A huge thank you to Theocracy

[Reinkaos]

Well, I mentioned in a previous post that something pretty big happened after hearing Mirror Of Souls, in particular the title track!

Let me just give you a little background on what happened leading up to that. Basically I became a Christian at the age of 18 and attended church and was pretty committed for a number of years but around 4 years ago my attendance at my church began to slip and slowly did my faith do pretty much the same. I realise now of course that I've been rather foolish!! I'm 30 now and I just know that despite my lack of faith in these last years, Christ has been faithful to me and I'm positive that Mirror Of Souls was the track used to make me realise this.

May sound far fetched to some but it just seems that way. When I heard the song properly for the first time just hearing the lyrics made me realise that if I were to see my soul reflected in the eyes of God then I can't even begin to imagine what I'd see, especially after some of the things I've said and done over the years. As the song drew to the climax it had me in tears and seems to move me every time I hear it.

Now I know what I need to do. My next step is to get my life recommitted to Christ. I want to say a huge thank you to Matt and Theocracy for this album. Not only is it the best album I've heard in years but it's had a massive impact on my life. I gather from reading the thanks list that you had almost given up on finishing the album Matt. Well, I for one am grateful you did, and I'm sure there will be more in the same boat there. So, thank you and of course praise God.

I do have a question following this. Now I know that probably the overwhelming majority of Christians attend a church regularly but for some reason it seemed to me back then that sometimes the close I got to church the further I felt from God. Is that just me? Was I going to the wrong church? I'd be grateful for any advice on where I should go from here.

Sorry this was a little long but I felt it was worth sharing and I just had to say a thank you to Theocracy for the masterpiece that is Mirror Of Souls.

Cheers for reading!

 

[Shamiah]

Awesome stuff! Hey, if I may suggest... try to find a church that God attends. Church without God is just a religious duty without much life. Church should be a bunch of people who get together to meet with Him, not to perform religious duties. You should pray and ask God to bring you to a good church, it's so important to meet up with people who believe like you do on a regular basis. If you ask Him, I'm sure He'll guide you. Blessings!

 

[dudu]

First off before I begin let me say I'm a born-again Christian and attend church nearly every Sunday morning. I grew up in a Christian household where I attended a non-denominational church with my parents as a child (and still do). For my first 7 years of schooling I attended a Catholic school nearby, this was a great school but I remember attending the mandatory mass during school about once a month. This was taken as more of a break from school to me, as I found the atmosphere almost oppressive, where we chanted songs and and performed rituals , and 45mins after entering we would leave not having been built up in the knowledge of the Lord at all. I specifically remember how around Easter we would attend stations of the cross ,and they would make us pray for forgiveness for killing Jesus rather then praising his resurrection. I found this crazy , even as a child, as I realized I (or the Christians) were not the ones that killed Jesus, and if his death could have been stopped , I would have done all I could have (assuming I lived during that time) Now I look back at the Catholic church and it appears to be failing miserably and their is a lack of priests. I feel as if the Roman Catholic church has become sort of a crutch for people who wish to proclaim their faith in Jesus with their lips but don't wish to take it to the next step and glorify him with their actions. Most of my Catholic friends I'm contact with now , cannot be separated from the people of the world with their behavior , which is pretty sad as I still love them, and pray for them. Now going back to the Church I attend now, I feel as if the Pastor and congregation help me grow in the things of the Lord. As I mentioned earlier the church is non-denominational , which I view as a great thing as we are not bound by any religious tradition but rather we can carry out our service according to what the Bible says (especially in the book of Acts).

Now back to your question about churches...

I feel as if you should search for a Church that genuinely tries to perform their service the way God would want. As Shamiah said in the previous post ask God to help you find the right church for you , and he will be faithful to do it .

Anyway I hope this was of some help and/or encouragement to you.

God Bless

 

[Atreides]

First of all, congratulations on your recomittment! This is truly fantastic news, and I must say that I experienced something similar upon hearing the first Theocracy CD. My faith was revitalized after a period of extreme denial of Christ. Treasure this and never forget what God has done for you.

Now, as a traditionalist Anglican/Episcopalian who respects Catholicism/Orthodoxy AND Evangelical Christianity, I must speak up.

Your personal experience is incredibly important, there's no doubt about it. But Christianity doesn't stop there. I do not tell you this to condemn, but to give you a message that I have found vitally important in every aspect of my Christianity: A life without the Church is a life without the fullness of Christ. Sitting in a room with Christ is not a true relationship with him. You can only come into the fullness of a relationship with Christ by discovering him through the Church, the pillar and foundation of truth (I Timothy 3:15), as well as in your private devotion to him. We have forgotten this in our individualistic society.

That said, you need to take your own time to figure out what that means. I must emphasize the importance of the Church, but I don't want to push one idea of what the Church is or means upon you, and don't let anyone else do so, either. One side will be accused of being ritualistic and pretentious and the other side will be accused of being energetic but meaningless, etc. I have my strong opinions, as do others, about what constitutes a true church, a good church, a bad church, etc. I have my firm beliefs, but ultimately we must make decisions for ourselves, and you need to search and make up your own mind, not simply be told what to do or where to go. If you wish to discuss and bat thoughts back and forth, I'd be happy to do so over PM. Just please don't give up on the Church because of bad past experiences! It is such a wonderful life once you discover a church body that fits your views and your needs. God bless!

 

[SeaStorm]

I'd like to chime in to wholeheartedly agree with Atreides. Everyone has positive and negatives images about the denominations they've been a part of. Don't put too much stock in any one person's opinion (including mine). Finding the right church can be a loooong journey with many stops along the way (all of them worthwhile for showing you some truth).

I hope this doesn't turn into a "this is why your church is wrong" thread. These forums have largely been free of that and I've always considered that a good thing. Heck, we're not even sure which sorts of paths you're inclined to go down, so praising or badmouthing random denominations (or non-denominational) seems a bit useless to me.

Since it's been brought up, if Catholicism is something that interests you, I'm happy to be a resource. I'm someone who came to it by choice as an adult, rather than having the "I had to do this as a kid and hated it" feeling that many people have, so you'll find I have a studied approach to it. I've been atheist, Lutheran, and Catholic, so I've been around the block a bit Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

I pray that you'll find the right church for you!

It's awesome to see Theocracy having this effect on people. I think many of us feel that God is clearly using this band for his own ends (I know I do).

 

[dudu]

I hope it's not to late, but I also meant to say in my other post , that I didn't mean any of my words to offend anyone (and I'm truly sorry If I did). I have family that is strongly Catholic and I respect them. It's just that from my experience that Is what I found, and I realize a different church within the same denomination can make all the difference.

 

[Atreides]

No offense taken! Each denomination has problems, there's no such thing as a perfect church. Just wanted to emphasize the richness of the life of the Church and the importance of keeping an open mind. No accusations intended.

 

[Reinkaos]

Thanks to you all for the words of encouragement and the advice which I will follow wholeheartedly.

I hope I didn't sound negative against the church in my initial post. The church I predominently went to for around 8 years was a great little place absolutely bursting with life but towards the end I'm not sure what happened. I'll be willing to bet that a lot of that was down to me as the turning from church and away from Christ was a gradual procedure which happened over the space of a few months. During the time I attended a few different churches but not regularly but none of them felt like I really belonged there. I certainly won't say anything against them as they all had pretty solid numbers going every week so must have been doing plenty of things right. I think my first stop will be to go back to my original church for a service and I'll feel quite comfortable doing so as I will know most of the people there and I'll see how that goes.

I fully appreciate all of your kind words and thoughts and I agree totally. I have had time to reflect and a good Christian life whilst being centred around Jesus must also be built on good firm foundations and a lot of that comes from a good church with a real passion for God. I am now pretty sure what I need to do.

I'll add it feels good to have regained my faith and while I know this is a very recent occurance I know my life is heading back in the right direction. I'm very pleased I signed up for the forum. Thanks again guys, I truly appreciate this.

 

[Atreides]

Awesome news, Reinkaos. God bless you in the months and years to come.

 

[dudu]

No offense taken! Each denomination has problems, there's no such thing as a perfect church. Just wanted to emphasize the richness of the life of the Church and the importance of keeping an open mind. No accusations intended.

Glad to hear it, besides their is only one real church in God's eyes and that is the church of Jesus Christ

 

[RebirthbyDeath]

I would also love to thank Theocracy, and praise God for them.

 

[DerrickC]

I would also love to thank Theocracy, and praise God for them.

I've been looking for the right words to add in to this thread, but I'll just steal these. Well said.

 

[SeaStorm]

This seems like a good thread for this. We got this story on the myspace page from a fan in Texas and I am re-posting with his permission.

bethlehem is a beautiful song.
In these past two weeks I know Im not living right.
Like in a backslid state. Doing things I dont want to do.
Slideing back to that old person (my old life)GOD delivered me from.Then I got your cd from nokternal hemizphear!!!
The song BETHLEHEM is totally convicting,the holy spirit is in this song!!!Not just the words but the sound of the voice,
the harmony,GOD is really dealing with me through this song.
It makes my hair rise,Im moved to tears every time I hear it.
GOD, I feel is calling me back through this song.
This song is truely anointedby GOD,
it couldnt have come at a better time, GODS timeing is perfect!!!
Thank you for being a true,beliving christian band!!!!!!

 

[Shamiah]

Awesome stuff!

 

[DerrickC]

Well... since it fits perfectly, I'll post my review from NewReleaseTuesday here. I'm honestly embarrased that I reviewed a "downloaded copy", but I've been having a hard time getting my local Christian music store to stock this thing, and I've still got this weird "thing" about ordering Metal CDs from "secular" sites. (It reminds me too much of a path that I've promised myself to never follow again.) No worries, I'll put in my legit order ASAP, since I REALLY love this album! Anyway, I'll let my words say the rest:

"Best Christian Album Ever! | Posted December 02, 2008
I've been holding off on reviewing this album, since my review is based on a promo copy download (I just couldn't wait for its December 9th release date to hear the whole thing.) But, since this amazing Christian band seems to be virtually unknown here (is that because they play Heavy Metal???), they deserve my support.

Theocracy were a recent discovery for me, but these guys are the band I've been searching for since becoming a Christian last year. I grew up listening to secular Heavy Metal, by bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc. Then I got into secular Progressive Metal, by bands like Dream Theater, Savatage, etc. Now that I'm following Jesus, I've sold or given away my collection of Metal CDs, in favor of Christian music. So, after that personal rant let me say that this one CD has EVERYTHING that I loved musically about all of those other CDs, but with very well written Christian lyrics that minister to my soul. Worth mentioning here is the title track, Mirror of Souls, which is the best lyrical description of Christianity that I've ever heard, and it came to me as a blessing when I most needed that kind of focus, since I'm on my own journey into learning more about the Christian life.

On Eagles' Wings will give you a good idea of what this album sounds like. Especially notable is the amazing "choir style" vocals in the choruses, which is the trademark sound of Theocracy. It's even more amazing to realize that Matt Smith, their songwriter, singer, and guitarist is responsible for every voice in that "choir", with studio overdubs.

I pray Theocracy are able to minister to others as powerfully as they've been able to minister to me.

Derrick."

 

[SeaStorm]

Derrick, well said.

After several Christian-focused reviews in this thread, how about one from a decidedly different angle? We got this on the myspace page from a fan in Oklahoma, USA (reposted here with permission):

"So I have been through the Jag Panzers and Jacobs Dream and Celladors of US power metal and after listening to your guys songs I realized that ....HOLY S%*T YOU GUYS ARE F#$%ING GOOD! This is top quality power metal with excellent vocals. Its amazing Cellador got anywhere with such a crappy singer but you guys have nailed it. Keep rocking."

For the record, I happen to love Michael Gremio's voice