Creed was named “best group” at the VH1 music awards in the year 2000 and at the time the most popular hard rock band in the world. We would implore any readers who are into Creed to not allow your emotional ties to the band’s music destroy your ability to look at Creed objectively. If you are a Christian we encourage you to earnestly pray before you read this article and to put God and His holy word before Creed or any man. So many Christians are easily deceived, as they so often put their emotions before God’s truth. If we are not to be deceived it is imperative that we look at things through the lense of God’s holy word. God warns us in His word that we are to “test everything and hold tight to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 ). Our heart’s prayer is that the members of Creed would turn to the Lord Jesus Christ as their master and savior. Creed, along with all others in the entertainment industry, are on our prayer list, as we believe that Jesus Christ shed his blood to save them from their sin and that one can only be saved through a genuine relationship with the risen Christ! Since millions of people have been led to believe that Creed is a Christian band we know it is necessary for us to answer the frequently asked question as to “whether or not Creed is really a Christian band?” Many are under the false impression that Creed is a “Christian band” and are therefore to be regarded as “safe.” So is Creed a Christian band after all? The answer is a resounding no. Definitely not! Based upon Creed frontman Scott Stapp’s own admission, we learn from the “FAQ” area of Creed’s official web site that:
“We are not a Christian band. This is a question we are asked a lot because of some of the references made in the lyrics. A Christian band has an agenda to lead others to believe in their specific religious beliefs. We have no agenda!” (www.creednet.com)
Stapp offers a very confused answer as to whether or not Creed members are even professing Christians by stating the following:
“This is a very personal question because the whole foundation of being a Christian is a personal relationship. I could say that all the members believe in God, but we each differ in our methods to reach him. We are still learning and growing, and God can only answer this question, because who are we to say that being a Christian is the only way to heaven?” (www.creednet.com)
If “each differ” in their convictions regarding the way to God, then at the very most Creed has only one member who even professes that Christ is the only way. This would mean that all but maybe one of the members of Creed, if not all, reject Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father and reject His claim to be such. God has made it abundantly clear that Jesus alone is the way to the Father and the only way to be saved from hell:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber… I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:1,9
Salvation is found in no one else, "for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5 )
Such Scriptures could be multiplied. Suffice it to say, at this juncture, that if man could be saved from the penalty of his sins by any other means, Jesus would not have had to die on Calvary’s cruel cross to pay our sin debt. The Father would have answered Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane to be spared going to the cross if it was at all possible that man could be redeemed in any other way than by Him suffering the wrath of God for every human being. As Jesus contemplated the enormity of paying for all of the sins of humanity, He sweat drops of blood as the capillaries of his sweat glands burst under the unfathomable stress of experiencing the entire world’s due punishment. It was at this point wherein Jesus contemplated the unthinkable pain of being forsaken from His Father whom he had been with from eternity past. Jesus prayed that if it were possible for mankind to be saved in any other way that the Father would extricate Him from experiencing the cup of His awesome wrath. However, the sin debt had to be paid for God to remain just and the justifier of those who placed their faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Jesus chose to go to the cross and declared that he “must” be crucified for our sins if we are to escape eternal torment in hell. Either we repent and turn to Jesus Christ, accepting the sacrifice He made for our sins, or we pay for them in eternal conscious torment in the lake of fire forever. The choice is yours! Choose eternal life!
Far from being a “Christian band,” Creed has gone a long way to cast doubt in the minds of immature believers concerning the way of salvation. Scott Stapp of Creed has repeatedly espoused a do-it-yourself kind of religion:
“But if you read the Bible and think about what it’s teaching you, it’s there for strength, there for guidance. But ultimately, you have to do it for yourself."
God’s word declares that salvation is wholly a gift of God and that we are commanded to receive the gift through faith. Stapp’s contention that, “Ultimately you have to do it for yourself,” and his calling into question whether or not Christ is the only way, smacks of a different gospel. The apostle Paul declared that we are saved by God’s gift of grace alone and not by our own works at all:
“For by grace have you been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no would should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Of course we do not deny that men are commanded to repent (turn from sin to Christ) and believe the good news, but this is merely the means by which we receive the gospel. You do not “Ultimately…do it for yourself.” God has won the victory for us, we merely enter into that victory through repentant faith when we sincerely embrace Jesus. Paul warned that a gospel that espouses a system wherein we ultimately do it ourselves is a different gospel, that will leave men dead in their sins and that those who embrace it will be eternally condemned:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 1:6-9
Jesus said that apart from Him, we could do nothing of spiritual value. (John 15:1-6 ) Paul said that it is through Christ that we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13 ) In fact a band like Creed, which employs a lot of biblical imagery but deny the gospel, could be far more dangerous than a band that espouses no pretense to spiritual influence at all, as Creed has sucked many unwitting believers into their web via biblical imagery. The most dangerous thing about Creed is that they continue to influence millions of young undiscerning Christians who believe they are somehow a Christian band. Creed front man, Scott Stapp, said that Christians identify with his lyrics:
Scott Stapp
“especially kids who live in the bible belt. But unfortunately a lot of them aren’t allowed to listen to rock music. Some parents still think it’s a tool of the devil that corrupts the young and innocent.” (SMS, #12, Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp Sound Off!, p. 30)
The irony is that Stapp’s parents warned him of the unseen spiritual forces behind the music that Satan used to allure Stapp down the broad road to destruction. Spin magazine reported:
“Scott Stapp’s parents thought rock was the devil’s music. He couldn’t join clubs or go to parties…So he ran away and started Creed, the biggest hard-rock band in the country.”
Incredibly Creed, far from being founded on Christ and His teachings, were actually founded upon Stapp’s rebellion from parental authority and his Christian upbringing. Sadly, God only knows how many young Christians have been enticed by Stapp to reject parental authority and their Christian upbringing and have fallen into all manner of sexual perversion, drug use, and rebellion against God. Creed are far from a Christian band, by their own admission, and they have successfully exploited young believers who are battling between the temptation of giving in and being conformed to the satanic world system or being transformed by the renewing of their minds through purity of devotion to Christ.
Creed seems to have more in common with Satanist Marilyn Manson than they do the Savior, Jesus Christ. Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti said that:
“There are certain parallels between Marilyn Manson and us, even though Manson has trouble with parents censoring his stuff from their children.” (SMS, #12, Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp Sound Off! p. 30)
Heads up parents! In other words, there are ways we are like Marilyn Manson, but parents who censor him don’t censor us! This is the biggest danger with Creed. Though they parallel Marilyn Manson in areas, they are able to slip through much parental radar because many have been deceived into believing that they are a Christian band and espouse biblical values. Many Christian parents, along with Christian young people, have been duped into believing that they are censoring the evil and destructive messages from their youth that come via artists like Marilyn Manson by allowing them to listen to artists who seem innocuous, like Creed. We have pointed out in other articles that Marilyn Manson is a Satanist who ascribes to many of the teachings of Satanist organizer, Aleister Crowley, whose rally cry was “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Manson quotes Crowley’s axiom in his biography in chapter nine, which is entitled “The Rules.” Crowley declared the family to be “public enemy number one.” It has always been Satan’s desire to effectively allure the children away from God’s moral law into a life of self destruction and eternal damnation, and music has proven to be his best weapon in achieving this end. Creed is simply a subtler weapon whereby Satan is able to more tactfully grasp onto the heartstrings of those who would otherwise be keen to more blatant and diabolical forms of rebellion as exhibited in the music of Marilyn Manson. Like Manson, Creed glorifies rebellion against traditional moral values and in the end endorses a version of Crowley’s axiom “Do what thou wilt” that is palatable for professing and undiscerning Christians. Mark Tremonti of Creed goes on to underscore one of the parallels that he believes Creed has in common with Satanist Marilyn Manson, declaring:
“Like Marilyn Manson, we’re against following rules just for the sake of following rules. A lot of times the rules are outdated and don’t make sense anymore.” (SMS, #12, Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp Sound Off!, p. 30)
If Tremonti has in mind legalistic, man made, religious rules, his point would be well taken, but when one realizes that he is comparing Creed to Marilyn Manson when making this statement, it will be remembered – as pointed out above – that Manson is an antichrist and against the very commandments ordained by God. Moreover, as we are about to see, rules that Creed would abandon, like Manson, are often guidelines established by God Himself. Tremonti goes on to state that among his goals in life are “faster women…” (Ibid). Regarding faster women, in a Rolling Stone interview Creed boast about spending $2,500 at a strip bar. They do not only use corrupt language in their interviews, but have also even used God’s name in vain in their music. God’s word warns us that sexual immorality is not to be named among us and that corrupt communication is not to come out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:29-5:7 ). Sadly parents spend much of their lifetime seeking to instill biblical values within their children and rock bands come along and destroy years of labor with a few songs. God’s word warns that, “one sinner destroys much good.” (Ecclesiastes 9:25 ) Scott Stapp’s life is an illustration of this very process, as his parents sought to raise him in the Lord and the powerful allure of satanic bands like the Doors led him from a Christian upbringing into mysticism and drugs.
Stapp’s comments often seem calibrated not toward building Christian faith but questioning it. In an early bio of the band we are told that if Stapp did something wrong when he was young he was forced to, "copy – word for word – entire books (usually Psalms or Proverbs) from the Bible." Now a Creed spokesperson is admitting that this wasn’t the truth. It seems that Stapp embellished his past by debasing his Christian upbringing. Stapp claims that he rebelled from his parent’s strong Christian upbringing and followed in the footsteps of Jim Morrison of The Doors. We thoroughly document The Doors connection with the demonic realm in the 10-Hour version of They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll, with admissions from Jim Morrison regarding his demonic possession and Satanism. Jim Morrison believed he was a shaman and that spirits used his body to influence the masses. Morrison met what he refers to as “Satan” the “spirit of music” when living as a street person on Venice beach. It was at this time that Morrison received some of his most influential songs, as he took notes as Satan gave Morrison visions of concert situations with completed songs. Morrison said it was like taking notes at this fantastic rock concert. The rest is history. Morrison’s music really was not his own. He was a mere puppet who prostituted his body for worldwide fame and fortune. In the 10-Hour version of our video we show skin crawling, hair raising footage of Morrison totally taken over and used by demonic beings at his performances. To be influenced by Morrison and The Doors is to be influenced by Satan and the demonic world who seek your destruction. Scott Stapp of Creed has acknowledged that he has sought to retrace many of Morrison’s footsteps. Stapp went so far as to move “to Tallahassee, simply because his hero Jim Morrison had lived there for a time.”
It was in Tallahassee that Stapp further opened himself up to the very demonic forces that fueled Jim Morrison’s musical abilities and later destroyed him. “I kind of went to the extreme,” says Stapp, “I just wanted to party. It was very self-destructive.” It was then that Stapp, following in Morrison’s footsteps, claims that he set out to, “open my mind, open the doors of perception.” Jim Morrison named his band The Doors as he was inspired in part by the very phrase quoted above by Stapp, “the Doors of perception.” Morrison’s goal was to “Break on through to the other side” of spiritual doors, through drugs and shamanism and make contact with the spiritual forces in the invisible realm. God’s word forbids making contact with the demonic spirit world and warns that all who do will be destroyed and sentenced to eternal damnation in the lake of fire. Stapp sought to open his mind by following Morrison’s lead through taking psychopharmacological drugs like mushrooms and marijuana.
In our article on Drugs and Satanism we document how the bible warns that drugs like mushrooms and other hallucinogens are a doorway to demonic forces and that those who use such drugs will not inherit the kingdom of God, but will be sentenced to the lake of fire forever. The bible uses the Greek words “Pharmakeia,” “pharmakos,” etc. to describe the connection between certain mind-altering drugs and their relationship to the world of demonic beings. Demonic beings use such doors to gain greater access to human beings through demonic possession. Albert Hoffman, who is the chemist famous for discovering LSD, points out in his book, LSD: My Problem Child, that one of the few common experiences that researchers have consistently noted in research done on LSD inebriation is that of possession by demonic beings. Hoffman himself points out that after he ingested LSD for the second time he became possessed by what he describes as an “LSD demom.” For thousands of years medicine men, shamans, witch doctors and sorcerers have used similar drugs to open up contact with the spirit world. Hoffman only discovered what God and sorcerers already knew! Stapp, in his spiritual pilgrimage, sought to follow the sorcerer, Jim Morrison, instead of the God who created him and died for him, Jesus Christ. Stapp made a mistake in the profoundest of proportions as he sought to emulate his hero Jim Morrison both spiritually and musically. It was during this quest that Stapp further opened himself up to the demonic spiritual forces that controlled The Doors. The demonic forces that controlled Jim Morrison also controlled other members of the band. Doors keyboard player, Ray Manzarek, pointed out that when Morrison was taken over by the spirit world while performing there were times when he to would be taken over by the same forces:
"Man, when I was on stage with the guy, I don’t know who was playing the organ. Sure, it was my fingers, but…”
God’s word makes it clear that not only are Satan (and the fallen angels that rebelled with him) musical beings, but that they are able to take control of human beings and use them to influence the world for evil. We have documented in our exposé on Santana that he admitted to Rolling Stone Magazine (after Supernatural hit the top of the charts) that he channels his music from “Devils.” He claimed that he and Clapton were calling up the spirits. This phenomena is not unusual for rock stars, but all too common for an intelligent thinking person to pass over lightly. Ginger Baker, who was Clapton’s drummer for Creme, admitted that something altogether uncanny would take place when they were playing:
“It happens to us quite often—it feels as though I’m not playing my instrument, something else is playing it and that same thing is playing all three of our instruments. That’s what I mean when I say it’s frightening sometimes. Maybe we’ll all play the same phrase out of nowhere. It happens very often with us.” (Why Knock Rock, Bethany House Publishers, 1984, p. 113)
A thinking person should see large red flags waving in regard to Creed when one comes to know that Stapp admits he followed in Jim Morrison’s footsteps to become successful. It is evident that Stapp and Creed have opened themselves up to these same demonic forces. Tremonti of Creed has acknowledged the uncanny connection that they share in the creative process, which is beyond human. Tremonti has declared,“We have ESO together,” he claims, “We’ll be thinking the exact same thing at the same time.” We are talking about more than an occasional coincidence here but a spiritual element that affects their songwriting. Stapp elaborates,
“Mark and I definitely have a weird relationship in that regard. There’ve been numerous occasions when I’ve called him up at say, four o’clock in the morning and I’m like ‘Dude! I’ve just written a kick-*** melody and some great lyrics!’ And he’s like ‘That’s so weird, man- I was up, strumming my guitar and I just wrote something too!’ And he comes over and it’ll fit exactly. Weird…We have this connection inside of us, and I don’t know what that is." (Creed Revelations)
Many of Creed’s fans are unable to discern or understamd the significance of the fact that Creed was founded upon a foundation of rebellion. Scott Stapp rebelled against his Christian upbringing, ran away from home and started Creed. Now Stapp and company have led untold thousands of young people from their Christian upbringings into the nebulous religion of rock.
Many Christians have interpreted songs by Creed to have biblical meanings when in fact they actually have diabolical influences behind them. Take for instance Creed’s very successful song Higher" I had one man call me up and ask about the song because his very large church had added Higher to their worship list, believing apparently that it had something to do with Christ. Stapp admitted that the song has nothing to do with Christ’s ascension and more to do with eastern mysticism. Stapp wrote the song after applying occultic techniques found in an esoteric book called Awake and Dreaming written about occultic experiences and Hindu mystics. Stapp claimed that the book helped him deal with a reoccurring dream. Stapp states that it helped him learn about lucid-dreaming, "You’re physically asleep, but you’re awake in your mind." This altered state of consciousness is known in the occult as the alpha state and is a prime time when one is susceptible to contact with demonic beings. Many mediums have spoken of this state when receiving messages from the demonic spirit world. By Stapp’s own admission, Higher is not about Jesus Christ or about getting closer to God through Christ, but about occultic experiences as influenced by a book on the occult. Christians are forbidden to delve into the occultic realm. (Deut 18:9-12)
Creed, as we have seen, have admitted themselves that they are not a Christian band, and Scott Stapp of Creed told Rolling Stone that Creed are “tobacco dipping Budweiser drinkers" (Rolling Stone, 9/99). God’s word warns emphatically that we are not to be deceived, for drunkards “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 CorINTHIANS 6:9-10 ). A similar phenomenon to Christians flocking to a particular popular rock group, to feel like they could identify with something that was considered “cool” to the world, took place in the 1980’s. In the 1980’s I warned Christians that they should not buy into the lie that U2 was a Christian band and while my warnings fell on some deaf ears, I said that time would bear out these warnings. It was not long after such warnings that U2 showed their true colors in the mid 1980’s by doing a cover of the Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil. After this, U2 frontman Bono stated in an interview that he was for abortion, homosexuality and didn’t believe that Christ was the only way to the Father, contradicting Jesus Christ Himself!
Many at first were led to believe that U2 was a Christain band and after many sincere Christians jumped on the bandwagon they slowly shed their so-called Christian image and dragged them into the rebellious lifestyles that are so often glorified by rock stars. Like Tremonti of Creed, who claims that they identify with Marilyn Manson, Bono claimed at the time that he was a lot like Prince, sexually. It was not long before Bono was prancing around stage depicting Satan, which he did all so well. We have documented that Bono stated that one reason he donned the devil horns was to reveal a part of himself that he had kept hidden. It will not be long, in my opinion, before Creed drops the nominal halo and donns the devil horns like U2. Some who are reading this article now, and are ignoring its warnings to their own peril, will return to it later (perhaps after their faith is eroded) and acknowledge that this has been the case. Our hearts break for all the rock and roll casualties we have seen, as millions of young people have been seduced into lifestyles glorifying rebelion, violence, drugs and sexual promiscuity through popular rock bands. Such lifestyles eventualy end in death and eternal punishment. Our hope is that the reader will truly seek God and compare Creed’s lifestyles and their philosophies to His holy Word. Do we dare put our affection for a rock band above our loyalty to the living God who made us and bought us with the highest price of His own prescious blood? The God to whom each of us will stand before as judge to give an account for our lives at the judgement seat of Christ? Dear reader, is it a little thing that Creed members contradict the words of Christ and denounce the idea that Christ is the only way to salvation? Is it a little thing that Tremonti of Creed compares their morals (or lack thereof) to those of Marilyn Manson? Is it a little thing that Starpp is involved in occultic philosophy and that Creed share common spiritual experiences with the satanic bands they emulate? Jesus warned, “He that is not with Me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). If Creed, like any other non-Christian band, is not with Christ they are against Christ.
Whether it is pure Satanism that Creed ends up espousing in the end or a mixture of subtleties about following the Lord and identifications with Marilyn Manson, the song remains the same either way. God’s Word tells us that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, whether it is blatant or subtle, and those who name the name of Christ are to flee from evil and cling to Christ. Creed frontman Scott Stapp has illustrated in his own life the words of Tremont,i who said they are a lot like Marilyn Manson in that they have discarded moral guidelines that they feel are old and warn out. Stapp, who is divorced from his former wife Hillaree, said, “Marriage ruined the relationship.” Stapp claims that his new living situation is better than God’s outdated plan for marriage, he went on to declare:
“I feel like we did it just because that’s what you’re supposed to do but I really don’t think you need a contract…” and, “We live together; we love each other; we’re just not married,” (Creed, Revelations)
The truth of the matter is that God instituted marriage as part of His divine plan and Jesus taught that what God has joined together no man was to set apart (Matthew 19:1-9). Many are deluded into believing that we can reject God’s call to marriage and live with the opposite sex without a marriage commitment. This then opens the door to a selfish, promiscuous lifestyle which dishonors God and defrauds the other sex partner. Stapp continues:
"She actually still lives with me, we’re friends and we raise our child together. It’s a real weird situation and you have to get into the real nuts and bolts of it to understand it, but it’s almost like we get along better now that there’s no halo of marriage.”
Even though studies have proven that children fare far better when two parents remain married, Stapp contends that he has chosen to live with his ex-wife for the sake of his son. Of his son he says:
"I tell you, that kid is the spitting image of me…I just don’t want him to have the same demons that I have.”
Through his divorce Stapp seems to feel free to pursue other relationships without the restrictions of a contractual agreement to be faithful to one person alone. In this we see a microcosm as to why Stapp has divorced himself from the teachings of Jesus Christ and Christianity. Stapp declared, "I had gotten to the point," he says, "where I felt guilty if I looked at a girl and said, ‘Wow, she’s got nice t***.” He goes on to declare, "I’m over that now."
Stapp seems to have seared his conscience regarding Jesus’ warning:
“You have heard that it is said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a women to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matt 5:27-28
Stapp’s use of biblical imagery in his songs (contrary to what many have been deceived into believing), is not about turning people to Jesus, but is more about ridding himself from the Christian teaching that he received as a child:
"It’s very dark. But that’s where people get the misconception that we’re a Christian band. But basically, I am haunted by my past. I’m haunted by God. It’s something that I can’t escape. I’ve been indoctrinated in that religion since I was an infant – it’s second nature to me. I believe in God because it’s what I’ve been told my entire life. So there’s a conflict in me; and probably for three songs each record, I’ll deal with that. It’s just a cleansing thing," (Creed, Revelations)
Moreover Stapp’s usage of biblical imagery is also a means of finding out if he even believes in God at all:
"I’m not preaching; I’m not trying to get people to believe in Christianity. And a lot of the songs are me trying to figure out if I believe in it at all, me trying to deal with the condemnation and guilt that Christianity can lay on a young person’s mind.” (Ibid.)
When Stapp was asked if he believed what the bible predicts about Armageddon, Stapp admitted that this was the teaching of Scripture but claimed that God’s command to worship him or else makes God a mean God, "I don’t know if I believe in that," says Stapp:
"It’s predicted in the Bible, but I don’t know sometimes. If you read the Bible literally, God doesn’t seem too nice. He seems a little mean- "Worship me or Die! Do what I say or get killed in Armageddon!" I mean, that’s not how I choose to believe in God." (Ibid.)
Stapp seems to be seeking to create God into the image he wants Him to be, rather than accepting the biblical revelation regarding who God really is. Of course Stapp’s lifestyle in many ways is an affront to the God of the bible and it is therefore not surprising that he would reject God as he is revealed in the Scripture. For if the God revealed in the Scripture is the true and living God, which He is, Stapp is in serious trouble to say the least. For example, Stapp’s contention that Christ may not be the only way to heaven contradicts God’s holy word. Tremonti’s claim that Creed’s moral value system closely parallels that of Satanist’s Marilyn Manson’s is also repugnant and contradictory to the thrice-holy God who commands righteousness. Stapp’s attack on the God ordained institution of marriage, claiming that “Marriage ruined [our] relationship” and that a couple can live together and one does not “need a contract” contradicts the heart of God and is a proven destructive teaching. Moreover, Stapp’s delving into the occult and his penchant for eastern mysticism are also roundly condemned in the Scripture. It is no wonder that Stapp believes that God’s literal self-revelation of Himself in Scripture “seems a little mean.” It is no wonder that Stapp has a hard time with the concept that God judges sin and rebellion against His holy word. In truth though, a God who would allow rebellion against the law of love and allow people to destroy each other without consequences, without accountability or judgement, would truly be “mean”. A truly loving God would punish the unrepentant wicked who lead others into rebellion and destruction. God warned that those who do not delight in His righteousness would speak against the Lord. He stated that it is “the wicked who rail against the Lord.” It is little wonder that Stapp has a hard time with God commanding His creation to serve Him, for Stapp has chosen to be his own little god and made up many of his own rules for living and refused to worship God on God’s own terms. This is what caused Satan and his angels to fall in the beginning and this is the true essence of Satanism! Stapp preaches a condemned, do-it-yourself gospel, that leaves men dead in their sin, as he eclectically takes a bible verse here, and an occult teaching there, and claims that his new age hodge-podge is setting him free. Perhaps this is where Creed is the most dangerous. Many young and undiscerning Christians are hanging on Stapp’s every word as he has attracted them to himself via the biblical imagery that is found in some of their songs. When they take a deeper look into Creed and their lifestyle, they find alluring words that cause them often to question and reject the Christian faith rather than continue in it. He casts doubt in their minds concerning God’s word, the claims of Christ, and he claims that God is “mean” if we are only allowed to worship Him alone. Stapp’s words in his interviews make it sound as though the God of the bible is some kind of cosmic killjoy who does not want us to have a fulfilled life, by giving us rules and instituting guidelines like marriage, etc. The truth of the matter is that God has given His commands to protect us from evil and that we might glorify Him by living life to the fullest in the way that God intended it to be lived:
“So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 6:24
Jesus said that He came that we may have abundant life:
“The thief comes only to steal, and kill and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” John 10:10
The Lord loves us and informs us that He desires that we love life and have good days, yet we find that this is based on the condition of obedience to His word:
“Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:10-12
Satan loves to hold out the carrot of a false concept of freedom in his attempt to get humans to forsake God’s word. This is precisely what he did with Eve, as he told her that God was keeping her from realizing her full potential by commanding her not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God’s word tells us that she was radically deceived and instead of becoming God she destroyed her life and died both spiritually and physically. God warns in his word that Satan would rise up false teachers in the end times to deceive young Christians by teaching them that they are free from God’s holy commands and thus bring them into soul-damning bondage:
“These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the sinful nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred commandment that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’…Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 2:17-22, 3:17-18
In the final analysis Creed is a misnomer when applied to this band, as they seem to have no creed at all and live by the spiritually bankrupt philosophy of “Do what thou wilt.” While they have several emotionally moving songs that appeal to millions of peopl,e we must ask, “To what destiny is it that Creed are moving their fan base in the end?” Creed is really not about the genuine, the biblical, as much as they are about the false Jesus of their imaginations. We ask the reader to carefully consider the fact that your stay here in this world is relatively very brief compared to eternity. Everybody will exist forever, the question is, where will you choose to spend eternity? Will you live forever with God in the eternal bliss of his heavenly kingdom or will you live forever in eternal conscious torment in the lake of fire? Our hope and prayer is that you will choose Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price to save your soul and turn from the idols of rock and roll.
Our hope and prayer is that Scott Stapp and the other members of Creed would be saved from hell and the demonic powers that influence them and the world. That will only happen through genuine repentance and an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. Stapp has found that his rejection of authentic Christianity has not rid him of the demons that possess him and he gambles on the edge of eternity with eternal life hanging in the balance:
"I’m definitely in a better place than I’ve ever been, but I still have my old demons because my philosophies on life are much different from how I was raised, there’s always those doubts in the back of my mind: Are they right? Am I wrong?" (Ibid.)
Dear reader, we beg you to not make the same gamble as this rock idol. The odds are too great (zero), the price is too high (eternal damnation), and eternity is too long (forever)! Choose life, choose Christ and enjoy eternal life in the kingdom of light where there is no more curse, pain or death!
