Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”

  • What lyrics stand out to you in this song?
  • The world is a vampire, sent to drain
  • What do I get for my pain, betrayed desires
  • Show my cool and cold like old Job
  • Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
  • Tell me I’m the only one
  • And I still believe that I cannot be saved
  • How can this song be interpreted secularly/spiritually?
  • Secular:
  • Everything’s going wrong and you’re feeling trapped. Maybe something he brought on himself.
  • You can’t get anything back, including yourself. Get out rage.
  • No control and no one understands. No way out.
  • Spiritual:
  • Compares himself to Job.
  • Knows Jesus was God’s Son, but believes he can’t be saved.
  • Feel like you’re alone, no one knows what you’re going through.
  • From a Christian perspective, is the person the song is about reacting correctly to what’s going to him? Is he acting incorrectly?
  • He’s being honest. Questions why this is happening.
  • Believes it’s hopeless and he can’t be saved.
  • When we suffer, how do we react? Is it similar?
  • We get angry. Feel like we’re getting cheated.
  • Blame God, blame Satan, blame ourselves
  • How should we act when we suffer or when we’re in trouble? If it’s our fault, should we blame anyone?
  • Blame ourselves, face consequences, but accept forgiveness.
  • “And I still believe that I cannot be saved” – He knows about Jesus but can’t accept forgiveness and release from whatever has trapped him.
  • We need to release what we cause trouble for ourselves, know that we’re forgiven and move on with our lives. Know God has handled it.
  • What can happen to someone who believes that they can’t be saved?
  • Depressed for no reason.
  • Trying to get attention by feeling sorry for themselves.
  • Believing a lie.
  • Wasting time.
  • How should we act when someone else is suffering or in trouble?
  • Pray with them on the spot.
  • Offer yourself as a contact they can call at anytime.
  • Spend time with them. Show Christ in your actions.
  • What about someone that has asked for forgiveness but continually asks again and again for the same sin?
  • Is it b/c they don’t know they are forgiven or is it for attention?
  • Assure them that they are forgiven.
  • Ask them about something small they’ve done wrong as a child that they really have to think about b/c they’ve forgotten. Then, tell them they were forgiven for that just as much as what they continually pray about.
  • Phillip Yancey – Grace is the last best word. Say grace (prayer), gratitude, gratis, gracious, congratulations, and gratuity. British Parliament declares an “act of grace” when pardoning a criminal.
  • Look at the story of Job. Job had some suffering and troubles in his life. These were not brought on by his own misconduct. How did he handle it? How do his reactions compare to how we should handle suffering and troubles?
  • Never blamed God. Read Job 1:20-22.
  • He also had anger b/c he felt that he had done nothing wrong.
  • Got a bit cocky b/c he felt like God wasn’t listening and was asking God to prove to him what he’s done wrong. He was testing God.
  • Begged for death b/c of what he was going through.
  • Learned in the end that God was in charge. Read Job 42:1-6.
  • Read Habakkuk 3:17-19. Still praises God. Knows who God is and has faith in Him.
  • Look at the story of Elijah. He felt like he was all alone and everyone was after him. Read 1 Kings 19:1-18. He wanted God to tell him he was the only one. Why do you think it mentions how God appears to Elijah? What God say to his troubled prophet?
  • Sometimes God appears not in a mighty force, but a gentle whisper. Being aware of how God manifests Himself through our lives.
  • Elijah, like Job, wanted to die. Said he had enough.
  • Elijah isn’t alone and He’s got backup. God gave him nourishment and named specific people that will protect Elijah. And God assured him of seven thousand that did not fall into the temptation of worshipping Baal.
  • Do you think Job and Elijah were talking to loudly about there problems that they couldn’t hear God? Does that happen to us today?
  • Yes. Job and Elijah both had troubles and sufferings. But God was always there, even when they would rather worry about themselves and when they may not want Him to be. They both begged for death. But God provides a way out. He lets us know that we can be saved and we are saved. We can express our anger of troubles and sufferings, even those brought on by ourselves. But, we shouldn’t have a hopeless outlook. Know God is in charge.