Inside Look @ Marilyn Manson

by

Mike & Amy Nappa

FAST LOOK:

Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson (born Brian Warner) takes on God and the government with his sinister music, inflammatory lyrics, and scary appearance. Often blamed for inciting youth violence (including the Columbine massacre) Manson’s albums have generally been hailed by critics and hated by Christians.

INSIDE SCOOP:

How did the son of a furniture salesman and a nurse become a rock star whose profanity-laden lyrics include phrases like “Dear God if you were alive, you know we’d kill you,” and “Let’s jump upon the sharp swords and cut away our smiles”? According to Marilyn Manson, it was Christians who led him down the path to destruction. During his 10 years in a private Christian school he heard about the wickedness of bands like Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath. Manson became interested in the forbidden fruit, and bit. Now he likens himself to Lucifer. “I re-enacted his fall from heaven, but in my own life,” says Manson. “He wanted to be God, he wanted to be himself, and he was kicked for that.  [I thought] ‘This is good—this guy has his own opinion.’”

Manson may believe he’s the devil, but his own music shows that he can’t escape God. His albums bear names like Antichrist Superstar and Holy Wood (In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death). Song titles include “The Reflecting God,” “GodEatGod,” and “Lamb of God,” yet their lyrics lash out with violence and hate. Several albums have disturbing crucifixes on the covers—so disturbing that many stores hide the album behind cardboard sleeves. In his home, crucifixes of all sizes hang on many walls.

Remarkably, Manson is not simply out to shock the world. He’s well-read, well-spoken, and welcomes discussions. And while he’s certainly no role model, his comments often ring truer than many Christians would like to admit. Of his Christian opponents he says, “I don’t dislike what’s in the Bible. I dislike how people use it to make others suffer. I don’t hate God. I just don’t like the God of the people that I hate.”

On the commercialism of Christianity, he observes, “I look at Christ as a revolutionary and the first celebrity, someone who had dangerous ideas, was ultimately sacrificed and became merchandised into a necklace or something to hang on the wall.”

Under the scary make-up and various colored contact lenses is a confused man who, unfortunately, is leading other confused people—many of them teenagers—further from the truth.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MARILYN MANSON:

“Manson is just one of a dozen cutting-edge musicians whose work goes beyond mere celebration of depravity; they’ve used their rock icon status to communicate their hatred for the Almighty.”

—Bob Waliszewski in Focus on the Family’s Family.org

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“Is Marilyn Manson really the devil? Or does he just play one on TV?”

—Chris Willman in Entertainment Weekly

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“Take two cups of the devil and throw in a pinch of P.T. Barnum, and you still can’t fathom all that is…Marilyn Manson.”

—Rolling Stone

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“He has a responsibility for bringing junk into town.”

—Jason Janz, director of Citizens For Peace and Respect

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“The guy’s got a girl’s name, and he wears makeup. What an original idea.”

—Alice Cooper

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“What do politicians, religious leaders, rap-metal fans, right-wingers, jaded Goths, homophobes and parents everywhere have in common? They all want to see our era’s most willing hate magnet, Marilyn Manson, disappear up his own overexposed, underclothed butt.”

—Barry Walters in Rolling Stone

LOOKING INSIDE…:      

Use these questions to spark family discussion about Marilyn Manson:

---What do you think attracts people to the music and personality of Marilyn Manson?

---In concerts Manson often tears pages from the Bible. He says, “It’s a book, made of paper. Why do you have to put your hand on it to swear to tell the truth? It’s what’s in your heart that counts.” What’s true or untrue in what Manson says? How do your actions reflect what’s in your heart?

---Manson has asked the question, “Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing our children entertaining adults?” What are your thoughts on this question? How is Manson himself helping or hurting children through his music?

---How can you pray for Marilyn Manson and his followers?

[SIDEBAR]

If members of your family like Marilyn Manson, then you may want to check out:

---Alien Youth by Skillet (Ardent Records)

They have the same loud industrial rock sound of Marilyn Manson, but instead of spewing hate, the members of Skillet are passionately spreading God’s love through their music. Skillet challenges teens to change the world through their commitment to Christ.

Interestingly enough, one of the songs on Alien Nation was written in response to a Marilyn Manson concert. Skillet’s lead singer, John Cooper, attended a Manson concert and described it as “spirit-crushing.” Cooper then wrote “Rippin Me Off,” which reminds listeners that the lies of singers like Manson “rip them off” from the truth of God’s love.

---Altered State (of Christianity) by Wyrick (Rugged Records)

 “Justify Your Sin,” on Wyrick’s Altered State, is another song written in response to Marilyn Manson. Of Manson Wyrick says, “I don’t understand how someone who knows he needs God’s forgiveness can actually point a finger at someone else.”

---Also try Zao by Zao (Solid State Records), and Soapbox : A Divided Man by Soapbox (Solid State Records).

[END]

[BIO LINE] Mike & Amy Nappa are renowned cultural commentators, best-selling and award-winning authors, and creators of the Internet magazine for families, www.FamilyFans.com