- Jackson was raised a Jehovah's Witness, and there have been a variety of unconfirmed reports that at some point he was disfellowshipped by the Witnesses.
- Jackson's brother Jermaine is a Muslim, and there were some reports during Michael's life that he, too, converted to Islam.
- Not to be outdone, Christianity Today tackles the question, "Was Michael Jackson a Christian?" The evangelical magazine explores, and then essentially debunks, suggestions that Jackson accepted Jesus just before his death. "Initial rumors that the King of Pop had accepted Christ may have been false,'' the magazine concludes.
- The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, meanwhile, offers a story on Michael Jackson's "Jewish Ties,'' which turn out to be quite complex..
- L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published a generous appreciation of Jackson's legacy, prompting Tom Heneghan of Reuters to observe: "It’s not every day that the Vatican newspaper suggests that a man accused of pedophilia and said to have converted to Islam might be immortal.
Like Paulson I have not wrote about Michael Jackson before this.. I am honestly tired of all of the unending "news" coverage. Yet I did find this topic a bit interesting. I wonder how many people you know that have had this kind of exposure to different religions? It had to be confusing to Jackson.
Confusion seems to be an accurate word.. Jackson sure seemed to be a confused soul. Reading about his religious past gives me a different perspective about him. I wonder what it was about him that was attracted to different religions?
The very rigid black and white world of fundamentalism was oddly attractive to me for so long.. of course I considered myself to be free for many years even while I was in bondage. Religion and religious activities are so alluring because they give you the illusion of being spiritual. Maybe.. like me.. that was the appeal for Michal Jackson?
I've seen other celebrities bounce around from religion to religion. Sammy Davis Jr. supposedly even hung out with Anton LaVey before finally converting to Judaism.
ReplyDeleteAnd to add to your list. Spiritual leader Deepak Chakur and Jackson were fairly close for many years up until his death. I saw a very interesting interview with Chakur a day or two after his death and Chakur presented some very candid remarks about his often state of confusion, his past, and the overuse of medications. Apparently Jackson initiatlly contacted Chakur to get a prescription for pain killers but Chakur refused...
ReplyDeleteSince he had seen a lot more extremes of life than many people, is it so strange that he might search a lot more places in an effort to make sense of it?
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