Marilyn Manson - May not be as bad as we thought

Ok well to start off, I am not endorsing Marilyn Manson's religious views in any way. I for one am a Christian, and yes I do listen to bands like AFI, Marilyn Manson, and Bullet for my Valentine. As you know, none of these bands seem to have any Christian values in them, but I would like some of you to read this article I found posted on a Blog. This is a great way to think of different celebrities who seem to be extremely bad or wrong.

I think as a Christian, I need to start showing the love that Christ had for everone, and to understand where everyone was coming from. I know how many of you (people on this forum) are not Christians, and I know why many of you seem to hate Christians. Christians have become stuck up, snotty rich people (not always rich, but they act like it sometimes) who's favorite hobby is to point out the wrongs in everyone else. I hate it when people try to do this, because they are making themselves look like a total fag by judging others, when really they are not being understanding, helpful, or loving (like it says to be in the bible). None of these Christians seem to practice what they preach.

I suggest going to the blog I posted at the very bottom. It has the article along with images and videos that go along with it.


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A Christian Defense of Marilyn Manson (Part 1)

Music has always been an important part of my life. At the best of times it has been a vehicle for celebration and at the worst of times, an escape. It is something that I've enjoyed creating, and the art form with which I most directly connect. But people are sometimes surprised to learn that I, a seminary student, listen to bands like Marilyn Manson, AFI, The Deftones, Mudvayne, Rise Against, System of a Down, Tenacious D., The Used, et al. . Recently, the topic came up when the sister of a very good friend of mine happened across this blog and saw the infamous shock rocker Marilyn Manson's latest album endorsed under my "Great New Albums" list on the right side of the page. I hear that it spurred quite the conversation about the appropriateness of Christians' involvement with the likes of Marilyn Manson. I'd love to get a discussion started about it with anybody who reads this. I know that I have a much higher tolerance for things that many people find offensive, and it has been criticized by some, so I do not consider my views beyond reproach. On the other hand, I've grown to love the producers of this media and have grown to understand the development of their anger, twisted perceptions, and addictions, in addition to their love, criticism of the status quo, passion, and yearnings for honesty. It is this perspective that I hope to share.

I know that the issue at hand isn't Marilyn Manson in particular, it is music like his, which was written by people who claim beliefs and values clearly contradictory to the Christian gospel. But, I want to make an example of him, because he is perhaps the most widely known and most criticized of his genre. If I can convey why I support an artist like him, it can be seen how my support might stretch to others. Manson is not, as many would think, the most obscene or violent heavy rock musician, nor is he even close. Much like Eminem is not the most potty-mouthed of rappers, nor Slipknot the most violent heavy metal band, these artists have received greater attention and criticism due to their unprecedented popularity.

In order to separate ourselves from those we don't understand and to free ourselves from the obligation to love and understand such people, we often reduce humans to titles and icons. People who use guerilla tactics to attack Americans are terrorists, and those with compulsions for taking the lives of others are psychopaths. Marilyn Manson, born Brian Hugh Warner, intentionally or not, has done the work for us of reducing (or elevating) himself to an icon, an inhuman image, and even a monster, and for this reason, is quite easy to attack. The self-proclaimed Anti-Christ Superstar stigmatizes his stage persona with haunting album covers, a contact lens that blocks out the color of his right eye, a machete-microphone, chilling face make-up, unusual costumes, and blasphemous lyrics. Perhaps it is no surprise that people have responded to him as though he were something beyond human, a representation of evil that a man alone cold not achieve.

On April 20, 1999, Harris and Dylan Klebold brought an arsenal of guns to school and began to fire openly, killing a total of 15 people, including themselves and a teacher, in addition to wounding 23 others. When it became too difficult to blame two young boys for the massacre, the blame was passed to gun dealers, "a culture of violence", and eventually Marilyn Manson. A number of times, Warner has let his mask drop, and has shown those of us who were paying attention that he is just a human, that his character, "Marilyn Manson" is part of his elaborate living art exhibit. When parents claimed their children committed suicide because of his music, he went on Phil Donahue (watch video here), and when he was blamed for the Klebolds' massacre, he interviewed with Michael Moore in his film "Bowling for Columbine."



The thing I find most striking is the tail end of the video. Moore asks Manson, "If you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine or the people in that community, what would you say to them if they were here right now?" Manson responds, "I wouldn't say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say. And that's what no one did." For me, statements like this transform Marilyn Manson from an icon to a person. He is a blatantly (if offensively) honest person who is wrestling with life like the rest of us, and has a heart with the ability to love. I won't psychoanalyze him without having had the opportunity to meet him, but his lyrics speak often of pain and struggles in love, and his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road out of Hell" is more honest about these things than any song. In the video below, Marilyn Manson talks about his new album "Eat Me, Drink Me", and in it, he says "This record was me, as a symbol, being Marilyn Manson, becoming human for the first time, making this record." And later, he admits, "If this record didn't exist, then I probably wouldn't exist, because I was in a state where I didn't want to make anything any more. I literally lost any sort of hope in general, and I've never been in that position before in life. So, I don't ever want to be again... If you listen to (the album), you can hear what it's like to know me personally, probably more than any of my other records." As a person who studied psychology, I see this album as Marilyn Manson's dropping of his mask (not just the Manson icon, but the self- or ego-protecting defense mechanisms it entailed), and subsequently wrestling with life without this shield. As a listener, I appreciate his sharing of this process with us, as I too struggle to do the same. As a Christian, I recognize the devil as "The Deceiver" who lies to us and tells us that we need to lie about ourselves before other people and before God... and I see Manson beginning to break through that lie. Manson alluded to being on the edge of suicide prior to creating this album, but that in his honesty, he was able to get beyond that.



I'm sure the following claim could be criticized, and certainly so by my parents who often remind me "Garbage in, garbage out", or by someone who might quote Phillipians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Regardless, as a person who at one point wanted to be a therapist, who strives to love the whole of the people I meet, I love Marilyn Manson for his honesty, his critique of things we accept as normal, his genuineness, and his growing confidence in who he is. I admire all of those things. It doesn't mean that I endorse every aspect of his beliefs or all of his claims, but I don't even put that kind of faith in myself. I endorse Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but not everything they could possibly say, and I honor my parents, but don't believe every claim they make. I take people with a grain of salt, and try to recognize that nobody is purely evil or purely good. I applaud Manson's struggles to become more honest, and admire his guts in doing so. I think it is a step towards Christlikeness, whether Manson himself would ever recognize it or not. Jesus stood before a prostitute who was about to be killed for her behavior and told her executioners that the one without sin should cast the first stone. Not one of them could do it, and neither can I. Before Jesus could tell her "Sin no more," he first had to stand by her.

For further thoughts, find my follow up article here.




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