Yes. When celebrities donate to charity, they can call attention to a problem that most people don’t don’t know about. Most of the time, it’s just to get their name in the papers.
Like Paul Newman, Michael donated to charity quietly, not to call attention to himself or to pat himself on the back, but to make the world a better place.
He suffered so much in his lifetime, abuse from his father and from the media. Now he’s free from pain and dancing in heaven with Gene Kelly, Ray Bolger and Mr. Bojangles.

Just as Tony says he’d “look askance at any religious leader who would answer that with any degree of certainty,” I’d look askance at any human talking about a defined heaven in general.
So many religious persons have an obsessive focus on the afterlife, as the Daily Beast article illustrates. Strict ideas of heaven and hell only serve to feed the linear, dualistic, good/bad, in/out, us/them mentality that has, in my opinion, only served to divide humanity while on this earth.
The whole question of ‘who is where’ is a silly waste of time. But hey, it is a good distraction from the present and from our own lives.

is a decision that is way above my paygrade, and everybody’s except of course God. Let’s focus on sharing the gospel through or attitudes, words and actions. Let’s be the paramedics on the scene and not the policeman, or the judge.

Jesus seemed to have an obsession with the afterlife:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
(John 14:1-4)
Tony, like usual, you don’t give an answer. Everybody doesn’t go to heaven Tony. Just doesn’t work that way. Check “the Protestant Bible” to see more about this.

I like your quote Tony and I would go a step further to say that God not only Pities “troubled people” but the Bible shows he works through them.

Jason said it best, “Michael was lost and was searching…” that is a very sad epitaph. My prayer is that every and anyone who is lost finds God through Jesus Christ and finds peace,hope, joy etc on this earth and the afterlife.

Brian,
I think Jesus had/has an obsession with the present . . . with the way of Christ now. The Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. Not a far off fantasy or something to make us sigh with relief because “we’re saved and now if we could just get everyone in the world to think exactly like us”. That doesn’t make sense to me coming from a wise prophet. But, I believe the Bible to be a book of beautiful stories, based in truth, meant to teach us a way of life, not a literal history.

Tony follows the emergence, postmodern mantra by refusing to be absolutely clear about his answer, manifest scorn for those who dare to comment on the issue with any degree of certainty, and, of course, make sure to make a hint at universalism.
Way to follow the party line, Tony.
Repent and surrender to the real Christ while He is being gracious.

Jason,
Don’t you mean while *you* are being gracious?
When does God cease to be gracious?

CP,
Do you blog somewhere? i ask because i’d become an ardent reader! i really enjoy the perspectives you present in your comments on this post like:
1. ‘But, I believe the Bible to be a book of beautiful stories, based in truth, meant to teach us a way of life, not a literal history.’ i am gonna quote you on my blog sometime! i dig this and really resonate with what you are saying! THANK YOU for your succinct way of explaining this!
2. ‘The Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. Not a far off fantasy or something to make us sigh with relief because “we’re saved and now if we could just get everyone in the world to think exactly like us”.’ This is how i used to believe and do not any longer. i get called a heretic all the time!
3. ‘Strict ideas of heaven and hell only serve to feed the linear, dualistic, good/bad, in/out, us/them mentality that has, in my opinion, only served to divide humanity while on this earth.
The whole question of ‘who is where’ is a silly waste of time. But hey, it is a good distraction from the present and from our own lives.’ i couldn’t agree more and like how you say this. We as humans like to look at distractions rather than waste precious time on our own lives!
Warmest Regards,
EP

The one sure proof of Michael Jackson being in Heaven would be lines of souls waiting to get into Hell.

Is Michael Jackson in heaven? I believe this was entirely up to Michael Jackson. How did MJ value the gospel of Jesus Christ in his heart, mind, and soul? Did MJ have a correctly appropriated relationship with Jesus Christ? Did MJ accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and the Lord of His life? I think the fruit (products) of the Holy Spirit working inside the person at question is a determining factor for others’ discernment of whether the person was a true believer (separated from the world’s opinions in order to turn to, trust in, and rely upon the resurrected Jesus Christ and His principles found in His Word, the Holy {Christian} Bible) or not. Other’s witness these things in a believer’s life. We all sin, however with a non-believer sin [rebellion against the will and purpose of (from) God concerning oneself and others] is the rule and not the exception in one’s life. With a believer, sin [rebellion against the will and purposes of (from) God concerning oneself and others] is the exception and not the rule in his or her life. I think you can look at MJ’s life overall and get a pretty good idea of whether or not he esteemed Jesus of Nazareth as being the Christ of (from) God. Do I know personally whether MJ is in heaven. No, I don’t. Since Christ (Jesus Christ, the Messiah) wants all people to come to Him for the gift of salvation during their lifetimes on an individual basis at some point before they die, I can’t personally say whether Michael J. ever made that sincere decision which would turn his life around from it’s previous state of self destruction. I don’t think anyone can but Jesus, Michael, and the others present in heaven….(and they don’t tell me) know the answer to this question right now. The answer is in the Bible and primarily in the New Testament (God’s new agreement with mankind). In short, did Michel Jackson yield to the slight inclination of (from) the Holy Sprit of Jesus Christ to follow His instructions? In other words, did Michael Jackson ever receive the faith God gives to all Christians in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, in the role He so righteously deserves by way of God’s merciful grace? I think these are some questions we all can think about not only towards the life of Micheal Jackson, but towards our own self. Thank you.

While I am sure that Tony is convinced of his non-opinion opinion, Jesus was quick to provide one to Nicodemus. Notice the nasty, non-inclusive choice of words that the Lord Jesus Christ used in answering a similar query. “EXCEPT” a man be born again he CANNOT enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus doesn’t appear to be overly cooperative in the efforts of some to adapt to culture and be less exclusionary. That said, until one of the leaders of the emergent church dies and rises again 3 days later…I will trust and proclaim the direct teaching of Jesus Christ.

Jonathan,
All I’ll say is that what you probably assume is a “plain” reading of scripture suggests you misunderstand much of what you read. You have to read the passages in their original literary/cultural context to hear them correctly. And, to that end, I’d say that in the above comment you’re both misunderstanding what it means to be “born again” and what the expression “Kingdom of Heaven” means. I’d suggest you read some N.T. Wright for a primer. Ultimate disembodied bliss was not the aim that Jesus was on about. The challenge for you is, because you’ve been told to read the Bible like that, for so long now, the correct interpretation – again, based on the original context – would actually “wrong” to you. The question is: can you die to your reading of these passages if it can be shown to do injustice to the original intent of the writers?

Thank you for your kind response Darren.
If you don’t mind, for my edification, could you possibly share with me your understanding of what Jesus meant by his statements John 3:3? (I am particularly interested in your understanding of what it means to be “born again”.)
One other item of interest to me is that you place a great emphasis on the original literary/cultural context (Jewish) of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus. I find it interesting that someone who had a much greater (first hand) understanding of the Jewish Literary/cultural context (Nicodemus)did not understand the words of Jesus. While I agree that context both cultural and literary is important, the words of Jesus here, taken together with the totality of the NT scripture (especially Romans and other Pauline epistles)seem to suggest the need for a radical new birth much like what Paul describes in Eph 2 and other places. (from a life dead in sin…to a life made alive in Christ)
Blessings…

Folks, Michael Jackson was raised a Jehvoah Witness. He never accept Jesus as his Lord and savior. Not even on his death bed. Just because Michael did the sabbath, does not mean a thing. His childern Never even went to school. He never entered a church.
And a child molester? in heaven, no way. A man who thought nothing of it having boys in the same bed with him. And his childern slept in the same bed too. He paid these childern millions to shut up so the, court molester charges would go away.

As a left-leaning evangelical Christian disgusted with the Religious Right, I used to scoff at anyone who thought that Emergents like Tony Jones, Spencer Burke and others were universalists in disguise.
Turns out, I was wrong about the “disguise” part.

This post asked the wrong question, “Is Michael Jackson in heaven?”
A plain reading of scripture indicates what we are to passionately pray for, “Your kingdom, your will, your justice be done right down here in our messy lives on earth as it is being done in heaven.”
A better question, “In what ways did God work through Michael’s life to bring the kingdom, the will, the justice of God to this planet?”
Stop asking the “up” questions.
Start asking the “down” questions.
Biblical faith is a “down” religion where God “comes to us”
Pseudo-biblical faith is “up” regilion where we figure out how to get “up to” where God is

hey there…let us not debate on the matter whether michael jackson is in heaven or not. Only God know everthing. God looks on our heart, he even knows what is in everybodys hearts, including MJ..Stop being too judgemental. anyways, there was none of us who could tell us whether he or she is in heaven or hell, after death. no one goes back to life after he died, isnt it? So leave MJ alone and focus on our own lives, let God be the judge for him. but i truly believe he is a good person and there is a God in his life. He was just misunderstood. Like MJ said, make this world a better place, & i believe we could start, if we are less judgemental. WHats wrong with being a Jehovah’s witness? Religion cannot save us. Let us always remember that Jesus come for the sinners not for the righteous ones. And lastly, God is a loving, merciful and forgiving God.

Michael did confess Jesus Christ three weeks before his death. Please get your facts straight.

I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion. Apparently being rich, talented, and famous is not only enough to push you to the forefront of world events, it also makes you the centerpiece of faith and theology as well. I saw very little to “celebrate” in his life, aside from his entertainment achievements. He was clearly a sad, wandering and tragic individual. The best religious lesson we can take from his life is to not be like him, and to not let fame/fortune cloud our discernment of human beings.

And let me add to all of you who seem to “know” if someone is/isn’t qualified for heaven. Jesus can say who is/is not in heaven. But I’m not Jesus. I think we have a far greater probability to identify who IS in heaven than who is not. But at the end of the day, such judgments by human beings are opinions. They are not and cannot be definitive.
So why are we even trying to find an “answer” to this question?

It takes more than just believing there is a God to secure your salvation. The bible says that even the demons in hell believe there is a God, and yet, they will not be saved. The answer is in Romans 10:9-10 which says: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Salvation comes through believing that Jesus is the Son of God and confessing Him as Lord and Savior, of your life. So if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sins and rose again, you can know for sure that you’ll go to heaven. If you pray this Prayer and mean it with your heart, you will be saved and know that you have eternal life. PRAY THIS PRAYER: “GOD IN HEAVEN, I KNOW I’M A SINNER AND I NEED YOUR HELP. I BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT JESUS CHRIST IS YOUR SON, THAT HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS AND GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. JESUS, RIGHT NOW I OPEN MY HEART AND INVITE YOU TO COME IN. MAKE YOURSELF REAL TO ME. TAKE CONTROL OF MY LIFE. KEEP ME FROM EVIL AND MAKE ME THE PERSON YOU WANT ME TO BE. BE MY LORD AND SAVIOR. AMEN” PRAISE GOD, JESUS

I just thought the article above had an interesting perspective on prayer.

Where are you getting your facts? How does anyone know that Michael Jackson did confess Jesus Christ before his death? If he did that is great news. How can we be sure?

I don’t think Michael Jackson was saved. I do think that he was a “good person”, but not saved. Who knows, he might have been, but not definitive.