Tim Lambesis Said He Became Atheist But Kept Claiming to Be Christian to Keep Selling Music

[rug]

Tim Lambesis. (Photo: Facebook/Tim Lambesis)

By Leonardo Blair, CP Reporter
June 17, 2014|4:01 pm

Tim Lambesis, lead singer and founder of Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying, recently confessed that he and other members of his band had become atheists but kept claiming to be Christians so they could keep making money selling records to Christians.

In a wide-ranging interview with Alternative Press shortly before he was sentenced to six years in prison last month for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife, Meggan Murphy Lambesis, the singer addressed a claim he made last year in a YouTube video about his spiritual allegiance after fans started saying he had become a Satanist.

"A month before your arrest, you posted a YouTube video addressing fans who felt your new side project, Pyrithion, was 'satanic.' I remember watching the video at the time and noticing you never gave the easy answer: 'Of course not. I'm a Christian!' You knew people thought of you as a Christian. Weren't you lying by omission?" asked AP's West Coast editor, Ryan J. Downey, of the singer in the interview.

Lambesis responded: "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.' A lot of Christian parents said, 'Yes, you can buy this As I Lay Dying CD, because they're a Christian band.' They don't even think to actually check the lyrics. So when you change your views, you kind of owe it to the fans to be honest."

http://www.christianpost.com/news/as-i-lay-dying-singer-tim-lambesis-said-he-became-atheist-but-kept-claiming-to-be-christian-to-keep-selling-music-to-faithful-121712/

http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/tim_lambesis_world_exclusive_interview_as_i_lay_dying_singer_breaks_silence

[cbayer]

1. Wow, what a peach.

Hired a hitman to kill his wife and pretended to be a christian to sell records.

Run away and run away very quickly.

[shenmue]

2. Yeah

He sure changed for the better...

[okasha]

4. Hey, but now he's free

of cognitive dissonance and intellectual dishonesty.

[cbayer]

5. His childhood indoctrination has been cured!

Too bad cognitive dissonance and intellectual dishonesty can be very helpful in some situations. He could probably use them in prison.

[xfundy]

3. This is not unusual.

Gawd knows how many preachers stopped bleeeeevin' yet stay in the game for the money. As for politicians, many may have believed at one point, but the power and money keeps them a-preachin'.

[cbayer]

6. What's with the gawd, bleeeevin' and a-preachin'?

Are you mocking southerners?

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Christian stores used to carry Evanescence CD's.

They had no idea what they were selling.

"We're actually high on the Christian charts, and I'm like, 'What the fuck are we even doing there?'" -Moody

[cbayer]

8. I've run across some of these stations on road trips.

For the most part, they sound like songs you might hear on another station.

But then you start to pick up on some code phrases and recognize that they are religious, or at least pretending to be religious.

What a racket.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Creed.

I hate that band so much...