The dialogue between a “Biblical Christian” and a Michael Jackson supporter

Among Michael Jackson’s haters the so-called “Christians” are the most impossible breed. I use the word in quotations because true Christians will think twice before passing judgment on other people – they will be fearful of making a mistake and being unfair to those who have done no ill.

However this is not true of the so-called “Christians” – these are extremely sure of themselves as they cite the Scripture back and forth and consider themselves so righteous that are ready to take the place of the Almighty and make the final determination as to who is “saved” and who is not.

One of these “Biblical Christians” demanded that Michael Jackson’s supporters prove that Michael was saved (or otherwise she would apparently consider him “damned”) in a post called “Prove that Michael Jackson was saved”

Her insistent demand amazed me by its arrogance and infinite conceit which are totally uncharacteristic of a true Christian, whose frame of mind should always be that of humility as their teacher taught them. Frankly, the attitude of this “Biblical Christian” even reminded me of schoolyard bullies who make impossible demands of those whom they choose to harass:

•  “The burden of proof that one is saved is on them, because 1John 1 and Gal. 5 and Matt. 7 talk about knowing the person by their fruits and Jesus said in Matt. 7 that the road to eternal life is NARROW and hard and FEW that find it.”

What an irritating manner of quoting the Scripture by numbers!   Okay, even if “1John 1 and Gal. 5 and Matt.7” rightfully speak about our knowing the true worth of another person by the fruit this person bears, it is nevertheless not the job of human beings to decide who is saved and who is not, as it is solely God who will have the final say in the matter.

Our “Biblical Christian” should be reminded that for a human being it is impossible to know if he has been finally saved – the moment he thinks he has reached new heavenly heights due to his impeccable righteousness this thought alone contributes to his deepest fall. It marks a huge set-back in his spiritual development after which the difficult job of going uphill will have to be started all over again.

The key words here are humility and not taking oneself too seriously which are the rules some ‘righteous Christians’ prove themselves to be constantly breaking.

Jesus spoke of it in a parable. He compared a devout Pharisee with a despicable tax collector, whose trade was considered the embodiment of sin at the time. And Jesus’s verdict was absolutely not in favor of the “man of faith” highly respected in the society. No, it was in favor of the “evildoer” who, as Jesus said, went home justified by God. The reason for that was the humble spirit of the “evildoer” and total lack of it by the righteous Pharisee:

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 18:9-14)

Everyone who ever met Michael Jackson in private life says that they were struck by his exceptional humility which he retained despite his extraordinary achievements, worldwide popularity and huge wealth. This feature of his character became only more vivid when he later went through the times of unjust prosecution and most vicious harassment.

And though no one can guarantee that his humility fully justified him in the eyes of God (which we nevertheless hope for very much indeed), we still know that Michael’s humble spirit did set him on the sure road to salvation – in contrast to all those hollow “Biblical Christian” vessels which clatter about their righteousness but do not know that they are only damning themselves that way.

However as regards the words the “Biblical Christian” is quoting I whole-heartedly support and agree with them. We will indeed know the tree by the fruit it bears and holding to this principle is crucial for learning who Michael Jackson was. But why does our “Biblical Christian” quote Jesus’s words in reprimand to Michael Jackson? Was there ever anything wrong with the fruit Michael Jackson bore?

As far as we know there wasn’t.  I am not even talking of the three sweet, modest and well-balanced children he raised single-handedly despite all the ferocious harassment he went through. The amount of evil he faced could have broken the spirit of any human being,  except the one who had an unbreakable belief in God – and this is what Michael Jackson did possess as it is proven by his own survival through hard times and the kindness to people he retained until his final day.

And I am not talking  of those hundreds of handicapped children whom Michael carried in his arms from site to site in his Neverland amusement park to bring some joy and happiness into their hearts. And those children to whom he in his innocence and trust provided his home and care without ever looking into their and their parents’ greedy motives as the case of the Arvizo con-artists showed it.

And I am not talking about thousands of sick, hungry and freezing children whom Michael Jackson helped to heal, feed and warm all over the world through his charity. This is a axiom which does no longer require any proof but is simply so immense a subject that will need a post of its own which I cannot afford now.

All I would like to mention here is that the fruit of Michael Jackson’s tree is millions of honest and selfless people the world over who suddenly heard a calling from God to stand up for Michael Jackson when the man was finally taken to his Creator. Isn’t it the fruit any person can only dream of when the door into the unknown closes behind the person’s back?

Will our “Biblical Christian” be able to present anything similar when her time comes to stand before God and try to justify her earthly deeds? What fruits of redemption will she offer in her justification for writing those huge pieces of slander about Michael Jackson which we see in her so-called “Biblical Christian” blog?

Take the post called “Michael Jackson Was A Christian? Nonsense!” for example: (http://surphside.blogspot.com/2009/07/michael-jackson-was-christian-nonesense.html)

Over there the author engages herself in a heated debate with a supporter of Michael Jackson named David Pack whom this “Christian” author in all her exemplary kindness introduces as follows:

• “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”.

David Pack had the misfortune to say that he “believed that during his trials Michael Jackson 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”.

This “blasphemy” brings our pious author to the brink of a fainting-fit and instead of believing that Michael Jackson indeed prayed for God’s intervention during his unjust trial she starts throwing at Michael names and lies:

• This makes me GAG. How in the WORLD can he possibly compare a child molesting freak to Jesus Christ?

When David Pack ventures a metaphor to express his hope that Michael is in heaven now by saying:  “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”, our unbearably moralistic “Biblical Christian” shows that it is she who knows better how the Biblical Heaven and Biblical God look like:

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

This is followed by more insults and disdain, ungrounded accusations and ignorant lies:

• 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.

So first this “Biblical Christian” accuses Michael Jackson of being a Jehovah Witness as if it were a crime – though these people are Christians too and deserve huge respect at least for their strict adherence to the Ten Commandments and Jesus’s teaching in their everyday life.

Then the “Biblical Christian” states – as if it were an established fact – that MJ was a “child molester” and doesn’t take the trouble to provide a single piece of evidence to prove her outrageous accusations.

And finally she lies that Michael Jackson converted to the “Nation of Islam” though even his brother Jermaine (who did convert to Islam) said that Michael never did. Not that Islam is anything to rebuke people for – it is the accusation of converting from one faith to another which is a total lie and therefore should have never been told in the first place.

So in one short sentence our “Biblical Christian” manages to tell a whole pack of lies and still does not feel a grain of remorse for what she is doing!

When a kind and sober soul called Michaela ventures a correction of the author’s mistakes our “Biblical Christian” gives a reply which proves to us that she does not have the slightest idea of what she is talking about. She suddenly announces that “the court proved that he was a ped-le” and this hair-raising revelation is made to us on the basis of what “has been in the news for years”!

Well, indeed, if God wants to punish someone he takes away his reason……  And all this “Biblical Christian”‘s insanity is naturally accompanied by another of her moralistic sermons on “what it is like to be a true Christian”. Please look at the dialogue that follows to see who is who in this notable dialogue.

All the reader who called herself Michaela says to our “Biblical Christian” is this:

“I’d have to ask you as a fellow sister in Christ, Why are you slandering a man you don’t even know and calling him a child molester??? You seem too absorbed with what you hear in the news and cannot separate fact from fiction.”

To which our “Biblical Christian” responds:

“The facts are the facts. We know he was a pedophile as was proven in court. This has been in the news for years. That’s beside the more important issue of what you bring up, though.

How do you define “Christian”, exactly?

Do you know the difference between Jehovah’s Witnesse cult and Biblical Christianity? One cannot be both, Michaela. MJ was a JW for all his life until he converted to Islam at the end of his life. These religions are diametrically opposed to The Gospel of Jesus Christ in Scripture. There’s but ONE WAY to heaven and that is by grace through faith in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrected Lord, God the Son.

Why doesn’t it surprise me any longer that a “proper” definition of a Christian is by far more important to this “Biblical Christian” than the truth about the man she is so shamelessly slandering? Is it because the problem we are facing here is Truth vs. Formal Semblance to it?

Whatever it is, our “Biblical Christian” does reveal that she knows nothing about the man she accuses of the worst possible crime – she says the crime was proven in court while it was absolutely not. Exactly the opposite is true –  because it was his innocence that was proven there.

However if labeling an innocent person criminal is not enough damnation for the author, the “Biblical Christian” proceeds to questioning the beliefs of a person who is trying to put her on the right track and asks her not to judge someone she knows nothing of.

In her righteous zeal the “Biblical Christian” claims now that poor Michaela dares “judge her as judgmental” and assumes “she is off biblically”, which proves once again that the worst thing our “Biblical Christian” can envisage for herself is citing a wrong line in the Scripture while the fact that she is telling lies about an innocent man does not bother her a bit.

She calls it “standing for what Scripture says” while in reality it is putting an equal mark between the Scripture and  passing wrong judgment on the innocent (or actually telling lies about him). Poor Scripture, what do some people are doing to you!

I find it interesting Michaela, that you defend a lost and miserable man like Jackson, yet judge me as judgmental, correcting me as if I’m off biblically. How about standing for what Scripture actually says, not what you want it to say.
God is far more than love, and Michaela, I suggest you study Scripture and learn this. Start with Is. 5-6. HE is HOLY HOLY HOLY, not love love love.

Well, this final idea of the “Biblical Christian” about God being “not love” is highly disputable in the light of the very teaching she thinks she is advocating. During the last supper with his disciples and before Judah’s betrayal of him into the hands of the then Pharisees Jesus spoke to his disciples about what it means to follow his Father and gave a new commandment to them – to love each other as he loved them.

He added that his words did not speak of his own initiative, “but the Father abiding in Me does His works” (John 14:10) and said that if his disciples loved him they would follow his commandments (John 14:15).

•  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

Jesus says that it is by this criterion alone that people will recognize his true followers (among various imposters), so all the formally correct but loveless statements from our “Biblical Christian” testify to her own dissociation from the true breed of Jesus’s disciples.

As the dialogue between the “Biblical Christian” and Michael Jackson’s supporter continues the author’s hypocritical sermons become totally unbearable – especially when she checks up whether her opponent’s internet profile fits the outward features of a “true Christian”.  Just imagine that all this moralistic torrent was triggered off by a mere correction by Michaela of the author’s false and ignorant statement and you will see how hypocritical the whole thing is and how true the old saying is –  which was quoted even by the first Christians – “The harlot reproves the chaste”…

Our life does not consist in making up beautiful phrases but in performing beautiful deeds and in working toward them. …In spite of such sublime principles we hear the most serious accusations against us, proving the saying, “The harlot reproves the chaste.” Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians 32–35.

WWW.EBERHARDARNOLD.COM (THE EARLY CHRISTIANS: SELF – PORTRAITS AND PORTRAYALS)

There is indeed no way to stop the torrent of the “Biblical Christian”‘s moralism towards her reader. Instead of correcting her own mistake and listening to reason she prefers to find fault with the one who called her “a fellow sister in Christ”:

“I hope you learn what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is, because your view of MJ is way off which tells me so is your “gospel”, whatever that is. You seem very man-centered, which is not good. A Biblical Christian must be God-centered, for that is what HE is.

You seem to consider yourself a Christian by how you addressed me as “a fellow sister in Christ” yet you don’t mention Christ Jesus at all in your profile, but you sure have several mentions of Michael Jackson.

Your own profile states: (….). …You’d rather be known about your love for MJ than Jesus Christ? That says quite a lot. Those in Christ are commanded to let their light shine before men — to proclaim HIM publically and without shame. Doing so will bring persecution at times, as well as insults, but its a command and exemplified for us throughout Scripture. But you defend and concentrate on a lost man rather than Christ Jesus. Wow.

To tell you the truth I find such hypocrisy simply nauseous  (in contrast to our author I absolutely do not aspire to the role of a true Christian and this is why allow myself these harsh words).  Michaela’s reply to the “Biblical Christian”  shows that she is a much better follower of Jesus’s teaching than me. The only thing she says is that Michael Jackson was acquitted on all counts and that there is no iota of evidence that he was the criminal the author paints him to be.

Her answer is so fair and just, so well-grounded and God-inspired that I provide it here in full:

There was no iota of evidence that MJ was a pedophile – he was ACQUITTED of ALL charges. In 1993, the jury could not even bring the case to court because they did not have enough evidence for these claims.

Moreover, the authorities wanted to chuck him out of Neverland for years, so they were trying to anyway they knew how. They abuse the media to their advantage. I am actually someone from London, so I know that the media in the USis much more hostile towards MJ than in Europe. They do it to make money and sway public opinion. To me, Michael was a beacon of light shining in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, so naturally, the world hated him and branded him “pedophile”, “gay”, etc. In this situation, how can you regularly attend church when you’re famous, everyone recognizes you and would probably ask a million questions about what they’ve read in some magazine/newspaper? People tend to have prejudices which are kind of wrong when you think of it. It’s a shame to see so many people in show business suffer because of this. Maybe that’s why this ‘falling away’ effect happens in the first place. Our love just grows cold and we lose our genuineness and honesty cause we’re so afraid.

MJ was a peace maker in that he made a lot of people actually think about the state of the world we live in and how we treat each other. I’ve seen a video of when Michael is questioned over his child abuse allegations, he said why he loved children – it was Jesus’s command and he was doing it for the Lord. Christ himself said:

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” Matthew 18:3-5

Likewise, it is not everyone who says to Jesus “Lord, Lord” that enters heaven, but those that do the will of the Father. Now who’s to say MJ DIDN’T do the will of our Father? Off-stage, he was one of the most humblest down-to-earth people you could meet. None of us is perfect in everything. Michael had great talent, so God used him in His way. Moreover, there is no evidence that MJ converted to Islam. It’s just hearsay cause some MJ fans who are Christian want him to be with Christ and the muslim MJ fans want him to be with Allah 🙂

Talking of which, did you know the Arabic translation of the Bible has the Lord’s name as Allah? Does that mean the Arabic Christians aren’t saved? Also, the English word “God” is kind of detached and pagan when you look at its original roots. This is where all the confusion starts and we can have endless debates and arguments which to me just seem futile.

Thanks for looking at my profile 🙂

It does say I’m a Christian. I just don’t wish to write ‘Jesus’ all over my profile just to sell myself!!! To me, that would be taking the Lord’s name in vain. Moreover, it is aimed towards MJ fans/fellow business people and it is where the good Lord placed me. I prefer talking about our Lord on a more personal one-to-one basis. We all have our role in life and we are all collectively the Body of Christ. Who are we to say to each other “I have no need of you?”

That said, God Himself is man centred and looks after each one of us. To quote 1 John 4:5-11,

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

All I can say to the above is AMEN.

Let us close the “Biblical Christian”’s chapter at these wise words of a Michael Jackson supporter, who does not pretend she is a true Christian but by her words and deeds proves that she is exactly the one.

And let the sarcastic words of the “Biblical Christian” said to shame others be her own judge instead – what was meant to be damning irony suddenly turned out to be the truth told about herself:

• Singers, actors, politicians, celebrities, all our idols go to heaven. It doesn’t matter how they lived their lives. They can lie and steal. …They can promote damnable lies as the truth all the while engaging in good deeds designed to make you think they are really deep down ‘good’ persons.  …Their place in eternity serves as a surety to us that like them, we can enjoy all the world has to offer and still attain paradise. There’s really no need to serve God in this life. If God offered them a last minute reprieve surely we’ll get the same chance. We’ve finally found a way to have our cake and eat it too….

I think that in the above quote it is “promoting damnable lies as the truth all the while engaging in good deeds designed to make you think they are really deep down ‘good’ persons”,  which applies to our “Biblical Christian” best of all.

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