Hi,

I recently found my son to be listening to Marilyn Manson albums and I don't know what to do. I confiscated them, and threw them away, but he made copies, and I don't know how to stop him from doing this again (I'm not that good with computers).

How can I tell my son that listening to this hateful music will destroy his eternal soul, in the eyes of god?

I have never heard any songs by Marilyn Manson, so I have no 1st hand knoledge how hateful it is but I was watching a documentary about Tupac Shakur the other night & he said that ppl complained about him because his lyrics promoted sex drugs & violence but he said that he did not start what he called "thug life" he just diagnosed it - painted a picture with his words, hoping someone would see it & help effect a change. Perhaps the artist in question is the same way (somehow I doubt it tho) In any case Jesus said not that wich goes into the body corrupts us but rather that wich proceeds out of our heart. Children are searching for their identity; & they 9 times out of 10 refuse to accpet the identity that their parents want to force upon them. My suggestion is to be as supportive as you can of your children; always remembering to tell them that you love them regardless of their behavior. You can have a rule of course that no such music is allowed in your house or at least dont blast it in ur room so I don't have to hear it. The main thing is that regardless of what music the child listens too we want our children to grow up to be kind hearted, God fearing ppl. So just have discussions & teach them that just because ppl kill each other on tv doesn't give us licence to do it & the best type of person to be is one that follows God's will & believe me no matter how much you think otherwise it is possible for your child to grow up a good person with a preference for disturbing music.

Hi friend. I am familiar with the lyrics of Marilyn Manson and they are among the most demonic, suicidal, and immoral out there. The other problem is that he is widely known and popular. It is not just underground, many young people and people of all ages listen to this artist. It sounds like you already understand that and I just want to affirm your concern.

I do want to encourage you on a point to focus on. It is very difficult to give any specific parenting guidelines unless someone knows you and your son very well and has had a chance to sit down with you. However, I believe on a more general level this is just a sign of something else your son REALLY needs help and guidance on. Marilyn Manson is not something someone would just stumble upon without having a longing for the darkness and rebelliousness toward anything pure in the music. Most of the time it is a progression from worse and worse influences such as movies, friends, books, parties, music.

Only you know your son’s personality enough to know his desires and attitude toward life. Try to get as close to the root of the issue as possible. If you only fight the battle on the music or other things of that nature without focusing on his understand of God, the Bible, and what Jesus did for him, then you will likely be fighting an almost impossible uphill war.

Our example of Christ towards our kids is always the best way to share the love of Jesus with them. You might have to also be very creative in ways to minister to him because of his current age and rebelliousness. If you have not already looked on the “Focus on the family” website then I would encourage you to go there for more possible insight.

Finally, thank you for being bold and vulnerable to share your concern in raising your son in a Godly way. It is not easy to get feedback at times because people might not know the full story, but use your discernment and pull from as many Godly people/resources you can.

Hello Brother,

There are two issues here. One, you discovered your son listening to music that is demonic and utterly hateful toward Christian's and people as a whole. You did the right thing in taking the music away. Being an adolescent, your son likely believes he is smarter than you and simply made more copies of the music. I encourage you to sit down with your son and even some if his friends and review just what Marilyn Manson is. This web site shows the utter demonic hate such music and people have for he and his friends. Is this what they really want?

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/mar...manson-the_truth.htm

As you review this material with your son using your computer, allow the Lord to choose your words for you. Elicit discussion from him and avoid the temptation of long lectures, but do warn him with Godly wisdom and scripture about the evil he is facing and the destruction of life he is bringing to himself through it.

The second issue is his "in your face" disobedience to you in copying the music again after you threw it away the first time. This is contempt for your authority. I don't know know much about computers but I do know how to unplug them and that is what I recommend you do to his for a set period of time, say 30 days. If he has a cell phone, take that away too, along with any Ipod's or other listening devices. He has got to know that consecquences follow disobedience, to you as his father, and in a much larger sense to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As others have said, there are other issues going on here than just music. Stay close to your son, talk a lot to him, but most importantly, listen more than you talk. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason, I believe. We are to listen more than we talk and for a teen, someone who will simply hang out with them and listen can yield great gains.

God bless you brother and you and your family will be in my prayers.

Nick P.