The Wisdom Of W. Axl Rose, pt 1

On the misuse of God's Law and the importance of a low Ecclesiology: "I was brainwashed in a Pentecostal church. I'm not against churches or religion, but I do believe, like I said in "Garden of Eden," that most organized religions make a mockery of humanity. My particular church was filled with self-righteous hypocrites who were child abusers and child molesters. These were people who'd been damaged in their own childhoods and in their lives. These were people who were finding God but still living with their damage and inflicting it upon their children. I had to go to church anywhere from three to eight times a week. I even taught Bible school while l was being beaten and my sister was being molested. We'd have televisions one week, then my step-dad would throw them out because they were satanic. l wasn't allowed to listen to music. Women were evil. Everything was evil. I had a really distorted view of sexuality and women. I remember the first time l got smacked for looking at a woman."

On the genesis of GNR and the bondage of the will: “I have a lot of damage, and I’m not saying that like ‘Oh, pity me’ or anything. Instead of being myself, I was definitely a product of my environment, and that was something [GNR] has thrown back in the world’s face. ‘You don’t like us? [Shame on] you! You helped create us! Your ways of doing things helped make sure we exist the way we are.’ We didn’t have a choice to exist any other way.”

On the appeal of GNR and the role of Abreaction in Heavy Metal: "There’s a lot of people involved in rock n roll who were running from something. They got involved with drugs and alcohol to help ease the pain. A large portion – probably the majority – of rockers and metal fans are damaged people who are trying to find some way to express themselves. They can relate to the anger, the pain, the frustration of the band that’s performing.”