The Prince of Darkness and the Presence of Light
A reflection on Ozzy Osbourne, grace, and the mystery beyond the curtain
I grew up in the 1970s & 80s, and if you knew me back then, you’d know Ozzy Osbourne was just about as far from my musical world as possible.
While some of my friends were banging their heads to “Crazy Train,” their Walkman headphones thumping with power chords and rebellion, I was quietly tuning in to the soft sounds of WEZY, just two lakes over from our home. I was discovering Nat King Cole, Frank, and The Beach Boys. Gentle harmonies. Crooners. Music that felt like it came with manners.
Ozzy? He was the anti-that.
Ozzy Osbourne and the Masks We Wear
He was wild, loud, and controversial. Known for biting the head off a bat and calling himself “The Prince of Darkness,” he was the poster child for everything my youth group was warned about. In my teenage mind, he wasn’t just different—he was dangerous.
But over the years, something has shifted. Maybe it was time. Maybe it was grace. Or perhaps it was simply seeing people as people instead of headlines or stage costumes.
I learned that Ozzy—behind the black eyeliner and outrageous antics—prayed before shows. That he called himself a Christian. That he believed in God. In one of his final interviews, he said, “I believe in God. I don’t go to church, but I do believe there is a higher power.”
That sentence says a lot.
Faith, Struggle, and Surprising Mercy
He also made a point to publicly clarify: “I am not into Satanism. I am not a devil-worshipper. I have never been involved in black magic personally at all.”
It turns out that the darkness was mainly a performance. An act. A myth built for arena lights and album covers.
And isn’t that the case with so many of us? The mask may be theatrical. But the longing beneath it is real.
C.S. Lewis wrote often about the masks we wear and the surprising reach of God’s mercy. He believed that hell was locked from the inside—but also that heaven would be filled with more unexpected souls than we dared to imagine.
Ozzy’s life was one of tension between chaos and curiosity, spectacle and spirit. And maybe, just maybe, grace chased him down even as the crowd faded and the stage lights dimmed.
Beyond the Stage: The God Who Sees Us
Because I believe in a God who doesn’t just see the performance. He sees the person.
He sees the boy before the band.
The man beneath the makeup.
The soul beneath the sound.
And I believe that same God—the One Ozzy sometimes prayed to, however imperfectly—was waiting, arms open through Ozzy’s life, calling him toward truth.
Because the truth is, none of us is the sum of our stage presence or our worst moments. We are shaped by the quiet cries we lift in the dark, the unseen prayers, the half-formed hopes that maybe—just maybe—God is real and good and still reaching.
And if that is true, then it’s not just Ozzy’s story that offers us pause. It’s ours.
We all carry shadows. We all build personas, hide behind noise, and wrestle with the gap between who we are and who we wish to be. But the gospel isn’t intimidated by any of that.
It’s not a reward for the polished—it’s an invitation to the honest. And sometimes, honesty comes through eyeliner and distortion pedals, just as much as through hymns and halos.
That’s not fantasy. That’s the hope we live by.
So here’s to the mystery.
To the mercy.
To the possibility that, in the end, the “Prince of Darkness” was not so far from the light after all.
Sharing His Wonder,
Sources:
Ozzy on Believing in God & Not Going to Church
“I believe in God. I don’t go to church, but…”
Source: Men’s Journal (2024 article reflecting on Ozzy’s later-life comments about faith)
Also reported by:
The Sun UK
Ozzy on Satanism & Black Magic
“I am not into Satanism. I am not a devil-worshipper. I have never been involved in black magic personally at all.”
Source: 1989 Interview, resurfaced in Reddit quote archive
Ozzy on Prayer & Christian Upbringing
“I’m a Christian. I was christened as a Christian. I used to go to Sunday school.”
Source: The Guardian interview, 2014
Thank you Scott for sharing your thoughts (beliefs) about someone that I’m certain the majority of individuals of my generation would not consider listening to let alone investigate his background or music.
I was raised from birth a southern Baptist for better or worse. I continue to recognize truths apart from some church doctrines and beliefs.