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The Whosoevers

“The Whosoevers” are a movement started in 2008 by singer of P.O.D. fame Sonny Sandoval and Ryan Ries, founder and editor-in-chief for “Legalize Jesus”. According to Sandoval, his objective is to reach out to, “[the] kid that is desperate and is going to hell. I am still drawn to reach out, go out into the world, to the deepest, dirtiest, darkest corners of the world to be whatever flickering light I can be...”

They got their name from John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." "Whosoever" refers to anyone and everyone who does or does not believe in Jesus.

A typical service (they call sessions) follows the format of a T.V. talk show, where Ries interviews prominent people in the Christian heavy metal music industry. Ries usually asks about their testimonies. The fashion of the show are inline with trends that are current with Christian heavy metal music genre's prominent musicians.

This is what they refer to as a “session”. A session is actually similar to what other movements refer to as "conferences" or what Billy Graham called a "crusade": http://www.thesundaynightgig.com/jwplayer/whoso-player.php?section=archive&event=1675

Admission is free to their sessions. Anyone can book them by clicking on the "Booking" button on their website. Their movement is characterized by loud, heavy metal music and plenty of flickering, flashing and beaming lights that is popular with teenagers and young adults. There's also professional skateboarding and biking. The Whosoevers also team up with other artists such as Brian “Head” Welch formerly of Korn, Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf and professional FMX motocross rider Ronnie Faisst. They travel throughout the U.S. sharing their testimonies about addiction and sin and how God saved them from their lifestyles.

Their website, http://thewhosoevers.com/home, has plenty of videos showcasing their work as a band. Of these videos which are found under “Media”, the notable ones are “Mini Doc” and “Murder your flesh”.

 Their Music 

The music found on their website (in the media section) allows people to catch a glimpse of what they will witness at one of their events. Christian heavy metal music closely resembles it's worldly counterpart and is accompanied by straight forward lyrics that are seemingly wicked but are spiritual in nature that are very much on the topic of Christian values and beliefs.

 The Artwork 

Their trademark is simply a red letter "W" inside a circle and is reminiscent of an anarchy sign. They also have posters of fists signifying inner strength and/or revolt.

Descending vertically from the left side of the skeleton to the right, there is a television with the writing, “Den of thieves”. A small image of the evolution of man from primates. An image of Buddha. On the right side, the symbols descending vertically it shows circles with “$” on them, this probably represents money. And the last hand shows a hand holding a glass of what is probably an alcoholic drink. The top right hand is holding a staff. It’s a three pronged staff, with each piece representing a letter. The three letters put together are, “NWO”, which is the abbreviation for “New World Order” - a popular end times belief. In the center of the head of the staff shows the “all-seeing eye of Ra”, which is from ancient Egyptian times and probably symbolizes slavery.

Finally, there are religious symbols going down the stole of the robe. The religious symbols are “Islam”, “Hinduism”, “Free Masons”, and one more that cannot be seen because the staff is concealing it.

On the whole, the skeletal priest’s message is that the world’s message leads to death rather than salvation. The priest of the world appears to be a good man but he is dead. The symbols represent the kind of messages that the preacher of death will share - that a combination of all religions leads to salvation.

Finally, in large text, across the skeletal priest are the words, "Threat to formalized religion, I am." The meaning is dichotomous and means one of two things: Either the skeletal priest is a threat to Christianity or Christianity is a threat to the skeletal priest.

“The Whosoevers” will probably be appealing to anyone who enjoys Christian heavy metal music and it’s worldly counterpart. "Un-saved" people who listen to it’s worldly counterpart are the target audience for this movement.

Works Cited All of the above information was taken from their website, http://thewhosoevers.com/home