Saturday, November 7, 1998

Top Christian artists oppose banning Marilyn Manson

By Ken Garfield

Knight Ridder Newspapers

TAMPA, Fla. -- The biggest names in Christian music didn't hesitate when I asked whether Charlotte should ban Marilyn Manson from playing Ovens Auditorium on Nov. 10.

Kathy Troccoli said she'd never pay to hear the shock-rock band.

Steven Curtis Chapman said he's not sure he wants his three kids taking in a show where Bibles have been ripped up on stage.

The members of dc Talk said Manson doesn't make the kind of music they listen to.

"Interesting wardrobe," said Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay, presumably referring to the lead singer's glittery spandex, nearly see-through body suit.

Yet for all their reservations, a powerful thread runs through each of their observations: Not one of the artists would force the muzzle of censorship on Marilyn Manson.

Their Christian code of decency is precious to them. But so is their respect for free expression, even for the loathsome.

"If they shut him down," said dc Talk's Toby McKeehan, "they've got to shut us down."

Witnessing as Billy Graham led thousands to a deeper relationship with Christ was an inspiring experience last weekend in Florida. So was hearing the collective wisdom of the artists who performed at his Tampa crusade.

On stage, Chapman sang his sweet pop hit, "We Are Not Home Yet," a song that promises better times ahead. dc Talk got 74,000 kids rocking with its funky call to faith. In "Jesus Freak," they declare, "I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak 'cause there ain't no disguising the truth." Troccoli did a bluesy version of "Jesus Loves Me" that your choir probably won't tackle this Sunday morning in church.

Offstage, the artists shared convictions just as compelling.

Chapman said he wouldn't picket a Manson concert because it wouldn't assuage the anger that leads kids to the band in the first place. Instead, he'd work harder every day to live out the gospel principles, "so there wouldn't be a need for a Marilyn Manson concert."

Anyway, Chapman asked, aren't we all gifts in God's eyes? "Marilyn Manson is a treasure to the God who created him," he said.

Troccoli, who has sung for Graham and the pope, carries the same banner of mercy. Manson angers her less than Christians do when they use intolerance to get their way politically and socially.

"I'm appalled at how the church represents the gospel," Troccoli said. "I'm surprised anyone would come to the church."

The members of Jars of Clay looked uncomfortable playing the part of role models. "For some reason, when you have a guitar, people want to listen to you more closely," said bass player Steve Mason.

It's parents whom our kids ought to be listening to, he said, not drummers and organists. It's parents who ought to be given the privilege and power to teach our kids about Manson, not politicians and people with petitions.

Being 45 and a fan of Merle Haggard, there's not a lot I could decipher when dc Talk took the stage at the Graham crusade to celebrate God through rock and rap. Very loud rock and rap.

But with their defiance of censorship still ringing in my ears -- "If they shut him down, they've got to shut us down" -- there was one dc Talk song that made special sense in any musing over Manson.

We're all in the same boat, the interracial band of three sang. Whatever we sing, whatever weird outfit we wear on stage, we all need to support each other because we are all God's children. Persecute one and you persecute all.

The name of the dc Talk song?

"We're All Colored People."

X X X

(Ken Garfield is the religion editor at The Charlotte Observer. Write to him at: The Charlotte Observer, 600 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28232.)

X X X

(c) 1998, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

Visit The Charlotte Observer on the World Wide Web at http://www.charlotte.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.