Alice in Chains "Man in the Box"

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So I was playing Rock Band with some friends last night, and this song came up.
I was unfamiliar with the band or song, and sang it. Afterwards now I wonder if I did something wrong after looking up the lyrics. Is this a blasphemous song about Jesus?
Did I commit sin by singing it? I did some google searches to find the meaning of the song and it had things ranging from POW’s in Vietnam to Religious Censorship. Any Advice?
 
Booter said:
So I was playing Rock Band with some friends last night, and this song came up.
I was unfamiliar with the band or song, and sang it. Afterwards now I wonder if I did something wrong after looking up the lyrics. Is this a blasphemous song about Jesus?
Did I commit sin by singing it? I did some google searches to find the meaning of the song and it had things ranging from POW’s in Vietnam to Religious Censorship. Any Advice?
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questionable lyric:
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted

Not sure whether its blasphemous or not. Never really thought about it. It could be taken two ways, so Im not sure… perhaps someone who knows more could help.

FTR, Layne said that he wrote the song to protest censorship in the media…
 
First off, Alice in Chains is my favorite band ever. Their new album is pretty good, but not as good as their old ones except it probably beats the self-titled one. About the lyrics, I think the media censorship thing is right. With that said, I wouldn’t sing that line. If it isn’t blasphemous, it’s pushing the envelope. There’s also the issue, like the last poster said, that it could be taken more than one way. I’d rather not use the name of Jesus except in the most respectful way possible.
 
LOVE this song. Infact, out of all the songs on my ipod, this one probably has the most memorable Chorus!

Anyway how do you find my eyes now that you’ve sown them shut? By Denying your maker?😃 Haha.

Yeah in regards to whether or not this song is blasphemous, i would say it is. The dude who said "i wouldn’t sing the line “Jesus Christ. Deny Your Maker” He is spot on. Instead i say JASON KREISS, DENIAL MAKER! LOL to make it sound a little better hahaha. But there was a vid on youtube i think alice were playing this song and Layne did the sign of the cross then gave the fingers as he sang that lyric. Hmmmmmm wonder where he is now!:o
 
It is blasphemous. I used to listen to that song when it first came out, but don’t anymore.
 
I would say that it is. I used to listen to that song as well but don’t now. I also don’t listen to Tool anymore, who used to be one of my favorite bands b/c of their explicitly Anti-Christ lyrics.
 
I don’t buy that it is blasphemous, as it doesn’t seem to fit the definition quite fully in that there doesn’t seem to be any ill-speaking about His Divine Majesty…but I would say that it is certainly profaning the name of God…which would be a direct transgression of the second commandment.
Exodus, ch. 20, vs.7
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Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.
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Deuteronomy, ch. 5, vs. 11
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Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for he shall not be unpunished that taketh his name upon a vain thing.
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Pretty good reason to consider one’s words very carefully before writing, speaking or singing.

It sounds to me like an objective sin was committed, but you’ll have to consider well whether it was a grave or light material…and whether, if it was grave, you did it with full knowledge and consent of your will so as to render it mortal.

– Nicole
 
I dont think the use of Jesus’ name is intended to be offensive here. I did some digging and found ann interesting conclusion.
When the song came out, the singer was having a tough time with drugs and was on the verge of dying (he eventually died months later). Apparently what he is trying to say through the lines “Jesus Christ. Deny your Marker. He who tries. Will be wasted” is by denying Jesus, it has left him wasted. Also, the singer had been searching for his father (who I believe left him at a young age) and is at the point where he doesn’t want to look anymore and is asking God to help him, in a sense, let it go. I’m not 100% sure about that last part. But I believe that’s what the conclusion said.
Also the first verse, at least, is alluding to how he is pretty much on his death bed because of his own actions. At this point in time, the singer was also in great pain and suffering because of his addiction and they became a way for him to releave the pain. When he says “won’t you save me?” He is asking for the pain to stop and for God to save him.

I hope I helped a little.
 
Bobby_Jim said:
Ugh, the '90s was a lost decade for pop music.
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Not necessarily: That is the era of classic Brit-pop like Oasis, whose album “Definitely, Maybe” routinely ranks higher than The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper.”
 
randomuser said:
Not necessarily: That is the era of classic Brit-pop like Oasis, whose album “Definitely, Maybe” routinely ranks higher than The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper.”
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There are exceptions. I just remember the early '90s as the period when melody and harmony and musicality mostly disappeared from the radio, to be replaced by morose yarling and groaning. It was around that time that I switched to oldies radio and discovered the great music of the '60s.
 
erinn123 said:
I dont think the use of Jesus’ name is intended to be offensive here. I did some digging and found ann interesting conclusion.
When the song came out, the singer was having a tough time with drugs and was on the verge of dying (he eventually died months later). Apparently what he is trying to say through the lines “Jesus Christ. Deny your Marker. He who tries. Will be wasted” is by denying Jesus, it has left him wasted. Also, the singer had been searching for his father (who I believe left him at a young age) and is at the point where he doesn’t want to look anymore and is asking God to help him, in a sense, let it go. I’m not 100% sure about that last part. But I believe that’s what the conclusion said.
Also the first verse, at least, is alluding to how he is pretty much on his death bed because of his own actions. At this point in time, the singer was also in great pain and suffering because of his addiction and they became a way for him to releave the pain. When he says “won’t you save me?” He is asking for the pain to stop and for God to save him.

I hope I helped a little.
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It seems like it is mentioning the name of God in vain.
Besides, it seems like it is ordering Jesus Crhist to deny His Maker… Kinda nonsensical. Jesus was born from God the Father and not created by him, and there is absolutely nothing in our religion that can provide a slightest opportunity to suppose that Jesus can deny His Father.
If there is a period after the words “Jesus Christ”, then the song is ordering a listener to deny his Maker… Not a very Christian approach anyway, is it?
 
VladimirN said:
It seems like it is mentioning the name of God in vain.
Besides, it seems like it is ordering Jesus Crhist to deny His Maker… Kinda nonsensical. Jesus was born from God the Father and not created by him, and there is absolutely nothing in our religion that can provide a slightest opportunity to suppose that Jesus can deny His Father.
If there is a period after the words “Jesus Christ”, then the song is ordering a listener to deny his Maker… Not a very Christian approach anyway, is it?
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Actually, the “Jesus Christ” and “Deny your maker” are separate lines sung by two different singers. Some theorize that the deny your maker line is the devil chiming in after this tortured man cried out to Jesus for help, after which he replies that trying to deny Him will only leave you “wasted”. If one connects the first two lines, then it reasonable to suppose the third line could factor in as well. And the fact that there are two different voices alternating these lines suggests a dialogue, which opens up all kinds of possibilities for interpretation.
 
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