WHY DID WHITNEY HOUSTON DIE? (3)

'Now what? Is drug addiction demonic? Is involvement of the occult in the entertainment industry the trigger? Or is it a pathological or psychological problem resulting from inability to handle the fame that comes with success; which then results in its victims, in hallucination, seeing demons where there is none?'

Her funeral was styled “Celebrating the life of Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012) – A Child of God.”

She was born and largely raised by Cissy Houston, a gospel singer with a heart for God. We have quoted one Ra Imhotep in of the many writings, by many people about her as recalling, how “she started out in the choir, had the song ‘Guide Me O Jehova’ as her first solo performance, became ‘one of the few entertainers who got a record deal, because of her true talent and not because of connections and affiliations that she had’ and thus ‘paved the way, with her voice and image, for many diva’s that would come after her…”

We have read former Charisma editor, J Lee Grady’s assertion that: ”Anyone who has listened to Whitney Houston’s rendition of ‘I Love the Lord’—or who saw her perform with CeCe Winans and Shirley Caesar at the 1996 Grammy Awards—knows she had an incomparable voice best suited for gospel music.”

It is incontrovertible, then, that Whitney started out and, for the most part, lived her life, as a child of God. But did she end up as one? We may never know for sure while the Lord still tarries, but I personally take comfort in a statement by Lee Grady quoted last time from his Fire In My Bones column of Wednesday, February 15 titled, “Whitney Houston and the Silent Shame of Addiction.” He wrote that Whitney died “… just two days after she sang an impromptu version of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ at a Hollywood nightclub. I’d like to believe it was a feeble cry to the God of her childhood.”

As we have been saying these past two weeks, however, many more questions remained “un-interred with her body”. They include, “why she had to die at a mere 48…why her life took a sudden dive for the worse right at the peak of her career…why she became associated with crack, cocaine and prescription drugs, such that all speculations about her death hover around drugs...?”

In finding answers, we have seen that there is a school of thought which holds that she was a victim of witchcraft, because, the entertainment industry in the United States is in the vice-grip of satan. Imhotep’s in his article referred to earlier was emphatic that “the music industry is a cult and once one gets a record deal they are now an initiate and are a part of the cult for life. Whitney Houston was no exception to this rule and she took the oath back in the 70’s. Once the oath is pledged you become the property of the record labels and the machines and you can NEVER retire. The only way out of the game is death…”

On the other hand, there was Lee Grady, who fingered addiction to hard drugs, which he described as her ‘personal demon’, as the problem. He implied that this might have resulted from her choice of a “broader path” rather than stay with gospel music, which, according to him her “incomparable voice (was) best suited for”, may not have helped matters.   

That broader path led her to make a pop album, which became the all-time best-selling debut album by a female in the 1980s and made her America’s diva, says Grady. That worldly success, however, did nothing, in Grady’s words to “help her overcome her personal demons.” The result was that by the 1990s, she had become so addicted to cocaine that she took it everyday! According to Grady, three stints in drug rehab over a period of eight years did not help Whitney. Neither did the prayer of “Christians in the music industry.”  

Grady lifted the discussion somewhat, when he pointedly wrote: “Let’s not kid ourselves. Whitney Houston was not the only person who talked about Jesus yet struggled privately with illegal drugs. I frequently meet men and women at church altars who have never found the strength to kick their habit. I even know of pastors, youth leaders and worship leaders who live double lives—hiding their addiction under the cloak of Sunday morning religion. They hide because they’re afraid they’ll be shunned or shamed if they ever admit their problem to anybody.”

He continued: “What we need is less judgment and more transparency about this problem. Drugs, including alcohol, are harsh taskmasters. Crack and crystal meth are impossible to overcome apart from serious intervention. Once a person’s brain is altered by these substances, he or she needs a miracle. Telling them to ‘Just say no’ is not going to cut it. But we can’t pretend people are OK when they are hooked on drugs. If the addiction continues, they are likely to end up dead”

 If all of these makes Grady’s diagnosis of the problem seems psychological, as in choice of a broader path; using her gospel music suited voice for pop, and not being able to handle the fame that accompanied her success, he went a bit further: “I agree with Cissy Houston that Satan was involved in Whitney’s sad journey. Hell is directly connected to every crack deal ever made.”

Juxtapose that last bit against Imhotep’s recollection of Tina, Bobby Brown’s sister’s statement about Whitney. She was quoted as saying: “Whitney hallucinates and sees demons when she’s high; she bites and beats herself black-and-blue but blames the devil for the injuries.” According to Imhotep, Tina goes on to say that,  Houston sees ‘demons’ everywhere she goes, and beats herself up while saying “The Devil be hitting me.” Tina claimed that drugs have made Whitney so paranoid she sees evil apparitions and once drilled a spy-hole in her bathroom to look for “demons.” She said: “She’ll point to the floor and say, ‘See that demon. I’m telling you somebody’s messing with Bobby.’ She always thinks it’s something to do with Bobby.” She added: “She breaks everything – mirrors, phones, cabinets, appliances.” 

Now what? Is drug addiction demonic? Is involvement of the occult in the entertainment industry the trigger? Or is it a pathological or psychological problem resulting from inability to handle the fame that comes with success; which then results in its victims, in hallucination, seeing demons where there is none?  (TO BE CONCLUDED)