Kanye West Poses As Jesus on Rolling Stone Cover Religion or Rebellion?

Rolling Stone - February, 2006 issue - featuring Kanye West
Courtesy of Rolling Stone
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When controversial rapper Kanye West posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine as Jesus, many people were shocked and dismayed, but few were surprised. West is, after all, no stranger to controversy.

Let's take a brief look back at some of the highlights of the Kanye West story and see if this is about raising awareness of issues or raising awareness of Kanye himself ... 

"Jesus Walks" - at first glance, it looked like the man was trying to take his faith to the streets. The story behind the song was perfect. "They" said you can rap about sex, drugs and violence but you can't rap about Jesus and get radio airplay - so he set out to prove them wrong. However, once he won a Grammy for the song, it seems like Jesus got the boot. In his acceptance speech for winning he said, "I plan to celebrate and scream and pop Champagne every chance I get because I'M AT THE GRAMMYS, BABY!" 

2004 American Music Awards - When he didn't win the Breakthrough New Artist of the year award, he pitched a well-publicized temper-tantrum, saying, "I feel I was definitely robbed. I was the best new artist this year. I don't know if I'll be back at this award show next year." He then tore into Wilson's music backstage, labelling it "bulls**t". Apparently it was too much to bear for a man who feels as if he's "carrying the whole of hip-hop itself, the state of music too," to not get recognized as the Saviour of the genre' that he sees himself as. 

The AIDS virus - On July 2, 2005, West appeared on the Philadelphia end of Live 8, using the global platform to comment on "man-made diseases placed in African communities," endorsing the idea that AIDS was created by the U.S. government to exterminate Africans. The funny thing here is that regardless of where I looked, I didn't find anywhere that even mentions that Kanye West has donated a penny of his money or a moment of his time to help fight the AIDS epidemic. 

Political Insensitivity - While at Live 8, West also accused American politicians of insensitivity, claiming they "...ride home in their Benzes and Bentleys while poor Africans starve." Apparently he feels more like an American politician than anything else because he isn't exactly riding in a Pinto or taking the bus. Then there is the reproduction of the Sistine Chapel ceiling that he reportedly has in his dining room. I'm betting that the money he spent on that could have fed more than a handful of families. 

Racism and President Bush - No one on the planet will ever forget West's response to Hurricane Katrina. Did he ...

Donate $25,000 and host a radio show asking for others to donate like Fat Joe? 
Donate $50,000 and host a different radio show to raise money for survivors like T.I.? 
Form his own charity to sponsor events to raise money as well as donating his own like Master P? 
Donate a half a million dollars to relief efforts like Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs? 

No - he simply announced that "George W. Bush doesn't like black people" on the NBC Concert for Hurricane Katrina. 

After a career more centered on controversy than talent, posing as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone was just more of the same. 

Some fans have come to his defense, claiming that he was trying to re-emphasize his religion. That might have been believable had the article itself gone into how great having Jesus as his Saviour has been, instead of how great Kanye West thinks that Kanye West is. If this was about faith, you would think that he would have mentioned it.

Other fans have come to his defense, claiming that this is simply a racial issue and if it were someone like Brad Pitt as Jesus, no one would have a problem with it. It wouldn't matter if the person on the cover were pink, purple or polka-dotted. Posing as the Saviour of mankind to sell magazines is wrong no matter what the color of your skin is.

When I saw the cover, I was outraged. My first thoughts were, "How dare he!" and "Who does he think he is?" Jesus is more to me than just the central figure of Christianity. He's my personal Saviour. The one who died for my sins. The magazine cover mocked that and was a slap in the face to me as a Christian. 

I immediately started contacting Christian and Gospel artists, Pastors and others in Christian leadership. Much to my dismay, while several people out of the 50+ that I contacted were willing to comment "off the record," calling the magazine cover everything from "heresy" to "offensive" to "blasphemy," only five people were willing to comment on the record. This was as hurtful to me as the magazine cover itself. Upon examining my reaction, I found myself in a situation of not "practicing what I was preaching." I had taken the line between shepherd and flock and turned it into "those with opinions who matter" and "those who don't." The reality is that we all matter. Just because I don't lead a 10,000+ member church doesn't mean that my voice is any less important than someone who does.

We, as Christians, are quick to complain amongst ourselves that making fun of our religion is a popular past-time. Yet we sit quietly by while people do it - keeping our mouths shut so we don't sound "too Christian" or fanatical. While I don't condone violence or riots at all, I think it's well past high-time that we start to speak up. God gave us voices - yet we won't use them. We are much like the watchmen in Isaiah 56:10-11 - "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter."

The five artists and industry professionals that spoke out all did so knowing that they could draw fire for their comments. They all realize that standing on your own convictions can make you unpopular to some, yet they're all willing to be unpopular in order to be true to themselves. I respect that immensely. 

Micah Stampley
Micah Stampley, winner of the 2004 Stellar Award Talent Search and 2006 Stellar Award nominee for New Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year said ... 

Like many of those whom you have contacted concerning this matter, I am totally thrown off at his attempt to portray himself as my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am also outraged by the failure and refusal of those Christians of influence to take a stand on a matter that is offensive to our faith. In my opinion, this young man feels that he is superior to his peers and surroundings and to depict himself as Jesus Christ is proof of that. Kanye has a level of pride that is unique, it's frightening! It reminds me of when Lucifer tried to exalt himself above the throne of God as we read about in the scripture. As a result God cast him down along with all the angels that agreed and followed him. After he (Satan) was kicked out of heaven, the bible described him as the fallen star. Here is what I mean by this reference; Kanye West may be a shining star right now but when you try to exalt yourself as Jesus, you open up to being the next falling star and all those that follow and support are in position to be cast down as well. Let this be a lesson learned just because someone uses the name of Jesus Christ it does not mean they stand for what His name represents.

Heidi Stampley
Heidi Stampley, wife and manager of Micah Stampley said ... 

As a Christian involved and associated with the music industry I am appalled. It is amazing to see how the great success and ministry that came out of the "Passion of the Christ" has been disgraced in an attempt to draw more attention to this magazine and the artist (Kanye) that was used. Personally Kanye never offered a real symbolism of what Christianity is about. His song "Jesus Walks," in my opinion, was not at all a song that brought glory to the name of Jesus, instead it took the name, character and nature of Jesus in vain and was offensive to those that discerned a greater agenda. I guess now we all see it never really was about Jesus and his (Kanye) great need for him but it was to make a statement. If he really had a sincere conviction or reverence for Jesus, he would have never agreed to such a outrageous depiction of Him. This song offered no real life changing value. It received more attention by Christians simply because the name of Jesus was used. Saying the name of Jesus should have more weight and be less surface to the true believers; those whose personal relationship is that of a life that does bring glory and praise to his name. Kanye West, although he has capitalized on the name of Jesus without the power or conviction associated with His name; will never know the real power and the weight of what he is doing, until a Christian is real with Him and shares the truth of Jesus in a way that matters. At this rate, without some direction and divine intervention his grandiose behavior will only increase and God only knows what he will do next. It's really not about Kanye. When are the real believers and soldiers that say they are in the army of the Lord, going to stand up for the Jesus that they profess!?! This is a War Cry!

Brian Jones - Road to Revelation
Brian Jones, lead guitarist and co-founder of Road to Revelation (as well as my husband and partner in ministry) said ... 

I have to say as a Christian and as someone who is serving in music ministry that I am greatly offended by the cover of Rolling Stones latest issue with Kanye West portraying himself as Christ. I think this was a tasteless play to gain more media coverage for him and Rolling Stone and after reading the article itself I found no mention of Jesus anywhere in there except as a mention of the awards he won for "Jesus Walks." Of course, there were numerous mentions of how he thinks he should win every award out there. I find myself running a gambit of emotions here.... anger, disappointment and pity. I'm angry that this young man would even begin to set himself up as Christ because, based on his article and his past media outbursts, I doubt he has ever put anyone else before himself. He has never carried the weight and burden of any of our (mankind) sins. He most certainly has not given his life for all of us as Jesus did on the cross. I think this a mockery of my Lord and Saviour and what He did for all of us so that we could come to find Grace, Forgiveness, and Redemption. I also find this offensive because it seems to be just another example of someone using Christianity as a tool for headlines and personal gain, which seems to be happening more and more frequently.

It angers me that as this story has unfolded, many of the very people that God has guided to a platform and placed in positions of leadership (both as artists and clergy) have chosen to remain silent rather than speaking out. I find their silence offensive because our leaders have a responsibility to speak out on the issues that we are facing. That's part of what they're called to do. It appears as though some of our leaders are more concerned with not rocking the boat and keeping their place in the food chain than with keeping it real and speaking the truth - even if that truth isn't politically correct. 

My God isn't weak and He wasn't silent during the Old Testament. My Saviour isn't weak and He wasn't silent during his ministry. I don't believe that we, who call ourselves Christians, are supposed to be weak or silent either. Our leaders need to step up and lead - giving a voice to the people that they're leading. 

I'm disappointed by the fact that Kanye West, who has won awards for his music, seems content to let the controversy he creates define him rather than letting his music speak for itself. As an artist myself, I want to be recognized for how I use my God-given talent - not how much controversy I can stir up.

As I write this, I feel more pity for Kanye West than anything else. I look at him and see a young man who doesn't believe in his own talent enough to just let it take him where it will. I see a man who could do so much positive and so much good in our world getting too caught up in his own drama and delusions to do more than make headlines. I see a magazine that will stoop to any level of "dirty pool" for profit. I see Christians looking for someone to stand up for them and I see leaders who are afraid to really lead.

David Paul Pelsue - Kids in the Way
David Paul Pelsue, lead singer and co-founder of Kids in the Way said ... 

Do you ever wonder why the world finds it so easy to dismiss Christianity as a joke? I believe it's because we constantly set ourselves up by reacting in such ways. To address the issue, I believe the Kanye cover is done in poor taste. Simply, if this offends you, don't support the magazine. Don’t support Kanye. I think dragging the parties involved into the street and beating them with fingers of judgment and horror is embarrassing. Is that the Christian thing to do? That’s not our job. I believe God is quite capable of handling someone's spirit. I don't know Kanye's heart personally. I don't know what exactly He believes. I do know that he has some spiritual thoughts and ideas simply from his music and public statements. Maybe someday, in a quiet place, God will convict his heart and Kanye will realize this might not have been the smartest choice. Maybe not. But that's up to God. I believe in accountability and keeping people in check with their actions, but to throw a complete stranger that you don't even know inside and out on the chopping block is unnecessary. We live in a real world where people don't respect our beliefs and aren't considerate of them. It’s time to stop acting so shocked and appalled. Honestly, Rolling Stone probably banked on this kind of response to occur. They knew there was no way the Christians would allow their bubble to be popped. If we didn't call out the army of the Lord every time another Harry Potter book was written, maybe the world wouldn't take jest in pushing our buttons. I’m tired of lynch mob mentality in the "Christian" world. What happened to turn the other cheek? What happened to not judging your brother? And remember the one thing Jesus died in the name of...love? In no way am I saying we need to lie down and let people walk on us and our beliefs, but there are certain things you just take care of amongst yourself. Don’t buy the magazine. Don’t agree with Kanye and Rolling Stone. End of story. Again, if this offends God, let's not insult Him by thinking He can't take care of the judgment that's needed.

Emily Cobb
Emily Cobb of Proper Management said ... 

My comments represent only myself and not Proper Management or any of its artists. While I do find this cover 100% offensive and wish it had not been created, I feel like this may become another “Target - Happy Holidays” sort of issue for Christians. In my opinion, Jesus has already conquered the world and He has conquered even blasphemous images such as this. If all that non-Christians out there see us Christians doing is complaining about other peoples choices, then why in the world would anyone else want to follow Jesus with us?

In this moment, I am fired up about many in this world not having food and many dying by the minute from AIDS. And mostly I am fired up about wanting God more than anything else in life and trying to stay in His Word and in prayer with Him daily. I have a choice today, I can either spend time being upset about this worldly cover and try to figure out a way to change peoples minds about it, or I can love people like Jesus right where I am and lift up a prayer for all who may see this image or any other terrible images and ask God for protection of their hearts and minds. I choose the latter.