Tony Jones, Emergents, and Kashmir.

Recently, Tony Jones on his belief net blog stated that

Kashmir

was the greatest rock and roll song ever. Musically, it is a tune I was familiar with in my growing up years. I do not think anything can be inherently wrong with music, but it is the lyrics I am concerned with. I want to ask is what do these lyrics mean and these musicians’ lifestyles that he supports say about him and the emergent church?

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face
Stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace
Whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate
The story was quite clear

Kashmir is a region between India, China, and Pakistan; all three governments have a role in governing the region. Apparently, it is a very beautiful place. Of interest to me, however, for the context of this commentary, is the fact that Kashmir was a center of worship for the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. This song is rich in religious significance, and I think that is significant when we consider Tony Jones’ enjoyment of the song. Tony Jones’ churchwholistic Christian missional community
instead of practicing Christian traditions on Sunday Morning practices the Hindu (Satanic) practice of Yoga. They say it is exercise, but what it is according to Hindu traditions is the worship of their myriad of Gods. Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and other emergent gurus love the contemplative practices of the Hindus and Doug Pagitt honors their traditions in Solomons Porch by having more quotes from their writings and poetry on their walls than scripture quotes.

Back to Page, the one who Tony Jones so admires. It is no secret that Page was involved in many occultic practices during the writing of this song. One of Page’s heroes was Alister Crowley, so much so that he purchased Crowley’s estate Boleskine House in 1971, on the shore of Loch Ness where Crowley practiced his Hellish, Satanic sex-magick rituals, including human sacrifices. Guitarist Jimmy Page would actually performed Crowley magical rituals during their concerts. Crowleys teachings and writings were woven throughout Led Zepplin songs because of Pages’ fixation with him. Kashmir is a fine example of this.

One of the new-age and Satanic practices is called Astral Projection, and this seems to be the reference to being a traveller of time and space. Page believed that he could travel about and speak to ‘elders of the gentle race’. It makes me wonder if he spoke with the same ‘masters’ that Bell spoke of in his message regarding breathing:

“[In Yoga] it’s not how flexible you are, it’s not whether you can do the poses, it’s not how much you can bend yourself, it’s can you keep your breath [breathes in and out] consistent [breathes out] through whatever you are doing.

And the Yoga Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God. Is it’s your breath being consistent. It’s your connection with God regardless of the pose you find yourself in. That’s integrating the divine into the daily.”

These ‘elders’ in Pages song sit outside of time and space, and can apparently see the future that will be revealed. It seems as though they are little gods in control and with full knowledge of a future that they have seen. Page’s description of their talk was ‘lilting grace’ that caressed his ear (ear tickling?). Their talk, their songs carry the same tone as yoga-inspired Indian folk music (you see how it all ties together). It truly makes me wonder what God Tony Jones and his emergent cronies are busy worshiping.

Oh, I been flying… mama, there ain’t no denyin’
I’ve been flying, ain’t no denyin’, no denyin’

All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land
Trying to find, trying to find where I’ve been.

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place
Yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon
I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June
When movin’ through Kashmir

Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails
Across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face
Along the straits of fear

When I’m on, when I’m on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah

Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I’m down…
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I’m down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there

Let me take you there. Let me take you there

Who does Tony Jones and Led Zepplin want to fill their sails? The Father of the Four Winds? Who is that?

Daniel 7:1-7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

What came up out of the sea as a result of the Father (Satan) of the four winds of Hell?

Revelation 6:1-8 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

What I get from this ‘greatest song EVER’ is that Led Zepplin and their listeners (like Tony Jones) have a different view of reality. They desire to trust Satan, the Father of the four winds, to fill their sails, and take them to a place called Shangri-La. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia—a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This is a place like the Emergents like Tony Jones envision the kingdom of God they are intending to bring to earth. They are allowing Satan (whether they know it or not) to bring them across their life (sea of years) to an imagined paradise (Kashmir/Shangri-La). I wonder if this is where Tony Jones’ pastor, Doug Pagitt, envisions that God will ‘reconcile and restore all mankind’.

No, in reality, though they believe they are right and are pleasing God, The emergents echo Page and Plant in that they want to ‘take you down’ with them.