Born This Way (A Lady Gaga Overview)

This is more of an overview post (and quite long), launching out of some ideas in "Born This Way" but more generally engaging with Lady Gaga (For a more in-depth look at Gaga and some specific songs, my friend Gareth Leaney has written some excellent posts here).

First of all I have to confess, Lady Gaga is not my kind of music at all. But, I can see exactly why she is so appealing to people, both in terms of music and what she stands for, the message she propagates. Love her or hate her she has had an unbelievable impact in a relatively short space of time.

TIME magazine have included her in their top 100 most influential people. She is in the Guinness Book of World records 2012 for most twitter followers, millions more 'like' her on Facebook and she was the first person to get over 1 Billion viral video views on YouTube.

Be yourself, love yourself, be different, embrace your inner freak, don’t let the world bring you down.

In her songs she deals with massive issues of identity, value, purpose, meaning, forgiveness, acceptance and satisfaction. I want to think about the bigger picture of what Lady Gaga speaks about and stands for, the message that she wants people to embrace.

Wherever you stand on Gaga, I want us to think about whether Jesus has anything to say to the issues she sings about. Can a man who lived 2000 years ago really have anything to say to the 21^st century world, and especially to Lady Gaga?

You could argue that all of the extreme behavior, all of the controversial videos and the candid interviews are just part of a wonderfully well crafted marketing ploy. The whole thing is about selling records and making money and it has worked hook, line and sinker.

But, I think, although those things could be true, there is a lot more to it. If you probe a little deeper you find that Lady Gaga is all about identity. Have you ever seen an interview with Stephanie Germanotta? 

There is a whole alter-ego, not merely a stage name. Lady Gaga admits this herself:

“When I wake up in the morning, I feel just like any other insecure 24-year old girl. Then I say, ‘Bitch, you’re Lady Gaga, you get up and walk the walk today.’”

She has created an entire image from scratch. She seems to be living as Lady Gaga because she needs the security of the identity it gives her. Listen what she says about growing up:

“I felt like a freak.  Everyone was blonde. I was dark and theatre obsessed.  I remember seeing a picture of Boy George and thinking: ‘I feel like that’.”

Not only that, but I’m sure most of you heard about the now infamous “meat dress” she wore for the MTV Video Music Awards a while back. A huge stunt you might say, totally bizarre. But here’s what the lady herself said about it.

“The idea is, you are your image, you are who you see yourself to be.”

All of what we have thought about so far backs this up. Create an image for yourself and then be it. She does exactly that.

Lady Gaga has her acceptance bound up in her fans. She says she only feels truly alive when she is onstage performing for her audience. Without them she feels dead.

She even speaks of taking on this persona so that her fans, who may feel like freaks themselves, can have a freak to hang out with when they come to her show. She says that she wants them to feel like they are not alone, she wants them to be comfortable with themselves.

She has an image that her fans will love and in return they provide the significance and acceptance she craves.

“Who can blame her?” You might say!

We all want to feel accepted right? We all want to be somebody, to be significant. We’re born this way.

Whether we seek for that by being the life and soul of the party so that loads of people know who we are or by performing well academically to please our parents or by succeeding in the sports arena, winning trophies and being part of a great team, or whether its simply by blending in with the in-crowd. We all do it. We all want it.

Where are looking for your identity, your significance, you acceptance?

Maybe ask yourself, why is it that you are looking for it? Deep down what does this need show?

Lady Gaga is known as Mother Monster to her fan club and they in turn are the Little Monsters. It’s an exclusive club that is open to anyone to join.

She taps right into what we want.

Think about it. Have you ever changed the way you speak, dress or behave to impress a group of people? Or have you pretended to be interested in something or kept your opinion on a hot topic to yourself so as not to stand out?

Lady Gaga says it doesn’t matter, come to my concert we can be freaks together, forget what the world thinks.

But, what happens when the concert is over and people go back home, back to work, back to school, back to uni? Everything hasn’t just changed has it?

What about for Lady Gaga herself? When the fan numbers dwindle, when people no longer buy the records, or when the crazy videos, extreme antics and outrageous stunts are no longer crazy, extreme or outrageous, what will she do? Where will her significance, identity and confidence lie?

Our search, as human beings, for acceptance and identity is very real, none of us can deny that. We look for satisfaction, the problem is, we look for it in the wrong places and although in the short run we may well feel accepted, full of worth and fulfilled it doesn’t last forever.

We need something more than adoring fans, music sales, other “freaks” to hang out with.

Am I just trying to ruin your life, have a dig at Lady Gaga, or is there something I think really does solve our problem and satisfy our desire?

In Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, you will find the story of Jesus reclining for a meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee.

In those days, inviting someone for a meal was very significant. Jesus is Simon’s special guest, yet Simon fails to do for Him what he would normal do for such a guest. Normally the guest would be anointed with oil, greeted with a kiss and showed great respect. Simon does none of this for Jesus and he is one of the religious leaders, one of those people who had tried to make themselves acceptable before God because of their moral law keeping, exactly the kind of person you would expect Jesus to hang out with, exactly the kind of person you would expect Jesus to accept and be part of His crew.

What happens during dinner is quite astonishing and utterly unacceptable behaviour in their culture.

A sinful woman, whose reputation seems to go before her, most likely a prostitute, enters the house and begins to wash Jesus feet with her tears and anoint Him with very expensive perfume.

A few quick things:

Men and women would not interact like this in public.

Simon is a Pharisee, a well respected man, and this woman is a total outcast.

The perfume is of huge value, the act is very extravagant.

Here’s the clash of ideas. The religious types present at the table begin to grumble. You can imagine the scene. One nudges the other and mutters: “Have you seen that, does he not realize who she is?”

They call her a sinner and question Jesus’ status. They think that if Jesus is a prophet, He’d know exactly who she is and put a stop to this outrageous situation at once.

What Jesus does is wonderful.

He tells a story and puts Simon, as well as his guests right on the spot.

He exposes Simon’s lack of love and reveals her great love in response to what Jesus has done.

Jesus accepts this woman, He has forgiven this woman, He has saved this woman.

He doesn’t shun her, send her away. He is not at all embarrassed by her actions. He doesn’t listen to calls from those around to reject her. He knows exactly who she is and what she has done, yet He welcomes her. She knows her need and comes to Jesus. Simon thinks he is “good” and has no need for Jesus. Jesus’ presence at his house is not because Simon thinks he needs Jesus, but because he wants to look good and maybe glean something from His teaching or see what the hype is all about.

Jesus also doesn’t tell her to stick her fingers up at the religious leaders in an act of rebellion and defiance.

He doesn’t condone her lifestyle, He tells her that her sins are forgiven. Her act of extravagant love towards Him shows that her heart has been changed. She has found her satisfaction in Jesus.

She loves much because she has been forgiven much.

In being forgiven her greatest need is met. Not acceptance in the eyes of the world, but a new relationship with God.

The religious leaders would have thought this woman was the kind of person who was as far away from God as anyone could be.

Her sin totally separated her from God. Sin is basically rejection of God and so only God can sort it out.

Which is exactly what happens here. Jesus, the God-man, forgives this woman and brings her into the relationship with God that she was made for. We are all, like this woman, born for a relationship with God. We need it.

In a way Lady Gaga is trying to be the saviour of her fans. She seeks to give them meaning and acceptance and identity and save them from the big, bad, judgmental world around them. But she does it because there is something in it for her too.

Jesus on the other hand, comes to be our Saviour not because He needs us, He is perfectly secure in His identity as the eternal Son of God. He comes to save purely because He loves us completely self-sacrificially. He comes for the outcasts and sinners, those who are lost, and all the way through the gospel of Luke you can see this played out.

He invites you and I to be truly human, to be really accepted and satisfied in a relationship with the loving God of the universe.

It is a totally free, Jesus expects nothing from you. He is calling you to repent, come to Him, be forgiven, and live in relationship with Him.

Wake Up

Have you noticed that what you were taught in science at school changes as the years go by? Not just in terms of scientific advances, but just in terms of the content taught on specific topics meaning that if you do biology A-level they tell you that you might as well scrap what you learnt at GCSE and start again because it’s all so much more complicated.

Or for those who don't really like science, how about this: Remember the tooth fairy? You know when one of your baby teeth came out, you’d hide it under your pillow at night, which is pretty gross really, and you’d get up in the morning and the tooth would have magically been replaced by some money. In my day 50p was a good return for a tooth, nowadays I know kids who get £2 per tooth!!! Madness!

My parents one year even went to extreme lengths, not in the amount of money they gave me, but in the effort they went to to match what they gave me to what had happened. I had a tooth which cracked in half, so half was out and half still in my mouth.

So, my dad, trying to be funny I guess, sawed a 2p piece in half, and out it under my pillow in place of the half tooth!

Anyway, my point being from this that when you’re little you believe in the Tooth Fairy and you believe in Santa Claus. But, when you get older, you figure out, hopefully on your own, and not by a friend at school who’s clocked it first, that neither are real.

You grow out of believing in the stories, realize they are not true, and get on with your life.

There is a real sense of this in some of Arcade Fire’s lyrics, especially in the epic song “Wake Up”.

Although I am sure that the lead singer Will, in particular, is searching and investigating Christianity in some way, there is sense in this song that he almost brackets Christianity and Bible stories in the fairytale category.

“Children, wake up!” is the refrain.

You may have believed it and it may have been fun and brought some comfort when you are little, but when you grow up, you need to wake up and move on.

So the first question I want us to think about in relation to the Bible and Jesus is:

Is it all a load of rubbish, or is what you read in it historical fact?

Can what you read about Jesus be trusted?

Well, the interesting thing is that from a purely historical view, no serious historian would deny the existence of the person of Jesus of Nazareth. There is a lot of evidence for His life even outside of the Bible.

Then, if you compare the number of copies of NT documents and the date of them compared to the events they record you find that the weight of evidence is overwhelming.

Something like Caesar’s Gaelic Wars which would be taken as factual by historians across the board has 10 copies in existence and they date from around 800 years after the event too place.

There are over 24000 copies of the NT or parts of it and they date from as close 30 year and at most 300 years after the event.

So if you want to write off the Bible then you have to write of a whole load of ancient history at the same time.

Ultimately what the Christian faith hinges on is, who Jesus is? And did He rise again from the dead? The resurrection makes Christianity rise or fall

One things we can be certain of is that the tomb was empty. Jesus body was no longer there when the women returned to the tomb to go and anoint and embalm His body.

So, did someone steal it?

The disciples could have stolen the body, but two things make this effectively impossible.

One is that they all fled and did not see where He was buried and they were in hiding for fear the same thing might happen to them. There was no way they’d have had the guts to do it, never mind the fact there was a Roman guard placed on duty at the tomb precisely so no one could remove the body.

Two is that all but one of the 11 remaining faithful disciples died horrific deaths for what they believed and the other spent the later years of his life in exile. They would not have died for an obvious fabrication.

The religious authorities could have stolen the body. But, this makes no sense because they wanted rid of Jesus. When the disciples and others started claiming He had risen and causing trouble, as the religious leaders saw it, they could have just produced the body and all would’ve been over and done with.

The Roman guard could’ve move it. Again for them to do that, they would have been stoned for neglecting their duty.

Another option: Jesus didn’t really die.

If Jesus didn’t really die, then 2 very strange things happened at the cross.

When Jesus’ body was requested for burial his legs were not broken.

In order to make someone being crucified die quicker, the Roman soldiers used to break their legs so that they couldn’t hold themselves up to breathe.

Jesus’ legs were not broken because He was already dead, there was no need. This also fulfilled a prophecy made about Him hundreds of years before He was even born.

On top of that when the soldier at the cross pierced Jesus’ side, there was water and blood flowing out. Apparently this is medical proof of death too. But I’m no doctor.

The other reason people go for Jesus not dying is they say that it want really Him on the cross, but someone made to look like Him. Often Judas.

The question is, at what time could Jesus have escaped?

From the last supper with the disciples, where Judas was present, to the crucifixion itself, Jesus is under close scrutiny. He could not have slipped away.

The tomb was empty and there is not other logical explanation for it that holds up to scrutiny.

Jesus appeared to many people after He died.

He appears to Mary in the garden near the tomb. He appears to the disciples in the upper room.

He appears again when Thomas is with them and invites Thomas to put his hands into the nail marks and spear hole. Thomas wonderfully responds by worshipping Jesus as Lord and God, something Jesus does not rebuke Him for because it is true.

The idea of giddy hallucination can be dispelled too because Jesus appears to 500 at one time, 500 people even if they are on the same drug do not hallucinate the same thing. Many of those who were part of that 500 were living when that was written and could have denied it if it was indeed false.

So, my question to you is, if Jesus rose from the dead, what are you going to do about it?

Here are the second section of lyrics I want us to consider:

“We’re just a million little god’s causin rain storms turnin’ every good thing to rust.”

I believe this touches on a very interesting truth. I think what is being said here is evident in the world around us. We all want to be in control, we want to be masters of our own destiny, we want what we want and when we want it.

But in our wanting to be god of our own lives we mess up the good things around us.

If you think about it, this is pretty logical, not just a thing that a Christian might say.

If every human being lives for their own best interests that is going to cause chaos because we don’t each live in a vacuum detached from anyone, or anything, else.

The solution that Jesus brings is unique and radical.

In Luke’s gospel He tells us that He has come to "seek and save the lost" and he has come not to call those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners, to repentance.

Jesus calls people to come and accept the free offer of forgiveness He brings.

The amazing thing about Jesus is that He doesn’t just say these things but actually does something about them, hence my reason for defending Jesus’ resurrection earlier.

Jesus comes, shows His love by dying to save people, and then rises again and proves He is exactly who He says He is, and, has done exactly what He said He came to do.

If you are willing to give Jesus a chance by reading about Him, I think you will see a wonderful man. Not just a bunch of fairy stories, but a real life hero. Jesus has compassion on the weak, the needy, the poor the outcast. He has harsh words to say to those who abuse others and put themselves first.

He comes to offer mercy, grace, kindness, forgiveness and love, if only people will come to him, relinquish their desire to be the god of their universe and let Him be that.

All you need is love

Let’s first just take a couple of minutes to appreciate the Beatles! Whatever you think of them: Greatest Band Ever or Most Over-Hyped Band Ever. The fact they released 7 studio albums between March ‘63 and August ’66 is stunning! You’re lucky if your favourite band releases 1 album every 2 years nowadays.

Their appeal and popularity across the board is undeniable. Screaming teenage girls and cool student-aged guys, older married women and hard-working men liked the Beatles.

Not many bands have ever had that same type of success since, if any at all.

But the Beatles weren’t without their critics or their problems. Ultimately many people blame Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman, but mostly the former for the break up of the Beatles. But differing music styles and ideas as well as egos probably also played a part. A disillusioning trip to India for the band, except for George, wasn’t great either it seems.

How could a band who sang “All you need is love” have such difficulties and end up splitting. They all had wives or partners and they had each other.

Did they prove, that actually, you need more than love?

I guess another question is, how do you define love?

Is love just a warm fuzzy feeling you get when you’re around someone you like? Is love a choice? Do you choose to love someone and show it in actions? Is it both? Or can love even be defined?
 When I say “I love you” to my wife, what do I mean?

We live in a society that places a high price on love and looks for it in many places. Mr or Mrs Right, close-knit groups of friends, experiences, often sexual ones, or, family are the primary sources I would imagine.

When you listen to early Beatles tracks you hear a really clear message of love. There is a search for love, the perfect person to spend your life with.

“Love, love me do, you know I love you, I’ll always be true, so won’t you please love me do”

How about songs such as “I wanna hold your hand” or “She loves you” or “I saw her standing there”? All speak of seeing a girl and falling in love or want to hold her hand and walk with her etc.

Love is an important commodity, to put it somewhat crudely. The Beatles also famously sang “Can’t buy me love”. Money can’t buy you love. You know those mastercard adverts. I guess if there was one to speak of love it could go like this:

Flowers £10

Meal for 2 at a fancy restaurant £75

Flashy sports car £80,000

Finding true love, priceless.

There are some things money can’t buy but for everything else there’s Mastercard.

Love is something we all crave and we may even be willing to give up everything else to find it.

As human beings we long for it. We would maybe even go as far as to say that it is a fundamental human need.

We are cups, which need filling with love, but maybe we are slightly leaky cups that constantly need filling up with love. There is never complete satisfaction.

There is an element of truth in that, we are created for relationships, and I believe we are created ultimately for a relationship with the loving God of the universe. He is the only one who can truly satisfy us.

But to describe us a mere receptacles who need filling with love is to be quite selfish.

We are beings who are called to love others.

To give, not just to receive. Having good friends, being married and enjoying sex, having a boyfriend or girlfriend, belonging to a close family unit where there is real care and love is a wonderful thing. But all I am saying is that if we look to any or all of those to ultimately fulfill us, they will fall short. In fact expecting any of those relationships to be perfect and bring complete satisfaction puts an unfair pressure on the people in that relationship.

It is a relationship with Jesus Christ that can and will completely satisfy and then with that in place all of those other good relationships find their right place.

Interestingly enough Jesus summed up the Old Testament and Christian teaching like this:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself”

That’s is quite removed from the modern idea that Christianity is unfeeling, judgmental and dull isn’t it? If Jesus is right, and if this was lived out, it’s actually wonderfully warm.

I know some of you will have come across people claiming to be Christians who have been all of those negative things. First, I am sorry that they’ve given that impression. Second, none of us are perfect and while Christians should be seeking to love God and love neighbour, they won’t always do it. My point is,

look at Jesus. He does exactly that, lives a life of perfect love. He is the One we seek to follow, finding that He is attractive is the answer.

In “All you need is love”, the idea that being where you’re meant to be, doing what you want to do and dealing with problems, are solved by love. If you have love you can achieve anything and everything.

In a letter written by one of Jesus’ closest friends we find this definition of love:

“This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4v10)

Also this:

“This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, that we should also lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3v16)

Love comes from God and it is most clearly displayed in the fact that Jesus laid down His life to pay the price for our sins.

God is love. Contrary to popular belief that He is this kind of cosmic policeman in the sky just waiting to smite you, the Bible tells us that God is love. Not just loving, but actually love itself.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit in perfect loving relationship. It is the outflow of this love that means creation is here and is it the outflow of this love that means God wants us to be in relationship with Him and He has done all that is needed for that to be a reality.

In Luke 23 at the crucifixion we see Jesus giving Himself for those who would believe in Him. He has done it all. In another gospel He cries:

“It is finished!”

His work is done, sin has been paid for, relationship with God is now accessible through Him.

Luke mentions 2 very important aspects of what is happening at the cross.

The first is the darkness:

The darkness shows that in His death Jesus is paying the penalty for sins which are not His own. As the thief points out, Jesus is innocent.

But this is not some kind of cosmic stunt by God, it’s not child abuse from Father to Son, but rather God dealing with the problem of sin in Himself, within the perfect loving relationship of the Trinity so that we might be brought into fellowship with Father, Son and Spirit.

Second the curtain is torn:

This shows that what I have just said is possible. Access into the throne room of God, access into the place where God was said to dwell is not open. Only the High priest used to be able to go their once a year after a whole host of rituals.

Now the way is open through Jesus.

By trusting in Him, coming to Him for mercy and forgiveness, as one of the thieves does, we can enjoy a wonderful relationship with God.

Jesus’ interaction with the thief who sees His need and asks for mercy is amazing.

Jesus says: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

What wonderful words to hear!

Not only that but the soldier near the cross sees there is something completely different about this guy and the way He dies.

We often live like love is god. We search for it anywhere and everywhere as I’ve said already. We want something for ourselves, we want to be loved, we want to feel secure, we want to feel filled, we want to be satisfied.

We worship love.

But, the essence of true love is the giving of yourself for another. Love does not seek it’s own ends, love is patient and kind. Love is outward focused.

Love is not god, but God is love. God defines what true love is. It is self-sacrificial, it is self-giving.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails"

Replace love in that passage with Jesus or God and you’ve hit the jackpot. The definition of love is wonderful is it not?

It perfectly describes God. God is the only one worthy of worship.

If every human being lived this way, the world would be sorted. The problem is, the church this letter was written to were not living this way, they had lost sight of it.

The problem we have is that none of us live this way. We all seek our own ends. That’s why Jesus died, so that we might live for Him and learn to love this way and live this way with other people.

So, in a very real way, love is all you need. The Beatles were right!!! But only when you define love the way God does. When you see that God is love, it is wonderfully attractive. All you need is love, because all you really need is God.

(This blog post is pretty much the content of a talk I gave at Huddersfield CU mission week in February 2011).