Switchfoot and Karl Barth

Switchfoot is one of my favorite bands of all time.  Each of their albums is like meeting a new friend – at first, I’m not sure if we’re going to connect like I hoped we would, but over time my appreciation deepens to the point that my life is different because of our friendship.  I admit that was a bit cheesy and the analogy isn’t perfect, but I still love their music, for a variety of reasons. While listening to their new album Fading West, I noticed a theme that runs through their music that I hadn’t noticed before: the theme of brokenness, of the futility of this world. Here’s a sample of lyrics found across multiple albums.

Beautiful Letdown
It was a beautiful let down / The day I knew / That all the riches this world had to offer me / Would never do

Gone
We are not infinite / We are not permanent

Happy is a Yuppy Word
Everyone dies / Everyone loves a fight / Nothing is sound / Nothing is right side right / Everything fails / Everything runs it’s course / Blessed is the man who’s lost it all

Politicians
Everything is broken / Everything is broken / Everything is breaking down, breaking down / Everything is bleeding / Everything is bleeding / Everything is breaking down, breaking / Entropy and Aching / Where have we been aiming? / Everything is fading out, fading out / We are the faded, splintered, and sedated / Everything is fading out, fading out down

Mess of Me
I am my own affliction / I am my own disease / There ain’t no drug that they could sell / Ah, there ain’t no drug to make me well / There ain’t no drug / It’s not enough / There ain’t no drug / The sickness is myself

Thrive
No, I’m not alright / I know that I’m not right / A steering wheel don’t mean you can drive / A warm body don’t mean I’m alive / No, I’m not alright / I know that I’m not right / Feel like I travel but I never arrive / I wanna thrive not just survive

The World You Want
I’m kickin up the pieces / I’m trying out adhesives / I’m trying to fix a place that feels broken / All my words they fail me / My voices don’t avail me

Let it Out
From the day we’re born / We are scarred and torn

I’ve recently been working my way through Karl Barth’s Epistle to the Romans and while I can’t pretend that I understand everything he wrote, it has been clear that before we can receive God’s ‘Yes’, we must recognize that we stand under his ‘No.’ It is when we affirm the sinfulness of this world, that we stand under judgement, it is then that, as a gift, God gives faith. In Barth’s words:

“The Being and Action of God are and remain wholly different from the being and action of men. The line which separates here from there cannot be crossed: it is the line of death, which is, nevertheless, the line of life; it is the end, which is, nevertheless, the beginning; it is the ‘No’, which is, nevertheless, the ‘Yes.'”

I’m not sure if Jon Foreman is a fan of Karl Barth.  Nevertheless, his lyrics affirm what Barth stressed in his writing – when we recognize that we are broken, sinful, and unable to comprehend God according to our own ability, it is then that we may come to know God as he is.  This is the paradox of the Christian life, a paradox which Switchfoot captures so well in these lyrics.

Always
Hallelujah, I’m caving in / Hallelujah, I’m in love again / Hallelujah, I’m a wretched man / Hallelujah, every breath is a second chance