Skillet frontman John Cooper recently spoke about how Marxism and related ideologies are infiltrating the church.
“I see a lot of Marxism and its offshoots,” Cooper said. christian post In an interview at the GMA Dove Awards, she cited critical race theory and said, “Ideology divides us into groups: white Christians, black Christians, women Christians, and men Christians.”
“That's a form of Marxism, and that's not good,” he said.
Cooper said this ideological divide is symptomatic of a larger cultural shift toward secularism, where morality is defined without reference to the Bible or God.
“There's this idea that we can create a good and just world without the Bible and without God. That's basically secular humanism,” Cooper explains, noting that many churches, even with good intentions, He pointed out that they still accept secular ideas as religious ideas. Try to show empathy and relevance.
“These secular humanist ideas always have really bad consequences,” he says.
For example, he pointed out that homelessness and drug use are becoming increasingly normalized in urban areas.
“There's this idea that we're taking care of the homeless by creating a safe place for them to use drugs. That's not good for them and it's scary,” he said, adding that it contributes to a broader “culture of death.” He added that it reflects that. States in the United States and Canada are moving to legalize euthanasia, even for teens suffering from depression.
Cooper is preparing to release Skillet's first independent album. rotatein November highlighted some of the subtle ways churches can succumb to dangerous ideologies. For example, one early warning sign is the use of language that reflects secular social justice movements.
Cooper said that “the church has adopted the language of solidarity, even if it doesn't really mean it, as the rest of the world does,” adding that words like “racial justice” can seem innocuous, He added that it may also have ideological implications that go against the teachings of the Bible. What to teach.
“They'll be like, they're going to have a seminar on racial justice. They'll use terminology. Maybe they'll say something that I'm like, 'I agree with that.' But sometimes jargon creeps in, and words can be powerful. ”
“The progressive left has succeeded in redefining language to create new realities,” Cooper said, citing a book by Saul Alinsky. radical rules, This highlights how language can be weaponized to change cultural values. For example, the term “reproductive justice” can be used to reframe the debate about abortion.
“Christians hear these phrases and think, 'Okay, that sounds good,' and they accept it. When they start using these words, we see the signs. But we need to ask. “What does that really mean?''
Another sign would be when a church claims to be apolitical but criticizes conservative positions on issues such as immigration and wealth redistribution.
“They say they're not political, but all you hear is bashing conservatives,” Cooper said.
“They'll say, 'We're not political at all, blah, blah, but we need redistribution of wealth because we have to respect justice. They say they're not political, but they're doing socialism through the back door. They're totally political, but they'll bash conservatives on things like immigration.”
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