Faith and the Jonas Brothers
Joanne Brokaw blogged about the Jonas Brothers’ growing commercial empire and their Christianity on Sept. 5.
Brokaw’s “Five Things I Hate About the Jonas Brothers” posting on Beliefnet.com’s Gospel Soundcheck blog, apparently drew the wrath of their many fans, who she said bombarded her with their angry responses.
In her post on Tuesday, “Five Things I Learned From Jonas Brothers’ Fans,” she shares her thoughts about fans’ displeasure.
Her musings about the Jonas Brothers’ Christianity (If you haven’t heard the latest news about the brothers and the purity rings they wear, check out Monday’s Religion and Values posting) are very interesting.
Here’s a sampling:
“And the last thing I hate is that their heart throb, teen idol status sends mixed messages about their stance on purity. I love that the guys wear purity rings and I believe they believe in what the rings stand for. But when you see them posing seductively on the cover of Rolling Stone (really, who thought that was cute?) and talking about their first kiss in Tiger Beat (or Bop or PopStar or whatever teen magazine you pick up), without an explanation of what purity really means, there’s the danger that what they share with their peers is simply a message that says, “Wear a purity ring but still be consumed with lusting after hot guys.’”
Read both her blogs by clicking on the titles above and see what you think. And look for more on the subject in The Oklahoman’s Religion Section on Saturday.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Championing the Jonas Brothers’ purity stance
The Jonas Brothers’ stance on purity — they wear purity rings to symbolize their decision not to have premarital sex — was mocked at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, but the popular trio was championed by a fellow singer.
Awards show host Russell Brand, a Brit of dubious character (that’s my opinion, judging from reports of his tasteless comments about everything from the Jonas Brothers (pictured at left: Kevin, Nick and Joe) to President Bush), made fun of the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings several times during the show, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.
Brand struck a nerve with Jordin Sparks, best known as last year’s “American Idol” winner.
Sparks (pictured below), who also wears a purity ring, championed the Jonas Brothers when she took the stage to present an award.
“I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?,” Sparks reportedly quipped.
My guess is that MTV chose Brand to provide a little spice to the award show. After all it’s known for outrageous spectacles a la the Britney Spears/Madonna kiss, etc.
The Associated Press reported that Brand “happy to apologize for any hurt feelings, but only to such a degree.”
Apparently after the show he told an AP reporter “I feel a bit bad that I kept talking about their vows to chastity and I’d like to take this opportunity to say no one ever have sex again. It’s a mad idea. What a way to spend an evening.”
I’ don’t know if Brand had any fans in America, but I do know that the Jonas Brothers have scores of them. Methinks Brand didn’t win any of them with his mockery of brothers Joe, Nick and Kevin and their stance on purity, based on their Christian faith beliefs.
What do you think about host’s jabs at the brother’s stance for purity?
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
