I'm constantly seeing posts here that are quite offensive & unsensitive when it comes to Prince's faith. I myself am not religious & I disagree with many religions beliefs & traditions but I still respect the right that everyone deserves - to have faith.

Now I know Prince is a "superstar" & this is his "fan site" which in our crazy world seems to warrant life evaluations from everyday people but the question I ask you is What is so bad about Prince being a Jehovas Witness?

So he said some edgy things on The Rainbow Children, so what? It was a one time thing he wanted to do & if you don't like the album then why not just remove it from your memory forever? It was a one time experiment from a point in time where he had only recently become a JW, so I've been told, & he was obviously very hyped about his new found faith & wanted to express it in a way he does best. I'm pretty sure Prince has forgotten about it himself!

His "Preaching". Now don't get my wrong, I find JW's knocking on my door to be quite pesky as I have no interest in joining their religion & after a while it grows tedious, but I still RESPECT them. In their heads they're trying to save us from a eternity of a lake of fire, they're trying to help us. For which I am greatful. So Prince praises his god in public every now and then & tries to save people, big deal!

His not swearing anymore. I'm sorry but if a middle aged man/woman on here is bitching about Prince leaving out a few swear words of a song when he performs them live - you need to grow up. So Prince doesn't swear anymore, so what? Oh no!!!!! He changed "Fuck" to "Funk"! the song is ruined!!! Please. That's just childish!

His refusal to get hip surgery. Now this is a only a rumour so obviously nobody can know for sure, but don't worry, I feel Prince will conveniently forget about JW's rules on surgery & get his hip replaced, if it's true. In full secrecy of course. We know he's not afraid to contradict himself about the measliest things - so when it comes to something as important as that, I'm pretty sure he'd get the surgery lol

Now, Prince does a lot of things that make it easy to hate him. Many of which are fair game. But his religion doesn't really affect you in any major way & I just feel it's wrong to criticize someones faith so harshly when it only really affects THAT person & not you.... I'm a relativley new fan so I may not be educated on every aspact of Prince's life & if I have gotten anything wrong regarding this please correct me.

Short Version:
How do you feel about Prince's fans reactions to his Religion? Are they fair or do you feel they take it too far? What's so bad about Prince being a JW? Discuss

Nothing is bad about it. The problem is Prince, not the JW. If you listen to his music since his conversion it all has an undercurrent of negativity and bitterness. Not what you would expect from someone enjoying some sort of spiritual enlightenment.

funksterr said:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The joy and jubilation apparent in so much of LoveSexy was met with darker, stranger, moods in TRC. Although Prince sometimes taps into genuine 'hope' and joy like in "The Word" and "Everywhere".

JW is considered a sect, by many including me. JW's are sometimes reason to a lot of unhappiness: sometimes JW members are excluding family members if they don't wanna be part of the JW organisation. Lot's of bad things...

I just can't believe Prince wanna be part of a sect, a very bad thing, imo / and he is after all very intelligent.

Prince a JW.... is a mystery to me, WHY....
[Edited 12/21/09 7:40am]

Mostly, it's the threads the beat the topic to death over and over.

thedance said:

I'm glad you put sometimes, because I don't go around pissing on people who aren't Jehova's Witnesses ¬_¬
I mean granted, it's a hard religion to understand, but down right slating it just comes across as ignorant. I don't live in unhappiness, I don't conciously bestow it upon others.I live life as a Jehova's Witness doing what I do how I get by.

I'm out.

Mars23 said:

Agreed. This is truly an ad nauseum topic. We all know the reasons why. Back when Prince was raised an Seventh Day Adventist, he still made great music. JW is a whole different show.

MyNameIsCally said:

If you take out your belief that religion affects only the believer (which, it clearly doesn't - religion has a massive, far-reaching impact on individuals, groups, races and countries), then you'll realise why people can rightfully question someone's beliefs.

Just as there is the right for someone to have faith, there is the right for others to question it. You cannot possibly say "well, that's just their beliefs, they have a right to that" if, for example, their belief was to exterminate all those of a given race. Some beliefs are worthy of attention and scrutiny, because they may be dangerous.

MyNameIsCally said:

I'm just echoing Mindflux' sentiments, but you don't need to be a fanatic of a particular person to realise that religions can greatly affect your individual existence.

However, I do find it a bit hypocritical of folk for harping on the guy for the JW stuff when his previous monotheistic beliefs are just as unrealistic.

hmm...i don't agree with the JW religion, but it's not for me to say what prince should follow or believe in. that's his journey in life. i was surprised though when he became a JW! i just never pictured him as one. what a person believes has an impact on their life and everything they do, so of course this effects his music. i still enjoy his music, maybe not as much as i did back in 1995, but i still do. i also think that he's more mellow than he was before, i think as he gets older he doesn't have that need to say the things and act the way he did when he was in his 20's and 30's, and i think a lot of his behavior now is because of his age, and people just blame it on his religion. people change as they mature.

Mars23 said:

Agreed

Since when did it matter what human's think ?

(Matthew 10:28) . . .do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body . . .

EntropyMusicForum said:

What do you think Matthew 10:28 is saying?

EntropyMusicForum said:

That has nothing to do with the thread. Let's explore the full verse, not a snippet. Let's not cherry pick God (not that you were, but let's keep it on context). Let's also go back, and forward, a couple of verses to get the gist of what Matthew was saying:


Matthew is encouraging those to not worry what those around them (the readers, the recipients of the letter) are saying. Matthew spoke greatly about the preservation of biblical law, as well as obeying it. Despite their troubles, Matthew was encouraging, saying that even if they try to kill you, they cannot kill your soul. Man is nothing when compared to God, who has the ability to kill your soul, if he operated that way. He has the power. The popular verse of "how much more valuable are you than a sparrow" is also found in this passage of verse. It really is an empowerment to think this way. It's not that you look down on those around you, but rather you understand your place in the world as a child of God, and man's place in the world under an all-mighty, all powerful and all knowing and all present God.

The whole verse is very encouraging and empowering to the people, then and now. This doesn't necessarily relate to Prince being a JW. Sure, what does it matter what man thinks about another man, yet the Bible teaches us that if a brother offends us, we are to go to him first, with another couple of people, to confront him and hope he repents from whatever his wrong doing is. After that, you go take the priest (or pastor/elder/et al) and confront the offender. If that doesn't work, you wash your hands of him. Has Prince offended anyone with being a JW? Not per se, but his actions since his brain-washing.....I mean conversion, have resulted in less than desirable left overs. Promises made, money taken, non-delivered product(s), etc. Those things are not exempt from the very Godly law that Prince claims to follow and believe in. Even in his near-fictional New World Translation of the Bible, the laws are there, the guidelines of how to be a better person, how to do business, etc.

So for Prince to not worry what others say about his religion are one thing, but to see how that as effected his work that he wants people to buy, how that has effected the services he's promised to offer (ie: LotusFlow3r's promises, NPGMC's "lifetime membership", then the second "membership" for $25 that is now non-existent), that is thievery. And that ain't God.

Read up on your history of the JWs. Its a cult, not a religion. I have a problem with religion as it is, because its causes so much division in the world. Look at the Middle East as an example and recently in California with Gay Marriage. It truly is an evil invention in many many ways, and JWs are not exempt from this. I hope that Prince one day wakes up and realizes this has more of a compassionate mind about everything that his cult excludes.

Er...they're mysoginistic and homophobic??

Any other questions?????

skywalker said:

Oh, i'd relisten to Rainbow Children again and read the lyrics if i were you. There are much more examples of change (in music) in many other albums, but that album stands out the most. Its literally a Hail Hail JW album....

Religion Clouds the mind
2 the ONE..... that's clear
Which do U choose
Which do U steer

A JW in and of itself is not bad
But when it influences your direction
U'd wish that u NEVER had

Nothing. The only bad thing is fans wanting to control him. They post an opinion and see if he follows suit. If he does, Victory! Prince is a grown man with grown desicions to make and noone but himself will make them.
[Edited 12/21/09 15:28pm]

shytown said:

is that why bria posts on here?

MyNameIsCally said:

We all know P was searchin' for that certain way of life even when he was much younger, he expressed in his lyrics what he thought life should be and what it was to him. We he spoke of GOD it was always a little different. It's typical thought or what Christians believe how GOD is and who he is to you and me but when he learned of the JW way of life, he did change and he improved on his Christian (school of thought), he's not saying anything that the JW do not believe in. I'd say the only thing is his appetite for sex is the same and his lyrical content is a lot more stifled but you can still hear it in songs like Elixer and what not.

I am a very religious and spiritual person so I understand where P is coming from. If I was living according to what my faith teaches I wouldn't be watching movies or listening to music, at all but I do not forsee that changing.

angelface22 said:

That might have been Bria right there! hahaha

ernestsewell said:

thats what i was told from another orger

EntropyMusicForum said:

Each human being on this planet has free will. When motivated by true knowledge you make life choices. Everyone is on a journey! Life is about growth and change. Prince's journey is unique to him and reflect in his music. I love discovering new dimensions in him, including his impressive faith in God. He shares his gift with us, why do we have to judge him for it.

Why r people so concerned with his religion?

The fact that we will never ever see his earlier unreleased gems in unedited form.....

Sad that a religion could prevent someone from sharing their groundbreaking art in its original historical state.

jstar69 said:

I don't think it's his religion that is stopping him. It's his personal preference.

Prince releases what he wants to. It's all his personal preference. Sure, we may not ever hear some of the vault material, but the material he wants us to hear is out. It may sound crappy, but it is out.
[Edited 12/21/09 17:08pm]

I completely agree with you!! Myself personally I believe that if what ever you believe makes you become a better person then you should stick with it. Who is anyone to tell anyone what they should believe in? Just because he is a big star does not mean we get to be so invasive on the life style he has chosen! Now I am not a new fan I have been a true prince fan since I about 11 years old so for me its all about the music its all about the magic he truly brings to the table as far as his creativity. I am happy that he is still bringing in new fans to share in the gifts he brings to the music arena. What he believes in is frankly none of our business!! Please just enjoy the music!!

MyNameIsCally said: