“I Was in Prison, and Ye Visited Me”

Kanye West has been a musical phenomenon for several years now. Personally, Hip-hop, Rap or whatever you call it has never been my cup of tea. That still doesn’t detract from his talent nor from his enormous success. Word on the street is that he’s a billionaire and since he didn’t get that much moolah by plunging countries into recession (I’m looking at you, George Soros), I say “Keep on, keepin’ on!”

Last year, Yours Truly wrote about his visit to the Oval Office, where he met with President Trump. He received opprobrium from all the “right people” –you know, the self-righteous John Legend, Snoop Doggy-diggity-dog (or whatever the hell his name is at the moment), and the rest of that insufferable crew. He didn’t back down.

It appears now that he’s taken the talents the Lord has given him and become a devout Christian. His latest album —Jesus is King–has taken the music world by storm. Christians of all denominations have expressed hope that this musical effort, and artists like Kanye, can stop the cultural rot that has gripped our nation for the last generation. I’m not so sure but we should never despair; even the ancient Greeks believed that when all the demons and ills of the world escaped Pandora’s Box, a jewel called Hope remained. We, who are not pagans, should expect more.

West, of course, has his critics. Some cynics are whispering that this is just a clever marketing tool. Well, fie on them! Mr West is walking the walk, not just talking the talk. In the video below, you will see Kanye going to the Harris County jail in Houston, Texas, where he is preaching in his own inimitable style to the convicts therein.

God bless him.

Comments

  1. And the family just got themselves baptized in Armenia (save for one of the boys who had already been baptized in Jerusalem). So, it looks like a family affair.

  2. Wow! God bless him! This sure beats the glorification of misogynist, drug gang culture and sag-pants. While I have never liked hip-hop (or most of the sappy easy listening garbage that passes for Christian rock) , I heard a couple of his religious songs and could actually envision myself occasionally listening and enjoying this music. It does seem like a suspiciously sudden change however.  Some of the lyrics even from his recent songs in 2018 are still really bad. So, when he is now doing religious performances, does he ever publicly repent for the dreck that he piled on our culture or is it just another way to make money?
     

    • To repent is to change.  This is about as public a repentance as could be.Now if you’re looking for a public _confession_ and/or _apology_ on the other hand — well, even we Orthodox don’t require that any more, and haven’t since we escaped the catacombs, having moved confession into the privacy of a one-on-one encounter with Christ, the priest bearing witness (and bound to silence).

  3. Just listened to this album last night. It’s pretty good. Although rap, R&B and Gospel aren’t my cup of tea, the listening experience is refreshing. The album sounds heartfelt and positive, self-aware, relaxed and humorous. The album is affirming and striking in ways most albums these days fall short.
     
    If young people, especially young black men, can see and hear a positive male role model struggle against their passions glorifying Christ, we have reason to rejoice. His new interview around this album, Jesus is King, provides some insight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuOCvKvrwI8
     
    Someone should send him an icon of St. Moses the Black.

  4. In 1439 we had Saint Mark of Ephesus. In 2019, we have Kanye West. Arise, ye defenders of truth!

  5. Yes! This is quite heartfelt and refreshing to see in our times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuMbC3zT2sU 
     
     

  6. Antiochene Son says

    I recall a fleeting moment a few years ago when Jim Carrey seemed to have a Christian conversion, before promptly losing his mind, so I have to admit I am a little guarded on this. We do have to be careful with these high-profile celebrity conversions.
     
    But there is no need to cast shade on it beyond that; the tree will be known by its fruit, and I pray for the best for Kanye and his family. I hope his desire to speak in prisons results in some lives being changed.

    • I was thinking of Jane Fonda, she had a brief conversion years ago and then apostasized. Kanye on the other hand is acting as pastor of his own church, with a congregation of movie stars and celebrities, when not traveling around.
      Time will tell, but in general it does not look good. He is a new Christian, and new Christians generally need a long time with good formation and experience before moving into leadership positions. 
      https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-church-of-kanye
       

  7. Ronda Wintheiser says

    “But Jesus said to him:
    ‘Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.’”

    “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”

  8. Don’t know where else to post this, but Bartholomew visited a Roman Catholic monastery with two Athonite monks – friends of the Ukrainian schismatics – praying Vespers inside their altar: https://orthochristian.com/125684.html
     
     

  9. He’s hanging with Joel Osteen and selling 50 dollar (2 per pack to be fair) Jesus socks. I smell a rat. Just another sideshow in the circus of deception serving some purpose on behalf of his handlers.

  10. Hey, at least this circus has a decent soundtrack 😉