"I said,'Did anyone in the leadership community check to see if they were valid?' Not one person raised their hands." -Bill Holms

"We let [people] know this stuff came off the Web, that they should look into it and that it's not gospel truth. On the other hand, we had no reason to doubt them." - Don Jackson, Christian Family Network

I have been asked to write about the Marilyn Manson controversy. I want to start by explaining that this is not an endorsement of Manson's music or activities. However there is something I have found troubling my spirit far more than Marilyn Manson or the perceived threat people see him to be.

The internet is a scary thing sometimes, and this proved it.

The immense spread of wrong information(actually, outright lies) that occurr on a regular basis in the net. And it seems that some of the guiltiest of this misinformation are christians. Watchdog groups hear a rumor, yet noone substantiates it(it seems to me the biblically ethical thing in this situation would have been to ask Manson themselves.). Then they distribute it as fact(or as "we don't have a reason to doubt it").

There are good reasons not to let your kid(or kid brother/sister) see Marilyn Manson(Born Brian Warner...rumor that he is a former Wonder Years cast rumor is FALSE.), and I will get to those later...but let's take a look at some of the claims...Manson was going to kill himself at a concert(on stage...) last Halloween. He's had a rib removed so as to perform fellatio on himself, and also he removed his testicles. Manson has never moved to dispel these rumors..."I never dispel rumors, because people can believe what they want." This has come around to get him, for now he has to fight even bigger and more vicious slander.

Sworn testimonies claim the following: Manson has a group of guys he refers to as his private Santa Clauses. Their job? To throw pot and cocaine to the audience.

Manson will throw small animals from the stage and refuse to start the concert until they are all dead.

Manson gives satanic altar calls. He calls for virgin sacrifices, and the children in the audience are pushed foreward to be dedicated to satan. Manson's response? "I've never worshiped the devil. I consider myself as much a member of the Church of Satan as [a member of the church] where I was baptized as a kid: St. Paul's Episcopal in Canton, Ohio-or as much as I'm a member of Blockbuster Video or the library. If I had to describe me beliefs, God and Satan are like your left and your right hand, just like Marilyn and Manson. It's two words to describe the two sides of what you are."(RS 763)

"I have witnessed rapes at MOST(emphasis mine) concerts. The crowd get[s] into a frenzy and the females are held down against their will and raped many times as Manson prods [the audience] on."

Think about all of those a minute...ask yourself this: Is any of this possible? In truth, not really, there is such a thing as security at a concert(Manson knows this, afterall he has been arrested twice for indecent exposure). And every one of those claims would be quite hard to keep out of the news. Why is it all these claims come from people unwilling to show their faces? Keep in mind that all the affidavits are anonymous. Why? This is a rock band, not some top secret goverment agency. So the fact that there are no names to these witnesses takes away alot of credibility.

I mentioned that there are valid complaints about Manson's act. So here they are(all verified by Manson and friends): in one show he had a half naked girl tied to a cross. On Marilyn's current tour he has a habit of tearing pages from the Bible and throwing them at the audience. Maybe using the American flag to wipe his bottom is a bit over the top. Or how about leading the kids in chanting obscenities? Or the fact that, on occassion, he has exposed himself and has fondled Twiggy Ramirez's(a MM band member)crotch? Manson once performed oral sex upon another man on stage. As I mentioned earlier, Manson has been arrested twice for indecent exposure(however, both charges were dropped.).

The reasons I mentioned were not used to fuel the fires started by religious conservatives(not sensational enough, I guess.). And that's where the big problem lies. How is it okay to use(primarily) lies and slander to prove your point is acceptable to Christ? And further more, who has truly been helped by all the protesting? As far as I can see Manson's pocket book benefited the most. We've painted him the devil, but I can't shake this feeling that Jesus loves Manson as much as you or me. He isn't the enemy, tho we treat him as such. Instead of maligning him, we should have been seeking an honest dialog with him. Shown Manson that love we claim to have. Remember the old chorus? "They will know we are Christians by our love." Seems that was off a little, since most people "know we are christians" by our protests, our grandstanding, and our superiority complexes. I hope God brings someone who understands this into Manson's life...and maybe this is where I fall short, complaining, yet doing nothing to reach out. To show him that there is more to Christ than name-calling and paranoia. To show that God called us to love, and we take that call seriously.

All information gathered courtesy of interviews on television, Rolling Stone and the religious right.