I came to love Prince's music despite his image, despite his antics, despite his strange sexuality and religious nonsense.

Prince, like most of the hardcore religious people I have ever known, as brilliant and talented as they are/were have delved into the deep end of religion as a form of overcompensating for the screw-ups in their lives, the screw-ups that they were. Prince and most of the religious hardcore preach about the negative aspects of who they were, what they have done and preach to everyone about the guilt they feel about what they have done. So its is like having your cake and eating it too. They always live in extremes.

Sure there are the mentally challenged that we must always watch out for, but most people can see, listen and appreciate his music and his art with a detached state of mind and saw him as a curiosity more than anything else as we wondered what the heck this strange talented little man is going on about without ever thinking they wanted like to join the fray. Not everyone is as easily manipulated or as easily corrupted as Prince was. We do not need to edit or censor ourselves or anyone else. Most of us are above that nonsense. Hearing him curse did not make me want to curse. THAT is Prince's major misconception. We just watched him carry on and entertain us and watched him make a fool of himself too sometimes. Fans do not all think alike or like him and we do not need someone preaching to us as we know dam well good from bad. And other than his music we never took him seriously then, and sure as hell are not going to start taking him seriously now.

Nobody holds it against him for being human and he shouldn't beat himself up and childishly resort to being ashamed of being a very talented human either.

[Edited 8/21/10 17:14pm]

just reading a wee bit about j.w .....interesting to read what they actually believe will happen once they die....it isnt what i thought it would be...

.

Life after death

Jehovah's Witnesses believe death is a state of non-existence with no consciousness. There is no Hell of fiery torment; Hades and Sheol are understood to refer to the condition of death, termed the common grave. Jehovah's Witnesses consider the soul to be a life or a living body that can die. Their hope for life after death involves being resurrected by God to a cleansed earth after Armageddon, or to heaven for a limited number. Those remaining on earth are referred to as the "other sheep".

Watch Tower Society publications teach that humanity is in a sinful state, from which release is only possible by means of Jesus' shed blood as a payment, or atonement, for the sins of humankind. Witnesses believe there are two destinations for those saved by God. They interpret Revelation 14 to mean that the number of Christians going to heaven is limited to precisely 144,000, who will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth. The remainder have the hope of living forever in an earthly paradise. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that only they meet scriptural requirements for surviving Armageddon, although God is the final judge. During the millennium, most other people who died since the time of Abel and prior to Armageddon will be resurrected with the prospect of living forever; they will be taught the proper way to worship God in order for them to be ready for their final test before the end of the millennium.

.

babynoz said:

How about this...everybody just answer the damn question for themselves and stop trying to tell everybody else what to believe

Just a suggestion.

My answer is no...you gotta be kidding me.

i second that emotion. Ain't no shame is listening to someone elses views and allowing it to shape your own. As with all information / knowledge you take it and do with it what you will, P is just one of many sources for me.

blackbob said:

just reading a wee bit about j.w .....interesting to read what they actually believe will happen once they die....it isnt what i thought it would be...

.

Life after death

Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and salvation

Jehovah's Witnesses believe death is a state of non-existence with no consciousness. There is no Hell of fiery torment; Hades and Sheol are understood to refer to the condition of death, termed the common grave. Jehovah's Witnesses consider the soul to be a life or a living body that can die. Their hope for life after death involves being resurrected by God to a cleansed earth after Armageddon, or to heaven for a limited number. Those remaining on earth are referred to as the "other sheep".

Watch Tower Society publications teach that humanity is in a sinful state, from which release is only possible by means of Jesus' shed blood as a payment, or atonement, for the sins of humankind. Witnesses believe there are two destinations for those saved by God. They interpret Revelation 14 to mean that the number of Christians going to heaven is limited to precisely 144,000, who will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth. The remainder have the hope of living forever in an earthly paradise. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that only they meet scriptural requirements for surviving Armageddon, although God is the final judge. During the millennium, most other people who died since the time of Abel and prior to Armageddon will be resurrected with the prospect of living forever; they will be taught the proper way to worship God in order for them to be ready for their final test before the end of the millennium.

.

WHAT???

[img:$uid]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWovdGs59MY/SvRnbxWYyFI/AAAAAAAABKA/f3biRdCQgAY/s400/doublefacepalm.jpg[/img:$uid]

babynoz said:

How about this...everybody just answer the damn question for themselves and stop trying to tell everybody else what to believe

Just a suggestion.

My answer is no...you gotta be kidding me.

Exposure to Prince and the devout amongst his fanbase (Particularly at the NPGMC *shudders*) hardened my anti-theism.

ernestsewell said:

Mindflux said:

Did both of you fail to realise that "some group" made it all up in the first place? Nobody had a "bible" when Christ supposedly existed - that came a few hundred years later! Yet you speak as though God himself wrote the bible and delievered it to the planet some 100,000 years after mankind first appeared here! Christianity IS a man-made tradition, as is the entire concept of a God. Those who invented Christianity simply built upon the many ancient religions that existed before it and used it as a form of taking control of the masses. Its that simple.

I have nothing against either of you having a belief, but suggesting you've thought about it to the extent that you've realised people have tinkered with "what was already there" is laughable. And, as for being "perfect"?! Have you read the Old Testament?! You think God is a nice, "perfect" being there? Hmm?

Did you fail to realize you will never change or shake someone's faith, any more than they apparently are going to change your mind about your refusal to believe in God?

I always find it interesting that athiests are so pro-active in trying to convince Christians they're wrong and demean them by calling them "delusional" or failures for "realizing" something, yet the vast majority of Christians live their lives and are blessed for knowing God on a personal level. Is that the athiest's goal, just to demote people to idiots, and put unhappiness in everyone's heart and lives? Wow, that's something to really rally behind. Oddly, athiests act and sound a lot like the God Hates Fags people. Funny, that.

Now why would anyone wish to take happiness away from someone else? That's the bigger question.

Athiests are like that because they are ESTRANGED from God. Therefore, who are they more like? Satan or God? Satan, obviously. His whole mission is the tear up Christians, by the use of his decieved people- for not only does Satan hate human kind (as we are made in the image of God), he ESPECIALLY hates and targets Christians.

JesusFreak said:

Athiests are like that because they are ESTRANGED from God. Therefore, who are they more like? Satan or God? Satan, obviously. His whole mission is the tear up Christians, by the use of his decieved people- for not only does Satan hate human kind (as we are made in the image of God), he ESPECIALLY hates and targets Christians.

OK, you keep believing your fairy stories. There is NO god and NO Satan, LOL. STOP DELUDING YOURSELF.

Militant said:

JesusFreak said:

Athiests are like that because they are ESTRANGED from God. Therefore, who are they more like? Satan or God? Satan, obviously. His whole mission is the tear up Christians, by the use of his decieved people- for not only does Satan hate human kind (as we are made in the image of God), he ESPECIALLY hates and targets Christians.

OK, you keep believing your fairy stories. There is NO god and NO Satan, LOL. STOP DELUDING YOURSELF.

While we're having an imaginary friend battle I'm going to summon up The Tooth Fairy and a pink unicorn to come assist satan in kicking some christian ass.

Dsoul said:

Militant said:

OK, you keep believing your fairy stories. There is NO god and NO Satan, LOL. STOP DELUDING YOURSELF.

While we're having an imaginary friend battle I'm going to summon up The Tooth Fairy and a pink unicorn to come assist satan in kicking some christian ass.

Good idea. I will invite the magic bucktoothed ten-legged neon chimpanzee and the flying spaghetti monster to join the fun.

Hell yes!

Following Prince's career for 30 years has made me painfully aware of the limits that religion imposes on the creative person.

The sub-standard music he's churning out now is the product of a closed mind and shackled hands

JesusFreak said:

ernestsewell said:

Did you fail to realize you will never change or shake someone's faith, any more than they apparently are going to change your mind about your refusal to believe in God?

I always find it interesting that athiests are so pro-active in trying to convince Christians they're wrong and demean them by calling them "delusional" or failures for "realizing" something, yet the vast majority of Christians live their lives and are blessed for knowing God on a personal level. Is that the athiest's goal, just to demote people to idiots, and put unhappiness in everyone's heart and lives? Wow, that's something to really rally behind. Oddly, athiests act and sound a lot like the God Hates Fags people. Funny, that.

Now why would anyone wish to take happiness away from someone else? That's the bigger question.

Athiests are like that because they are ESTRANGED from God. Therefore, who are they more like? Satan or God? Satan, obviously. His whole mission is the tear up Christians, by the use of his decieved people- for not only does Satan hate human kind (as we are made in the image of God), he ESPECIALLY hates and targets Christians.

Maybe if you became a muslim, you could escape the evil clutches of "Satan"

SexOnAFunkyStick said:

Hell yes!

Following Prince's career for 30 years has made me painfully aware of the limits that religion imposes on the creative person.

i wonder if religion has that effect on all creative people?

i guess i have a natural curiosity about both spiritual and religious mysterious things, so i've enjoyed pondering anything prince has said about those things. i was raised agnostic, so oddly enough prince might have been one of my early introductions to christian ideas, like the lords prayer in controversy, judgement day in 1999, i would die 4 u in purple rain, the ladder and paisley park in atwiad, etc. after the rainbow children, i was simultaneously becoming seriously interested in christianity, so i got rid of all my prince records just to see if i was truly interested in christ or if it was some weird subconscious connection to liking prince music. who knows! love thy will be done was probably the most influential prince song on my personal religion.

jaybendy said:

blackbob said:

just reading a wee bit about j.w .....interesting to read what they actually believe will happen once they die....it isnt what i thought it would be...

.

Life after death

Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and salvation

Jehovah's Witnesses believe death is a state of non-existence with no consciousness. There is no Hell of fiery torment; Hades and Sheol are understood to refer to the condition of death, termed the common grave. Jehovah's Witnesses consider the soul to be a life or a living body that can die. Their hope for life after death involves being resurrected by God to a cleansed earth after Armageddon, or to heaven for a limited number. Those remaining on earth are referred to as the "other sheep".

Watch Tower Society publications teach that humanity is in a sinful state, from which release is only possible by means of Jesus' shed blood as a payment, or atonement, for the sins of humankind. Witnesses believe there are two destinations for those saved by God. They interpret Revelation 14 to mean that the number of Christians going to heaven is limited to precisely 144,000, who will rule with Jesus as kings and priests over earth. The remainder have the hope of living forever in an earthly paradise. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that only they meet scriptural requirements for surviving Armageddon, although God is the final judge. During the millennium, most other people who died since the time of Abel and prior to Armageddon will be resurrected with the prospect of living forever; they will be taught the proper way to worship God in order for them to be ready for their final test before the end of the millennium.

.

WHAT???

[img:$uid]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWovdGs59MY/SvRnbxWYyFI/AAAAAAAABKA/f3biRdCQgAY/s400/doublefacepalm.jpg[/img:$uid]

Great picture

No, indeed. He's a musician, not my pastor.

No

When I look out of the window I see a church. Therefore no.

aiden said:

On facebook on the religion box I wrote "Prince". I love some of the most religious work he's put out including the rainbow children and Lovesexy but I do not follow any religion. The music is still awesome so I say let him worship a frog for all I care, as long as the music funky I don't give a duck.

I wrote that on my Facebook too

lol

teiemka said:

Prince is a musician not a lifestyle.

and the choir says Amen!

robinhood said:

SexOnAFunkyStick said:

Hell yes!

Following Prince's career for 30 years has made me painfully aware of the limits that religion imposes on the creative person.

i wonder if religion has that effect on all creative people?

I think it depends a lot on the religion and the individual.

Some people may find a following religion to be very liberating, but I think that Prince has found being a Witness stifling - he is drowning in a sea of guilt for all the 'crimes' he committed in his earlier life and career, and will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his actions.

The biggest crime imo, will be the fact that the rest of his life will be spent denying who and what he really is, and consequently subjecting us die-hard fans to sub-standard (by Prince's standards anyway) music.

I am steeling myself for the inevitable decline and fall of my love for the man and his music

vi0letblues said:

I came to love Prince's music despite his image, despite his antics, despite his strange sexuality and religious nonsense.

Prince, like most of the hardcore religious people I have ever known, as brilliant and talented as they are/were have delved into the deep end of religion as a form of overcompensating for the screw-ups in their lives, the screw-ups that they were. Prince and most of the religious hardcore preach about the negative aspects of who they were, what they have done and preach to everyone about the guilt they feel about what they have done. So its is like having your cake and eating it too. They always live in extremes.

Sure there are the mentally challenged that we must always watch out for, but most people can see, listen and appreciate his music and his art with a detached state of mind and saw him as a curiosity more than anything else as we wondered what the heck this strange talented little man is going on about without ever thinking they wanted like to join the fray. Not everyone is as easily manipulated or as easily corrupted as Prince was. We do not need to edit or censor ourselves or anyone else. Most of us are above that nonsense. Hearing him curse did not make me want to curse. THAT is Prince's major misconception. We just watched him carry on and entertain us and watched him make a fool of himself too sometimes. Fans do not all think alike or like him and we do not need someone preaching to us as we know dam well good from bad. And other than his music we never took him seriously then, and sure as hell are not going to start taking him seriously now.

Nobody holds it against him for being human and he shouldn't beat himself up and childishly resort to being ashamed of being a very talented human either.

[Edited 8/21/10 17:14pm]

LOL, I was just discussing this with my sister(who is a Christian, she thinks I'm crazy as she does NOT like Prince except Cream and When Doves Cry)

In some ways, YES!! I have been a believer for as long as I can remember, finding religion and Jesus at an early age on my own. And my faith lies in the Bible, and have been reluctant to actually talk to many people outside my church about scripture. However, most recently, I've wanted to talk to Prince about scripture and get a take on his views. To me, he isn't just a musician, he is an extremely amazing man, and knowing that he has such a strong faith in GOD makes me respect him more. And so I've listened to some of the things he's had to say and have actually started to really take them to heart. Most notably, I announced recently that I may not celebrate my birthday anymore. And that came straight from my hearing what Prince had to say about it. I do think that a certain person can influence one very much, depending on what you feel for that person. My mom and I are now discussing GOD more than usual, and she did say she would be most interested in hearing about Prince's beliefs, because his transformation is quite remarkable, though she isn't in love with him like I am!! lol Prince is a big influence on me I must admit. I totally admire and respect him as a musician and as a man!

[Edited 8/30/10 0:23am]

vi0letblues said:

I came to love Prince's music despite his image, despite his antics, despite his strange sexuality and religious nonsense.

Prince, like most of the hardcore religious people I have ever known, as brilliant and talented as they are/were have delved into the deep end of religion as a form of overcompensating for the screw-ups in their lives, the screw-ups that they were. Prince and most of the religious hardcore preach about the negative aspects of who they were, what they have done and preach to everyone about the guilt they feel about what they have done. So its is like having your cake and eating it too. They always live in extremes.

[Edited 8/21/10 17:14pm]

Prince doesn't seem to talk about the negatives too much. In fact, when asked about the past, he tends to refuse to talk about it and He likes to focus on the present and future. Faith isn't always based on negative shortcomings. Sometimes its based on LOVE and truth.

SexOnAFunkyStick said:

robinhood said:

i wonder if religion has that effect on all creative people?

I think it depends a lot on the religion and the individual.

Some people may find a following religion to be very liberating, but I think that Prince has found being a Witness stifling - he is drowning in a sea of guilt for all the 'crimes' he committed in his earlier life and career, and will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his actions.

The biggest crime imo, will be the fact that the rest of his life will be spent denying who and what he really is, and consequently subjecting us die-hard fans to sub-standard (by Prince's standards anyway) music.

I am steeling myself for the inevitable decline and fall of my love for the man and his music

What some people consider stiffling and chained is what others consider freedom! Just from a personal point of view, I lost alot of friend when I started going to church. My whole life and outlook changed. Big time!! Someone even said, I must be so miserable since I could no longer be myself.. Yet, I am SO happy! I am who I was meant to be, there is an inner peace you find. And that is freedom! Life isn't rosy, but it sure looks a lot brighter through the eyes of GOD!! For those that haven't reached that kind of euphora, you can't see Prince like I see him....I see him in the brightest of lights now. Alot of time, you put limits on yourself, yes, but it isn't as horrible as you think. Am I doing the right thing by listening to Prince's old, sexual music and enjoying it? Maybe! But that's ok, I still know I have a savior and I will always do my best to live a GODLY life, though I'll never be perfect....*listening to "Darling Nikki" as I write this*

[Edited 8/30/10 0:20am]

SexOnAFunkyStick said:

robinhood said:

i wonder if religion has that effect on all creative people?

I think it depends a lot on the religion and the individual.

Some people may find a following religion to be very liberating, but I think that Prince has found being a Witness stifling - he is drowning in a sea of guilt for all the 'crimes' he committed in his earlier life and career, and will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his actions.

The biggest crime imo, will be the fact that the rest of his life will be spent denying who and what he really is, and consequently subjecting us die-hard fans to sub-standard (by Prince's standards anyway) music.

I am steeling myself for the inevitable decline and fall of my love for the man and his music

"I think it depends a lot on the religion and the individual."

i agree - but something tells me prince will always find something to feel guilty about - then justify to make himself feel better - then rebel - then repent - then feel guilty - then justify - then rebel - then repent - or whatever cycle he keeps going through - we've seen it all so many times before...

if his 'religion' has caused his music to become dull then so be it i guess, although i'd hazard a guess that it's not just his religion that's responsible for the decline in the quality of his musical output...

SexOnAFunkyStick said:

robinhood said:

i wonder if religion has that effect on all creative people?

I think it depends a lot on the religion and the individual.

Some people may find a following religion to be very liberating, but I think that Prince has found being a Witness stifling - he is drowning in a sea of guilt for all the 'crimes' he committed in his earlier life and career, and will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for his actions.

The biggest crime imo, will be the fact that the rest of his life will be spent denying who and what he really is, and consequently subjecting us die-hard fans to sub-standard (by Prince's standards anyway) music.

I am steeling myself for the inevitable decline and fall of my love for the man and his music

I think another possibility was that his conversion was a rebirth, and he's still growing into his new life. I don't know if born-again time runs the same as regular time, but if so, he's like elementary-school age right now and some really good music is yet to...come. YES

Prince has not affected my views on God nor religion not even a wee bit. His arms are too short to box with my God.

No