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Peart's world is desperately in need of a Savior, but lamentably, he never seems to find one. If nothing else, though, he finds a good starting point through humility and confession. In "Workin' Them Angels," he admits to his own culpability and reckless living: "All my life I've been workin' them angels overtime/Riding and driving and living so close to the edge." And in "Spindrift," he likens his own groundlessness to wild ocean spray. His own finite mind and human spirit can't come up with any reasonable answers, and he knows it: "What am I supposed to say?/Where are the words to answer you when you talk that way?"

The album's most telling song, though, is its anthemic, lyrical centerpiece, in which Peart calls himself "Faithless." It's a confession of disbelief that begins with a boast of self-sufficiency and an indictment of religion:

I've got my own moral compass to steer by
A guiding star beats a spirit in the sky
And all the preaching voices—
Empty vessels ringing so loud
As they move among the crowd
Fools and thieves are well disguised
In the temple and marketplace

His passion for avoiding religion becomes a mantra of defiance: "I will quietly resist." But his self-sufficiency quickly gives way to spiritual confusion: "I don't have faith in faith, and I don't believe in belief/You can call me faithless, but I still cling to hope, and I believe in love/And that's faith enough for me."

It's an empty declaration that is echoed in "We Hold On," the album's closer: "We could be down and gone/But we hold on." Talk is cheap, and, in the midst of so much toil—both physical and spiritual—and after so many admissions of frailty and uncertainty, Rush's nameless hope can't help but seem impotent. Listeners should be encouraged by the band's continued musical and spiritual restlessness, especially by the positive signs of humility seen on songs like "Spindrift." But we might also pray that Peart and his confederates find a more substantive hope—one with a Name—and become faithless no more.

Unless specified clearly, we are not implying whether this artist is or is not a Christian. The views expressed are simply the author's. For a more complete description of our Glimpses of God articles, click here

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