In honor of their new album Rescue and Restore, IVM has teamed up with Solid State Records to give you August Burns Red Week. Each day this week drummer Matt Greiner will answer one “easy” and one “tough” question about the band, life, music, and more.
Who is the biggest influence in your life (musically or otherwise)?
The biggest influence in my life is a pastor from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC named Timothy Keller. Dr. Keller planted Redeemer in the heart of secular skepticism (NYC) because he wanted to address the reasonable and rational questions that the city has about God. His approach to religion and irreligion is both intellectually sound as well as emotionally compelling. Dr. Keller’s approach to loving and learning from the culture around him has inspired me to love Jesus more in a culture that leaves little room for fake Christians and unauthentic believers.
Who do you think the most influential thinker has been in the last 200 years (christian or non) and why?
C.S. Lewis. I first read Mere Christianity when I was 17 years old and it changed the way that I view the life and purpose of a Christian. C.S. Lewis gave a series of BBC radio talks in the early 1940s during World War II. Considered to be an unprecedented series of Christian apologetics, the broadcasts were converted to print and ultimately became the book we know today as Mere Christianity.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis does a great job of explaining away the ‘rumors’ of the man that is Jesus Christ. Lewis helps the reader understand that there is a moral law among humans that is intuitive rather than learned or observed. Lewis claims that every human has a thirst for something more than what earthly experience can gratify.
He goes on to say that humans cannot know to yearn for something if it does not exist. Lewis does such a great job of explaining the feelings and notions I have that at times I’m not even aware of. After bringing them to light, Lewis explains why such notions would be innate and how they point to God’s existence.
Be sure to check out our official review of Rescue and Restore and check back each day this week for more August Burns Red exclusive content.