ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Bill Gordon was not surprised to learn the “Trenchcoat Mafia” youth involved in the school massacre in suburban Denver April 20 were not only obsessed with Nazism but also apparently devotees of the rock group Marilyn Manson and the related “Gothic” subculture.
“A lot of the teenagers that have been going on these killing rampages have been in involved in some form of the occult or self-styled Satanism. Groups like Marilyn Manson glorify Satan,” said Gordon, an interfaith evangelism associate with the North American Mission Board whose responsibilities include helping Southern Baptists reach those involved in the occult.
“They’re listening to music that glorifies violence and glorifies death,” Gordon said. “It’s basically a case of nihilism, and the ultimate act in nihilism is to kill.”
The “Trenchcoat Mafia” is the name of the group of outsiders at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., known for their interest in Nazism, guns, violence and death. They were also fans of Marilyn Manson, a fellow student was quoted as saying in The Denver Post. Another student said the appearance and attitude of assailant Dylan Klebold had changed over the past year, toward the longer hair and black clothing of the “Gothic” look, according to a report in USA Today.
Gordon said teens who find themselves rejected by the more dominant culture often are driven to a form of self-styled Satanism and have a preoccupation with death. Involvement in the occult by outcasts has actually been going on for at least 20 years, he said, with the Marilyn Manson/Gothic culture being just the recent variation.
“Many of them feel powerless in their day-to-day life, and they turn to the occult because they view it as a source of power, as something that will empower them … but it never does,” he said. “It just leads to situations like we saw yesterday. Of course this was a worst-case scenario.”
The most obvious way of helping teens headed in this direction, Gordon said, is simply for Christian peers to befriend them — preferably before they have developed the intense hatred that isolates them further.
“Most of these guys turn to this subculture because they feel like they have no friends anywhere else,” he said, noting that many are desperately hungry for the hope found in Jesus Christ.
“Share with them a biblical warning about the dangers of being involved in the occult,” Gordon said. “Share with them that Jesus loves them and wants to have a personal relationship with them.”
