For years, John Cooper has been known as the frontman for Skillet, the popular rock band with a Christian lyrical bent. However, in recent years, Cooper has also become an outspoken commentator about the state of the church and the nation.
His new book, “Wimpy, Weak, & Woke,” examines “increasing conflicts in America” and explores what he says is at the core of cultural angst: “a war between gods, the living God and the god of man.” Cooper told CBN Digital, “I wanted to write this book about utopianism for anybody whose eyes are open, and you don’t even have to be all that smart to see our world is crumbling. Western civilization is on the brink of just collapse.”
Cooper continued, “I think every week people go, ‘Okay, it can’t get weirder than this,’ and then the next week, wrong, it just got weirder.” He said it’s time for people to confront the fact that too many Christians have elevated winsomeness over truth, suppressing the latter to a point that has made some churches ineffective. Cooper said, “They die the death of a thousand caveats because we don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. And obviously, we shouldn’t be gracious and loving towards people, but we have to tell people the truth. And, so, we’ve become wimpy; We’ve also become weak.”
Cooper thinks worldly ideals and philosophies have infiltrated the church to the point that some feel embarrassed by and about who God is, leading to weak theological stances and woke ideologies. Ultimately, Cooper said it’s about going back to God’s word to determine what’s genuine and what’s not, regardless of what one feels or emotes. He said this is particularly true regarding assumptions about oppression and the ways in which issues like transgender players in sports are handled.
He said, “As a Christian, you have to go back to the Bible and say, ‘Wait a minute, is this a true category of oppression, or is this something that the world is saying that we have to do?’ And I think the answer to that is kind of quite obvious.” Cooper added that caving in and giving up the biblical definitions of things is what it means to be “wimpy, weak, and woke.” In the end, he believes the war raging against the U.S. and American ideals is really a “war against Christianity.”
Cooper said he’s aware he could simply make music and live quietly, but he’s felt compelled to speak out, especially as the cultural situation in America has devolved. The performer said, noting he sometimes faces pushback from Christians who don’t understand why he’s focused on the country and not just speaking about Christ, “It is not alarmist to say that we really are on the verge of losing this country.”
He reminded those who might be remiss to see this as a valid worry that Christians were battling one another in 2020 over COVID-19 policies, with some wanting to open their churches and others pushing back against the notion. Meanwhile, the government was calling many of the shots.
Cooper called Christians to “rebuke evil” and to take a stand amid difficult times. He’s hoping his decision to write “Wimpy, Weak, & Woke” will have a profound impact.