catholicsphere

This month’s Rolling Stone magazine features rapper Kanye West on the cover, with a crown of thorns on his head, scratches and blood on his face. The cover story: The Passion of Kanye West.

NewsMax.com reports that Christians are furious over the cover. And rightly so! The story reports that Kanye’s “Passion” is pornography.

Carl Olson over at Ignatius Insight takes this on too …. probably more eloquently than I will …

But, for all the controversy its stirring up … this is precisely what West seems to be saying by the photo. He’s playing the victim … the martyr. Because he’s making a name for himself by saying unpopular things, he — and I think he actually believes this — thinks himself a modern day Jesus.

Far from it, Mr. West.

He believes that “Christians” are persecuting him, so he’ll use Christ against them … and try to show the world what he thinks is hypocrisy. It’ll get him alot of mileage from the audiences … it’ll get him on the cover of Rolling Stone … it’ll get him onto radio stations, MTV, and news outlets … and it’ll get the bloggers talking about him … Perhaps all part of a master plan …

West may think there’s no hope for him, as he expresses in his song “Jesus Walks”:

I want to talk to God but I’m afraid because we ain’t spoke in so long

But, there are some flashes… (from the same song)

To the hustlas, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(jesus walks with them)
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(jesus walks with them)
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary
Cuz we’re the almost nearly extinct
We rappers are role models we rap we don’t think
I ain’t here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I’m just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that’s the way yall need Jesus
So here go my single dog radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes
But if I talk about God my record won’t get played Huh?
Well let this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I’m dreaming about
Next time I’m in the club everybody screaming out

If only he actually believed it …