Kanye West has created quite the buzz recently. The rapper, whose music history includes songs such as “I Am a God” and comparing himself to God and Christ, seems to have undergone a radical conversion. Christians and non-Christians are dumbstruck as Kanye has started featuring sermons at his concerts, attending church regularly, and recently releasing an album called “Jesus Is King.” So is his new album as Christ-honoring as the title? How should we, as Christians, respond to all of this?
Thoughts on the album
Musical taste is subjective. Some may or may not like the mix of hip hop and traditional gospel sounds in this album. However, we can objectively look at musical content and examine whether it holds a Christ-honoring worldview, or one that appeals to our flesh. To the shock of many, “Jesus Is King” doesn’t fail to deliver Kanye’s loving, honest understanding of Christ.
The best way I can explain the entirety of the album is “It’s like listening to a new Christian excitedly talk about their testimony and what Jesus means to them.” The theology isn’t deep or complicated, but each song seems to be Kanye’s honest thoughts about the supremacy of Christ. It’s truly like listening to a new believer try to articulate the beauty of their new Savior.
While listening to the full album, I never had any red flags go off. I may not agree with how everything was said, but I suspect that if Kanye were to sit and explain his lyrics then there would be little to disagree with. Some may disagree with certain doctrinal understandings (like Sunday Sabatarianism), but nothing he says seems to fall outside traditional Christian belief.
Truly, each song is dedicated to pointing to Christ in the most honest way Kanye West seems to know. If only to hear Kanye West’s musical testimony, I think the album is worth listening to.
Thoughts on Kanye’s conversion
I’ll admit I was doubtful when I first heard that Kanye had become a Christian. After all, many people claim to have some form of spirituality, and Christianity is a default for many. However, most people who claim Christianity follow some form of heretical teaching, whether they treat God like a cosmic vending machine through the Prosperity Gospel or just use Him as an emotional support animal with Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, there’s a reason many are skeptical when a celebrity starts flying the Christian flag.
We see this in politics too. Especially in the Republican world, there is a strategic advantage to claiming to be a Chrisitan. Perhaps they think they are Christians and, based on the fruit they produce, will be those who say “Lord, lord” when they stand before Christ. However, from what we see it becomes apparent that many claim Christianity as a method of political manipulation.
Yet from all evidence, Kanye West is under no such delusion or deception. The sermons given at his concerts, the church he attends, and the things he says are all pointing to someone who is truly hoping to learn more about the truth of Christ. He even said that he won’t perform his old “worldly” music, and any previous material he performs will be rewritten.
Everything we see of Kanye is slowly torpedoing his career, rather than trying to appeal to people or feel good about himself. His fruits seem to be those that a new, genuine believer would produce through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside them.
It’s unfortunate, then, that Kanye felt the need to write the song “Hands On,” which includes lyrics like this:
Change, he ain’t really different
He ain’t even try to get permission
Ask for advice and they dissed him
Said I’m finna do a gospel album
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me
Kanye has come under harsh criticism from the Christian community. People point to his previous albums and say there’s no way someone could write things like that and be a Christian. They look at his prideful boasts as he compared himself to Christ, calling himself “Yeezus,” and insist his conversion is false.
Yet we so quickly forget that God doesn’t save people who clean themselves up. He saves those people who are utterly broken and know they need a Savior. If God only saved those whose lives were worth saving, we’d all get what we deserved (and none of us would get an eternity with God).
We forget the wonderful testimonies of drug dealers, murderers, and thieves whose lives were radically changed by Jesus Christ. Indeed, people in the Bible like Zacheus and Paul show the life-changing power of the gospel. God receives glory through every soul He has mercy on, but it becomes most apparent when He saves and transforms those people who are mostly unlikely to receive His grace.
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:19)
Of course, the reason we are often skeptical of public conversions like Kanye’s is because of its potential to make a mockery of Christianity. The music world is no stranger to someone seeming to undergo a radical conversion, diving into Christianity, then realizing that they have cooled to it once the emotional high has worn off and their faith was truly tested in some way.
Could this be the fate of Kanye? Perhaps, but it could also be the end of any of our stories. As followers of Christ, it’s not up to us to declare whether someone has been redeemed by the blood of Christ. All we can do is see whether the fruits a person produces genuinely seem to come from a soul that belongs to Christ. If so, then what can we do but love them as a fellow believer?
As we look at Kanye, we can’t look at his old ways and say “Aha, look at this sinner!” any more than we’d want others to do the same for us. We’ve all lived as enemies of God, and indeed even those of us who belong to Christ still have areas of our lives where we elevate ourselves over Him. All we can do is give Kanye West as much grace as we want from others. There’s no question that he will have times of trials and failures, but if he is Christ’s then we will continue to see a pattern of someone who’s heart is slowly being changed to be more and more like the Savior.
