As I Lay Dying Singer Tim Lambesis Admits He’s An Athiest
As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis recently revealed to Alternative Press that he and other bandmates became atheists but kept claiming to be Christians so they could sell more records. The Christian rocker was sentenced last month to six years in prison for trying to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife, Meggan Murphy Lambesis.
Shortly before the sentencing, Lambesis sat down with Alternative Press to speak about several things, including a claim he made on a YouTube video last year addressing his spiritual allegiance. The video was uploaded after fans wondered if his new side project, Pyrithion, was satanic, notes the Christian Post.
AP‘s West Coast editor, Ryan J. Downey, asked the singer if he was lying by omission when he claimed on the video that he wasn’t a Satanist. Lambesis explained, “Yes, If you say, ‘This is what I believe, you can count on this. If you believe the same things, I’m on your team.’ ”
Tim Lambesis added that he was was afraid of revealing his true feelings about God because he felt it would affect the record sales of As I Lay Dying. Because of this, he chose to say, “I’m not a Satanist,” as a cover. The embattled rocker added in the interview, “As far as the video I did explaining Pyrithion’s lyrics… I was trying to put out the fire by saying the easiest thing, ‘I’m not a Satanist!’ Truthfully, I was an atheist. The ‘strategy’ I had at the time was cowardly.”
Lambesis added that two of the songs on his Pyrithion record dealt with negative themes, such as the singer coming to grips with the idea that life has no meaning. He explained, “These were negative themes I wasn’t ‘allowed’ to deal with in As I Lay Dying songs.”
The Independent reports that the As I Lay Dying singer started distancing himself from Christianity while studying it in college. He noted, “In the process of trying to defend my faith, I started thinking the other point of view was the stronger one.” He became an atheist and used his new-found stance as justification for his sins, including cheating on his wife. Tim Lambesis explained in the interview, “I felt less guilty if I decided, “Well, marriage isn’t a real thing, because Christianity isn’t real. God isn’t real.”
Lambesis also insisted that the Christian metalcore band toured with “more ‘Christian bands’ who actually aren’t Christians than bands that are.” Like with As I Lay Dying, the frontman asserted that these bands were only claiming to be Christians because they were selling records in the genre.
The murder plot involving Tim Lambesis and his ex-wife was uncovered last year during an undercover sting operation.
[Image by ConcertTour]
