At Christianity Today, Roger Freet finds challenging spiritual insights in the music of Tool, a prog-rock band not known for their positive attitude toward Christianity. The Tool lyrics Freet’s chosen to highlight in the article are direct, brutal, and demand answers. Perhaps it’s a shame that I’m not accustomed to music, Christian or otherwise, that talks so earnestly about spiritual matters. Speaking of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics, Freet concludes:

The Holy Spirit is the giver of all gifts. If someone elects to use those gifts in the service of God, good. But those gifts are not rendered dormant or defunct by virtue of our intent. An artist who explicitly rejects God, as many have done, nevertheless remains a “sub-creator,” as Tolkien said, a creator in the Creator’s image. We should be suspicious of our tendency to insist that God only shows up in the right places. Sometimes, pagan sources can most accurately reflect back to Christians the power and lasting impact of genuine witness. You never know when and where God might reveal himself.