Prince Rogers Nelson, known as “Prince,” passed away on Thursday (April
21). The world is mourning his death, as well as celebrating his life
and music.
Many were influenced by Prince’s music and feel as though it was a staple of their years growing up.
In a blog post
for Pastor John Piper’s Desiring God website, Jon Bloom recalls,
“Prince sang on the soundtrack of my high school years. I can still see
right where I was sitting in Wayzata High School’s cafeteria during
sixth-period study hall listening to Prince’s '1999' blasting on
cassette from someone’s boom box a few tables away.”
Thousands others shared similar stories of how influential the genre and gender-bending artist was on their lives.
Though most Christians acknowledge that Prince’s music was often
sexually explicit and not something they would necessarily encourage
others to listen to, they also acknowledge that it had a profound impact
on their lives.
And so did news of his death.
Christian blogger Denny Burk says that news of Prince’s death “was like a punch in the gut for me.”
Prince was an enigma to many. He was known for his bold music and stage
personality, but was also known for being reserved and even shy.
He bent the normal rules of music, making it difficult for his music to be categorized.
His performance at the 2007 Super Bowl was memorable to many. When he
played his song “Purple Rain” at the event, it actually rained.
Over the years, Prince changed his religious views. Although his albums
were targeted by Tipper Gore in her campaign to get the music industry
to label albums that contained explicit content, Prince later stopped
using profanity at all in his music.
Christian Today even notes that many of Prince's lyrics have Christian themes.
Raised as a Seventh Day Adventist, Prince later became a Jehovah’s
Witness, according to Bloom, and spoke openly about his faith.
Only God knows what Prince’s true beliefs were, but Burk says he hopes
the singer’s last thoughts echoed lyrics from his song, “The Cross,”
which says, “Don’t die without knowing the cross.”
Prince was 57 when he died. The cause of his death is still being investigated.
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