as for him glorifying evil when he was on earth – i grew up with Michael Jackson. heard a lot of his songs, seen a lot of his vids, and honestly, where is the evil? i actually hear this man singing about taking care of the earth and animals God gave us, helping those that are less fortunate than us, not turning your back on a fellow human, and making personal changes to self to become a better person. he didnt just sing on it, he did it too. 39 plus charities? for the love of God, Michael didn’t even harm flies and insects! he loved and appreciated every living thing. there was a bug onstage and he told his security to come get it and set it free – keeping it clear NOT to kill the bug.

but anyway, i know everyone is equally capable of good and bad, and even though Mike had that song stating he was ‘bad’, all i saw was the good in this man. i really respect the fact that even though he struggled with himself, he was so selfless with others. what other performer do you know of would let fans that couldnt afford tickets watch their show for free? who do you know that comes off a 15 million dollar concert or tour, and then they’d give ALL of their recent earnings to charity? not to collect on taxes, but to actually give from the heart. he didnt have much of a childhood, which wasnt his fault, but he used that to give and make others happy.

God said the meek shall inherit the earth, and Mike was that meek man. the earth so loved him because they saw the goodness in him. i dont worship him – he’s only a man, no matter how talented. Jesus can’t be topped by anyone, this i know. but dont go around making a kind hearted man out to be evil. he had enough problems and ppl talking about him when he walked the earth. now let God sort everything out.

However, Michael was a pathetic wreck of a man. A living example of the ruin that comes to a man who gains the world and loses his soul. I hope he isn’t in hell, but I am not grieving for him. I’m quite sure he isn’t hanging about in a crescent moon looking down on us as Brooke Shields seems to believe.

I am curious, Anita, what you see in Michael Jackson’s lyrics or life that mirror Jesus? I worship the Jesus of the Bible and what I know of Michael’s (public as I know nothing of his personal) life showed very little that mirrors the selfless love of Christ. Jesus did more for the promotion of the status of woman than the Feminist Movement and more for the uniting of cultures than the Roman empire or the “Great American Melting pot.” Michael Jackson promoted unity and equality of people and that was perhaps his greatest attribute to society. But did he do so selflessly, or for publicity? I do not know.

Everything Jesus did while on earth was in direct submission/obedience to the Father. We see many examples of this in Scripture when He prays and when He specifically tells this to the disciplines. I have a hard time interpreting anything that Michael Jackson did as submission or obedience to anything other than his own desires or his own searching for relief from his pain.

Again, we will never know this side of eternity where Michael’s heart was when he died. We, as Christians, should grieve for Michael for the legacy that he left behind — a legacy that drew people away from God and to things evil.

As a once-judgemental Christian, I now know the grace of God goes further than we often realize. In the kingdom of God, the first shall be last, the last shall be first. That means, if MJ called out to the Lord in a stupor near the end, then Christ saved him. But we just don’t know, do we? So let’s save the harshness. Michael Jackson had a God-given talent, but many deep wounds and pain he couldn’t rid himself of. He went from being raised in Jehovah Witness cult to converting to Islam in late 2008. He even had a Jewish rabbi as a spiritual advisor at one time. Jackson was messed up and exploring everything…did he end up with Jesus? Probably not. But we needn’t condemn the man. The king of pop will now answer and bend his knee to the King of Kings.

Michael was falsely accused and I pray he will be vindicated. I pray judgment will come swiftly for Michael’s enemies. Michael’s life mirrors the life of Christ and the Word of God testifies of that, the good, bad and ugly that he suffered. The Word of God also testifies against those of us who touched God’s anointed and who didn’t care about the consequences of doing so.

Michael’s death was another 911 wake up call. We all need to repent, ask forgiveness for our sins, get our lives in order so we can walk out our purpose in life which is to simply glorify God. Michael accepted God and Jesus Christ. He glorified God in ways we in our finite minds will never comprehend.

You are correct; Jesus was not a light-skinned European. He was likely of a medium-dark complexion, much like many of the Semitic peoples of the Middle East.

God, however, is neither a “white” God nor a “black” God. Mark Twain once quipped that God made man in His own image, and man returned the compliment. We tend to identify God in ways that make Him most accessible to us, but the reality is, our finite descriptions cannot even come close to the Almighty. To limit Him to these temporal skin tones is to suggest He has physical limitations that must be adapted to the environment. Does God need pale skin to absorb extra sunlight? Does God need dark skin to protect him from excessive sunlight?

When we arrive in His presence, we will be perfected like He is. Our bodies will no longer need these superficial differences that have helped our peoples survive. All these racial traits that we in our fallen state have allowed to divide us will no longer be relevant. All of this will be convered under the old things that will have passed away, and we will be new.

I don’t care what color God might be, because He doesn’t care what color I am. I’m thankful that the day will come when our sinful natures that keep us apart will be gone, and we will be able to truly unite in fellowship and praise of our Redeemer.

And if Michael Jackson is there, I’ll be happy to praise right alongside him, too. We’re all going to get in the same way – by the grace of God.

Shalom aleichem. Peace to you.