Singer/songwriter Justin Bieber is boldly declaring his Christian faith through his fashion choices thanks to the creations of his "Purpose Tour" clothing designer, Jerry Lorenzo.
According to a report from WWD, Lorenzo's clothing line, Fear Of God, combines Christian faith with grunge culture from the late '80's and early '90s. The "Sorry" singer reportedly contacted Lorenzo last year, asking him to create 15 pieces for his Purpose Tour - including a shirt emblazoned with the phrase "Bigger Than Satan," which he has worn on a number of occasions.
Lorenzo recalled Bieber asking him, "Man, my tour is coming up. I really want you to do it."
While the designer's creations cost thousands of dollars, he recently told Hype Beast that it's not about the money or fame; he simply wants to share the Gospel in a unique way.
"I can't imagine doing a clothing line to just make money and be cool if I'm not trying to inspire people," he said. "I try to do it in a subtle way, sometimes through scriptures that we put up on our Instagram, like instead of Matthew 16:24 it would be the 40th book 40 16-24 - so you're not really sure, unless you know the Bible, where that passage is coming from. So it's just giving people bits and pieces."
The designer, who frequently shares quotes from pastors such as Joel Osteen on his personal Twitter page, has branded his clothing into a movement called The Fear generation to encourage young people to embrace the Christian faith.
"The Fear generation to me is this new generation of cool kids that believe in God and that are really the coolest kids at school or the coolest kids [period]," he said. "I don't know if you did youth groups when you were a kid, but the Christian kids were always not as cool as the real cool kids at school. So now [I want to show] that, 'we look cool and there's some depth about us that is cooler than whatever is fleeting at this moment.'"
Lorenzo explained that many people don't truly understand what it means to "fear" God: "This fear of God is not one that cripples you, it's simply a fear of not knowing, and thus going out to find the answers," he said. "God is all knowing, but he is greater than any obstacle in your way, and he is on your side."
He previously told GQ. "Even in times that are beyond your understanding, there's a peace in knowing there is a God that is bigger and more all-knowing than not only you, but anyone. That's the Fear Generation."
Bieber's decision to wear overtly Christian attire is unsurprising, as he was famously baptized by Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz in 2014, and now frequently speaks about his faith. However, in the time before his conversion, the singer made headlines for his bad behavior, including egging his neighbor's house, using illegal drugs, spending time with prostitutes, and abandoning his pet monkey in Germany.
"I was rebelling against the world. I started to believe the hype and was acting a certain way. I was just being a jerk," he told The Mirror regarding his past actions. "I got so involved in 'me me me'. You're young, people are telling you you're great all the time and you start believing it. It became Justin Bieber, reality star, rather than the musician...I just found myself in a place I didn't want to be."
In an earlier interview with GQ Magazine, Bieber credited his newfound faith with saving him from being a "terrible" person. "I feel like that's why I have a relationship with Him, because I need it. I suck by myself," he said. "If I was doing this on my own, I would constantly be doing things that are, I mean, I still am doing things that are stupid, but... It just gives me some sort of hope and something to grasp onto, and a feeling of security, and a feeling of being wanted, and a feeling of being desired, and I feel like we can only get so much of that from a human."
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