Daily Archives: November 28, 2023

During a recent appearance on the "Conversations That Matter" podcast, John Cooper, the frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band SKILLET, weighed in on "queer theory", a field of study that challenges existing traditional ideas about identity, sexuality, and gender particularly that of heteronormativity, or the belief that heterosexuality is the natural, moral, or "normal" expression of sexuality. The 48-year-old musician, who is promoting his recently released second book, "Wimpy, Weak And Woke", said in part: "I believe that queer theory is literally the end of all things. There will be no meaningful conversations even able to have in the world if queer theory actually becomes as ubiquitous as it seems like it is already becoming. There will be no distinctions between anything. If you embrace queer theory, and you embrace the idea that men can be women and women can be men, or you can be both, or neither, blah, blah, blah, then you will end up having to accept that there really is no difference between mankind and beast. It just follows. And in fact, the queer theorists would probably be, like, 'Yeah, that's right.'"

He continued: "Sexuality, to me, that's the key. If the church does not stand our ground on sexuality, we lose everything. We absolutely lose everything.

"This is just so upsetting to me. A lot of Christians just do not believe that it's as bad as it is They just refuse to believe it. And they keep saying, 'Guys, there's nothing new under the sun. It's always been this bad. You're making it seem like it's worse.' That's just not true. It hasn't always been this bad.

"Transgenderism is the most civilizational-shifting thing that has happened in I don't even know how long. You're talking about something that could change the trajectory of human nature forever. And, of course, if anybody's done the reading, I'm not gonna get into this, and I don't write about this in the book, but if anybody knows what transhumanism is, we're one step away from transhumanism, which we won't even get into," he added, referencing the position that human beings should be permitted to use technology to modify and enhance human cognition and bodily function, expanding abilities and capacities beyond current biological constraints. "And transgenderism sort of makes that possible. It's a sort of Gnosticism that really will bring us into a man-and-machine kind of thing coming in together. It's absolutely horrifying."

Cooper previously warned against transgender ideology earlier this year in an interview with The Daily Signal.

"We don't even believe in objective reality now," he lamented, referring to American society. "We are saying you can be a Christian as you want to, as long as you privatize it. You can be a Christian at your home. Just don't go around telling people. But in the public sphere, [where] we used to be able to talk about religion and objective reality In the public sphere, we are going to make peoples personal subjective feelings be public truth.

"So if you say, 'I'm a boy, but I know I'm actually a girl, and I believe it in my heart,' the public has to say your inner feelings are true," he added. "But if somebody says, 'No. I can see objective reality. You are a boy,' that's not publicly true, though it can be a privately held belief if you want.

"That's the way to end all things," Cooper said. "That is the destruction of objective reality."

In various interviews over the years, Cooper has said that he "always had faith in God" and that his mother was a "Jesus fanatic." He also claimed that he was willing to put his career on the line to take a stand for Christ.

In 2021, Cooper was asked by the "Undaunted.Life: A Man's Podcast" what he would say to someone who says that Satan works through rock music, and thus Christians shouldn't play rock music. He responded: "I would say Satan can work through just about anything. I would say that music is created not by the Devil; [it is] created by the Lord. 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."

As for what he would say to someone who says it is sinful for Christians to have tattoos, Cooper said: "I understand why Christians think that, because of the Old Testament. I would say it probably takes a little bit of a longer explanation of Old Testament law and what it meant. But a short version would be there are some things in the Old Testament that were a picture of something in the New Testament. There are some things that are not pictures, like murder we don't murder, we don't steal, so and so forth. Dietary restrictions, things like that, were a picture of something.

"Here's what God wanted: God wants to make his people set apart and holy unto his name," he continued. "And I don't think that God does that any longer from the way that we look; he does that now because of Christ's work on the cross, his resurrection, and he sanctifies us, which sets us apart from the sinner and the pagan."

SKILLET's latest album, "Dominion", was released in January 2022 via Atlantic.

"Wimpy, Weak And Woke" was released on November 14.

John's debut book, "Awake & Alive To Truth", has had over 10 printings and won the Book Impact Award at the 2021 K-Love Fan Awards. His podcast, "Cooper Stuff", continues to grow rapidly as well with over four million downloads and more than two million YouTube views.

John Cooper press photo courtesy of The Media Collective

See original here:
SKILLET's JOHN COOPER Explains Why He Believes 'Queer ... - BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Steelworks #6 cover, via DC Comics. Steelworks #6 Michael Dorn, Writer; Sami Basri/Vicente Cifuentes, Artists; Andrew Dalhouse, Colorist Ray 8.5/10

Ray: The final issue of this miniseries has the biggest threat yet for our heroesa giant robot Steel armor, remotely controlled by deranged weapons manufacturer Charles Walker II. Hes a rather cartoony villain, but secondary villain Silver Mist has a slightly more sympathetic backstoryone that plays a key role when he decides to switch sides at the last minute and assist the floundering super-family against an enemy that seems to have their number in every way. Theres a clever reveal about why some members of the heroes feel so much more affected by the Kryptonian energy than others, and the issue ends on an ambiguous but hopeful note as Steel reviews his plans to transform Metropolis and rededicates Steelworks to his larger goals. This issue also has a surprisingly big focus on Lana Lang, who has her powers yet and is set to marry John, so itll be interesting to see where thats followed up on.

Ray: This continues to be the most bizarre Harley run weve had yetwhere else can you see Bud and Lou possessed by cosmic entities? As Harley kicks the hijackers out of her beloved hyenas, they return to Lady Quark, who creates another new attempt to bring Harley under controla powerful Harley AI that travels the multiverse targeting her counterparts. Harley is forced to align with another bizarre allyrobot detective Lux Kirby, who takes her on a trip through the multiverse to find other Harleys who have been targeted. Despite the truly bizarre plot in this issue, I did enjoy a lot of the quieter moments, including the reunion between Harley and Ivy even if the crisis is far from over.

The backup was bizarre in a very different way, as Grace Ellis and Steve Lieber take Harley into the comicsliterally. She explores a comic about herself, going from ad pages to script pages before finally bursting out of the page itself to confront the source of her problems. It might just be the most meta comic around.

Ray: After two issues setting up the threat of Blue Earth, Amalak, and a mysterious Kryptonian plague, this issue nicely dials things back for a fairly emotional issue as Paige holes up in the Fortress of Solitude seeking answers. While Omen deals with Blue Earth rioters back in Metropolis, Paige bonds with an elderly Kryptonian lion named Hamlet who is nearing the natural end of his lifeand the inevitable extinction of his species. As the animal isolates itself before the end comes, Paige tries to offer it comfort and find some herself. But this is the DCU, and its never long before the outside world comes calling. The dark moments in this issue are nicely balanced by some positive concepts about the way we all play a role in the world, but I do think the creative team is still struggling to figure out where Paige fits in the DCU and in the Super-familywhich is, of course, the meta point of the series.

Ray: As Terry and Kyle reach the core of the Garden and are confronted by a trio of DCs most iconic plant-based superheroes and villains, it becomes clear that this situation is far more than it first appeared to be. Its not a simple case of missing children but rather a cosmic-level threat led by a surprising face. As the truth of John Constantines involvement in the world under Gotham is revealed, Kyle comes into his own as a hero. The cat-human boy hybrid has been the most interesting part of the story, as he might become Terrys first real partner in the fieldassuming that both of them survive a cosmic battle for Gotham. On the surface, Donovan Lumos, the corrupt metahuman corporate titan, puts his plan into actionand accidentally potentially unleashes an apocalypse just in time for the final issue. This series may be a bit too chaotic at times, but its definitely an interesting ride.

Ray: The last of the three Asian-American heroes introduced as part of a new initiative for DC, City Boy has flown a little under-the-radar but has a fascinating set of powers and a compelling backstory. While the main villainwhose name calls back to his true origins or identitywas a hateable figure, Cameron is both the hero of the story and its biggest threat, as his grief over his abusive mother passing away without giving him closure spirals out of control and threatens to envelop the world. As all the cast of the cities he visitedBatman, Superman, Nightwing, and Swamp Thingunite to save their cities and guide Cameron out of the void, the Intergang plot almost feels forgotten, with the villains beating a hasty retreat. However, the final moments of the issue pack a real emotional punch as Cameron is finally able to find some peace with the help of his new allies.

Ray: This series has been doing some very interesting things with the concepts of transhumanism and AI, as Cyborg finds himself up against a villain who comes from the brain patterns of his fathers rival Markusall the while Markus is still alive and being hunted by himself. While the new entity Solace makes a powerful villain, its also hard to disagree with himthe concept of a being being created as a mental double, but confined to a robot body and forced to serve the real person is rather horrifying and just asking for a robot rebellion. And thats exactly what Markus getscausing Cyborg to call in backup from the Titans. The Fearsome Five, now with some reinforcements, provide the main threat this issue, but the larger plot involving Markus and Solace are in full swing by the end of the issueleading to whats sure to be a tense finale.

Ray: Nikolas Draper-Ivey brings down the curtain on his second Static miniseries with an issue that reveals the mastermind behind the Bang Baby hunters who have been torturing Rubber-Band Man and killed Statics young friend Quincyand its a surprising twist that casts a dark pall on the earlier issues of the series. As Static and Ebon confront the villains behind the entire plot, the two former enemies find an uneasy understandingone that continues even after the immediate threat is vanquished. These two characters, on opposite sites of the law but driven by the same central goal to protect the innocent, have been the heart of this series and Im hoping to see more of their dynamic in the future. The final scene, set at Quincys funeral, feels like its commenting on some very real and hard-to-talk-about things. Im not sure whats next for Static, but Im hoping that Draper-Ivey is involved.

To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.

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