Over the course of his current album cycle, Skillet frontman John Cooper has decided to really double down on his religious and conservative proselytization. First, Cooper decided to call out Rage Against The Machine for being “government rock” for adhering to mask regulations (“science rock” or “fact rock” might have been more accurate, but whatever). Now, he’s claiming that rock music has nothing to do with the Devil, because all music belongs to God, whether you like it or not.
“My vision is this — part of what [the new Skillet album] ‘Dominion’ is about, to me, the culture mandate, part of that, to me, and I know not all Christians agree with this, by the way, but this is just my thing, I believe that every area of life, every box, every nook and cranny belongs to Christ,” Cooper podcaster Alissa Childers, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “I believe that rock and roll and the arts does not belong to the devil. The devil may have used it, he may have twisted it, he may have stolen something — which is what the devil does, of course; he comes in and he tries to do something kind of like what God does, right? But he wants to steal the glory and he twists it and he perverts it.
“I believe that the arts belong to God,” continues Cooper. “Music belongs to God. It is for his glory. And so when I create art and I go and I play music, I believe that it is taking back something, bringing it back under the subjection to Lord Jesus Christ. It all belongs to him. It is for his glory. That world does not belong to the devil. Not everybody necessarily agrees with that.”
Wow, the whole ‘You have no choice in what your art is about because God gets everything; argument is a classic, but the inclusion of the modern evangelist buzz-phrase of ‘Not everyone agrees with that, guess I’m such a rebel’ at the end really drives home the eye-roll. Way to be, Coop.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
