan, one Irving Azoff, who has me under surveillance. It’s hard to spot Azoff coming, he is so short, I overlook him. The idea of a Jewish Devil makes sense, because Lucifer’s greatest rival is a Jew. Isn’t it obvious that God is a Jew? All the apostles are Jews, the Bible was written by Jews. When you are in Rome and visit Christianity’s most holy temple, Vatican City or plaza, among the 140 statues of saints and martyrs are plenty of Jews. In the church you see Michelangelo’s Pieta, a Jewish Mother and the dead body of her slain Jewish son, the Son of God, therefore, God. It goes on and on, Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee of Pharisees, AKA, the apostle Paul, after being knocked off his horse and struck blind. You don’t want that guy after you. I don’t think it advisable for any person or country to get after the Jews.[1] I fear for any group, nation, or even ignorant demonstrators who never have cracked a history book, who wish ill to the Jews. Young and ignorant are synonyms but their adult mentors are guilty.
Let me remind you that Don is my favorite singer. He leads my favorite band and his solo work dominates my personal playlist. He wrote the lyrics to Hotel California. Donald Hugh Henley is the Desperado, even though a Baptist one from East Texas. Don’t make too much of that—if you grew up in Texas, either you were a Baptist, are a Baptist, or will be a Baptist. I did hear him muttering something about this being the “Last Worthless Evening” that he would spend appearing at a debate sponsored by a guy he had never heard of. But here he is, ladies and gentlemen, “Dirty Laundry” and all, the man who David Geffen called a professional malcontent—who is going to ask you for money to keep us from cutting down Walden Woods— Don Henley.
Henley: And I thought I was the asshole. It’s true, I’ve got a little Baptist on and maybe in me, just enough to disgust me. I’ve been much more shaped by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, an American naturalist, poet, and philosopher. His formative book, Walden, is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. His books influenced such great figures as Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. That is why we started the Walden Woods Project—to dedicate a beautiful forest in Concord, Massachusetts where Emerson and Thoreau walked. You can donate at
https://www.walden.org
Moderator Hull: Hey Don, didn’t Thoreau most famously say, “All men live lives of quiet desperation?”Aren’t we all, to one degree or another, Desperados? All that outdoor life and natural surroundings you mentioned, was pretty hard on Thoreau who died at age 44. What got you off on this humanistic path? It seems to be like one of your best ballads, “Wasted Time.” What is the reason you have chosen a very different life of private jets and huge climate-controlled mansions than this whole naturalistic charade? Could you comment on the proposition in question? After all, that is why we are here.
Henley: Who’s the pissant now? I thought it was obvious. I am speaking against it. Truth is something far too big for just one religious ideology. The proposition is stupid, outrageous, and I dismiss it out of hand. And would you please stop using my song titles to launch your attacks on me? You are breaking so many copywrite laws, I’ve lost count. You owe me over a million dollars USD in royalties from just the first few minutes of this discussion. You will be hearing from my attorneys Abraham, Isaac, & Jacobs.
The proposition: Jesus is God come to earth in human flesh. Yes or No?
This may be too much for your limited mental capacity, Mr. Hull. Truth is an enigma, a mystery, but so you can understand it, let me tell you a story about some blind men and an elephant. You may remember, Sir Hull, that line in Aaron Sorkin’s “A few Good Men.” Jack Nicholson utters the famous line that I direct at you, “You can’t handle the truth!” You may be as much a knucklehead as the two dim witted soldiers who carried out the Code Red issued by the Nicholson character, Colonel Nathan R. Jessup.
But, back to my story. The blind men are representatives of the major religions/philosophies of the world—Islam, Judaism, Hindus, Buddhism, Christianity, et al. The elephant represents the truth. One blind man feels the trunk and says the truth is long, flexible, and very much like a tube. Another finds a leg and says it is like a tree. Yet another feels the side of the elephant and says truth is a solid wall, strong and sturdy. Another grabs the tail and makes his own observation. But none can see the whole elephant, so they all have only a part of the truth, ipso facto, no one has all the truth. The truth can only be seen by a sighted person, a person who can stand back and say, ah ha! now I can see it!
What is so galling about biblically based Christians is their certainty. It’s arrogant. It lacks the humility of Jesus. There is, therefore, nothing Christian or enlightening about it. The very idea that you abuse the memory of Jesus by making him God, and the only way to God is the worst possible way to stain his memory and ruin his ministry. Mr. Hull, I can’t believe I’m sinking to your level here, but I look into your eyes and see “Lyin’ Eyes.” I suppose the next thing you will say is something absurd like, “God causes all things, even that the soul of my dearly departed brother and colleague, Glenn Frey, is languishing in Hell.” This working together for good concept is nothing more than a cheesy cliché. I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, I’m very emotional about this. Please listen to my sentiments in the song, “The Last Resort,” concerning the sins of Christianity. The opening line sets the tone, “She came from Providence, the one in Rhode Island.”
Moderator Hull: Ah, Where Eagles Dare—oh, that was Alistair MacLean, not Don Henley. The Last Resort was a masterpiece Don, it made you America’s musical Poet Laureate. But I must say, a lousy theologian. I would say philosopher, but since when have philosophers been held to account for their nonsense?
Before we take a much needed break, Don, I have a question for you. It concerns the problem of the Storyteller. Who is the person who is qualified to stand back and who sees the entire elephant? The Storyteller assumes to know the truth—not spiritually blind like the rest of us. In effect, the Storyteller is saying, I’m not blind, not mortal like the rest of you. It is an astounding claim. Yet it is made with a mask of humility. How do you know Don? Are you the one who is not blind and can see the entire truth? I think you have driven yourself into a cul-de-sac. See you after the break.
Twenty-Five minutes later after a ten-minute break.
Moderator Hull: Don, I’m sure you’ve had a chance to gather with your great team. I’m pretty sure you didn’t call Joe Walsh. He recently said that he had more fun in the seventies when he was in his twenties than he is in his seventies living in the twenties. And this is a sober Joe Walsh. Thank God/or Buddha. Joe is a Buddhist. Buddha does have a weight problem—sitting under that fig tree for 49 days, no cardio, you get chunky. Jordan Peterson seems to have been doing most of the talking, Oprah took a call, probably from Barack Hussain Obama, her spiritual mentor. What’s that red dot between her eyes? Seems like Mamet spent his time doodling. Ok, Don, time to answer the question, who is the Storyteller? Who can see the entire truth?
Henley: God is telling the story. He can see all things. He knows the truth. He is the combined collective conscience of all that is true. Ultimate reality can only be known by God. I hope this will assuage your combative spirit Mr. Hull, so we can get on to some deeper truths.
Moderator Hull: Oh, you mean the deeper truths you learned during those Cocaine Nights of fun and frolic during the 1970s? Did you snort a couple of lines after you read Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley? I know that’s where the Doors got their name. Lead singer, Jim Morrison, was found dead in a Paris bathtub at age 27. Dead by illusion or disillusionment. Is this your Brave New World? Weak men die of excess in bathtubs, weak leaders are dangerous to their followers, their fecklessness is provocative, empires fall because of them.
Strong men step up, speak up, and do the hard stuff. Weak men will appease, strong men insist on victory. Jesus came through the back door of history but became the victor. He is not a king among kings, not a lord among lords, but the king of kings and the lord of lords. He is not just one of many judges of the human drama, he is the one and only judge. I don’t get a vote, Don, you don’t get a vote, the Dali Lama doesn’t get a vote. Christ alone decides, he has all the power. There is no other power left, he has it all. “… the Father judges no one, instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge.” [2]
Don, I would agree the great Storyteller is God. But he told his story in the Bible. Europe and Western civilization thrived for a thousand years based on the story. The punch line of his story is that Jesus of Nazareth is God. He intervened and his love is a confrontative love. It is love that says, “You’ve got to change.” His love is a furious and jealous love, determined to eliminate evil. He has said, I will make it possible by sacrificing myself for you.
Don, the ultimate reality is what the Greeks called λογος, the logic, the design behind all things. His disciple, an eyewitness, the apostle John said, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and God was the word.” He goes on to say, “And the word became flesh and lived among us.” His life, ministry, death, and resurrection are the manifestation of God’s eternal being. When you make the claim that one religion or person is the absolute truth, you are making a truth claim yourself. Again, how do you know? What is your source? On what basis do you make such a claim? You are being exclusive, you are being narrow minded, you are saying, my view is the right view, which is to say, no view is the right view. Don, quit resisting, do what you know deep within—get on your knees, give in, and suddenly the world will make sense. You can still sing out your questions and fears and social commentary, but let God sing through you. Check out of The Hotel California. God says you can leave it, you can escape it, you’re not trapped!
Henley: Mr. Moderator, the most Reverend Hull, life is complicated. We all are living at the mercy of our own ideas, commitments, communities, and realities. I appreciate your sincerity. It seems you really do like my music and we could possibly be friends—or I could at least treat you with the respect of a fan—if you would drop all the drama. My own quiet desperation is not, I suspect, unlike yours. There would be a high cost for either of us to change course. I would lose a lot—family, friends, my connections to the controlling elites, my political contacts, and much of my funding. I don’t need money, but many causes do, and I am committed to them. I would be cancelled, even though I wouldn’t starve. I would like to end my comments the way I end my concerts with the last stanza of Desperado. It seems fitting.
Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’ but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you—let somebody love you
Let somebody love you before it’s too late.
Moderator Hull: Looking back at your life and career Don, I think of the configuration of the Eagles that were the best. It was your first concert back together in 1994. You, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, a newly sober Joe Walsh, Don Felder. Your voices were in full bloom, the harmonies were beautiful and perfect. The softness and fullness of everyone’s voices were at a peak. You had been separated for fourteen years, doing your own things quite well, I might add. But as you have said and Frey has also mentioned, you could only make that magic sound when you were together, with that group of guys.
Then it happened, reconciliation, forgiveness, new relationships, healing, and it released a new power in all of you.
Now, time has passed, former members have died. New and capable singers have replaced them, but the voices have changed. You’re still fantastic but, without Glenn, something just isn’t right. I hope you sing until you can no longer spit out a note. When I think of you and Glenn, brothers, soul mates, what God has joined together, let no man tear asunder. When the band was torn apart, the world mourned, we all wished, some may have prayed, that you would reunite.
One band member, I think it was Don Felder, speaking of reconciliation, said that the band would get back together when Hell Freezes Over. Just for the record, Don, Hell does not freeze, neither does it get hot. It is a place, but not the place described in the metaphor. Hell is a state of being that, after this life, is without God. Damnation is a state of “coming apart” God is the glue that holds us together and makes us persons. When that glue is gone, when God is not present, a state of being unknown to humankind takes place. It willhappen, justice will be done—and when it does it will be agony for the human being—separation from God. It will make all other Hells seem like practice. The Heart of the Matter, Don, is indeed, forgiveness. God brings reconciliation, forgiveness, joy, and harmony—you know that. Skeptics my say Don Henley will bow before Christ when Hell Freezes Over. OK, Don—you’re On.
Bill Hull
2024
[1] See Genesis 12:1-3.
[2] John 5:24 NLT.
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