You Will Know Them by Their Love
“Music is my religion,” Jimi Hendrix.
Music and religion are often intertwined for the emotional connectivity, catharsis, and fulfillment that an individual song offers; however, rarely is a band’s cultural impact compared to biblical foundations. Finding parallels between the rise of Deadhead communities and the early Christian movement, Coogan urges readers to consider the depth of spiritual energy as it pertains to other walks of life.
As a self-proclaimed Deadhead, Coogan found similarities in the counterculture community the Grateful Dead fostered and the rise of early Christianity. Unlike many bands, the legacy of the Grateful Dead culture has persisted past the death of the lead singer, Jerry Garcia, into new generations. In addition, the membership of a Deadhead supersedes social boundaries, bringing together a community of people guided by a shared love and fostering a culture rooted in empathy, grace, and spirituality. Coogan himself admits to juxtaposing the archetypal Deadhead with his longstanding religious background; however, this serves to further connect Christianity and the Deadhead community, as both are built on a foundation of love and spiritual curiosity.
While the novel offers an insightful perspective on a music culture that spans generations, Coogan’s aim is for readers to walk away finding faith in all walks of life and seeking out grace in everyday mundanity.
Thomas Coogan is a deacon and member of the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey. He holds degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Reviews and Endorsements of this publication include:
“Inviting the faithful to come, reason, and even jam together, Tom Coogan helps us have ears to hear what many a neighbor has been listening to. Should we follow to that fountain not made by the hands of men, what a long, strange, and redemptive trip it is sure to be. Would you hear his voice come through the music? For Christ is Lord of the living and the Dead.”
—Mark James Edwards, author of Christ Is Time: The Gospel According to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers)
“Thomas Coogan has done a masterful job of examining the Grateful Dead in light of the Christian gospel. As someone who knew little about the ‘Deadheads,’ I learned a lot to my surprise and delight.”
—George Hunsinger, McCord Professor of Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
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