i am tired.
photo source:
_papillion
Your songs have often dwelt on religion in an ambivalent way. The Bible first made an impression on you when you were a choirboy, but how did your beliefs develop from there?
As a kid I liked the stories because they were spooky, violent. I don't know whether I believed or not. But I started reading the Old Testament in art school because I found I had more of an emotional attachment to religious art than I did to a lot of modern art. Then, through the 80's, writing the novel I read the New Testament very closely and I was...taken away by the life of Christ. To me, he seems deeply human, fallible, something one could almost aspire to.
What was your favourite Bible story?
The touching of the hem of the garment. Christ is in a throng of people. A girl who has had "an issue of blood" for 12 years reaches out and touches the hem of his garment. He turns and says, "You are made whole." The notion of being made whole...That was the human nature of him.
Do you believe in God now?
I do, yeah. But it's open, doubtful, sceptical. Although I've never been an atheist, there have been periods when I struggled with the whole thing. As someone who uses words, you need to be able to justify your belief with language. I'd have arguments and the atheist always won because he'd go back to logic. Belief in God is illogical, it's absurb. There's no debate, I feel it intuitively, it comes from the heart, a magical place, a place...of the imagination. But still I fluctuate from day to day. Sometimes I feel very close to the notion of God, other times I don't. I used to see that as a failure. Now I see it as a strength, especially compared to the more fanatical notions of what God is. I think doubt is an essential part of belief.
- Nick Cave: Mojo Magazine Interview by Phil Sitcliffe