I\'ve had literal decades to contemplate the meaning of this song and I feel like it is a song has dual meanings. The first is the more face value one about a non-believer rationalizing Christ. At first they are questioning him and doubting him. \n\nBasically saying "How can you claim to be this savior when all I see is religious wars, persecutions and death"? "You have the power to stop it and yet it persists"! \n\n Their viewpoint of Christ is not of the peaceful, loving God that Christ represents in the New Testament, but the vengeful, wrathful God that is present throughout the Old Testament. The "Please leave them behind/to die" line is indicative of this, basically saying "leave people alone because your very presence is causing everyone to suffer". \n\n They then begin to bargain with God via a test "Bring Them To Life". "Reverse all of this pestilence and corruption, famine, hatred and suffering; change their very hearts and maybe you might actually be who you claim to be"! "If you do this we will all know who the true God is and believe in you and be set free"!\n\nI feel like the second meaning is trying to magnify to the church that this is the perspective of those who you are trying to convert and that in order to help them find their way to Christ you have to understand all of the significant, valid perspectives those people have that keep them from understanding why those things are allowed to happen. They don\'t understand why the believers in Christ are willing to fight and die in his name. They need miracles and signs and things they can see and quantify because "faith" is a completely foreign concept to them. That is why we as believers must always be cognizant of our actions because they mean so much to those who are foreign to our beliefs and one wrong step could cost a soul their eternity in heaven!
I\'ve had literal decades to contemplate the meaning of this song and I feel like it is a song has dual meanings. The first is the more face value one about a non-believer rationalizing Christ. At first they are questioning him and doubting him. \n\nBasically saying "How can you claim to be this savior when all I see is religious wars, persecutions and death"? "You have the power to stop it and yet it persists"! \n\n Their viewpoint of Christ is not of the peaceful, loving God that Christ represents in the New Testament, but the vengeful, wrathful God that is present throughout the Old Testament. The "Please leave them behind/to die" line is indicative of this, basically saying "leave people alone because your very presence is causing everyone to suffer". \n\n They then begin to bargain with God via a test "Bring Them To Life". "Reverse all of this pestilence and corruption, famine, hatred and suffering; change their very hearts and maybe you might actually be who you claim to be"! "If you do this we will all know who the true God is and believe in you and be set free"!\n\nI feel like the second meaning is trying to magnify to the church that this is the perspective of those who you are trying to convert and that in order to help them find their way to Christ you have to understand all of the significant, valid perspectives those people have that keep them from understanding why those things are allowed to happen. They don\'t understand why the believers in Christ are willing to fight and die in his name. They need miracles and signs and things they can see and quantify because "faith" is a completely foreign concept to them. That is why we as believers must always be cognizant of our actions because they mean so much to those who are foreign to our beliefs and one wrong step could cost a soul their eternity in heaven!