Believe it or not, the title suggests an actual term in theology. Illumination theory is the theory of how humanity interprets "divine scripture."
The guitarist John Petrucci describes the meaning of the lyrics "are about things for which people will live, die or kill." However, I want to go a bit deeper than that because artists want to leave us to the interpretation. So the section titled "live, die, kill" calls into question what would make the individual be willing to commit with those actions. But then, the lyrics moves the discussion into a related topic letting the individual call into question if they are living, dying, or killing for the right reasons. That second part of the lyrics in this section say:
The bridges we build to connect
The distance that makes us forget
Hate dividing us, love reminding us
Of our shared humanity
Hope can be a shadow fleeting
I would rather die believing
Capture it all in a final act of faith
We seek to understand
We cry with hand in hand
A story that needs to be told
An answer that begs to be found
The beauty we wish to behold
Is never too far away
Back in time, the way humanity ran things seemed like the right way to live. But as the distances of those bridges grew longer, the aim or idea became distorted and so while time goes on, we try to search for the "unknown" but it must be hiding under our noses.
Section 4. "The pursuit of truth" summarizes a list of concepts or things that humanity would drive and strive for. They are things that cause humanity to "live, die, or kill." Again calling into question if the individual's goals are worth it.
Section 5. "Surrender, Trust & Passion" takes all of what humanity does and sorts them into life lessons that we go through. Not all lessons are easy and they can cause pain. The individual learns a painful lesson and walks away stronger as long as that person leaves with a trust in love, commits to passion and surrenders to the light.
Summary: The lyrics (simply put) has references and themes from religious text. They are, however, rewritten for a more universal approach to relating with the listener. We live, die, and in extreme cases kill depending on the circumstances. In the grand scheme of things, all of our experiences become lessons that we learn to become better and stronger for we are not perfect. We are approaching perfection through our actions both right and wrong.
Believe it or not, the title suggests an actual term in theology. Illumination theory is the theory of how humanity interprets "divine scripture."
The guitarist John Petrucci describes the meaning of the lyrics "are about things for which people will live, die or kill." However, I want to go a bit deeper than that because artists want to leave us to the interpretation. So the section titled "live, die, kill" calls into question what would make the individual be willing to commit with those actions. But then, the lyrics moves the discussion into a related topic letting the individual call into question if they are living, dying, or killing for the right reasons. That second part of the lyrics in this section say:
The bridges we build to connect The distance that makes us forget Hate dividing us, love reminding us Of our shared humanity
Hope can be a shadow fleeting I would rather die believing Capture it all in a final act of faith
We seek to understand We cry with hand in hand
A story that needs to be told An answer that begs to be found The beauty we wish to behold Is never too far away
Back in time, the way humanity ran things seemed like the right way to live. But as the distances of those bridges grew longer, the aim or idea became distorted and so while time goes on, we try to search for the "unknown" but it must be hiding under our noses.
Section 4. "The pursuit of truth" summarizes a list of concepts or things that humanity would drive and strive for. They are things that cause humanity to "live, die, or kill." Again calling into question if the individual's goals are worth it.
Section 5. "Surrender, Trust & Passion" takes all of what humanity does and sorts them into life lessons that we go through. Not all lessons are easy and they can cause pain. The individual learns a painful lesson and walks away stronger as long as that person leaves with a trust in love, commits to passion and surrenders to the light.
Summary: The lyrics (simply put) has references and themes from religious text. They are, however, rewritten for a more universal approach to relating with the listener. We live, die, and in extreme cases kill depending on the circumstances. In the grand scheme of things, all of our experiences become lessons that we learn to become better and stronger for we are not perfect. We are approaching perfection through our actions both right and wrong.