"The Rebuttal (God's response to the Devil's Defense)"

What shall we call justice? That I destroy my creation for their transgressions, or that I show forgiveness and allow them to repent?
What does mankind deserve, death or life/
A difficult question, indeed. Even man cannot agree on what fate they deserve for their crimes. In their societies, when a criminal is convicted, they wish to see justice served. So they punish the crime. But, is this just? Is it righteous? If so, they why should I forgive?
Many of their definitions of justice would find one getting as good (or as bad) as they give, but this is not a solution to improper acts. One cannot change what has been done, but one can 'right' their wrongs.
Justice is served through balance. This has nothing to do with punishment, as punishment only serves to make one suffer for their wrongs. Punishment does not fix the problem or ways to avoid the punishment. When a dog pees on the carpet, the master becomes angry. The master rubs the dog's nose in its 'sin' and tells him how bad he is. The dog learns not to pee in the house if it wishes to avoid the master's fury. The dog does not learn why it is wrong or how to rectify the act.
Are men no better than dogs? Should they just be punished? No, for man has the ability to understand his wrongdoings and to rectify them. This is true justice! To teach the transgressor how to live successfully withing over society, forgive his past ignorance, and allow him to balance the scales. Destruction does not serve the interests of justice.
You ask why I forgive them... Because if I only destroyed them they would never learn and they would never have the opportunity to evolve to become something greater.
You point your finger at their every trespass and fail to see your own. You see their flaws and miss the beauty they possess. For every ounce of evil there is a pond of good.
I gave them life and set them loose in the world, free to think, act, and speak of their own will. It is up to them to find their way back to me. It is a long, hard, and sometimes wicked path they must travel in order to find their way, but without the trials they will never learn the proper path. Each mistake is a lesson, that their eternal lives may be perfection.

"Gone (But Not Forgotten)"

Her eyes...
Haunting memories to make me stumble,
A Struggle to even breathe again;
Like lightning tearing apart the sky,
(Tearing through my soul)
Leaving the tangy scent of ozone--
(...And broken hearts...)
--in the air as it scorches the earth;
A reminder of something beautiful
And deadly,
Forever she remains a part of me
Gone,
But not forgotten.

Her lips...
The taste of eternity,
(still so sweet on my own)
A heartbeat unleashes fire in my veins,
(A furious pounding of blood)
A roaring river raging through me,
Flooding the soul with passion and pain,
As it scars the surface,
Leaving behind something oh, so dangerous
But I can't let go,
Though she's gone...

And I can't forget,
No, I can't forget,
How she brought the sun.

"Take Me To The River (Part 2)"

I'll Keep my focus on the end of the road,
Eyes on the Raven,
My guide to a promise,
Salvation...
Blood in the water,
Baptism by fire,
The palladium has ascended to its heights.
Evolve from a monkey,
Become a machine,
Restore the heart of a man,
Here in Zion...
Suffer accusations at the hands of congregatios
We're all just waiting for own crucifixion.
'Cause eventually this dark society will nail you up,
They're just looking for an excuse...

But what are they gonna do when the judgement comes?
What are they gonna do when the tables turn on them?
2,000 years in darkness!

So take me to the River
Wash the sins from my skin
Whiten these vestments,
My faith overflowing ------

And the wounds on my wrist show where I've been,
The waters claim my destination...

"Deja Vu"

I feel as though I've written this before...
Shuffling words,
Nothing new in an age-old game.
Whatever is said
has been said before,
But I keep forgetting just when.
The days pass,
blurs of misery.
The faces are the same,
even when they change.
So tired,
but I can't sleep anymore,
and yet, I just can't wake up.
Still trapped in blazing fields,
and memories of you...
Oh, how I wish I could forget.
Somewhere inspiration lies buried
beneath the same old grind.
My broken bones barely hold this flesh together.
Again and again the cycle turns,
A wheel of time...
What was, will be,
Again and again...
And I know that I have been here before,
Maybe in a dream,
And maybe I never really left.
Whatever the case may be, I can't escape
After all, this prison of eternal repetition
Is of my own creation.

"What Lies Beneath"

Like a concussion, I'll leave you comatose/Lay out the negatives, Let truth be exposed/Confessions of a madman to the Holy Ghost/Voices in my head corrupting the host/ A Lyrical Armageddon on the tip of my tongue/ Don't be surprised if I spit out a lung/ A verbal execution, let the sinners be hung/ Pray to the saints till the bells are rung/ It's like a war inside, guns block out all sound/ Better seek out a savior, the Apocalypse is now/ I could be a destroyer in the heat of the moment/ King of the world, or one of the chosen/ Here I come in fires of chaos and cleansing/ An end to the struggle, s stop resisting/ I'll leave the tyrants cowering, cringing/ The face of a hero that this world is missing/ Perhaps I'm the one to be a cross bearer/ Or maybe I'm the one unleashing terror/ The fear inside or your echoes of hope/ A shepherd only dressed in a killer's cloak/ Divine fires rain down to scorch the soul/ Peel away the skin, reveal the untold/ I reach out, take a hold of the scepter/ Reclaim my place as kingdom erector/ Insanity breeches but never defeats/ As upon the throne I take my seat/ Let me tear the world apart, so I can rebuild/ Just a little tweak to weaken the will...
Am I the Devil,
Or a god in the flesh?
I'll save you
Destroy you
Rip the heart from your chest
But you can't live without me

"Destiny Chosen"

All I write is loves songs anymore,
'Cause I've got her running through my head.
And I can't sleep at night,
Trying to make it right,
Remembering all the words she said...
And when she left me all alone,
Out there in the cold,
Did she think about what she'd read?

(Now that I have made my bed, I guess I'll just have to lie in it.)

Mistakes are all I ever made
Suppose it's a little late for sorry...
But maybe I can try
Try to make it all right
Before God sets my broken soul free
And I can't change what I've done,
But I'll make a run,
At the brighter side of destiny

(Now that I have made my bed, I guess I'll just have to lie in it.)

If I'm down, doesn't mean I'm out,
A bed doesn't stop me from dreaming.
Even if it all seems
Pointless and out of reach,
Even pointlessness has its meaning.
Why must I explain my reasons,
In these changing seasons?
Words don't always convey my thinking...

But the simple things in life
Are something I can't forget.
Someday I'll get up
And make this world shine again.
'Cause in whatever bed I lie,
It's not gonna be my end!

(But if I have made my bed, I'm man enough to lie in it.)

"In The Hands of a Tyrant"

I saw the news today Oh Boy, Another random act of consequence. And though the news was rather sad, I just had to laugh. I saw the photograph. North Korea had bombed a mall. I guess they thought there was a fire sale. And if they heard the mournful pleas, then where was the humanity...

A madman seeking to provoke a short-tempered, impulsive nation into an unnecessary war. A school bully picking on a small child with the hope that it will entice Big Brother into a fight. Innocent lives lost to appease the whims of a little man with a complex...And for what? A show of power?

It is in times like these I wish I could stand face to face with a man like Kim Jong-Il and see just how tough he really is. When I speak on "Resisting oppression" this is the type of person I am opposed to. The U.N. is trying to stop a war, but I applaud South Korea stand. Pay back's a bitch, but sometimes it is necessary. If the Big Brother keeps coming to the rescue, the Bully will just find someone to help him beat the Big Brother or wait to catch the little brother alone.

To South Korea I say, "we cannot, nor should we continue to defend 'weaker' nations. I don't condone war but either the bully must be crushed by the little brother or the bully must be made to see reason. Barring that, nothing good can come."

To North Korea I say, "You are in the hands of a Tyrant. Refuse to be subject to such destructive acts. You are all men and women, equal in rights. You are free to choose a path of righteousness. South Korea is your brethren, as are we. Thus a war of nations is to shed the blood of family."

To the U.S. I say, "Pluck the splinters from your own eye before worrying about another's mote."

Ignorance may be bliss but it is also the precursor to our own downfall.

"Black Rain"

My life spills on an empty page
Where time is always forgotten
And when no more tears remain
You'll find my face on a poster

I bleed out like a dying man
Seeing everything slip away
God knows I've tried to get over you
But the fires feel divine

Inside I fall apart
Broken again
Choking on my mind
Broken again
Feel this Black Rain

My heart becomes an open book
I relive all my nightmares
A screaming child and a beast in the dark
The pen cries out for me

Empty pages are all I have left
Faint reminders of loneliness
Paper dreams fade away into flames
Ashes in the bloodstream

Inside I fall apart
Broken again
Choking on my mind
Broken again
Feel this Black Rain
Feel this Black Rain...