Shiny Happy People in Love with the Devil – A Sermon by Dr. Drusba

The following is a partial transcript of a sermon, recorded on an audio cassette in 1994, by Dr. Drusba:

My brother and my sisters, you have heard me say it before and you will, praise Jesus, hear me say it again: the devil is in the rock and roll music.  That’s right.  You heard it. The devil, the devil is in the rock and roll music.  Now preachers, righteous preachers have been declaring this since the beginning, since Elvis the Pelvis shook his hips on the Ed Sullivan show, preachers have been telling you that rock music is satanically inspired and recorded under the influence of demons.

Ah but some of you still don’t believe me.  Why, my very own son … I’m sorry… you know I love that boy.  I pray for that boy.  That he’ll see the light.  My very own son has been caught up in the devil’s rock and roll snares. 

This very morning I caught him listening to a song by the band R.E.M.  – and let me just say this here, you can tell a lot about these people by the name they choose for themselves.  R.  E.  M. – you know what that stands for, right?  It’s an acronym for Rapid. Eye. Movement.  Referring to a dream state.  These guys want you to think that life is just a dream – that nothing is real, that God is not real. 

Anyway, I caught my son listening to music by this band, R.E.M.  and the name of the song is Shiny Happy People.    And some of you are thinking, ‘why what could be so bad about that?  Shiny Happy People?  Why, that sounds positive.  That sounds good. 

But, my dear friends, this is how the devil tricks you.  This is how he snares you, by presenting something that looks good.  That apple that he gave to Eve looked good.  The Bible says that “it was a delight to the eyes.”   That’s how he works.  He shows you something that looks good on the outside, but on the inside is full of poison and death. 

This song, Shiny, Happy People talks about these shiny happy people holding hands, and laughing.  You see, they’re carefree, they’re happy, they’re in love.  But I tell you they’re in love with the devil.  This song, which sounds so bright and cheerful, is, in fact, a love song for the ancient Middle Eastern goddess, Asherah.   

That name sounds familiar, doesn’t it?  Yes, sir! The very same Asherah that’s mentioned over and over and over again the pages of the bible.  The Old Testament prophets railed against the kings for setting up Asherah poles on the high places – but here in America we sing love songs to her.  No wonder our country is in such decay! No wonder we have so many problems with our teens and young adults.  They’re singing love songs to Asherah!

Now, my son, you know he likes to argue with me.  He likes to debate.  He tried to say, ‘But dad… Look at the lyrics.  There’s no mention of Asherah in this song at all.’  And he’s right.  The name Asherah is not spoken, is not sung….not in English.  No… the devil’s too crafty, too tricky to come right out with it.  The serpent is the most subtle of the creatures.  That’s why you have to be aware.  You have to have your eyes wide open.

Listen people!  The name Asherah – according to the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible – is derived from a couple of different words.  Get this:  In South Arabic the word atar - from which Asherah is derived – the South Arabic word atar means “shining.”  Yes.  Yes. And there’s more.  The Hebrew word ‘asher means “happy.” 

Oh, you see it now, don’t you?  That fertility goddess of the ancient Middle East was the shining goddess, the happy goddess.  And her people?  Who were they?  They were shiny, happy people.  Why are they so happy? What have they to be so happy about?  They’re singing about a false god, a demon.  They ‘re singing about death.

Listen again to the lyrics now that you know what’s really going on. The singer says, “Throw your love around, love me, love me. Take it into town, happy, happy. Put it in the ground where the flowers grow.

Gold and silver shine…” 

“Throw your love around.”  Why it’s a call for promiscuity and so-called “free love” And... “Put it in the ground” – this song is about death. Being buried in the ground where the flowers grow.  Pushing up the daisies, we used to say.  You see, the devil doesn’t care about you.  He’s laughing at you.  He knows that cheap sex and one night stands leads to venereal diseases and AIDs and death.  And he puts that in the song. But it sounds so bright and cheerful you never notice.  And the devil is there laughing at you because you’re too dumb or to blind to see what he’s doing to you.”

I snatched that CD player diskman out of my son’s hands and… [The recording is cut off at this point.]