The lyrics:

he sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see
he tries to tell me what I put inside of me
he's got the answers to ease my curiosity
he dreamed up a God and called it Christianity
your god is dead and no one cares
if there is a hell I will see you there
he flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line
he made a virus that would kill off all the swine
his perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain
demands devotion atrocities done in his name
your god is dead and no one cares
drowning in his own hypocrisy
and if there is a hell I will see you there
burning with your god in humility
will you die for this?

"I was trying to explore some of the paranoia I have as a sexually active person in the age of AIDS.
I guess I feel cheated for not growing up in a more liberated era. At the same time, what gets me mad is the way the right wing has used the 'convenience' of this epidemic in helping to promote their own agenda."

-Trent Reznor (from an interview in U Magazine [4/94])

(Pre 5-12-98)
Heresy in my opinion is one of the best Nine Inch Nails songs. Of course, it’s bound to be interpreted in many ways due it’s confrontational lyrics. In my mind the line "God is dead and no-one cares" does not translate as "Worship Satan". To me the song is a sad admission of the state of the world. If God is so all loving and nice then he must be dead because none of this happens in the real world. The God Trent speaks of is one thought up to control people and have them live in fear.
"He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see"
This line expresses the denial from anyone in power to see the problems, therefore they won’t be fixed.
"He tries to tell me what I put inside of me"
We live in a world of shrinks and psychotherapists. There must be a deep seated reason for everything. Nothing is just accepted as just being.
"He’s got the answers to ease my curiosity"
Everything must be explained, preferably scientifically. But if you can’t find a scientific reason you can’t just accept that, you have to keep looking.
"He dreamed a God up and called it Christianity"
If in doubt, blame a higher entity. Christianity is one of the most brutal religions (a lot of this is explained in the second verse).
"God is dead. And no-one cares. If there is a hell.. I’ll see you there"
The God we all know and love does not really exist in the ‘real’ world. The only way we seem to be going is ever downwards.
"He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line"
The powers that be use their made up God to keep us, the little people in line.
"He made a virus that would kill off all the swine"
This is obvious to me. Homosexuality, drug using and even normal sex is considered a sin among some Christians. So God gave us AIDS.
"His perfect kingdom of killing suffering and pain"
Ever notice what causes all the wars. Money and religion, which are always intertwined when you’re talking Christianity and their ‘charities’.
"Demands devotion atrocities done in his name"
We fight in the name of God, we die in the name of God. We kill in the name of God.
Before Trent screams the last chorus, a distinct sound of marching footsteps can be heard. This sort of implicates an army of people, controlled and following, like the flock of sheep Trent speaks of.

But as Kurt Cobain said, ‘that’s your own crossword puzzle’. The lyrics will mean different things to different people.

-B.J.

(Pre 5-12-98)
In this song, Trent is not saying worship Satan because that's not what he believes. In this song he is clearly Athiest and doesn't believe in God or Jesus and things like that. When he says "he made a God up and called it Christianity," "he" is referring to Christian people and by "making a God up," he means just that. Making up a God to explain all the unexplainable questions of the world we live in. This is also what he means by "he sewed his eyes shut because he is affraid to see." "He" once again is the Christian Communitty and by sewing his eyes shut, man is hiding behind his God and not accepting any other ideas or beliefs. This means Christians use their made up God to explain everything and don't really look at why things are the way they are.
"He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line" means something different. This time "he" reffers to the God that Christians have made up. According to Christian belief, God is all powerful. With all this power, He simply flexes his muscles and the sheep (people) obey his every command. "He made a virus to kill of all the swine" refers to hell. Christianity says hell is an eternal torture. "He" refers to Christians as they made up hell (the virus) to scare non-believers (swine) into believing. "His perfect kingdom of killing suffering and pain demands devotion, attrocities done in His name" refers to how Christians believe life under their God is perfect when in actuality, His (God's) kingdom requires total devotion to only Him to enter heaven. "killing suffering and pain" refers to all the death and suffering that exist in God's supposedly perfect kingdom.
Now for the very contreversial lines: "Your God is dead and no one cares, and if there is a hell, I'll see you there." This means that the Christian God is non-existant in every day life. If God is so loving and caring then why is his world so cold? "If there is a hell, I'll see you there" means that if Athiestic beliefs are wrong and there is a hell, we're all going to be there as no one is perfect like Christians say you must be to enter heaven. "Burning with your God in humility" means that if there is a hell, God would be there as well as he has made this twisted cold world. "Will you die for this?" brings forth the question that if there is a hell but Christian beliefs are wrong, will they go to hell for the lies they have created? This song has very powerful and true meanings. It is very moving as are all of Trent's wonderful songs.

-Russ Tett

(Pre 5-12-98)
'he sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see'
'he' I think Trent is referring to Jesus Christ(as a religious person and nothing more) closing his eyes on the problems of the world.
'he tries to tell me what i put inside of me'
Jesus, dissagreeing with the jewish beliefs is making up a new religion and delivering his first preechings.
'he got the answers to ease my curiosity'
Jesus saying that HIS god is the answer to all that is unknown.
'he dreamed a god up and called it christianity'
the final stage of Jesus's hallucination.
'he flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line'
here 'he' is referring to the christian god, telling all of his followers of his wrath-believe in me and only me!
'he made a virus that would kill off all the swine'
this might be referring to the 'creeping death' or the plague(maybe not) or maybe just hell and everlasting repentance for those who do not believe in him. I haven't really been too sure on that one!
'his perfect kingdom of killing suffering and pain, demands devotion atrocities done in his name'
I think is a satirical statement, in that god in his perfect kingdom has been the cause of so much 'killing suffering and pain' example: what the white man(good christian men doing god's bidding mind you) has done to native americans, african americans etc.
'your god is dead and no one cares'
one of two things: god does not exist and never has existed OR in todays fucked up society all of god's good teachings have died-and no one cares anymore, it's a lost idea.
'if there is a hell I'll see you there'
an athiestic point of view saying if there is a hell you(good christian folks) will be there as well, for you are no better than I. Or another satirical statement saying: if according to every(generalizing) religion everyone who does not believe in thier god is going to hell(or some form of hellish place) then everybody on Earth will be there!!
These are simply my thoughts and feelings so feel free to argue my points if you see fit. I see no point in saying "I am right and you are wrong," this is an opinion area, saying that only makes you sound like an idiot! (Amen to that. -me)

-Old Raridan

(Pre 5-12-98)
God is not kind. His followers want you to believe he is but there is still suffering in "his" so-called world. I've read passages from the Bible and I believe that God is a hypocrite and Heresy proves it. "His perfect kingdom of killing suffering and pain..."

-shirin

(There is indeed a lot of hypocracy in the Bible. ..funny how people just ignore the "naughty" parts. Click here to see many of the Biblical hypocracies and atrocities.  -me)

(Pre 5-12-98)
in reference to Shirin's interpretation: there is no hypocrisy in the Bible. if there is, then it's due to your own misinterpretation. do you really want to know why there is suffering in the world, even though God loves us all? it's because God uses pain to tell you when you've fucked up. God doesn't hurt someone for no reason... you're probably the same kid who got caught smoking pot and told your parents they were assholes for punishing you-- for protecting you (no offense intended, just thought it was a good example of what i'm talking about). when your dog died (or anything happened that really hurt you) as a kid & you felt so much hurt... wasn't it because you were down at the pond the day before, smashing toads with a baseball bat, or looking at some playboys you stole from your brother?

god doesn't do things for no reason.
you do things to yourself, and you just don't realize it.
sorry to turn this into a discussion forum, maybe that's where this should be stuck.

-Acid Angel

(Pre 5-12-98)
This is one of Trent's more revealing songs about his spirituality (if he has one). He is saying that he sees the Chruch for what it really is: a power hungry orginization of control and destructiveness, operating in the facade of God. He is accusing them of being corrupt and hypocritical. In the chorus when he says "God is dead, and no one cares..." he is stating that the idea of God has lost all meaning, how we just blindly follow us where the "flock of sheep" is lead. Where he says "If there is a Hell, I'll see you there" he is stating that he will continue to believe what he does, even if the Church says he is going to Hell over it. He is acting in defiance of the Church and what they say he is doing wrong. Finally where he states "He dreamed a God up and called it Christianity" he is stating what he believes is the biggest scam in history. He feels that those in power took all those prophesies and revelations and visions and everything from which we have direct about God and they twisted it and shaped it to serve their own sense of power ("he flexed his muscles, to keep his flock of sheep in line") Many interpretations of this song can be made, for instance if you brought this to a member of the Church he would instantly brand it Satanic (of course). This has merely been my own interpretation.

-Shattered Skull

(Pre 5-12-98)
This song makes me sick ever since I read an interview of Trent you put up on your page. Trent says "I think i believe in some form of reincarnation... in some kind of god..."

Now lets take a look at this song... "God is dead and no one cares"? Well crap Trent, I hope you're reading this so you can explain away this line as someone who believes in god. I mean, as someone who doesn't believe in god because of a long sob story, I could really relate to this song as more than, "It's about AIDS!" I could see how someone who's had their faith killed, would say, "God is dead. I don't give a crap. See ya in hell." And thats what you said Trent, "If there is a hell, i'll see you there." Apparently this hell you're talking about some hell you believe in?

I don't care if you are completely anti-christian Trent. You said god. You didn't say Jesus. You didn't say "the christian god". And if you're going to hide behind your brief references to christianity, I hope they make you happy. But I will always know that you said that as nothing more than a publicity stunt. The same kind that you did Crucifying a monkey in closer or Calling yourself Jesus at the end of I'm Afraid of Americans. Nothing more than an act. Not some personal performance that comes from your heart. An act.

You lost a great bit my respect for lying to everyone. I might not stop buying your records. I won't stop listening to your CDs. But as a person Trent, I don't think I'd ever be able to respect you like I used to. And I know you're probably smirking as you're reading this, I suppose it makes you happy that you can go around doing this to people who just are looking for someone who knows what they're going through, but I'm not laughing, and I'm not smiling.

And Trent, I say this honestly and without fearing god will come back and strike me down, "If there is a hell, I'll see YOU there."

-Fox

(Pre 5-12-98)
Well as I listen to this song I realize what an open wound this world is. This song rubs a touch of salt in this festering hell. It tells nothing but the truth. The mainstream, selfish followers of the christian religion fail to see what they are. I think this song is saying that freedom of religion should be upfront in the world today. Trent seems to think as I do that 'god' is selfish cruel and conceited. According to the bible he made us all in his image, now if that isn't cruel and cocky and dangerous I don't know what is. (they say lil girls trying to live up to the barbie standards, try living up to 'god' its a real killer) but this song is the song by Trent that carries the most truth...

-torri leah

(Pre 5-12-98)
Notice the lyrics say YOUR god is dead. I think he means you can't have a utopia without losing it sooner or later. I completely disagree with anything about "god sucks" or some stupid shit like that. God doesnt suck. Why would someone with so much power fuck around with people? Do you find it fun to hurt people? I sure as hell don't. If there is a hell? That's hate trying to get back at whoever took your lollipop. I'll see you there? If your going down I'm gonna see you burn. So basically He wants Fun. Well you can't have fun forever.

-Anonymous

(Pre 5-12-98)
"He sews his eyes shut because he is afraid to see"
Aren't all preachers? Anyone who's views, power or social standing could be hurt by the truth is the first to deny that anything else might be right. People afraid of the truth make up more than half of the population.
"He tries to tell me what I put inside of me"
It makes me sick the way people will believe and follow a bunch of shit. Don't they know that people are feeding them lies? Sorry,but if somebody told me what to believe, I'd probably hit them.
"He's got the answers to ease my curiosity"
Of course he does. He's got the answers for pretty much everything else, doesn't he?
"He dreamed a god up and called it christianity"
There's truth in that, for sure. Why do people follow one person's ideas?! People are such sheep!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to skip the chorus, as it's pretty much self-explanatory.
"He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line"
What loving god is this that's got us living in such fear?
"He made a virus that would kill off all the swine"
Yes, kill us if we don't do "right".
"His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain"
More hipocracy.
Demands devotions, Atrocities done in his name"
The worst deeds are done under the justification that "it's okay by God".
Once again, I'll skip the chorus.
"Will you die for this?"
This is my personally favorite line. Will you die for a god that isn't who you think he is? Will you blindly follow his teachings to an ultimate end?

-Hecate Diana

(Pre 5-12-98)
I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but "God is dead" are the very words used by Nietzsche in The Antechrist to show society has become so selfish the only god it worships is money (or, at least, physical comfort and materialism). Trent Reznor talks of struggle and survival, any kind of survival, in all his songs. He doesn't know it, but he sounds like a follower of Nietzsche, tough and individualist. That's what makes him great (I mean, the fact that he is an individualist, not a follower of Nietzche: does the name "Hitler" rings a bell?)
PS:i'm French -hence the mistakes- and NIN fans feel really lonely in my country (there are so few of us). It's also my first day on the Web and I just love it. Thanks for this Web page, it's been great reading you all (so all American kids are not stupid dickheads, are they?)

-Keyser

(Pre 5-12-98)
I don't belive that the line "Your God is dead and no one cares" refers to the real God. I think he's talking about the God of the so-called Christians who live in hiprocrasy, and practice every thing they preach against. Their God isn't a God of love or compassion.
A Christian's goal is to become more like Jesus, but they judge everyone who isn't like them and label anything they don't understand a sin or say it's evil. They call you a demon or a witch if you happen to like dark clothing and music that isn't exactly happy.
Being different isn't an attribute to these people, unless your diffrent like them yet the man they worship was hated by almost every one he came into contact with and hung out with the scum of society he loved every one equaly and died for the sins of the very people who executed him. If you met the average Christian on the street you wouldn't know that this is the man they are trying to emulate. Of course their God is dead because he never exsisted and they are headed for the hell they fear (if there is one) for their sins of hate and blasphemy.
I think what Trent is tring to say is that if God exsists, most of the people who call themselves followers of his are dissoluioned hipocrites with God complexes. Orignized religion isn't a creation of God it's a creation of man, Who is a creation of God. The God we worship in church isn't the God who created us and everything we see. We have metephorically killed that God in our hearts and replaced him with a money hungry, vengeful, hating God. The real God isn't dead, he is alive as he always was and he weeps for us and he is hurt by what religion has done to him. Christianty died the day Constintine stopped throwing Christians to the lions and gave them power and like the old saying goes "Aboslute power abosolutly corupts."

-meghan

(Pre 5-12-98)
I think he's saying a lot of what he says in his other songs. People have their eyes shut and hide behind what they believe is true. What they were raised to believe is true. Trent believes in God. He said so, "I believe in God, I'm just not sure of his relavency". He's saying he doesn't really know what God is for and that a lot of people follow him blindly.

-eXTaCi

(Pre 5-12-98)
Okay, for all of you who say, "God" as in the christian god, you all should be punished, yes, I am a strong believer in the one and only god!...I think you should all think about what you are saying here...I've read this little page, and it seems to me, half this fucking page(yes, I said fucking...it may be wrong, but for me, it shows strong expression!) is so against God it makes me sick! I've never seen such disbelief in my life...I shall not judge any of you, I shall only pray for you all who have made the statement of "God" being dead. You believe in what you are raised as a child to believe. Read your bibles, believe in god, I'm not saying be a christian, I'm saying believe in what you are raised to believe in, imagine yourself burning in a fiery prison for eternity, fire! It never ends! It goes on and on forever, you can't run, I'm not babtised myself, I am strongly planning on it though, it sickens me at all the antichristians...Trent Reznor is not a god, most of you people sound like are worshipping him...STOP, Please, please! STOP! and think about what you are doing. You may not believe in christianity, but have common sense, don't go out and preach against God! God is not making this world worse than it is, it's man! Man is bout the stupidest creature there is, we kill ourselves, and our kind, Man murders the world! If people would have common sense then this world would be a hell of alot better! You bitch and complain about how the world is going down and how it's hell within itself, brother, you're the one doing it! (you're as in mankind) if we could all get ahold of the psychos out there who kill, rape, steal and all that shit, and get rid of 'em, hell, we'd have it made!
Please I beg you people, don't be against god! even if you don't believe in him...if not for him...there would be no Earth, you wouldn't exist, there would be nothing, what has he done to you but give you life and love you? Now I admit I don't go to church as often as I should, and I'm not tryin to sayin I'm a perfect person, without sin...we all sin, nobody's perfect...what's the point in saying there's a hell? If there's a hell, then it's for damn sure there's a heaven!...cause there is no Satan, without a God!, (Not saying you do, but for those out there that do) how could you worship the devil and then turn around and not believe in god, or hate god?...God created the Heavens and the Earth! God cast Lucifer down from heaven! You can't believe in hell without believing in Heaven, if there is a hell, then there's a Heaven! Has to be, there just has to be. You don't have to believe there is...you don't have to believe in god, you don't have to do anything...I'm too sleepy to finish this now...I've written too much, I will leave you now, be kind, if you bitch about the world we live in, make a fucking effort to help out!
I'm awaiting replies to this letter I wish to see the results it gets.

-tim

I won't take the time to write a whole response to this (use the Discussion Board for that stuff), but I will comment on this: "I'm saying believe in what you are raised to believe in." That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! I'm not argueing your message at this point, but would you have everyone simply believe what they're told and not question anything? Not think for themselves? I'd prefer not to be a sheep, thank you very much. -me

(Pre 5-12-98)
i was raised catholic and i try to follow the religion the best i can...we all disagree in matters of religious beliefs. we all change our minds, get angry, and hate god because we don't understand who he is or what he wants. i think the lyrics in this song express anger at the guilt we are made to feel because we don't understand and we do get angry at god. "god is dead and no one cares" is a way of throwing back everything we've been told to institutions we've grown up with, saying "i don't believe this, i'll find my own way," and also, "i don't need you and your god." because we feel hurt and betrayed.

-christine

(Pre 5-12-98)
First off, a lot of people are really sheep, just going where they are told, but Trent covers that.... anyways, i feel that Trent tries to say that even though there may have been a god up there once, he is definatly dead now. i read a really cool book called "the history of god" and it talks about all sorts of people claiming their minds have a god-shaped hole where he once was before he became unimportant. god made his huge mistake when he just left his orders with a mortal man and never spoke again, so maybe trent isn't talking about god or jesus but instead the scribes who interpreted the bible? the scribes could have twisted god's words any way, shape or form they desired... we're getting second-hand information!

-Wallace

(5-19-98)
"he sewed his eyes shut..."
To me this is a way of saying that 'god' and his followers expects us all to be perfect and in this he sees only the positive things in this shit ridden world. Like it was said before, this is like saying "i only believe in which i have been told to believe in and nothing else."
"he's got the answers.."
I think this is saying that Christians always explain things in the way 'god' made it. When a Christian needs to know about something they turn to their bible and look for the answer.
"he dreamed a god up..."
A way in saying man needed a way to tell everyone why something is the way it is.
"Your god is dead..."
A way in saying that if god is as all-powerful and loving and crap, why is the world the way it is? If he cares about us then nothing would be the way that it is now.
"he flexed his muscles.."
As it was said before, I take this in saying that since god is the higher power we have to obey him. Therefore he uses punishments such as 'hell' to keep us as it says "in line."
"he made a virus..."
Swine being those who disobey him and his laws, the virus being, like I said, hell.
"his perfect kingdom..."
'god' believes his world to be perfect, therefore he is blind to all the problems. If you ruled a world, you would expect it to be perfect.
"demands devotion..."
He expects us to fight for him, believe in him, yet never ever go against his rules.
Or maybe that's just me.

-aileen

(9-14-98)
I don't think that heresy is a song to shoot down religion at all. I think it is a sad song about how people take religion, a potentially wonderful thing, and twist it to their own needs and ambitions. trent uses the third person very liberally. In this song, th pronoun "he" refers to several different people.
"He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see"
This is someone who won't explore his sprituality on his own, he's happy enough to let some human preacher stand up there and tell him what god wants.
"He tries to tell me what I put inside of me/he's got the answers to ease my curiosity"
This is the religious people who think that waving a Bible and shouting verses, they can convince you to follow their own ideals which are a twisted form of what the Bible actually says, misinterpreted through their feeble minds.
"He dreamed up a God and called it Christianity/ Your God is dead and no one cares."
This doesn't literally mean that God is made up or dead. it means that God and his word have been twisted so much through the centuries that Cristianity has existed. "God is dead" means that nobody can remember what was really meant in the teachings of Christianity.
"If there is a Hell I'll see you there"
The Bible itself says that we're all evil by nature and don't deserve to go to Heaven. We really don't know where we're going after we die until it happens, then it's too late to do anything about it.
"He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line/ he made a virus that would kill off all the swine."
This is about AIDS. Some Christians seem to believe that The virus was put here to punish homosexuality and sexual activity, both of which are seen to be sinful. They can't accept that Maybe the virus just happened, there has to be a higher purpose.
"His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain/ demands devotion atrocities done in his name."
Religious fanaticism has driven people to do some awful things: the Crusades. Spanish Inquisition, and, more recently, the Holocaust and ethnic cleansings.
"Your god is dead and no one cares/ drowning in his own hipocrisy"
Again, people have taken God's word and twisted it, killing off what was originally intended in Christ's teachings.
"And if there is a Hell I will see you there, burning with your God in humility"
We all are evil by our human nature. our own interpretations of God's word caome totally shoirt of what He really meant.
"Will you die for this?"
Do you really want to jump into a twisted religion, or do you want to pursue your faith on your own?
This is my ideas of what it all means, but I don't know what Reznor was thinking when he actually wrote it.

-Pandora