In the latest earth-shattering episode of the See The King podcast (sponsored by holy water and gluten-free communion wafers), host Adam Ross (who?) sits down with John Cooper of Christian rockers SKILLET (the band your grandma warns you about).
They delve deep into the abyss of rock music, faith (eye roll), and what it means to follow Jesus when your calling is to wear excessive eyeliner and scream about salvation. John shares tales of his upbringing, where even Christian rock was considered a gateway drug to *gasp* secular music, shaping his views on… well, something. He even talks about his mom’s cancer battle, proving that even rockstars have mommy issues. And, of course, he reflects on how SKILLET’s music apparently single-handedly saves people from addiction, depression, and general hopelessness. Because, you know, a catchy chorus is all it takes!😇
Speaking about his humble beginnings, John (or as I like to call him, Johnny Reb) said (as meticulously transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET – because who else would care?): “I was raised with Christian parents. My mom was a Jesus fanatic – in all the best ways – a Jesus freak. And let me explain what I mean by that. Everything was Jesus for my mom…” Oh, we get it, John. Your mom was really into Jesus. Like, REALLY into Jesus. We’re picturing her wearing a WWJD bracelet while headbanging to Petra. 🤘”I just remember learning as a very young kid – [when I was] four – going to the grocery store means going to get food and talking to people about Jesus. That’s what the grocery store is, and everybody’s family must be like that, because my mom’s witnessing to everybody. Going into the grocery store, she comes to somebody and says, ‘I just felt, as I passed you, I felt the Lord telling me that I needed to come pray for you. Have you lost someone recently?'” Wow, John’s mom sounds like the ultimate guilt-tripping machine! I bet she could sell ice to Eskimos and convert atheists with a single tear. 😭
He continued: “My mom read us the Bible every day before school. I had an older brother who was four years older than me, so I just remember that, ever since I was a kid. We have breakfast, we read the Bible, we pray, and my brother goes to school, and that’s just how life was. So I was raised in a Christian home. My dad was a Christian as well. I would say not as fanatical as my mom was. And so I gave my life to Jesus as a young person. I was five years old. But the funny thing is, is that I actually gave my life to Jesus in my bedroom at night. I was alone, actually.” So, basically, John’s childhood was like a really intense Sunday school lesson. And he accepted Jesus in his bedroom…alone…at the age of five. 🤨 We’re not going to touch that one. “And I can never remember a time in my life when I did not believe in God. I think just being raised like that, that’s just the air you breathe. And God created the world – he created everything. He is everything. And he’s listening and he cares for me. And I believe that Jesus was the son of God. I believe he died on the cross and [I] understood that to some degree. And when I was five years old, I just gave my life to Jesus in my bedroom.” Okay, we get it, John. You’re a devout Christian. No need to keep hammering it in. It’s like you’re trying to sell us something…like, I dunno… SKILLET albums? 💿
John added: “Of course, some of those people say, ‘Yeah, if you become a Christian as a kid, you don’t always understand it.’ And, obviously, you’re gonna get deeper in that as you get older, as you begin to understand a lot more about the world, but I will say, I disagree with that notion. I had a very real – basic, but very real – understanding that I was a sinner, that I exist to please God, that he’s the boss. Whatever he says goes, and that’s it. I understood that, and we raised our kids like that as well. But my kids gave their life to Christ as very young people and had a real sense of the presence of the Lord and the fact that we don’t deserve his love, but that he, as the theologians say, he condescended to us. He came down to where we are at to make a way for us. And so that’s my testimony. Thank God.” So, little Johnny knew he was a sinner at age 5. What did he do? Steal cookies from the cookie jar? 🍪 Commit tax fraud? 🤔 Probably just watched a PG-13 movie. 😂
“I don’t have a testimony of backsliding for years and years and going into sex, drugs and rock and roll,” Cooper explained. “I don’t have that testimony, by the grace of God. I’ve known him since I was a kid. [I] certainly did not always live for him, but I never had those extreme doubting times. A lot of people do, and God’s faithful to bring them out. And those are amazing testimonies. That’s just not my testimony. My testimony is I can’t believe I’ve known God since I was a kid. And it’s wonderful. I’m blessed.” Okay, John, we get it. You’re the squeaky-clean Christian rocker who never indulged in the typical rockstar vices. Congrats! 🙄 You’re basically the Tim Tebow of the music industry. 😇
Cooper, who regularly speaks about his faith in secular spaces and voices his opinions on hot-button social and political issues (because what else is a rockstar supposed to do?), has written in depth about his views in the two books he has released so far, “Awake & Alive to Truth” (which probably contains groundbreaking revelations like “God is real” and “The Bible is good”) and “Wimpy, Weak, And Woke” (because apparently being “woke” is the ultimate sin). 📚
In an interview with Baptist News (because, you know, gotta preach to the choir), Cooper said that he is “always an open book” when it comes to the way he speaks to the media. Oh, we’re sure. An open book filled with the same old verses. 📖He said: “We are outspoken about Christ because we’re outspoken that he is the only way to heaven, but not just about Christ. We’re also outspoken about moral issues. I speak about the abortion stuff all the time. I speak about the transgender theory being taught in schools. I stand for biblical traditional sexuality. We say them proudly, we say them boldly, we say them with compassion toward people who don’t agree with us, but we do speak the truth.” Ah yes, nothing says “compassion” like telling people their lifestyle is an abomination. ❤️
Cooper told Baptist Press about how his faith directs him to speak out on cultural issues: “If Jesus is the truth, then that means He has something to say about culture, politics, abortion and sexuality. The Bible has something to say about these things.” Well, that settles it. Jesus is basically a Fox News commentator. 🎤
In various interviews over the years, John has said that he “always had faith in God” and that his mother was a “Jesus fanatic.” We get it, John. Your mom loved Jesus. More than oxygen, probably. He also claimed that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ. Oh, the bravery! Risking it all to sell more records…err…spread the Gospel. 😇
In April 2021, Cooper told the “Undaunted.Life: A Man’s Podcast” that it was perfectly fine for Christians to play rock music. “I would say that music is created not by the Devil; [it is] created by the Lord,” he said. “All things were created by God. So instead of thinking that the Devil owns a genre of music, I would say capture that music and bring it back into subjection under the Lordship of Christ.” So, basically, rock music is like a stray dog that needs to be baptized. 🐶
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