"The world belongs to Satan," according to rock star Alice Cooper – and his job is to warn people that the Devil is real.
Known for his outrageous stage act which featured guillotines, electric chairs, chopped up dolls and songs about necrophilia, Cooper – born Vince Furnier – has been a Christian for many years.
In an interview with CNS News he spoke of his struggle with alcoholism, saying: "Thirteen years ago I stopped drinking and I started going back to church. I was throwing up blood every morning, I was really a bad alcoholic. I wasn't a cruel or mean alchoholic, but I was definitely a self-destructive one."
Asked what he would say to people struggling with drugs, alcohol or p0rnography, he said: "The world doesn't belong to us, the world belongs to Satan. We're living in that world, bombarded with that every day. If you don't have Christ in your life, you're a victim to that."
He also reflected on his Christian family heritage. "My grandfather was a pastor for 75 years," he said. "I grew up in a Christian home. My wife's father is a Baptist pastor. We were PKs, preachers kids and married each other. so I always refer to myself as the real prodigal son because ... I went out and the Lord led me through everything, maybe allowed it but then started reeling me back in, saying OK, you've seen enough, now let's bring you back to where you belong."
He continued: "When I stopped drinking I started going back to church with my wife and there was this pastor in Phoenix who was just hellfire. There'd be 6,000 people there and he was talking to me, every Sunday. I was exhausted. Every weekend I'd come out of there and I'd be, 'I don't want to go back.' But I always came back and I finally realised I had to go one side or the other."
While he was "still a rock and roller", he said, "I certainly don't do it in the same spirit I used to do it in. And I watch the songs, lyrically, about what I'm singing about. A lot of the songs I used to do were way over the line."
On the difference his faith had made, he said: "Before, you're always self-centred, everything is always for you, your self is god. Humans make lousy gods, we have to let God be God and us be what we are."
Cooper was also interviewed by DC Beacon for HM: The Hard Music Magazine. He has avoided what he calls 'celebrity Christianity' and told HM: "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."
In his stage persona, Cooper says that he sees himself as "the prophet of doom", warning his audience: "Be careful! Satan is not a myth. Don't sit around pretending like Satan is just a joke." He said: "I think my job is to warn about Satan."
