jmsellens@watmath.UUCP (John M Sellens) (10/31/84)
Just thought you might find this interesting ...
From the Globe and Mail, Saturday October 27, 1984
M. J. SUPERSTAR
Popular singer is Christ, some sect members believe
By Barry Nelson
Special to the Globe and Mail
CALGARY - As many as 100 dissident Jehovah's Witnesses throughout central
Alberta believe Jesus Christ has returned to earth in the form of pop
superstar Michael Jackson.
The Alberta believers in the deity of the rock star, who is a devout Jehovah's
Witness, are "just the tip of the iceberg," according to Gary Botting,
co-author of a recently published book called The Orwellian World of Jehovah's
Witnesses.
"I would say that from California to here, there are hundreds of others. They
are focused more on the West Coast, but it's slopped [sic] over from Vancouver
and Victoria, and a lot of people are getting involved. I definitely see it
spreading because of Jackson's popularity," Mr. Botting said in an interview.
"You would think that these people are totally off the wall, but from a
standpoint of traditional Jehovah's Witness theology, it all fits incredibly
well."
Spokesmen for the Watchtower Society in Toronto and at the group's world
headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., deny any knowledge of the Jackson worship cult,
but both Mr Botting and University of Lethbridge hidtorian James Penton, who is
writing a history of the Jehovah's Witness movement, say the society has
appointed a "fact-finding commission" to determine how widespread the belief
has become.
"He is Christ. We believe Michael Jackson is the Archangel Michael and Jesus
returned to earth," Patricia O'Conner, a 30-year-old jeweller from Sylvan
Lake, about 20 kilometres west of Red Deer, said in an interview.
Mrs. O'Conner, a lifelong Jehovah's Witness, said she and about 100 others from
throughout central Alberta meet in groups of 10 or more several times a week to
worship Mr. Jackson, study scriptures they feel support their beliefs and
listen to the rock star's records.
She said she reached the conclusion that Mr. Jackson was the Messiah who would
lead the faithful to eternal life after becoming disenchanted with the
governing body of the Watchtower Society, which leads the world's 2.6 million
Jehovah's Witnesses.
"I believe him to be the Messiah. I reached that conclusion by myself, and
then I started talking to other people who thought so too but didn't want to
come out and say this because they are afraid they will be disfellowshipped
(ostracized) by the Jehovah's Witnesses."
She said her fellow Jacksonites include those of all age groups, but most are
young Jehovah's Witnesses who do not accept their church's opposition to youth
culture and its manifestations in music, movies, dancing and fashion. Their
belief in Mr. Jackson as the Saviour is only strengthened by the Watchtower
Society's criticism of his music and videos.
"It's happening just the way it did in Christ's time," she said. "A lot of
people look at the man and his good works and compare the governing body of the
Watchtower Society to the religious leaders who persecuted Christ."
Mrs. O'Conner said her belief is derived from prophecies in the Book of
Revelation and the Book of Daniel, "where it says he shall stand for the
children of the people."
Noting that the Second Coming is to be preceded by a time of turmoil such as
the threat of nuclear war, she mentions several other reasons why the
Jacksonites have decided the Saviour has returned as a rock star. These
include Mr. Jackson's abstinence from drugs, liquor and sex, and his
charitable donations to cancer research, the United Negro College Fund and a
camp for dying children.
His recovery from injuries suffered when his hair caught fire while filming a
television commercial appears miraculous to the Jacksonites, who also find
clues to his divine identity in sunspot activity and the fact that the words
Michael, Messiah, Jackson and Jehovah all have seven letters.
"Any sane person would say it's just coincidence," Mrs. O'Conner said, "but
it's just one coincidence piled on another. Put together with biblical
prophecy and parallels between Michael's life and Christ's life, it's just
too much to ignore."
University of Alberta sociologist Stephen Kent said there is "a continuing
motif of apocalyptic religion in pop culture, with one group after another
trying to address the problem of salvation from nuclear disaster. It's in
the air now, and it's going to manifest itself in any number of places. Groups
like the Jehovah's Witnesses have been predicting the Apocalypse for a number
of years and, after a while, unfulfilled predictions create tensions within a
person. Belief in Jackson as the Messiah provides tham with both validation
of adventist doctrines and salvation from nuclear holocaust."
Raymond White, a Los Angeles publicist for Mr. Jackson, refused to comment.
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John M Sellens
UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!jmsellens
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ARPA: jmsellens%watmath%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arparobert@erix.UUCP (Robert Virding) (11/05/84)
You've got to be joking?????
Robert Virding @ L M Ericsson, Stockholm
UUCP: {decvax,philabs,seismo}!mcvax!enea!erix!robert