X-Message-Number: 21164 Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 12:00:37 -0800 (PST) From: Driven FromThePack <> Subject: Jackson and the Jehovah's Witnesses(JW's) I wrote: > I think that Michael Jackson's thoughts about > immortalism were almost certainly formed with the help > of our own writings on the Net. I think he almost > certainly has read many of our own cryonet postings. And Robert replied: >> I hope that is true, but I suspect that there is a simpler explanation. MJ was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. JW's believe that Armegeddon is very near and that the survivors of Armegeddon will live on a paradise Earth immortal and forever. JW's believe in this "everlasting life on earth" as strongly as they believe the sun will come up tomorrow (I know from personal experience), and you can ask almost any JW, and they will tell you without any irony at all that they hope to live forever on earth. So, although MJ is not associated with the JW's anymore, they are probably the source of his thoughts. >>> Interesting. I had forgotten that MJ had been a JW. I also was a JW as a chile (sold mags door to door just like MJ). However, the JW's believe that when comes the Resurrection, even those buried in their graves will be resurrected. I recall an JW magazine (Watchtower?) with long dead JW's crawling out of their graves. So it is an article of faith with them. It doesn't really matter whether you are buried or not--if you are a JW, you live forever. Well, it is just like all the other xtian religions, basically: if you are believer, you live forever. Well, in that sense, I guess it is like all religions. My wife is taiwanese, and she thinks that when you die, you become a ghost. JWs don't find the grave a fearful place--they know they will awaken. But when the reporter asked MJ if he wanted to be buried in the casket, he replied "No!"...in a certain way. How can I put it? The subtext, or what MJ did NOT say, in conjunction with the "No!", might be phrased in the vernacular as "F*ck that!" Pardon my French.... THe JWs don't have that attitude towards the grave...they believe it is not really death for them. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day http://shopping.yahoo.com Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21164