The Christian music world is still reeling from the revelations that As I Lay Dying founder Tim Lambesis hired a hit man to kill his estranged wife and has been faking a walk with God for some years to cash in on a music industry niche.
“I actually wasn’t the first guy in As I Lay Dying to stop being a Christian. In fact, I think I was the third. The two who remained kind of stopped talking about it, and then I’m pretty sure they dropped it, too. We talked about whether to keep taking money from the ‘Christian market,’ ” Lambesis said. “We had this bizarrely ‘noble’ thing, like, ‘Well, we’re not passing along any bad ideas. We’re just singing about real-life stuff. Those kids need to hear about real life, because they live in a bubble.’ “
Lambesis’ former bandmate Nick Hipa is speaking out against the Grammy-nominated Christian metal singer’s behavior. On his Facebook page, Hipa called out Lambesis, saying he is pushing a “fairly appalling agenda to further damage the lives and reputations of his non-supporters.”
Hipa doesn’t want anyone to be fooled by the “facade of a penitent man with renewed outlook, restored faith and apparent remorse.” He says Meggan Murphy Lambesis, Lambesis’ ex-wife, along with their children, have been traumatized and have persevered through the pain of an orphan’s life.
Lambesis contends that if Hipa would hear him out he would feel differently and said his decision to cut off their friendship was “heartbreaking on a personal level.” But Hipa is not buying it.
“There is no contrition in his pseudo-philosophical jargon, and the verbalized assessment of his relationship with myself and former bandmates is absolute slander. I had spoken with him directly and in length of how 100 percent of my heart, love and loyalty was being directed in support towards his victims,” Hipa said.
“These victims being people I had opened my heart to as family for many years and whom I pray will find healing from his deep abuse. In complete disregard for the truth as I’m certain he understands it, he opted to fabricate motives that describe us abandoning him as a callous business decision.
“It is regrettable that he utilized this platform as a means to justify his conduct. The prosecution of this case profiled him as a sociopathic narcissist in definite need of rehabilitation. For those of us who truly know the man for who he is, it’s shameful that in spite of all, he is still as he ever was and just as they say.”
