Grammy-nominated rocker John Cooper believes America is on the verge of destruction, and he’s on a mission to deliver not only the truth but a dose of hope.
Cooper’s upcoming book, Wimpy, Weak, and Woke, explains the philosophies he says have led America to the verge of collapse and then offers readers -- especially those within the church -- the biblical solution. It will be released Nov. 14.
Cooper is the frontman for the 17-time Platinum and two-time Grammy-nominated band Skillet. It is his second book.
“We are on the brink of destruction,” Cooper told Christian Headlines. “... I think that churches -- a lot of some even conservative churches -- are becoming comrades to the destruction of America, [even if] I don't think that they are willingly going, ‘I hate America, and I want it to be destroyed.’”
Christianity, Cooper said, is essential for America’s survival.
“The destruction of America is the destruction of Western civilization is the destruction of Christianity. There is no Western civilization without Judeo-Christian ethics. … You can't destroy America but keep the foundation of ethics from Christianity.”
Much of the book focuses on modern debates over sexuality and gender.
"All the philosophers that I'm quoting throughout the book, from Marx to the critical theorists, to Freud, to the sexual revolution, all the way through our current madness with wokeness -- they will say themselves that they believe that Christianity is the root of all of the evil of our society.”
Cooper said he doesn’t want churches to embrace “some sort of idolatry towards America.” Rather, he wants them to stand up for God’s Word.
“We are so very close to actual destruction and a totalitarian form of government,” Cooper said. “When God tells us how to live, and he gives us answers for society and how to build society according to His created order and His natural laws, that's not just good for Christians -- that's good for everybody.”
The rocker acknowledged the book’s title is provocative but said he believes it reflects the truth about the church in America.
“Here's what I mean by wimpy, weak, and woke: We're wimpy because we have decided that we want to be winsome more than we want to tell the truth. And I think that some of that started probably from a good place where we wanted to share Jesus with people ... and we want people to know the compassion and the grace of God -- all true. But we're living in such a chaotic time that we need to speak the truth because the world is going off the cliff faster than I ever imagined it.”
The church has become weak, he said, because it is “philosophically and theologically weak” and does “not understand what is happening.”
“Part of our weaknesses is that we feel that we have to apologize for the character of God,” Cooper said. “I meet a lot of Christian people who are unashamed to say the name of Jesus, but they are ashamed of the character of Jesus. We see that most, I think, when we're talking about biblical sexual ethics.”
The church has grown woke, he said, “because we have replaced biblical justice with what I call secular social justice.”
“Christians should be caring for the poor. Christians should be caring for the oppressed,” he said. “[But] what happens with wokeness is that it creates new categories of what it means to be poor and oppressed. And then it demands that you stick up for that oppression based on what I would call utopian values -- equity, things like that.”
Cooper defines “woke” as “PC culture on steroids and obsession with justice, through the lens of neo-Marxism.” Christians, he said, must view justice through the lens of Scripture.
Even if American society continues its downward spiral, Cooper said, Christians can live with peace and joy. Christian families, he said, can “have peace even in the midst of actual government tyranny.”
“So even if we move into a place where you are not allowed to say certain things that we believe as Christians, without the government coming in and arresting you, well, we are still going to be people of peace, we are still going to raise kids who are blessed because our kids are going to be raised in a family with a mom and a dad who taught them what life is all about.”
If the church rises up, he said, “you're going to begin to see incredible disparities between Christian families and families who absolutely reject the Word of God and the created order of God. … I believe the ways of God are going to be light in a dark world.
“It will be the brightness of the church who had the courage to preach the truth that the world wants to hear from.”
Photo Courtesy: John Cooper company/press kit.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
