Fact Checking Michael Jackson’s Christian Faith, Part 1 of 7: Michael was NOT a Devil Worshipper!

As a lifelong fan of Michael Jackson, I thought that I had seen and heard every nasty, disgusting, and despicable comment about him that exists in the English language, but I was wrong! A few months ago, I stumbled upon a video of a Christian pastor bashing MJ in a horrible way, and his “research” was filled with lies, innuendoes, and tabloid gossip. I was baffled at what I heard, and I quickly decided to write a rebuttal to him. While doing my research, I decided to expand my rebuttal to include other attacks against MJ from the religious community, whether they’re from religious websites, bloggers, etc., and whether it’s from Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. Nothing could prepare me for the things that I read and heard about MJ from people who espouse “love thy neighbor” in one breathe, and then turn around and call MJ a “child molesting, plastic surgery freak!” in the next breath!  Sometimes I didn’t know if I was reading a religious blog, TMZ, or Topix (a popular forum for MJ haters)!

Don’t believe me? Look at the excerpt below from a Christian blogger, written shortly after MJ’s death, in response to what Gospel artist David Pack said about MJ (Pack’s words are in blue):

A few thoughts before I begin. Clearly the hangers-on are climbing their way out of the closets and shadows, grabbing at whatever spotlight they can. David Pack is one of them. Who in the world is David Peck? He says at the PDL website:” David Pack is a Grammy winning recording artist, producer, and music director.  A member of Saddleback Church, he works with Rick Warren on special projects, including the PEACE Plan and AIDS & Worship Conferences. ” I.e., a washed-up has-been and name dropper who found a second career (I mean purpose) with Ricky Warren).

David Pack, whom most of us have never heard of, clearly fell “victim” to “evangelical easy believism” and hasn’t a clue about the Gospel or salvation nor the cults. His tribute to Michael Jackson (MJ) reads nothing short of sentimental drivel. Read what he said (my response is in italics):

Quote:

During that special evening, I felt the need to share my faith with him, to let him know that another Christian artist was sitting next to him. So when he whispered, “How can I ever thank you for this wonderful night?” I said, “Michael, I didn’t put this together, God did!” He said, “Oh yes, I believe that with all of my heart.”

Another Christian? MJ was a JW, a cult member, NOT a Christian. John 8 says that unless you believe Jesus Christ is God, you will die in your sins. JW’s outright deny He is God. What Jesus is Pack declaring to be the true one?

I told him I was a Christian, and he said he was, too. We talked about the first Christian song we’d both heard as children: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong.” With the dinner party loudly going on around us, we both quietly leaned in and sang the song, smiling like choirboys. “Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.” Then we gave each other a short embrace. I knew at that moment that this sweet-spirited young genius was going to find his eternal peace in heaven. I did not find Michael weird, messed up, or anything you’ve ever heard about him….

Singing a song about Jesus gave Pack assurance this cult-member was going to heaven? Truly this is pathetic. This is exactly what is wrong with American “Evangelicalism”! A self-centered child’s song is somehow the standard by which to KNOW one is going to heaven?? What, MJ found his purpose with that song? So typical, any mention of “Jesus” and people call you a Christian. If this is Pack’s standard to call himself a Christian, the guy needs to hear the Gospel NOW!

And what’s even more telling is that Pack didn’t see MJ as weird. THAT in itself is WEIRD. That tells me Pack has a few skrews loose.

I believe that during his trials he related to the suffering of Christ, and prayed for intervention, because he was being accused over what he loved most—children. This caused him perhaps more pain than anything in his life.

Ok this makes me GAG. How in the WORLD can he possibly compare a child molesting freak to Jesus Christ? It sounds like Pack hasn’t a clue about who Jesus even is! Jesus did not suffer for doing wrong. He suffered for being GOD! That ain’t what MJ was on trial for. This is truly twisted and perverted.

If there’s anything that gives me peace during this moment of loss, it’s knowing that one of the greatest artists of our time is now moon-walking along the gold paved roads of heaven, where streets have no name, with a broad smile on his face, and a band of angels welcoming him home.

Oh please! Moon-walking? David Pack’s view of heaven, like his god, is man-centered, fleshly and temporal and has nothing to do with the Biblical Heaven with the Biblical God! I think ol’ Pack has heard one too many Roman Catholic ideas of heaven and angels, if you ask me. Pack has a false sense of peace, but he GAVE a false sense of peace to MJ too.

End quote.

Is this guy serious?? Jackson a Christian? Moonwalking in heaven? Someone give me a vomit bag QUICK! I’m going to be sick!!!

MJ was well known for being a JW his whole pathetic life (he accused his father of abuse and his father forced the kids into show business, was a drug user and child molester), and then a few years back, thanks to Germaine, he converted to the Nation of Islam.

Clearly MJ had no clue about the real Jesus Christ, salvation, nor The Gospel found in Scripture. What’s so annoying is that neither does Pack.

That attitude towards MJ was displayed by many Christians in the days and weeks after his death, and it even inspired MJ blogger Bonnie Cox (herself a devout Christian) to start her blog.  Here is an excerpt from her blog where she describes the horror and shock that she felt after she saw what a Reverend had to say about MJ on Facebook:

End of July 2009 – The Awakening

Sometime after the Fourth of July holiday, I was reading over my new newsfeeds on my Facebook page. One of my longer term friends had posted an update on his page that caught my eye. It was a remark he made about Elvis and Michael Jackson. This is what started all this, my awakening if you will.

I read the post and read it again. What it said (and I did not copy this) this person had watched the t.v. special “The Two Kings” and he was enraged that they were comparing Elvis to Michael Jackson.

He went on to say that he thought there was NO COMPARISON (yes, he used all caps) between Elvis and Michael Jackson, that Michael Jackson was a (painful to write) “freak of nature” and a “Pedophile”.

I stared at this comment and could not believe he had posted that. The anger was a growing, festering entity within me. First, I was shocked that someone like this person could blindly call someone names like this after vilifying the press and their lack of integrity over political issues. The second thing that really enraged me was that this guy is a REVEREND! Yes, a man of the cloth.

Before I thought better of it, I pounced to reply to his comment, “What are you doing? You don’t know this man? You’re going to believe everything the press has to say NOW? Why? You know he was found innocent! You’re supposed to be a man of GOD! Would Jesus treat him like that?”

He replied back of course, with similar arguments using O.J. Simpson as an example of someone who was found “innocent”. By the time I had received that reply in my email notification, 20 other people had also jumped on this thread to comment. MOST of them were in support of Michael, but some were not.

Later on in her post, she said the following:

After completing the 60 Minutes Interview with Ed Bradley (took place in 2005, after the second accusation), I just put my head down on the desk and cried. The same type of tears I cry when the news runs a special report on the rescue of some severely abused or neglected animal. I felt absolutely filthy inside.

I was beyond angry. I began writing down on paper what I wanted to look for: Interviews, depositions, appearances, fans, speeches, awards, etc . . . everything I wanted to search for.

I wanted to know Michael Jackson. I wanted to know why he was such a target.

I wanted to know what compelled people to do this to ANY human being, let alone him.

I wanted to know why someone who professed God so much in just about every interview, could not seem to find any peace . . . or the love he was looking for.

I wanted to know Michael’s pain. I don’t know why, but I did. I felt if I got to know his pain, I would know him and what drew people to hurting him.

Did you notice how she mentioned how the reverend had routinely bashed the media for their political coverage (I assume he’s a conservative who thinks the media is too liberal), yet he all of a sudden believed EVERYTHING that they said about MJ?

One thing that anyone who knows me can rest assured of is that if there is negative information anywhere about MJ, I will refute it, whether it’s from liberals like Gloria Allred, conservatives like Andrew Bretibart, established professional “journalists” (and I use that term very loosely) like Diane Dimond, online bloggers like “Vanity Goddess”, or dedicated MJ hate sites like MJ Facts Info.  All of those aforementioned people have had their reasoning and logic torn to pieces on this blog, and this series will be no different. My rebuttals to attacks on MJ from the religious community will be no different than my rebuttals to attacks on MJ from the legal community (such as Nancy Grace and Sunny Hostin).

Before we get started, let me discuss what this series will and will not do: This series will show the attacks against MJ from the religious community, and my rebuttals will immediately follow. I will debunk all of their arguments against MJ, such as “If MJ had God in his life, he would have sung Gospel music exclusively, he wouldn’t have had any problems in his life, and would have been normal!” by showing many Christians who have had problems of all kinds in their lives, despite their pious public images.  This series will also show many Christians who have shown their love and support for MJ, both before and after his death.

There’s a very pernicious mentality about MJ that has permeated the religious community, and that is the notion that God would have made MJ “normal” had MJ known and worshipped him, and he wouldn’t have “bleached his skin”, or “had sleepovers with young boys”, and he wouldn’t have been a “drug addict”, and he wouldn’t have “butchered his face”, or the other usual crap that is said about MJ. Ultimately, this mentality says that if MJ had known God and had Christ in his life, he’d still be alive! (As if Christians never die an early death!) Here are a few examples:

This video from a pastor who says that if MJ had a relationship with God, he wouldn’t have died early, and mocks MJ by using the names of many of his songs to judge him at the end(but I’ll give him credit for not judging his salvation, as many people in the church have done, and still do!):

The following is an excerpt from a blogger, who obviously felt that MJ wasn’t a humble person, which is astonishing because she claimed she was a lifelong fan:

Just think, if Michael had known Jesus personally throughout his career, maybe his life would’ve taken a different path (Proverbs 3:5-6). Perhaps he would’ve been happy with the way God made his beautiful, handsome face and not have subjected himself to years of unnecessary plastic surgeries that dramatically changed his appearance (Psalm 139:14). Maybe he would’ve listened to his closest confidants to seek healthier treatments for his insomnia, and his physical and emotional pain instead of allegedly abusing prescription drugs that led to his addiction (Jeremiah 17:14; Acts 9:34). Perhaps Michael would’ve made better financial decisions to keep himself out of tremendous debt (Proverbs 22:7; Romans 13:8a). Maybe he would’ve listened to warnings about having sleepovers with young boys (Proverbs 11:14; Ephesians 5:15,17). Perhaps he wouldn’t have been so lonely (Psalm 25:16; Psalm 34:18; Hebrews 13:5b). Maybe he would’ve received peace for his tortured soul (Psalm 23:2-3a; Matthew 11:28-29).

Perhaps he’d still be alive!

“My son do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity” (Proverbs 3:1-2 / NIV).

Life Lessons

Some of the lessons we all can learn from Michael’s life and shocking death is that our lives are in God’s hands (Psalm 139:16b), and He gives all of us life here on earth for only a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). But what a glorious season it can be if we walk according to His will and His ways. Michael was truly blessed. He had an unusually lengthy season as an extraordinary entertainer and humanitarian that spanned four decades. Four decades! But like all seasons under heaven, Michael’s came to an end — albeit a tragic one.

We learn from Michael that life is precious, and life is short (Psalm 144:4; Psalm 90:12) and that we need to live our lives with purpose, humility and wisdom. 

That last sentence of hers implies that MJ did not live his life with purpose, humility, and wisdom, which is an extraordinary assertion for her to make, considering that she never met the man even once!

Here’s another example. This author of this article condescendingly titled it “Michael Jackson’s Real Legacy”, as if he knows anything about MJ to even say that!

It seems to me that he was on a perpetual search for happiness and just couldn’t find it. He built Neverland but it never brought him the happiness that he so desperately longed for. Nothing could. Bubbles couldn’t. Elizabeth Taylor couldn’t. Sold out arenas couldn’t. Hundreds of millions of dollars couldn’t.

He looked for it in the Jehovah’s Witnesses but there was nothing but legalism behind that hollow door of religion. He tried to find it in cosmetic surgery but all he could find was disfigurement. He even tried (and succeeded) in changing the color of his skin. But the white Michael Jackson seemed just as miserable as the black one…if not a little more.

The poor guy couldn’t even think back to the “better times” of his childhood. Why? Because, according to him, even these memories were not good. In one interview he said that when he was a kid he would literally puke when his father entered the room. That’s how terrified he was of his own dad. According to Michael he never had time to play but only to practice. His dad was too busy pushing him and his brothers up the music charts to be worried about Michael having any kind of normal childhood.

Not only was his childhood ruined but, according to many, he ruined some childhoods himself. Whether the allegations are true or not we will probably never really know. What we do know is that the accusations, the court mayhem and the financial payoffs added to the craziness and emptiness that defined the later years of Michael Jackson.

I wish Michael Jackson could have met the real Jesus, not the rule mongering, anti holiday, party pooper Jesus of The Watchtower. I’m talking about the Jesus of the New Testament. I really wish the King of Pop would have met the King of kings. Jesus would have quenched his thirst (see the woman at the well), healed his hurts (see the ten lepers) and changed the color of his soul not his skin. The King of kings could have given Michael a reason to sing and dance (see all the Gospels.)

He claims that MJ was never happy because he “didn’t have Jesus”, but the reason that MJ wasn’t happy was due to the false allegations that plagued him in the later years of his life! He didn’t build Neverland strictly for his own happiness (as I will explain later), but for the happiness of poor and sick children, and (most importantly!) their families!

Here is a comment from a close friend of mine about pastors who bash MJ in church, and after reading those 2 excerpts above, it’s easy to see why she feels this way! She wrote this in response to the pastor that I will refute later on in this post, and who inspired me to write this series in the first place!

As a non-Christian I will only say this: Michael Jackson was a lot better person than most of those Christians who judge him. It’s not statues and paintings those will make someone a good or a bad person. It’s how you treat people. And there Lewis and his like could learn a thing or two from him. For one, Michael didn’t judge others.

Why on earth some of these Christian preachers feel the need to hold a sermon featuring Michael at all? How will it add to the spiritual growth of their congregation to single out a man, whom you never knew personally, and publicly judge him and bash him and call him all kinds of names? Sorry, but it’s no better than what tabloids do and it seems like he needed Michael’s name to somehow spice up his sermon, which is pathetic. It really is like gossiping in the disguise of a sermon.

Well said! After watching numerous religious leaders bash and trash MJ, I feel those sentiments exactly!

My friend and fellow MJ blogger Raven Woods (author of the “All For Love” blog) has very similar thoughts on this issue. Here is a note that she wrote on Facebook after reading what was said about MJ in an article titled – you guessed it! – “Would Jesus Have Made a Difference in Michael Jackson’s Life?” It was printed in a Christian magazine that was dated July 2009:

I was at the Laundromat this afternoon and, bored while waiting, started to browse through some of the magazines. Most of them are pretty outdated. Well, out of curiosity, I happened to pick up an issue of “The Message” which, from what I gathered, is a Christian magazine, though I’m not sure what denomination. But as I was flipping through, I saw a pic of young Michael with his brothers. Then I realized it was an entire centerspread on Michael! Apparently the issue was from June or July, 2009, and of course like so many publications during that time, they felt compelled to run a “tribute.” It’s still mind boggling to realize what a truly global impact Michael’s death had, one that compelled even country music stations to play his songs in tribute, and Christian magazines normally devoted to articles on Biblical scripture to pause a moment to reflect on this extraordinary life. Nervously, I proceeded to read the article, expecting the worst, because by now I’ve come to know all too well how most “Christian organizations” view Michael Jackson-you know the rote. Either as a pedophile and false idol at worst, or a measly pop star unworthy of adoration at best. I figured the article would take one of those approaches, probably lambasting the world’s outpouring of grief as indicative of humanity’s misplaced priorities, but I was pleasantly surprised. The article was mostly balanced and, I thought, pretty fair overall, but there were still some issues that bothered me. The article portrayed Michael mostly as a tragic victim-a victim of fame, of an abusive childhood, of failed marriages, of accusations leveled against him (of course, you knew they would mention that, but how could they not! Those charges, fairly or not, became forever linked in the public’s consciousness with the name Michael Jackson). It occurred to me as I read the article that there are two false extreme perceptions the public has of Michael Jackson. He is either viewed as a complete monster and freak, or as “The Victim.” Of course, neither is accurate. He certainly wasn’t a monster, but I think this tendency to reduce him to nothing more than the clichéd’ “Victim of Fame” is just as damaging. Both extremes do one thing-they deny him of his humanity and his complexity as a human being. It also bothered me that an entire centerspread article on the passing of Michael Jackson, especially in a Christian magazine, of all places, made no mention whatsoever of his enormous humanitarian contributions. But what bothered me most (even if albeit well intentioned by the writers) was the question, “What difference could Jesus have made in Michael Jackson’s life?”

In other words, had Michael “known Jesus” he could have surely been saved from the demons that plagued him, and the loneliness that consumed him! My immediate response to that was, “And how do you people presume to know what Michael’s relationship with Christ was? It was rumored that Andre Crouch had said that Michael received Christ three weeks before his death, although in a recent article he denied the rumor, but did say that Michael had asked about the anointment of Jesus. However, as a Jehovah’s Witness Michael had been deeply religious all of his life (even if sometimes conflicted). I got the feeling that this was simply yet one more way of passing judgment on Michael-of the person he was, and the life he lived, and the fan adoration he had for most of his life. But who are they to pass judgment on what Michael’s relationship with Christ was? Do they know? I doubt it seriously.but like so many, they have no problem with judging a man they never met, or reducing him to a level just this side of caricature. So while the piece wasn’t as horrible as I feared, it still left the tang of an unpleasant taste. Unfortunately, I think Michael will always be one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented persons ever written about.

It’s a shame when you read about MJ in a religious magazine or blog, and you’re surprised when they write positive things about him, but unfortunately that is the exception, and not the norm. I encountered this myself each and every time I went to a Christian website and did a search of “Michael Jackson”, and read through the dozens of hits that would come up. I had to mentally prepare myself to read and listen to all of the lies and condemnation that was hurled at him by a bunch of pious, self-righteous, judgmental, holier-than-thou hypocrites who hide behind religion, and use it as a shield as they cast stones while living inside of their glass houses! If only THEIR lives could be exposed to the masses every day, and judged by their peers!

And did you notice how those aforementioned articles were written under the assertion that MJ “didn’t know” God? It’s utterly amazing how the authors could literally be an armchair quarterback and come to that conclusion by skimming over MJ’s life, despite having never known him!

Many Christians say that MJ would have been “normal” had he known God, but what if MJ really was “normal”, and instead of building Neverland to host sick and underprivileged children, he built his own version of the Playboy Mansion and used it to have wild, drug filled sex parties with porn stars (just like Hugh Hefner)? What would these same religious leaders say about MJ then? What if MJ regularly went clubbing and bar-hopping, and got involved in many alcohol-induced barroom brawls? What if he had multiple children out of wedlock with the many groupies who threw themselves at him throughout his career, and didn’t pay child support? What if he was in and out of drug rehab for recreational drugs that he used for pleasure, such as cocaine or marijuana?

However, this series will NOT focus on religion, in and of itself, and any criticisms I level at the people I refute is strictly based on what they said about MJ, and nothing else. I am 100% neutral on the views that they express in the sermons and blogs that I will link to, so please know that I am not endorsing or opposing anything that is said by them.

And let me say this: no matter how “religious” or “spiritual” someone is, no matter what title they have earned, no matter how many years they spent at their seminary, or how many Bible or Torah or Quran verses or sermons they have memorized, they are still human beings who are capable of making mistakes, and it’s not blasphemy to call them out and correct them when it is called for. For the liberal readers of this blog, did you agree with everything that the late Rev. Jerry Falwell said in his lifetime? Of course not! To the conservative readers of this blog, do you agree with everything that Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson say? What about President Obama’s former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Of course not!  They’re entitled to their political views, and so are you, and you shouldn’t feel intimidated when it comes to challenging them, and I certainly don’t feel intimidated when it comes to defending MJ against any religious leader (or ANYONE for that matter), especially when their criticisms are rooted in their own misconceptions about the man that are influenced by the tabloid media!  If everyone let religious leaders go unchallenged, then women and minorities wouldn’t have the civil rights that we have today, because people have used religion as a means to enforce slavery, segregation, and discrimination against women (such as forbidding them the right to vote or own property). For example, the Ku Klux Klan – which happens to be a Christian organization – has used the Bible to justify their hatred of others, but nobody is afraid to criticize them as the idiots that they are!

In this post, I will refute several rabid MJ haters who have attacked MJ from behind the pulpit (and when you see the tone of their rhetoric, you’ll know why I used the term “hater”). In future posts, I will show MJ’s spiritual side, prove that he wasn’t a devil worshipper, show how his accusers lied against him despite their claims of “spirituality”, show examples of many Christians hypocrites who many would have used as good examples of how to live, and most importantly, your faith in humanity will be restored when I showcase the Christians who have defended him! (Just wait until you see the pastor who apologizes to God for attacking MJ!).

With that being said, let’s get down to business!

I recently saw a YouTube series by a pastor named G. Craig Lewis, who claims that MJ was a Satanist who idolized Aleister Crowley, who was an occultist who inspired the Beatles, Ozzy Osbourne, and Led Zeppelin.  He also said that MJ was a “corybantes”, which were castrated men who worshipped the goddess Cybele through song and dance. I included the links to the first 2 parts below, along with some “highlights” of each part (Part 3 and 4 of his sermon will be refuted in part 2 of this series):

Let’s annihilate his lies one by one!

“When he bought the Beatles anthology so he could channel Aleister Crowley through it, he stole your heart“. ” This isn’t true at all! He bought the Beatles catalog on September 6^th, 1985 because he knew it would be an appreciating intangible asset, no different than someone who buys stocks on Wall Street! I notice how I said he BOUGHT the catalog, and did not STEAL it, as that lie has been leveled at him ever since the transaction was finalized! Let’s look at what MJ’s attorney John Branca, who negotiated the purchase, had to say about MJ’s acquisition of the catalog, beginning at 3:30:

Branca confirmed that MJ bought it after first seeking Yoko Ono’s (the widow of John Lennon) and Paul McCartney’s permission, which they happily granted!

“Corybantes: they had their hair dressed and waved like women. They were heavily made up, their faces resembling white washed walls. They were castrated and keepers of children or infants.” In the video above, you can see how he tried to juxtapose a photo of MJ with a photo of a corybantes in order to prejudice his audience against MJ. By having the photo of MJ onscreen while describing the corybantes as (for all intents and purposes) effeminate, he was trying to say that since MJ had those characteristics, he was a corybantes! I’ll rebut this trash by saying, first and foremost, MJ was NOT physically or chemically castrated! That myth was debunked in this post, which was written by my fellow MJ bloggers Seven Bowie and Nikki Allygator (who also wrote this amazing piece debunking the gay rumors).  That rumor started from jealous haters who said that he had himself castrated and took female hormones in order to maintain his high-pitched voice, when in fact he was a natural tenor!

As you can see from the photo below, MJ could grow a beard if he wanted to, and that would be impossible if he was castrated and without testosterone:

Listen to his voice at 0:37, and ask yourself does that sound like someone who is devoid of testosterone in his body?

And look at the photo below, and tell me that looks like someone who is physically castrated!

The makeup that MJ wore was due to his vitiligo, which was caused by the autoimmune disease Lupus (which we discussed in detail in this post). Had he not wore makeup, his skin tone would have been very uneven and splotchy, and he would have been ridiculed even worse than he was!

The wigs that he wore later on in his career were due to his hair falling out as a result of lupus, and the huge bald spot resulting from the 3^rd degree burn he suffered while shooting the Pepsi commercial. Had he not worn a wig, he (once again) would have been subjected to even more ridicule!

“There’s a line in ‘We Are The World’ that’s so demonic that it’s hard to believe that folks sung this in their churches in celebration to Michael Jackson. Michael wrote this part….”

In this part, the pastor claims that a line from “We Are The World” is “demonic”, but it’s not a line that MJ sung! It was the following line sung by Willie Nelson: “As God has shown us by turning stones to bread“, and he may have written that himself. The song was re-worked from the original demo that was co-written by Lionel Richie, and sung exclusively by MJ. The lyrics are completely different in most parts, most notably the chorus where “we’re saving our own lives” replaced “we’re taking our own lives” because they didn’t want to be accused of glorifying suicide. Let’s listen to the original demo of the song, which was officially released in November 2004 on the Ultimate Collection CD:

People have tried to pin that line on MJ in order accuse him of devil worship, when Willie Nelson OR Lionel Richie very well could have written that line! And even if MJ did write that line, he surely didn’t do it with the intention of devil worship! Why do people like Lewis have to attack MJ over something that is so trivial and petty as a line in a song, given the fact that the man was a true humanitarian and obeyed the Gospel’s message of helping the poor and less fortunate! The song has earned $63 million dollars since 1985 (and was re-recorded by contemporary artists in January 2010 to benefit Haiti), and to me THAT is what should be emphasized, not that one line from the song!

There is a DVD called “We Are The World: The Story Behind The Song”, and it shows how the song was written and re-written until they got it right. For example, in the demo above, you hear the “sha-lum sha-lin-gay” hook, and it was rehearsed for the final song, but ultimately rejected for “One world, our children”. In the DVD, you will actually see them debating over whether or not those ad libs should be included! (It can be rented from iTunes, Blockbuster, or Netflix.)

He goes on to say that “Another Part Of Me” is a sign of devil worship due to the lyrics. Seriously.  “We’re sending out a major love, and this is our message to you, the planets are lining up, we’re bringing brighter days” is supposed to be a sign that MJ is also into astrology as well!  But the reason MJ had those references to planets and outer space is because the song was written for Captain EO, a movie that takes place on a spaceship!!!  It had nothing whatsoever to do with Astrology! Here’s a clip:

And the icing on the cake is when he said “Blame It on the Boogie” is a sign of devil worship!  But just to show you how poorly researched this series is, MJ didn’t even write that song! It was written by Michael George Jackson-Clarke, David Jackson, and Elmar Krohn, with the hope that it could be sold to Stevie Wonder! Here is the original version:

And here is Michael George Jackson with his son Sam talking about the making of that song, how the Jacksons came around to recording it, and the documentary they made about what the song did for them (which was, of course, recorded after MJ’s death). You can read more information on his official website.

Here is an excerpt from J. Randy Taraborelli’s book “Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story”, where he describes how the Jacksons were forced to record “Blame It on the Boogie” by their record label:

When Michael Jackson set out to make his new solo album, he didn’t know what he wanted to be the final result. However, he knew what he didn’t want, and that was to make a record that sounded like a Jacksons’ album. From the start of his professional career, someone had decided the sound of Michael’s music. First, it had been Motown’s crack production staff and then the artist and repertoire executives at CBS/Epic. Though the family was given the freedom to write and ‘produce’ the Destiny album, Epic insisted that they record a song they didn’t write, ‘Blame It on the Boogie’. Other concessions and compromises were made along the way with the three albums for that label, and Michael never felt totally responsible for the results.

While Destiny’s hit single, ‘Shake Your Body’, re-established The Jacksons in the marketplace, many observers in the music business felt as Michael did, that the brothers had left their magic at Motown.

Lewis claims that Quincy Jones said that MJ loved the song so much that he danced in the streets after writing it, but Quincy Jones did not work on the “Destiny” album, which was released on December 17^th, 1978! He didn’t work with MJ on any albums until “Off The Wall”, which was released on August 10^th, 1979!  Sounds like this pastor did some “cut and paste” research! The quote that the pastor is attributing to “Blame It On The Boogie” was actually said about the song “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”! (I’m still searching for the exact quote from Quincy Jones about the song.)  Michael himself also said how the song affected him as he wrote and composed it:

During ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ (which would become Off the Wall’s first single), Michael unveiled a playful, sexy falsetto no one had ever heard from him before. All of the right elements were in place on this song: an unstoppable beat, a meticulous, well-balanced delivery of lyrics and melody and a driving energy. Michael explained that he couldn’t shake the song’s melody when it came to him one day. He walked throughout the house humming and singing it to himself. Finally, he went into the family’s twenty-four-track studio and had Randy put the melody down on the piano (Michael can’t play).

When he played it for Quincy, it was a done deal: it had to be on the album.

I recently did a series of posts on the intellectual fallacies that MJ haters use when they try to tear down the superstar, and Lewis is using several of them. Can you guess which ones? In this example, he’s using the fallacy of “cherry picking”, which means he’s selectively choosing lyrics that “fit” his agenda, while IGNORING lyrics that refute it. So if he wants to use song lyrics to trash MJ, then I will use song lyrics to defend MJ! Two can play that game!

First, let’s look at the last verse of “Heal the World”:

And The Dream We Were

Conceived In

Will Reveal A Joyful Face

And The World We

Once Believed In

Will Shine Again In Grace

Then Why Do We Keep

Strangling Life

Wound This Earth

Crucify Its Soul

Though It’s Plain To See

This World Is Heavenly

Be God’s Glow

We Could Fly So High

Let Our Spirits Never Die

In My Heart

I Feel You Are All

My Brothers

Create A World With

No Fear

Together We’ll Cry

Happy Tears

See The Nations Turn

Their Swords

Into Plowshares

As you can see, MJ is encouraging everyone to “be God’s glow” by showing people God’s grace and love through their actions. The next group of lyrics that I bolded and underlined have flown under the radar of many fans, and many people don’t realize MJ’s inspiration behind them. The term “swords to plowshares” comes from the following two Bible verses: Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3:

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

That message of world peace in that verse is consistent with the message of “Heal The World”, and that is why MJ chose to include that in the lyrics. And MJ isn’t the only person to be inspired by that verse! There is a non-profit organization called “Swords to Plowshares” that is dedicated to helping the veterans of wars reintegrate into society and become productive citizens! Here is their mission statement:

Our Mission

War causes wounds and suffering that last beyond the battlefield. Swords to Plowshares’ mission is to heal the wounds, to restore dignity, hope, and self-sufficiency to all veterans in need, and to significantly reduce homelessness and poverty among veterans.

Founded in 1974, Swords to Plowshares is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that provides counseling and case management, employment and training, housing and legal assistance to veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area. We promote and protect the rights of veterans through advocacy, public education and partnerships with local, state and national entities.

Let’s now look at the lyrics for “Can You Feel It?”

All the colors of the world should be

lovin’ each other wholeheartedly.

yes it’s alright, take my message to your brother and tell him twice.

spread the word who tried to teach the man who is hatin’ his brother,

when hate won’t do

’cause we’re all the same

yes the blood inside of me is inside of you.

Those lyrics perfectly coincide with the Gospel’s message of “love thy neighbor”! Pay attention to the last line, where he MJ sings his interpretation of the old saying “we all bleed red!”

Here are the lyrics to “Dangerous”:

And then it happened

She touched me

For the lips of

A strange woman

Drop as a honeycomb

And her mouth was

Smoother than oil

But her inner spirit and words

Were as sharp as

A two-edged sword

But I loved it

‘Cause it’s dangerous

Those lyrics that I bolded and underlined are from Proverbs 5:3:

For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

Other songs that mention God or have religious themes are “They Don’t Really Care About Us” (You’re rapin’ me off my pride
Oh, for God’s sake/I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy…,Set me free ), “Stranger in Moscow” (he sings “Lord have mercy” in the ad libs at the end), “Scream” (the second chorus features “Oh Father please have mercy, cause I just can’t take it!”), and “Earth Song” (MJ asks “What about the Holy Land?” at the end).

Retired NBA player and devout Christian Allan Houston said in this blog post that this song was the inspiration for a teachable moment between him and his son! He was asked about the meaning of the lyrics, and Houston said that it allowed him to talk to his son about sex in a realistic manner, which he is grateful for because the topic of sex is very awkward for most parents:

My son loves Michael Jackson, but something was disturbing him and he couldn’t figure out why. He said he wanted to take the song ‘Dangerous’ off his Nintendo DS. I asked why. He said he looked at the lyrics on http://www.lyrics007.com, and the lyrics seemed ‘inappropriate’. When he showed me, I understood why he was in turmoil over one of his favorite artists’ inner conflict in the song.

My job was to explain to my son why there was nothing ‘wrong’ with the lyrics; and what was right about him coming to me and getting clarification. I immediately was so thankful because I realized this was a very important teaching opportunity on many levels.

1. we as fathers and/or mentors HAVE to be able to be real with our kids: especially on the object of sexuality. We can’t run from this, because they’ll find out one way or another.

2. we can’t give them just ANY answers to real questions and issues…..WE HAVE TO GIVE THEM TRUTH. I believe truth comes from the WORD OF GOD.

What’s so cool about this moment is that evidently MJ did too!

Michael Jackson’s lyrics from the song “Dangerous” :

And then it happened
She touched me
For the lips of A strange woman
Drop as a honeycomb
And her mouth was Smoother than oil
But her inner spirit and words
Were as sharp as A two-edged sword
But I loved it ‘Cause it’s dangerous

Now….check it…..

Compare them to Proverbs 5:3-4

‘For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.

I always tell my kids..don’t just sing songs because everyone else is singing them….

go see what they’re saying in the songs so you know what you’re saying!
We gotta be careful with what we’re saying, and putting in our hearts Lets teach’em how to change the world!

I see how Michael Jackson’s legacy will never die.

To be continued………………