What Do You Think About Lady Gaga's "Judas" Video? . . . .

Just because we don't get it doesn't mean that we shouldn't work to try to figure it out. Abstract art has always been a little bit difficult for me. It's especially frustrating when people see things that I can't even begin to imagine as I stare at the same piece they're staring at. Sometimes that happens with edgy and artsy stuff that's out there in the world of music and video.

And that's a little bit of my struggle with Lady Gaga's new song and video, "Judas." My initial couple of rounds of watching and listening have left me with some thoughts, but an equal if not greater dose of head scratching. . . . probably because it's a song that functions on multiple levels. Judging from the growing volume of discussion centering on the video's meaning, I'm not alone.

Have you read the song's lyrics? If not, check them out. . .

Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas GaGa
Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas GaGa

[Lady Gaga - Verse 1]
When he comes to me, I am ready
I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain
Even after three times, he betrays me

I'll bring him down, bring him down, down
A king with no crown, king with no crown

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby

Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas GaGa

[Lady Gaga - Verse 2]
I couldn't love a man so purely
Even darkness forgave his crooked way
I've learned love is like a brick, you can
Build a house or sink a dead body
I'll bring him down, bring him down, down
A king with no crown, king with no crown

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby

Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as

[Bridge]
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offensed,
Or wear ear condom next time

I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby

Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Oh-oh-oh-ohoo
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as
Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas Juda-a-a, Judas GAGA

And then watch the video. . . .



This is one that's been talked about quite a bit. . . even before the video was released. Many have railed against Lady Gaga for being blasphemous and sacrilegious, conclusions - whether right or wrong - that should never be jumped to before listening and watching, even if the artist has a track-record of inciting controversy and taking people to and over the edge.

Two of the questions we must ask of this and other pieces of pop culture are these: 1)What does it mean to the one who made it? and 2) What does it mean to the viewer? We're starting to get some bits and pieces of the answer to #1 from the artist herself. The answer to #2 is going to vary from person to person. In the coming days I'm sure it will all get clearer. . . or maybe it won't.

But for now, here's what we do know. The song and video are filled with biblical imagery. No matter what the imagery is and how it's used, that's enough to turn some people off. In my case, I find it all very intriguing. In one interview, Lady Gaga says, "It's about leaving your darkness behind in order to come into the light . . . I have a lot of things that have haunted me from my past - choices, men, drug abuse, being afraid to go back to New York, confronting old romances - and Judas represents, for me, something that is bad for me that I can't escape. I keep going back and forth between the darkness and the light in order to understand who I am."

I can't get away from the fact that Lady Gaga is opening the window for viewers to see into her spiritual struggles and the constant battle between right and wrong. From the wavering back and forth between Jesus and Judas, to spiritual pull evidences on her face, to the final scene of stoning. . . perhaps Lady Gaga has offered us a very real picture of the struggle between right and wrong. . . something the Apostle Paul so clearly lays out in Romans 7. . . something that is very real in my own life. . . something that makes me grieve for myself the more I watch this video.

No, Lady Gaga is not a theologian and she may not be getting it all right. But I wonder if there isn't some deep truth that can be gleaned from "Judas." In the video I see myself. And I thank God that in the Scriptures I see my Redeemer. Ponder these words from Paul in Romans 7:21-25: "So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Today I'm at Camp Lebanon in Minnesota with a fantastic group of energetic and young youth workers. We're talking about youth culture. Tonight we're going to watch and talk about "Judas." I can't wait to hear what insights and reactions they have. What do you think about Lady Gaga's "Judas"?