The frontman for the popular rock band Skillet says he regrets his group’s inclusion on the soundtrack of The Shack, the 2017 movie based on the popular book.
John Cooper, the group’s lead singer, said on the most recent episode of his podcast Cooper Stuff that he believes the book and film were part of the “early warning signs for deconstruction, for progressive Christianity.”
Skillet’s song Stars appears on The Shack: Music From and Inspired By the Original Motion Picture. The band also released a music video that includes scenes from the movie. The music video has 39 million views on YouTube.
“I repent for being involved in the soundtrack for The Shack,” Cooper said. “I thought it was just like – it's not a Christian film; it's a fiction story; we will be involved; God can still use it and blah, blah. I was wrong. I wish I had not done it.”
The film was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by William P. Young and told the story of Mack, a father who is grieving the murder of his 7-year-old daughter and finds healing after receiving a letter from “Papa,” who invites him to a meeting in the forest. In the plot, Papa is a representation of God the Father. Mack also encounters portrayals of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The book was controversial in conservative, orthodox circles due to its theology, including elements of universalism.
The Shack and books like Blue Like Jazz, Cooper said, were “sort of early warning signs for deconstruction, for progressive Christianity, for now saying, ‘I'm a Christian, I just don't believe in hell. I'm a Christian, I just don't believe in the resurrection of Christ.’”
Cooper added, “We were a part of that – we were on the soundtrack. I wish we weren't; I repent for it. … God forgives me and I'm moving on.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Ethan Miller/Staff
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.