SUBSCRIBE
If you like Coldplay, this is the podcast for you!
Find out about the reference by listening to the CultureCast above (by pressing the little blue play botton), or by clicking through and checking out the transcript and further sources.
Pillar of Salt: Turn your back on me (CultureCast #029)
(To play the audio directly in this page, click the little blue play button. To download the file, right click the text link and choose “Save Link As…”)
Visit the home page to play this podcast directly through your browser and to view the whole collection of 90 Seconds to Culture podcasts.
Transcript
Hey CultureCrew, this is Joshua Hwang, keeping it real with a 90 Seconds to Culture podcast.
Pillar of Salt: Turn your back on me
[Chris Martin of Coldplay sings:
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand]
That clip, from the song Viva la Vida by Coldplay, makes a reference to pillars of salt. But to what is he referring? And what does it mean?
In the Book of Genesis from the Bible, God has become angry with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinful ways. Incidentally, from the name Sodom is where the term “sodomy” originates. God is about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but sends angels to warn a man named Lot and his family to flee, for they were good people.
However, they are ordered not to turn back while fleeing. “Look not behind you.” But as they are fleeing, Lot’s wife, Irit turns to look at the falling Sodom and is promptly turned into a pillar of salt.
The pillar of salt has come to symbolize many things: Like many sand allusions in the bible, it can represent something that is temporary, as both can be easily washed away. Sometimes the pillar of salt represents disobedience, in the face of God, authority or others. Simply it is just lost love. No matter how the image of the pillar of salt is used, all references tie back to the story of Lot’s Wife looking back.
Sources / Further Reading:
Wikipedia: Lot (Bible)
Cultural Reference Dictionary: Lot’s Wife
Online Bible: Story of Sodom and Gommorah
[tags]literature, religion, bible, lot, sodom, gomorrah, pillar of salt, coldplay, culture, podcast[/tags]
(image from parl via flickr)
Subscribe via RSS
{ 0 comments… add one now }