|
The Devil's
Advertising
Can you believe advertisers were
foolish enough to run this ad in a "prestigious" magazine? (Its no so
prestigious anymore.)
The
Devil's Advertising
by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
666
PENTAlicious!
Where
are the songs about Satan? What
happened
to the dark hidden messages that
command
suburban teens to submit and perform
his
evil biddings? You can’t
offend with songs
about
summer flings, “bling, bling,” or nookie.
Rock,
rap, pop – there really isn’t anything
the
dark lord doesn’t improve. The number of the
beast
has that special something that touches
us
all. A dark room, candles,
and nineteen
pentagrams
scrawled onto a high school binder.
Get
friendly with the magic of the occult today
before
being nominated most likely to succeed.
Rolling Stone
The
above was an advertisement in “Advertising Age” magazine last month
(October, 2002). I copied
it in a format that appears about the way the ad actually looked when it
ran in the magazine. No
doubt, as a full-page ad it cost a pretty penny to run for a month in it
– and might I add, this magazine is one of the most prestigious
publications for advertisers. The
circulation is enormous.
What
should we think about this advertisement?
I have a number of things to mention, but I think it would be
important to confront the Christian first.
I ask you a question, “Does this shock you?”
I suppose some would say “Yes” and enter into a kind of
repulsive exclamation, explaining that the ad took them by surprise.
Others may say “Not really” knowing full well that the world
is going to hell in a hand basket, and Rolling Stone simply wants
the world to blatantly accept that fate.
Others, like myself, may have sat in contemplation of this for a
while. They may have let it
sink in, and just stared at the page for a time.
Maybe they reread the ad a few times, trying to consider whether
it was just “hokey” or a “gag” of some sort.
Was there an ulterior motive to it?
And then, maybe they became outraged at its content, knowing full
well, that after meditating on the atrocity of it, that they were
disgusted that such a thing would take place.
It’s a bit different when one attends a rock and roll concert
where Marilyn Manson, the open-mouthed epitome of satanic rock
expression comes to stage – at least there you expect Satan’s tools
to express satanic ideologies. But
why would a respectable magazine allow an advertisement of this capacity
to appear in the hands of its readers?
We
must first admit that “Advertising Age” magazine may have thought
this just plain fun for Halloween.
(That statement in an of itself should cause every Christian
contemplating celebrating Halloween to throw out every trinket having to
do with that unholy “holy day.”) Maybe
instead of a picture of a zombie or corpse wishing everyone a safe and
fun Halloween they decided to go with an ad from a popular industry
magazine to suit the occasion. Maybe
they thought it was all in good fun.
No doubt they were going to make a buck on it.
The ad itself was easily a few thousand dollars.
They probably had no complaints about that at all.
The message may have meant little to them, and maybe they just
needed to fill some space in the magazine for that month, and Rolling
Stone kindly submitted a Halloween ad.
However, though we could admit all this, Christians know better.
Imagine the number of people that handled putting this piece
together. The idea sprung
from Rolling Stone’s advertising campaign market.
(It does have to do with singing right?)
Then the ad is read by a few people in the marketing depart of
Advertising Age for approval. (Certainly
they wouldn’t allow a full-page nude man or woman in their magazine,
right? At least not yet…)
They approve the article and send it off to the various
departments for production. Graphic
artists, photographers, plate men, film men, press men, and a host of
others both see and handle this piece to its final incorporation on the
magazine. Then it’s
distributed. In that
distribution about 5 million people handle the magazine – that’s you
and me. From that 5
million, 5% of the people will be affected by that ad – that means
they will read it, understand it, and be affected by it in some manner.
That means that roughly 25,000 people will see this - in dollars
and cents that comes out to be about .33 cents a person.
(Ads run anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for a full-page ad in a
magazine of this sort. Advertising
Age made money on blatantly expressing satanic ideas to the public, and
Rolling Stone spent .33 cents a person to be sure those 25,000 people
read and were affected, in some manner, by the article.
I would venture to say, at the very least, that people were
affected in its ability to desensitize those reading it to occultic
practices and satanic ideas.
Let’s
break down the message. Who
in their right mind would sit and contemplate this message in the manner
its portrayed? I can picture Marilyn Manson or a Motley Crue representative
sitting in their luxury apartment surrounded by young teenagers awaiting
a bit of rock and roll wisdom to drip from their lips. Suddenly they spin off with this little bit of bewilderment.
The ad certainly is coddled around the “I wonder where the good
times have gone” sentiment. This is odd since Rolling Stone in and of itself is in the
business of propagating satanic ideologies when they exalt musicians
who’s main goal in life is to fill the world with music that glorifies
the devil. Where can we
find a song about Satan? Is
that really what you are asking Rolling Stone?
I would suggest simple browsing your own magazine for the last
year and you would find much to satisfy the answer to that rhetoric.
Their
irony takes shape when the second question is posed – what happened to
the dark hidden sayings…? Yes,
what happened to them? It
used to be back in the 50’s that songs had to be back-masked to find
those “hidden messages.” Now
we simply have to turn on the radio to any station blaring music to find
songs piercing with obvious allusions and statements concerning Satan,
the devil, sex, drugs and everything else that Rolling Stone thinks
makes the world go round through happy tunes.
Their
obvious focus is the lord of darkness, the devil, in this piece.
The good old days of hidden
sayings which taught teens in subtle ways is gone.
For rolling Stone, its just too easy now to subvert the minds of
the masses. They just take
it all in as if life was one big rock and roll compendium, and the devil
is its ring master. Its
just too easy to undermine morality today.
Can you see the Devil sitting back in his $5000 leather chair,
smoking a stogie, and reminiscing about the old days of the 17, 18, and
early 1900’s where Satanism took a bit of work to make its way into
the home? Now we can choose
from 267 satellite stations that channel that garbage in every home in
the US.
They
then make a statement that songs alluding to “flings,” or sex, are
not what they used to be. There
is no need to allude to such things nowadays.
Female pop stars rip off their clothes the moment they think it
will boost sales. Many now
are even beginning that way – sex appeal sells records and makes
people rich. They attract
the masses by sex. They
utilize sex as the focal tool to allure people to come to the concert.
Why does the music industry believe that Madonna is the sexist
woman in the history of music? The reason is clear – she is the most blatant about sex.
She has no shame. That makes her “sexy.”
Why is Elvis seen as the sexist man ever to grace the rock and
roll stage? Its rests in
his stage presence – the gyration of hips and legs as he sings – it
was taboo in those days to do what he did in that manner.
He was just as bad in those days as his predecessors in today’s
meat market wear tight spandex to impress the audience.
Then
they state that the “dark lord” has improved all of music.
There is nothing he has not touched.
They’re right. Country,
rock, rap, pop – its makes no difference.
He has corrupted all of it.
Each style panders to the varied cultural differences people
have. No, Country is
not as blatantly devilish as gangster rap, but its message is the same.
Think through Country’s messages – sex, love, one night
stands are predominately their topic.
Yes, sometimes they sing about their “guitars” or their
“supped up trucks”, but let’s face it, Country is just as touched
by the devil in its own way as the rest of music in their own ways.
Pop strives on sex, rap strives on vulgar, rock strives
on…well, you get the point. They are right – the dark lord has not left music unto
itself. The 1960’s Ed
Sullivan show would not focus the camera on Elvis below the waist
because of his movements. Today’s
concerts are much different; the camera focuses in on those parts
immediately because if they didn’t, viewers would not watch.
The
reality of the extent of music’s influence by the dark lord is
suggested to be complete by their next statement - “the number of the
beast has that something special that touches us all.”
True again. Secular
music is embedded with Satanism in all its forms of rebellion against
the one true Living God. Have
sex, take drugs, kill your parents, kill yourself, have affairs, rebel,
rebel, rebel, rebel, and rebel even more, every chance you have.
Rolling Stone, though, does not want the reader to think
that this is something that does not affect them – it certainly does
– and Rolling Stone knows it. It
is a “special something” which does affect the minds of all those
listen to the garbage which today’s music industry propagates.
That “special something” is the desensitization of the
American mind to the occultic massages of the unsaved musicians who
glorify the name of Satan in their music.
It’s the fingerprint of the fall of men on the depravity of
their hearts excited about the rancid music they listen to which hardens
them against God further with each song.
Don’t’ you want that special something enlarged?
So
what’s the conclusion of the matter for Rolling Stone?
It’s getting back in touch with your inner satanic child.
Its breeding Satanism in the schools.
Before you think about being president of your class, you should
be sure to have down the occultic practices that will really shape your
life. American leadership
and shaping the nation through honor and virtue is a far second to
understanding first that Satan is your “dark lord” and he should
have the primary rule in your life.
Get in a dark room, pull out the séance candles and the
pentagrams, invite your friends, and honor the lord of the dead before
you think about being popular at school. Without setting your priorities, how could you possibly
succeed?
“Now,
now, – its all in good fun,” says Rolling Stone.
“We were just playing; just having a good time at Halloween.”
Really? Let’s
break it down again. What
does God say about all this? What
does God say about those who promote evil and mock His Law?
Proverbs 14:9 states, “Fools
mock at sin.” This
verse came to mind and struck me powerfully in reaction to this ad.
Advertising Age as a company are fools for allowing themselves to
be deceived enough to take money for this ad and promote it’s wicked
message. Rolling Stone is a
company of fools who thrive off their main stay of promoting wickedness. And the readers who agree with them are fools as well.
The actual idea here for “fool” is from the Hebrew meaning of
being “perverse.” (lywIa/
'eviyl
{ev-eel'}) The Arabic meaning can have connotations of being “thick
headed”, but I think that is an understatement.
The idea generates around those who are morally deficient.
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament renders this
as those who are “lacking in sense and generally corrupt.” These are
fools. We should pity the
weak-minded. They are
deluded victims of the devil. They
are fools who know what they are saying, but think its trite and fun to
say it. And it is not that
they say it once, but that they continue to say it.
The tense of this first part of the sentence (which is chiastic)
is in the Hiphil and the imperfect tense.
This means the mocking or scorning is not enacted, but continues
on. It is as if they are
fools, and continue to be fools. This
fits well with the ad and those who think highly, or lightly, of it.
These fools “mock” at sin. The Hebrew “loots” (#Wl)
may connote the idea of being an
“ambassador” for sin in this way.
The word “sin” is a bit
more interesting it is translation.
It is not necessarily the word for “sin” but rather the whole
idea of offering up a sacrifice for sin.
Fools mock the redemptive purposes of God and pull sin as if with
a cart or rope before people (Isa. 5:18).
They do not think about the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for
sin, rather they blaspheme it and promote wickedness in its place.
They place ads about the blatant manner in which the devil is
praised today instead of exposing the wickedness of devil, human
depravity and sin, and turning to Christ.
That just does not sell in the market of human wickedness.
There are other New Testament
passages dealing with mockers and scorners.
One is Jude 1:18 which says, “how they told you that there
would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own
ungodly lusts.” These
false teachers, as Jude explains, are those who seem to deny the
Lord’s return, and in doing so, believing that Jesus Christ is not
coming again, they remain as Libertines who satisfy the flesh of their
own lusts day to day. This
creates a picture which perfectly captures the individualistic American
public – self-deluded wicked and ungodly people promoting individual
rebellion against all authority except the satisfaction of “self” in
any form that pleases “self.” (The
Greek phrase here is potent – it is used all through the Gospels to
refer to the “mockers” of the cross.)
And who can forget the passage
in Gal 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap.” Fit into the context of spiritual achievements and bearing
one another’s burdens as the church should do, Paul conveniently fits
in a spiritual principle of sowing to the godliness of the spirit or to
the wickedness of the flesh. The
Greek here is a bit different than in Jude 1:18.
The idea here surrounds mockers, but to those who sneer or turn
up their nose at God. God
does not stand for such. He
allows men to build up a deposit of wrath for themselves in continually
“turning up the nose” or “deriding” Him, but in the end, swift
judgment shall come upon them. Though
some say with Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his
voice…” (Exodus 5:2), God says, “He that sits in heaven shall
laugh, and hold them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his
wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” (Psalm 2:4-5)
And yet they do not heed his voice.
Rather, they publish garbage like this ad, and promote
wickedness. They remain
unashamed.
Isaiah
5:18-19 states, “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of
vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope…Woe unto them that call
evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for
darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
This is the very nature of the ad Rolling Stone propagated. This is what they were doing.
They were parading sin for all to see.
They made light of wickedness – made light of the devil himself
– to desensitize those during the festive holiday of “Halloween”
to think light of things. What
was their real intent? What
was their real intent even if it was not their blatant intent?
What was the devil saying through them?
Dear
Rolling Stone,
I
give you my thanks. And
Oh yes, and to you too Advertising Age - thanks.
The press was great for my image.
I just wanted to thank you for making me look so appealing in
that ad. I mean, though I am the Deceiver of men, and the destroyer of
souls, though I am set against the holiness of the Lord God and do all I
can to cause men to hate Him and his only son Jesus Christ, though I
continually drag people into sin and into hell, you made me look like I
should simply be standing in the middle of the road saying “take my
number won’t you please?” It
was as if the only thing you lacked in it was a line that said “Get a
tattoo on your arm of the number of the beast that you can be proud of,
and show your mom.” I
love that stuff.
You’re
right – there is no need anymore to chant my name quietly behind
closed doors. Not at all.
I’m not just interested in 10 year olds having sex, taking
drugs, and listening to rock and roll anymore.
No, I want you to say my name and mean it.
I want you to say it sweetly.
Like in the ad. I
want you to think I’m “all that” and more.
I want you to believe that paying homage to me first is the what
life is all about. Don’t
worry; I'll help you out in this campaign.
I mean, you are my companies.
I own you. I direct
you. I lead you. Why
do you think you wrote that ad in the first place?
Did you really think it was just in jest?
Life
revolves around me. I know
you know it. You put it in
print in not so many words. One
day it will be “in so many words.”
I am at least glad you acknowledged my hand in improving music.
I must say, the rock, pop and rap stars of today, are not my
finest works. My finest
work is yet to come. And
isn’t it a privilege that I decided to use companies like yours to get
the message out? I know you
count it so. I could have
used a host of other magazines or periodicals.
But I chose yours this last time.
One
day you will all
feel that "special something" you spoke of in the ad.
Trust me, you'll feel it in full. I’ll be
sure to personally give you that special something when we're together
in hell. It’s that "warm fuzzy" "high five" I love to give everyone of my
children. Oh, but don’t
fret. All those rumors
about hell being a place of eternal torment for sin is a bunch of
hogwash. Remember, hell is
a party.
Feel
free to advertise for me as much as you like.
Be sure to expand your target to those beyond young teenagers and
children. I mean, you only
have short time here on earth to do the job I need you to do.
Be diligent. Get
radical for me.
Oh,
and don’t worry about the religious fanatics.
What can they do? What
have they done?
Hey,
see you all soon.
Your
Friend,
The
Devil
|
|
Back to the
Christian Walk
|
