Dina, from a similar thread I posted in on another forum (sorry if it looks a little disjointed):Originally posted by Dina:
Mike,
Do you know where one can find his testimony on the net?
A brief passage from an interview with Ephemera magazine:
"From WorldNetDaily.com:It is Friday the 13th of April, Good Friday, the day of the show itself. In the hotel, Alice tells me about Christianity, which he began to take seriously 10 years ago. 'It's everything,' he says. 'It's what I live for. If you gave me a choice between rock'n'roll and my faith, I'd take my faith. Rock'n'roll is fun - it's what I do for a living. But it's not what I live on. I believe in classic Christianity. I've given my whole life to the Lord. But I don't think that means you can't be a rock'n'roller...
...He is religious, he says, having indulged in every pleasure it is possible to indulge in, and having, at the end of it, still felt empty. 'If you had known me 20 years ago, you would have said, "This is the most crazed, addicted person on the planet."' Drinking, he says, is 'a real freedom in the head. And I lived behind that mask for an awful long time.'
'I've had every car, every mansion,' says Alice. 'I went through everything you could do.' Of his experience with drugs, he says, 'You lived through the 60s and 70s. You tried this and that.' He says he hasn't cheated on his wife since they got together a quarter of a century ago. Of being debauched, he says, 'I got to the end and realised there was nothing out there. I was still hungry for something. I was the prodigal son. I left the house, achieved fame and fortune, and found out that that was not what I wanted. Now I read the Bible every day. I pray every day. That's really what I'm about.'
Is he, in a way, a sort of preacher, carrying on the tradition of his father and grandfather? 'Sometimes,' he says, 'I think what I do on stage is a very dramatic warning to the audience that Satan is not a myth. I believe he's very active.'
Alice Cooper goes with God
'Shock-rock' pioneer now 'dedicated to follow Christ'
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Posted: March 1, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2002 Charisma News Service
Alice Cooper says he loves God but doesn't want to become a 'celebrity' believer.
The father of shock rock whose music and stage antics have outraged parents for more than 30 years told how the fear of hell turned him to God.
Alice Cooper, who sang about necrophilia and chopped up baby dolls during his concerts, said that although he continues to record and tour with a theatrical horror-style show, "My life is dedicated to follow Christ."
Although he became a Christian in the 1980s, apart from brief comments in some interviews the 54-year-old singer has always been guarded about his faith – until now. But in a frank interview with [Heaven's Metal Magazine], he spoke at length publicly for the first time about his love for God and reluctance to become a "Christian celebrity."
A chart-topper with the teen anthem "School's Out," Cooper – who legally changed his name from Vince Furnier – has been credited with paving the way for the likes of today's outrageous performers such as Marilyn Manson.
But he maintains that his act was never political or religious and always had "a sense of humor." He told HM: The Hard Music Magazine that he was always insulted whenever he was accused of being satanic. Raised in a Christian home, he still believed in God, although he was not committed.
That changed when alcoholism threatened his marriage. He and his wife, Sheryl, attended a church with a "hellfire pastor." Cooper said he became a Christian "initially more out of the fear of God, rather than the love of God ... I did not want to go to hell." Interviewed for HM's March/April issue, Cooper views his faith as "an ongoing thing."
"Being a Christian is something you just progress in. You learn. You go to your Bible studies. You pray," he said.
He has avoided "celebrity Christianity," because "it's really easy to focus on Alice Cooper and not on Christ. I'm a rock singer. I'm nothing more than that. I'm not a philosopher. I consider myself low on the totem pole of knowledgeable Christians. So, don't look for answers from me."
Yet he has been able to speak to others in the music scene about his faith.
"I've had a couple of people that were friends of mine that I've talked to that have vocally said they have [accepted Christ]. I have talked to some big stars about this, some really horrific characters ... and you'd be surprised. The ones that you would think are the furthest gone are the ones that are more apt to listen."
Songs on Cooper's more recent recordings have hinted at his change of heart. He sees his stage persona now as "the prophet of doom," telling people: "'Be careful! Satan is not a myth. Don't sit around pretending like Satan is just a joke.' I think my job is to warn about Satan."
He no longer performs some of his older repertoire. Any song promoting promiscuous sex and drinking "gets the axe," he said. "I'm very careful about what the lyrics are. I tried to write songs that were equally as good, only with a better message."
Cooper told HM he answers his critics: "'I was one thing at one time, and I'm something new. I'm a new creature now. Don't judge Alice by what he used to be. Praise God for what I am now.'"