On Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 4:03:11 PM UTC-4, Dee Bachle wrote:   
   > On Apr 8, 2020, Charles wrote   
   > (in article<1f1180d8-be04-4f12-8a57-54fefc256086@googlegroups.com>):   
   >    
   > > This question was asked in a different Rush group recently. What were the   
   > > results? Most respondents said, "No! He was agnostic." Some said, "It's   
   wrong   
   > > to judge Neil." Others said, "It doesn't matter. All that matters is the   
   > > music." Several said something along the lines of: "I'm a Christian and   
   it's   
   > > clear to me Neil was too." A couple of people cited passages from Neil's   
   > > books, instruction videos, and lyrics, and argued that, yes, Neil was an   
   > > atheist.   
   > >   
   > > However, no one in that particular (FB) group tried to claim that Neil was   
   an   
   > > Alt-Right, Trump-worshipping, science-denying ID theorist.   
   > >   
   > > What's the unfortunate takeaway? That no matter how clear and articulate   
   Neil   
   > > was, and how many times over his decades-long career he has critically   
   > > addressed religion and theology, most Rush fans simply want to project   
   their   
   > > values on to the band and Neil in particular.   
   >    
   > If you want to know about Neil read his books.. in his own words he was a    
   > “bleeding heart libertarian”. Beyond that he didn’t widely share his    
   > views. In the end, he earned his rest and we should give it to him.   
      
   I agree that anyone who is interested in Neil should read his books.  These   
   mostly consist in travelogues, however.  For his beliefs as to whether gods   
   exist, his lyrics are the place to turn, since the topic has interested him   
   since he was a young    
   person.  He addressed theological issues since the 1970s, and he became   
   increasingly explicit on Rush's last several albums.     
      
   Actually, "Roll the Bones" is pretty clear as well:  "Faith is cold as ice/Why   
   are little ones born only to suffer/For the want of immunity or a bowl of   
   rice?" etc.     
      
   Neil has usually been very clear and has always been opinionated.  He has   
   never been mushy.     
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)