Stryper’s Michael Sweet Says God ‘Doesn’t Control Us Like Robots’
Stryper bandleader Michael Sweet is further opening up about how his faith in God affects his outlook.
Currently, Stryper are touring behind their latest album, last year's The Final Battle. It contain singles such as "Rise to the Call," "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" and the latest, "Near." The band is well known as veteran Christian rockers, and Sweet as frontman is well versed in evangelical theological ideas such as the free will that Christian believers say is deigned by God.
And Sweet's religious scope comes from real-life tragedy. His late wife, Kyle, died in 2009 after battle with ovarian cancer. Last week (Jan. 13), the singer-guitarist took to Facebook to share his viewpoint.
"It's interesting how we often blame God for good things that happen to us and for bad things that happen to us," Sweet writes. "My view is that God is not a genie in the sky waiting on every command from every human being. We treat God like that many times. All of us."
He continues, "I Believe that God wants nothing but the best for us yet protects us from our own foolishness. We can't just pray or snap our fingers and ask for something and expect it to to be done. It just doesn't work that way. So often we praise him when we're blessed then curse him when we're not."
Sweet reveals, "I cursed God when Kyle passed. Believe me. I was extremely pissed at God. Then as time went by, I realized that God had nothing to do with it. It was simply life and what happens in life. Life brings joy and life brings tragedy. Through the good and the bad we become stronger and more resilient."
He adds, "We have free will and God respects that. He doesn't control us like robots. We're not puppets and God is not pulling the strings."