Three reasons Christians should avoid Skillet

Here are three quick reasons I think Christians should avoid Skillet. First, their music is heavy metal. We have discussed a couple of reasons that I believe music has intrinsic morality: it conveys emotion, is a form of expression, has order, and has a spiritual component. If I were to ask you to rank the emotions transmitted by heavy metal, what would they be? Probably not "peace" or "joy" ("emotional high" isn't the same thing as joy). God clearly used David's musical abilities in the Bible, and he was nicknamed "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (II Samuel 23:1). Can you imagine Skillet being referred to by that nickname?

Second, their inspiration is evil. In the resources section below is a link to a YouTube video which has interview clips where Skillet lists their inspiration and style, in their own words. It is very disturbing; they list some evil secular rock bands. Cooper (the leader) even said in an interview about the album "Deaf Leopard: Hysteria", "...Which is still one of my favorite albums of all time, actually." Why do you want to listen to a nominally Christian rock group that gets their inspiration from such wicked secular groups?

Third, their spirit is ungodly. They may talk about godliness and witnessing for Christ, but observe their attitudes. They are into a lot of darkness; this is not something you want to associate with. Part of their spirit includes a hatred for what they deem to be legalism; here's something John Cooper said:

"I couldn’t understand why they [e.g., his mother] didn’t want me listening to Metallica," said Cooper, a believer in Christ since the age of 5. "They wanted to do what was right. They believed rock and roll was evil. Drums were evil. Wearing black was evil. I was really bummed."¹

He also said:

"I had a huge hatred against legalism," Cooper said. "That is why I am who I am today."¹

There are lots of people who have what could be called "a huge hatred against legalism" that is actually a huge hatred against godliness and godly people. When you take into account his background, rock band, and the jargon of the day, Cooper's self-proclaimed "hatred" here is another cause for concern.

Resources

• YouTube presentation with interview clips and commentary on problems with Skillet