Kanye West in 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ok, bit of a confession to make, and you’re not allowed to judge me for it. Deal? Deal.
I find Kanye West’s music really interesting to listen to. I know he swears, and talks about drugs and guns and all that gangsta stuff but I find that whenever I hear one of his new releases it’s just good, musically speaking.
But something that’s really interesting is the religious content that seems to worm its way into his songs – he’s clearly a spiritually troubled man, and tries to explore that through his music. And maybe that’s most obvious in his current track, No Church in the Wild, which contains specific references to ‘Jesus [who] was a carpenter, Yeezy, he lay beats / Hova flow the Holy Ghost’. The most interesting ideas come in the chorus though:
Human beings in a mob
What’s a mob to a king?
What’s a king to a god?
What’s a god to a non-believer?
Who don’t believe in anything?
The rhetorical questions he asks seem to be sensible; what’s a mob to a king? A mob expresses the dissatisfaction of the people, but at the end of the day the king can just sit back on his throne and say, ‘I don’t care what they think.’
What’s a king to a god? A god could put a king in power, or take him out of power. So in comparison to a king, a mob has no real power unless the king changes his mind. In comparison to a god, a king has no real power without the god’s will being aligned to his.
What’s a god to a non-believer? Well, actually, still a god. A god doesn’t care whether someone believes or not, they still have their power. So let’s apply this to Christianity.
On not a small number of occasions I’ve been in a conversation with an atheist when I’ve asked: ‘What will happen to you when you die? If the Bible’s wrong nothing will happen, but if it’s true you’ll be punished for eternity – sounds like a big risk to take!’ And the answer is always the same: ‘I don’t believe in all that stuff, so I don’t mind taking that risk.’
And that’s completely illogical. When I do a bungee jump, my belief in the bungee cord’s ability to keep me safe has no bearing whatsoever on whether I’ll be safe! So the object of your faith is more important than the strength of your faith.
So, atheists, stop having such blind faith because it’s just silly. And Christians, let’s start telling people about our great God who is in complete control and has offered eternal purpose and life to those who believe.
Related articles
- No Church In The Wild (holymansam.wordpress.com)
