Atheist that I am, I find it ironic that I'm the only one to pick up on the seemingly biblical meaning of the furnace.
One of the most common stories bible-thumpers quote is three Jewish guys who were ordered to bow down to some idol or other by a Babylonian king. They refused, so he had a furnace turned up so high that the dudes who carried out his orders got burned to death in the process. The three guys still refused, so he tossed them in, and supposedly they were miraculously not burned.
Now despite the fact that I know Bad Religion don't follow Christian bullshit, I still think this is a nod toward that.
The song is talking about someone who wants to change things for the better, mobilize the people against Bush perhaps, which is what's meant by "create a fresher atmosphere". However, he knows that doing so will result in him being forcibly silenced (possibly killed) by the very government he opposes.
Atheist that I am, I find it ironic that I'm the only one to pick up on the seemingly biblical meaning of the furnace.
One of the most common stories bible-thumpers quote is three Jewish guys who were ordered to bow down to some idol or other by a Babylonian king. They refused, so he had a furnace turned up so high that the dudes who carried out his orders got burned to death in the process. The three guys still refused, so he tossed them in, and supposedly they were miraculously not burned.
Now despite the fact that I know Bad Religion don't follow Christian bullshit, I still think this is a nod toward that.
The song is talking about someone who wants to change things for the better, mobilize the people against Bush perhaps, which is what's meant by "create a fresher atmosphere". However, he knows that doing so will result in him being forcibly silenced (possibly killed) by the very government he opposes.