God Only Knows

The Beach Boys are one of rock's most enduring and enigmatic groups, and while the band has been the subject of numerous biographies and other in-depth studies, there has been no focused evaluation of the religious and spiritual themes in their work. Spiritual and theological themes are present in much of their work, and when this realization is coupled with Brian Wilson's mission "to spread the gospel of love through records," and his sense of music as spiritual--of thinking "pop music is going to be spiritual . . . that's the direction I want to go"--this is a striking way to explore the band's music. In God Only Knows, the contributors attempt to come to grips with just a small amount of this band's massive output--by circling around its theological virtues. Each section of the book is a loose investigation of the guiding topics of faith, hope, and love. Each essay is a free exploration of theological and spiritual themes from the contributor's own perspectives.

Jeff Sellars teaches philosophy, humanities, and religious studies in Northern California and Southern Oregon.