Begin Again

Now that my tank of 'righteousness' is full, all my rants about Christianity, faith and beliefs can finally go up to the surface - and I think it's so much better than my opinion about Twilight, right?

So my brother in law sent me this link about a girl's testimonial. She claimed that God brought her to heaven and hell, and how she saw MJ, Selina (a dancer, apparently), and a pope in hell. She was also brought to heaven where she met Moses, Abraham, Joshua, Mary Magdalena, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and how they all looked so young and beautiful and full of glory. In her testimonial, God told her to spread the fact that heaven is real, and so does hell. He also told her to warn all the believers to turn around from their sins and go back to the right path.

It was also mentioned that when you listen to MJ's songs, you're on your way to the hell.
I was about to broadcast the link to all my contacts in blackberry but then I accidentally deleted the link and later on I was told that this girl asked for donation at the end of her testimonial. Now I don't want to be judgmental but I think we believers should stop doing that. Asking for donation right after sharing a testimony. It's just how people see you, and they will judge you, and they won't believe you.

Another thing is, about the songs... I have to admit, I'm a fan of MJ and I've got like a lot of his songs on my iTunes. And when I read the testimonial, I felt a bit weird about that part. I mean, it's true MJ might sold his soul for fame, I can't be sure, but to claim that listening to Earth Song equals walking straight to hell is just.. weird.

She also said the same thing about watching TV shows.

Now I'm not saying the girl was lying. It might be the truth. But there's also a chance that she's lying. Personally, I think, it's safe to listen to some 'worldly' songs. As long as you're not addicted to it, or bound by it, or causing you to commit sins.

I think the main principle is as written in Matthew 18:8-9:
 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

So if something - it could be anything - starts to control you or stir you up to sin against God, and you let it happen, then you're on your way to hell, for sure. And of course there are songs that really are sinful, such as Lady Gaga's Judas - no, it's not art - or all her other songs. And here's why the lyrics of a song is very important, IMO. Because when you keep on repeating words or sentences, in one way or another, you'll start to believe in it, and you'll remember it, and sometimes, subconsciously, you'll live your life according to those words. And it's bad.

And I do agree that media nowadays is teaching all the wrong things. I mean, a guy like Barney Stinson doesn't exist. There's no way a guy that shallow - and mean and smart - could be sweet, monogamous and romantic as well. Nope. And it's not okay to sleep with different women every single night. STD is the real thing. There's no swag in that. So, just.. realize that what you see/listen is not always true.

But hey, I could be wrong. This is how I interpret the Gospel, and how it's related to music/showbiz nowadays.

Most importantly, it doesn't matter if the girl was lying or telling the truth. Because that doesn't make Heaven and Hell any less real. Heaven is real. And so does hell. That's the truth.
In this world of freedom where people are all about YOLO, and I-just-wanna-have-fun, and this-is-me-I'm-born-this-way, and I-can-believe-in-anything-except-for-religion, just take a little time and think about this: if fairies, ghosts, witchcraft and voodoo are believable, why shouldn't God be?

PS. Btw, have you heard of Taylor Swift's Begin Again? It's pretty good!