ALICE COOPER Opens Up About His Faith: 'There Was Never More Of A Rebel Than Jesus Christ'

[Red Sky at Morning]

August 21, 2019 35 Comments


ALICE COOPER Opens Up About His Faith: 'There Was Never More Of A Rebel Than Jesus Christ'

Legendary rocker Alice Cooper, who has been a devout Christian for many years, opened up about his faith during a recent interview with pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie.

Having grown up with a father who was a preacher, Cooper has always had religion in his life. But it wasn't until he quit drinking and drugging in the '80s that he dedicated his life to Christ, partly at the urging of his wife, Sheryl.

"Sheryl had gone — she had gone to Chicago and said, 'I can't watch this,'" Alice recalled about the moment when he accepted Jesus into his life. "But the cocaine was speaking a lot louder than her. Finally, I looked in the mirror and it looked like my makeup, but it was blood coming down [from my eyes]. I think — I might have been hallucinating; I don't know. I flushed the rock down the toilet. I woke up and I called her and I said, 'It's done.' And she goes, 'Right. You have to prove it.' One of the deals was we start going to church. I knew who Jesus Christ was, and I was denying him. I knew that there had to either come a point where I either accepted Christ and started living that life, or if I died in this, I was in a lot of trouble. And that's what really motivated me. I just got to a point of saying, 'I'm tired of this life.' And I know that this is right when the Lord opens your eyes and you suddenly realize who you are and who He is."

Cooper admitted that he contemplated changing his name after he came to faith in Christ, but his pastor advised him not to.

"I went to my pastor and I said, 'I think I've gotta quit being Alice Cooper now.' He says, 'Look where he put you. What if you're Alice Cooper, but what if you're now following Christ? And you're a rock star, but you don't live the rock-star life. Your lifestyle is now your testimony.'"

When asked if he was ashamed to say he believed in Jesus Christ, the rock star replied with a confident "no."

"People talk about Alice being a rebel — there was never more of a rebel than Jesus Christ," he said. "You wanna talk about a rebel — he was the ultimate."

The 71-year-old Cooper has been outspoken about his religious awakening for quite some time. In a 2018 interview with New York Daily News, he said: "My wife and I are both Christian. My father was a pastor, my grandfather was an evangelist. I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it — almost died — and then came back to the church."

Although he struggled with alcoholism before embracing religion, Alice said that he doesn't have trouble reconciling his shock-heavy musical persona with his religious beliefs. "There’s nothing in Christianity that says I can't be a rock star," he said. "People have a very warped view of Christianity. They think it's all very precise and we never do wrong and we're praying all day and we're right-wing. It has nothing to do with that."

Cooper reportedly attends church regularly and participates in Bible study.

 

[Lisa]

He was wrong to continue his Alice Cooper persona and should have changed that to reflect how he now followed Jesus. Can’t live both lives..have to pick a side and stick to it. Also, with him still being Alice Cooper, who knows he’s a Christian? Unless you know the man personally, you won’t know he walks a different walk since he still is Alice Cooper.

I also don’t happen to think of Jesus as a rebel, aren’t we sinners the rebels, doing our own thing, going against God? Jesus didn’t do His own thing and He didn’t go against God, He did all that God told Him. Jesus was no rebel.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

@Lisa

When someone is described as a “rebel” it begs the question - against what? I think you are under the impression that the only kind of rebel is one against God. Jesus certainly looks like he is acting in a rebellious way in the passages below:-

Mark 2

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath​

​

23Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”​

​

25But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”​

​

27And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”​

​

Matthew 21

Jesus Cleanses the Temple​

​

12Then Jesus went into the temple [d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”​

​

Matthew 11

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,​

​

17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.​

​

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.​

​

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.​

​

Examining these examples, it becomes clear that the rebellion (or confrontation) is towards the pious religiosity and hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Grace and faith run contrary to religion and a trust in justification through the works of the law.

Jesus was not afraid to pick a fight with the religious “powers-that-be” or the day, who certainly would have considered Jesus to be a rebel!

 

[Todd]

@Lisa

When someone is described as a “rebel” it begs the question - against what? I think you are under the impression that the only kind of rebel is one against God. Jesus certainly looks like he is acting in a rebellious way in the passages below:-

Mark 2

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath​

​

23Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”​

​

25But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”​

​

27And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”​

​

Matthew 21

Jesus Cleanses the Temple​

​

12Then Jesus went into the temple [d]of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”​

​

Matthew 11

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,​

​

17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.​

​

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.​

​

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.​

​

Examining these examples, it becomes clear that the rebellion (or confrontation) is towards the pious religiosity and hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees. Grace and faith run contrary to religion and a trust in justification through the works of the law.

Jesus was not afraid to pick a fight with the religious “powers-that-be” or the day, who certainly would have considered Jesus to be a rebel!

You got this right Red! As I said in another thread by definition Jesus was not only a rebel he was a heretic!

 

[Lisa]

Huh...the apostate is agreeing with the writer of this thread...O dear!

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Huh...the apostate is agreeing with the writer of this thread...O dear!

Matthew 9

Matthew the Tax Collector

9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

You got this right Red! As I said in another thread by definition Jesus was not only a rebel he was a heretic!

Indeed...

John 8

48Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

52Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

54Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

57Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

58Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

59Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

[JoChris]

I dislike Alice Cooper's use of the word "rebel" because of potential misunderstandings.
Jesus obeyed God's laws perfectly.
It was the Jewish leaders who had steered off course and made human traditions more important than God's laws.
It appeared to outsiders that Jesus was a rebel, but in fact he was not at all.

 

[JoChris]

You got this right Red! As I said in another thread by definition Jesus was not only a rebel he was a heretic!

Heretic according to the Jews.
Was he a heretic according to GOD?!
The bible is GOD's word, remember...

 

[JoChris]

He was wrong to continue his Alice Cooper persona and should have changed that to reflect how he now followed Jesus. Can’t live both lives..have to pick a side and stick to it. Also, with him still being Alice Cooper, who knows he’s a Christian? Unless you know the man personally, you won’t know he walks a different walk since he still is Alice Cooper.

I also don’t happen to think of Jesus as a rebel, aren’t we sinners the rebels, doing our own thing, going against God? Jesus didn’t do His own thing and He didn’t go against God, He did all that God told Him. Jesus was no rebel.

Do you know if he still sings the same songs as he did before he became a Christian?

If he does, I really hate that and IMO he should have rejected that part of his life and started a fresh series of songs, using same style of music if he believed he could use heavy rock style to glorify God.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I dislike Alice Cooper's use of the word "rebel" because of potential misunderstandings.
Jesus obeyed God's laws perfectly.
It was the Jewish leaders who had steered off course and made human traditions more important than God's laws.
It appeared to outsiders that Jesus was a rebel, but in fact he was not at all.

It got me thinking about the nature of words and the nature of meaning. So often on things like forums, assumptions can be made about words that have no connection to the meaning those words were intended to denote. Arguments then rage over why a particular word was used and frequently, despite longer and fuller explanations, the original essential point is lost in the fog.


For clarity:-
I still think that Jesus was acted in a way that rebelled against the skewed religion of the scribes and Pharisees,

BUT wholeheartedly agree that he never rebelled or strayed 1% from orthodoxy of the true faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

Puts me in mind of the friends episode where Rachel’s boss was accused of wanting to buy her baby!!!

 

[Lisa]

I dislike Alice Cooper's use of the word "rebel" because of potential misunderstandings.
Jesus obeyed God's laws perfectly.
It was the Jewish leaders who had steered off course and made human traditions more important than God's laws.
It appeared to outsiders that Jesus was a rebel, but in fact he was not at all.

Exactly!

 

[Lisa]

Do you know if he still sings the same songs as he did before he became a Christian?

If he does, I really hate that and IMO he should have rejected that part of his life and started a fresh series of songs, using same style of music if he believed he could use heavy rock style to glorify God.

What do you think?

Sounds like he is still Alice Cooper to me and if so, I agree that that’s wrong.
I also have to question Greg Laurie who just agreed with what he said about still being Alice Cooper..

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

Laurie recently interviewed Cooper at the rocker's faith-based non-profit organization, Solid Rock teen center in Phoenix. Christian Headlines reports Cooper founded the center in 1995 to help troubled teens.

Cooper tells Laurie he made a career out of "shock rock," but now he's a Christian who just wants to help teens in the name of Jesus.

"People have the wrong concepts of Christians. They think we are supposed to sit around all the time. We like to rock and roll. I think you keep a better watch on your Christian life," he said.

Cooper says Jesus saved him from cocaine and sin. And he is committed to helping others, once giving a Bible to Marilyn Manson. "They respect you because you're you. You have this platform to reach people. People will listen to a guy like you," Laurie said.

Cooper told Pastor Laurie that he considered changing his name when he left his lurid lifestyle behind.

He says his pastor told him, "Look where He (God) put you. What if you're Alice Cooper but what if you're now following Christ and you're a rock star but you don't live the rock live. Your lifestyle is now your testimony."

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2019/may/famed-shock-rocker-alice-cooper-proud-to-be-a-rebel-like-jesus-the-one-who-freed-him-from-a-life-of-sin

Why share a post about a notable rocks star who was clearly a reprobate for a time?

Imo Because God plays a long game with us and is not willing that any should perish. There are many people on this forum who are confused about God, others are busy making a confusion of the Gospel. Still others feel so condemned by their own sinfulness they might think they are like a prodigal son who can never come home.

If the Lord will forgive the likes of Alice Cooper and be gracious enough to take the flakes of silver and gold out of the mess he had made of his life and weave them into something new, then He can do it for the prodigals on this forum too. They just need to repent (change their minds and turn away from the worthless sin and rebellion* that they cling to) and come back to the Father, who waits with open arms.

*Against God

“Alice Cooper’s” story is not over, and if he is truly born again, the Holy Spirit will be “leading him into all truth” (John 16:13), but like all Christians he will no doubt be a work in progress!

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

4“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

 

[Robin]

Well . . . This is a confusing turn of events lol.

 

[seekinheart]

I dont buy it alot of celebs have fake personas, christian ones to throw you off the scent, you dont get out of this game.

 

[Axl888]

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth also comes to mind, he said he is now a born again Christian.

 

[Robin]

I dont buy it alot of celebs have fake personas, christian ones to throw you off the scent, you dont get out of this game.

Yeah . . Like I'm not a Christian so I cant speak to that part of it but I do believe in at least some of the things I've read and seen about what it takes to get into the industry and stay there. Especially given Alice Copper's songs and choice of aesthetics . . . . Hence my confusion lol.

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

I dont buy it alot of celebs have fake personas, christian ones to throw you off the scent, you dont get out of this game.

It puts me in mind of Brian “Head” Welch. People saw his lifestyle while he was in KoRn and many Christians are very sceptical about him. Ultimately, God’s assessment of you is the ONLY one that matters!

 

[Red Sky at Morning]

My interest in the world of Heavy Metal music stems from my brother in law. He grew up in a Christian home but was a rebel in the “against God” mould. His choice of bands included “Deicide”, “Cradle if Filth”, “Venom” along with lighter bands like KISS and AC/DC. He went out of his way to offend his parents and was a paid up member of the “Rock and Roll Lifestyle”.

Then a few years ago he started coming to the Alpha group at our local church (partly due to the free meal!) and would listen and ask questions.

Some time later, he became a Christian. He still causes people alarm as he sits down on a Sunday with tattoos up both arms and in the back of his head! Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart.