January 10th, 2013 
James Shotwell 
Too bad we already had a ‘Holy Sh!t’ headline today…
Christian metalcore act For Today are the topic of much online debate this afternoon following recent comments made by guitarist Mike Reynolds on his personal Twitter account.
Around 8AM EST this morning Reynolds began a posting a series of tweets regarding his views on homosexuality and the correlation of violent entertainment to real life tragedies. Everyone is surely entitled to their opinion in this life, but given For Today’s strong Christian image the comments made by Reynolds have raised many questions regarding the band’s views on the topics and whether or not that message is being conveyed in their music. You can read Reynolds’ tweet below:
We blame Newtown on neglect and metal illness, but then put Django and Chainsaw Massacre 3D at number 1 & 2 in the box office?
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 9, 2013
School shootings and all other evil proceed from evil people. People are evil and need saving. Jesus alone deals with the depths of sin.
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 9, 2013
Psalm 96:10-13
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
(The verses referenced read as follows:“10. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; 12. let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; 13. they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.)
There IS a state church being formed, there is going to be an exclusive acceptance of preachers who advocate the LGBT. m.dallasvoice.com/anti-gay-inaug…
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
Don’t be deceived, homosexuality is a sin. This sin with all other sins is what Jesus died for. He conquered so that we would be free.
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
No such thing as a gay Christian, the same as there is no such thing as a Christian who loves his sin.
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
Don’t be fooled by the formation of a state church as though the government is being converted, they only use the name of Jesus for their
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
Progressive liberal agenda. If you are a Christian then separate yourself from this civil religion that advocates sin. Be true to God.
— Mike Reynolds (@Mikefortoday) January 10, 2013
For Today have yet to comment on Reynolds’ remarks. We’ll keep you updated as this story continues to develop.
UPDATE: For Today posted the following message on Facebook after our original story went live:
For today has always and will always be a band that is about loving people, we have no hatred towards any people regardless of what they believe or how they live. We may not agree on everything but Jesus loves you and died for you. And so would we.
Blessings, For Today
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*sigh* I’m so sad to still see such strong emotions against acceptance. I’m not even angry about it anymore, it just makes me sad.
C’mon Mike. :/
Why are people acting as if they’re surprised? They’re a CHRISTIAN band, who FOLLOWS the bible….
They have a history of distasteful comments, but this one takes the cake. Shame on him.
Several artists are expressing outrage, most notably members of Stick To Your Guns, who say they will not tour with For Today ever again.
I think that what he’s saying (if you read the rest of his post, saying how there is no christian who loves his sin) that if you are a christian, you shouldn’t live and label yourself by your sin or old life. What he’s saying is true. But it goes not just for homosexuality. There is no such thing as a christian alcoholic/murderer/thief/etc. If you are a christian, the old you is dead and you are now alive in christ. A house divided against itself cannot stand. God hates sin and the act of homosexuality, if you claim to be a christian you cannot cling to the label of your old sin and if you have a true relationship with christ you won’t have the same desires that you used to.
“No such thing as a Christian alcoholic” well there’s another dead wrong statement.
yeah…they’re called the Irish!
So if you murder someone and then become christian you are no longer a murderer…. Makes total sense. Fucking stupid.
Holy shit. Look at all the fucks I give about this queerbo godband.
When I read dumb shit from dumb shits like this I can’t help but think about the only reason he feels so strongly about any of this is because it’s how he was brought up.
You are your parent’s religion. If this guy was born in Saudi Arabia he would be Muslim. So how can you think your view is the right view when it’s not really yours? It was forced upon you one way or the other. Someone told you something is true (most likely while you were young and impressionable) and you then believe it forever.
When you think of it that way it’s really just a form of brainwashing.
I’m a science guy, I accept that the same could be said of science or anything. Just because I’m told it over and over doesn’t mean I will 100% believe it. I know that I can’t possibly say there is or isn’t a god, so I neither believe or disbelieve. The idea here is to never lose your ability to question things.
Think, WHY the fuck should homosexuality be a sin? It doesn’t hurt anything or anyone, at all. The human race is in no danger of becoming “completely homo” and dying out. The world is fucking overpopulated as it is, if anything I would say it’s a good way to balance things out.
So if it has absolutely no downsides (although I’m sure some born again fascist will try to say some, maybe bring up AIDs or something dumb and incorrect like that) why would a god want to ban it?
The only thing a real god should want from people is to be good to each other. If he has any other wishes he’s just fucking with us, in which case, why worship that?
OPEN YOUR EYES, OPEN YOUR MIND, QUESTION EVERYTHING.
I think you need to brush up on your Christianity. Where does it say that you CAN’T sin? You can do those things and repent.
OR you can be Christian (aka believing in Christ) but believe dumb shit that has nothing to do with religion, like banning homosexuality, is bullshit.
You can believe in Christ and in God while not believing in the bullshit Bible that MEN wrote. Word of God, who says?
You know what would happen today if a bunch of dudes wrote a book and said God told them to write it?
My point is, some people think picking and choosing what parts of a religion are “true” isn’t possible, you either do it all the way or not at all.
I’m here to say that’s fucking retarded. If something makes no sense, it makes no sense, doesn’t matter if it’s part of a religion or if it’s a rule for a board game.
Thou shalt not kill? Makes sense, that’s bad and hurts people.
Covet thy neighbor’s wife? Makes sense, causes a lot of grief and breaks up families, causes resentment between people of a community. You’re hurting your fellow man (bro code! don’t date a bro’s girl!).
Don’t fuck other dudes? Umm, what? Why?
Might as well have a “thou shalt not look west on friday passed 11:23 PM unless holding 3 goat bladders between your knees” in there.
This is what I mean by “question everything”, Don’t just accept shit, question it. If it doesn’t make sense and no one else can reallllyy make it make sense then it’s probably bull shit put in there for some other reason to further someone’s agenda.
Nice assumptions there….so if people don’t believe the way you do (which is what exactly…sounds pretty vague and boring), then they are automatically close-minded, and brainwashed…nice. Makes perfect sense.
Joshua did not say becoming a Christian erases that you’ve murdered…but in God’s eyes it as if it HAS been erased, as Christ came to take our sin upon him and in exchange give us his righteousness. So you shouldn’t stay trapped in bondage and guilt of your sin, but live as the new creation you are in Christ.
That is pretty much exactly what I immediately thought when I read his tweet. I think people have blown it completely out of proportion. However, I do think he could have worded it better.
Makes no difference in society though which is technically what really matters. So makes no difference in my eyes
Again, no one said it made a difference to society….Christ’s making us a new creation saves us from this crappy world we live in, but it does not negate the consequences of sin in our lives. I as a Christian am a huge sinner every day in need of grace…and though I’m no longer condemned by my sinfulness…I must still reap the damage caused by my actions.
And how exactly does it save you from this “crappy” world you live in? After him “saving” you, you still live here day to day in the same world nothing has changed. And dont get wrong im not trying to be an asshole, but as an atheist i question these things
Ah, but in your question of these things you inject the assumption that nothing has changed. However, for the true Christ follower, everything has changed. No longer a slave to sin, we live in the amazing knowledge that we were completely without hope in this broken world, completely undeserving of his perfection, drowning in our own attempts at “being a good person” and “doing the right things”….but with infinite grace (giving us a way out we don’t deserve) and mercy (not giving us the just separation from God we DO deserve) Christ has taken our place and given us a reason to live life to the fullest in the wonderful hope that we will be eternally in perfection with God after this life.
And for the record, I wouldn’t think you’re being an asshole, nothing wrong with asking questions…if I were an atheist I’d be wondering what the deal is with Christ followers too. We’re a weird bunch, being joyful and what not, haha.
Obviously its all just what we use to give us the strength to go forward and deal with whatever “sin” we have committed. For lack of a better explanation and offense meant its an excuse to move on with life and forget what you have done wrong in my eyes. But thank you for entertaining the conversation with me. I always find it all interesting.
He definitely was not a Christian growing up. He was into drugs, drinking, and a mess. Getting arrested and all that stuff. He gave his life to Jesus like around age 20 or something. The only way someone could give up that self-gratifying lifestyle willingly is if Jesus IS God, if the Bible really IS true, and if Jesus really DOES save men who come to Him.
Dude, I pray that God just reveals Himself to you, and that He’s just plain worthy of worshiping with our lives. He died for us while we were dead in sin so that we could throw away what society calls “the good life” and take our place in the Kingdom of God. If that sounds crazy, it’s because it is. Jesus is crazy good, and He died so that you might know Him as he truly is. I’m not saying this because I was raised this way (I wasn’t), but because I’ve found Him to be true, and His Word to be true and good 100% of the time. Bro, just seriously open up to Him, and see if He’s there. The life He has for us is so awesome. Love you man,
I have a magic hat that will make you rich. You can purchase this hat for $20? The only way it could make you rich is because Jesus IS God. Since you needn’t not any other evidence for truth, may I have my $20 now?