Posted on 06/30/2009 6:37:37 AM PDT by NYer
The Catholic News Service blog spotted this article Michael Jackson wrote for Beliefnet about his upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness and his spiritual beliefs as an adult.
In the article, entitled “My Childhood, My Sabbath, My Freedom,” Jackson wrote:
When people see the television appearances I made when I was a little boy—8 or 9 years old and just starting off my lifelong music career—they see a little boy with a big smile. They assume that this little boy is smiling because he is joyous, that he is singing his heart out because he is happy, and that he is dancing with an energy that never quits because he is carefree.
But while singing and dancing were, and undoubtedly remain, some of my greatest joys, at that time what I wanted more than anything else were the two things that make childhood the most wondrous years of life, namely, playtime and a feeling of freedom. The public at large has yet to really understand the pressures of childhood celebrity, which, while exciting, always exacts a very heavy price.
More than anything, I wished to be a normal little boy. I wanted to build tree houses and go to roller-skating parties. But very early on, this became impossible. I had to accept that my childhood would be different than most others. But that’s what always made me wonder what an ordinary childhood would be like.
There was one day a week, however, that I was able to escape the stages of Hollywood and the crowds of the concert hall. That day was the Sabbath. In all religions, the Sabbath is a day that allows and requires the faithful to step away from the everyday and focus on the exceptional. I learned something about the Jewish Sabbath in particular early on from Rose, and my friend Shmuley further clarified for me how, on the Jewish Sabbath, the everyday life tasks of cooking dinner, grocery shopping, and mowing the lawn are forbidden so that humanity may make the ordinary extraordinary and the natural miraculous. Even things like shopping or turning on lights are forbidden. On this day, the Sabbath, everyone in the world gets to stop being ordinary.
But what I wanted more than anything was to be ordinary. So, in my world, the Sabbath was the day I was able to step away from my unique life and glimpse the everyday.
May he finally find peace with God.
He has disinherited his father. Wonder if Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson will disappear now.
And then he embraced the Religion of Pieces.So much for “spirituality”,I guess.
The appearance of the REV Jackson and Sharpton gives me hope that the rest of the family doesn't buy into the scam and will investigate Louis F and company completely.
They say children from broken or authoritarian homes have a hard time with the real Christian “God the Father” because they cast Him not as a loving Father, but as a merciless, dogmatic one. Looking at that tyrant, Michael’s dad, can you NOT imagine MJ finding Allah as “father.” And with the grin on that bastard’s face as he jockeys for whatever riches are left in the estate of his son, I hope the begger burns.
Y’know...I’m probably going to get flamed for saying this.
Yes, he had a rotten childhood. Yes, he went through a heck of a lot as an adult. And yes, he really does deserve some peace in the afterlife.
HOWEVER...even though he wrote about how the Sabbath was important to him, THAT is not the crux of a relationship with God. That question can only be answered with another question: Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and do you believe God raised Him from the dead? If Michael asked Jesus into his heart, then indeed...he DOES have peace now.
If not...you get the picture.
I hate to be the one to state the obvious, but mj does NOT mention God or Jesus.......just that on Sundays he got some freedom from routine. Given his turn to the Islamic faith in recent years, I do not hold much hope for him. A prayer for him certainly, but hope....that is different.
Only if he made peace with his Creator...*genuine* peace...before his death.
We will be seeing MJ threads for many months to come. The expected worth of the Beatles catalog is 2 billion according to one source.
If he had waited to die just a few more months he would have escaped some nasty inheritance tax.
I see people saying that Joe will get Katherine’s inheritance.
California law says not necessarily so.
http://www.kinseylaw.com/clientserv2/famlawservices/property/propertydivision.html
CNN asked about their wedding anniversary. Supposedly there was a celebration. Don’t know if they are legally separated or not.
It will be fasincating to watch from a legal and social perspective. I hope the Nation of Islam gets the screws put to them about their involvement in his affairs. I wouldn’t be surprised if a new will surfaces influenced by them.
The one burning question for me is ...did Joe castrate him.
I’m no lawyer but I know a little bit about this stuff.Among the things that will need to be established in the probate courts are 1) was he legally married when he died? If he was,and his “wife” didn’t sign any kind of prenup,she’d be *automatically* entitled to a portion of his estate *regardless*.2)Were those kids his,biologically...and,if not,did ever *legally* adopt them? If they were his or if he did adopt them they could very well wind up getting a portion of his estate.Perhaps even a big portion.3)Assuming he wrote one or more wills,was he of sound mind (as defined by California probate law) when he wrote any of them? If he didn’t leave any wills or if it’s proven that he didn’t have the mental capacity (as defined by California probate law) to do so when it/they was/were written then the fur will *really* fly.Actually,the fur will fly if any attempt is made to overturn a will on the basis of diminished capacity.
I thought he was brought up Mormon, but maybe I'm confusing the Jackson's with the Osmond family. Regardless, there were stories that later in life he converted to Islam. Not sure if that was true, or just supermarket check-out tabloid stuff.
That’s only because Islam does not condemn f&%$ing little boys.
This is not joke.
Didn’t he convert to Islam?
The ROMANS ROAD....is a pathway you can walk.
It is a group of Bible verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament. If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin's control.
- Admit that you are a sinner.
Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.
Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't
earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
- Ask God to forgive you and save you.
Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you!
Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
- Call out to God in the name of Jesus!
Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door,
ask Him to come into your heart.
Jesus said,
Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..."
- Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door?
uhm you mean like a gentleman? God wants me to make a choice of free will and follow him? Of my own volition? and for all that I will find riches in my soul, spirit and physical being? He will call me son and deliver me peace and strength and fellowship with others, like me, who seek to help others find peace?
Okay, I'll take it. That other religion doesn't sound very nice.
Where does the “ask Jesus into your heart” expression come from? It’s not Biblical language.
No disrespect intended, I’m truly curious.
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