It is difficult to tell whether Kanye West really believes that he is a biblical Christian, or if he is simply trying to convince himself at this point. West claims that his obsession with Jesus, via his "Yeezus" nickname and other antics, is partly meant to draw attention to the faith. Be not deceived.

It is difficult to tell whether Kanye West really believes that he is a biblical Christian, or if he is simply trying to convince himself at this point. West claims that his obsession with Jesus, via his “Yeezus” nickname and other antics, is partly meant to draw attention to the faith. Be not deceived.

Mark 5:2-7, And when he [Jesus] was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

Most hip hop, like the rest of our popular music and entertainment, constantly tries to walk a fine line between acknowledging Jesus Christ, and blaspheming Him at the same time.

“I was rollin’ around/ In my mind it occurred/ What if God was a her?” Common rapped on a song titled “Faithful.” The Bible never calls God “Her”, and never gives the Lord any feminine attributes.

Ever wonder why that is? — why so many musicians make jokes about God and Christ, but at the same time make grudging efforts to respect Him?

People will doubt God, take His name in vain all day and night, and once in a while say things like I hope the good Lord will help me out… God bless you for that… let’s say a prayer for that family…

They call for Jesus when they are in danger… when someone they care about is ill or injured… to express amazement or shock… and even when they are in the throes of sexual passion. One atheist disagreed when I said these things, claiming that he has never called out for the Lord in any situation.

To put it kindly but directly, I feel that man was lying to both himself and me. If nothing else, he has used the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as a slur, or as an exclamation of disappointment.

What the nonbelievers and scoffers don’t understand is, when they say Oh God and JESUS! in any context, they are in fact acknowledging the Lord’s supremacy over them and the rest of creation. If that were not so, they would interchange these and other expressions with calls to Buddha, Muhammed, Mother Nature, Goddess, or any of thousands of Hindu gods. But they don’t.

Like the man in Mark 5 with the “unclean spirit”, in their hearts they KNOW who the real God is.

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It is amazing that people still can’t tell whether Jay-Z is a follower of Christ. Spiritual blindness causes confusion. If this is your idol, so be it… but he does not represent the true Lord Jesus, and you can’t love the world and Christ. Only God can condemn, but weare allowed to judge people’s words and actions.

How does rap music fit into demon possession? We can simply listen to the lyrics.

There are too many derogatory rap references to Jesus for us to digest in one sitting. Here are just a few:

Chino XL is not well-known to the music world, but this rapper is one of many with a huge fascination with Christ. Chi [as in the first three letter of his rap moniker]contained in the name Christ/ Not a coincidence, Chino says in “Lyrical Messiah,” along with Gimme a time machine, I bottle up crack in Jesus’ manger…

In other songs Chino speaks lines like I write the modern Bible/not to denounce the first one, but after I finish mine it’s final… I scared Moses back up the mountain… I was torn from Satan’s ribs, hatin’ humankind/So when it’s time to go to hell, won’t even stand in line.

Most music fans already know about Jay-Z’s line from his Alicia Keys-assisted “Empire State of Mind”: Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.

But Jay-Z has lyrics stuffed full of blasphemy, way too many to point out here, such as in the aptly-named tune “Lucifer”: Lord forgive him/He got them dark forces in him/But he also got a righteous cause for sinning.This is a statement straight from Satan’s mouth.

As one pastor precisely described Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter: “He is a leader in the kingdom of darkness.”

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How can we claim that hip hop is godless? We can examine its origins. More than once, the music has been called part of a “ghetto culture,” and while that description used to make me balk, it is clearly true.

It is difficult to tell whether Kanye West really believes that he is a biblical Christian, or if he is simply trying to convince himself at this point. West claims that his obsession with Jesus, via his "Yeezus" nickname and other antics, is partly meant to draw attention to the faith. Be not deceived.

There was a foolish rumor going around that Eminem has turned to Christ. If that were true, his lyrics would transform into something glorifying God. Just listen to 2013’s “Rap God” if you think he’s changed.

The rap game is an original, unique American creation. But as most people know,hip hop is very derivative — it takes what came before and knits something new out of it. That’s why rappers have alter egos that draw from pop culture, especially criminal elements like the Mafia.

Names aside, one of the things rap has copied from culture-at-large is the compulsion to keep talk of Jesus on the tip of its tongue.

As a child of the 1970s and ’80s, I was one of hip hop’s biggest fans and defenders. I saw the music as a kind of sibling that I had grown up with.

Eventually, convicted by the Holy Spirit, I realized that the music was mostly full of admiration for the devil, and not for God. Yet the producers of that music drape themselves in crosses and religious symbols, whether tattoos or chains.

This is a complicated issue. Things like black Americans’ link to a churchified past, which makes many African Americans claim a spirituality that they don’t have, are mixed into the confusion. Like country and western musicians, and some rockers, many rappers think that a 95% worldliness combined with 5% piety is sufficient. This is not unique; it is how almost everyone in the world feels in our time. They believe I can say and do anything, and as long as I’m kinda-sorta good, God is going to respect and forgive me.

But forgiveness comes from an admission that we aren’t good (Romans 3:10)… that we actually all deserve to be in hell and can’t do any works that will change that (Isaiah 64:6)… and that a submission to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us is necessary to avoid eternal punishment (Romans 5:8, 10:13). Neither your average rapper nor rocker (nor, perhaps, YOU) will humble himself in that way. The crucifix around my neck is enough, they must think. The charities I’ve contributed to are enough…

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Why does hip hop qualify as Christ-rejecting? Because it is chock-full of blasphemy and devil worship.

Eminem is well-known for making fun of pastors and Christians in his lyrics and skits. Wu-Tang Clan has songs like “Second Coming” which play off of biblical themes and pass them off as the rap group’s own… and of course no one can forget Wu member Ol’ Dirty Bastard renaming himself “Big Baby Jesus.” The unsaved person thinks these things are funny or simply shrug-worthy. Unfortunately, the Bible explicitly tells us that God is not mocked. (Galatians 6:7) We will reap what we sow.

Even mainstream and relatively “safe” artists like Coolio rap things like “God don’t make no junk,” that’s what I been told/ But it seems to me that God ain’t in control as in his song “Knight Fall.”

Some might argue that lyricists are simply venting and expressing themselves artistically — the ghetto CNN, as Chuck D is credited with saying once. Yet to consistently give “coverage” to the darkness of our world is evidence of unbelief.  That’s why it is not difficult to understand why even so-called Christian rappers look to the worldly, openly God-hating rappers for confirmation of their skills. The rapper who claims to contend for the faith is normally more concerned with impressing his musicial peers than anything… including laying down his culture, his ideas of right and wrong, and even his life, for Christ.

50 Cent lyric: “It’s best you be a gentleman and you watch what you say/ Or Jesus Christ can’t save youonce you go gangsta, friend”

There is a simple answer to why people reject Jesus Christ’s standard, revealing that hatred in the ways that they act and speak… yet they can’t stop talking and wondering about Him. 

Even Christ-mocking jokes are evidence that the person has Him on the mind. They are harboring antichrist spirits and are still obsessed with Christ.

The Bible tells us that demon-possessed persons are always infatuated with the Lord Jesus.

Mark chapter 5 gives us a picture of this love-hate relationship. The spiritually-sick man portrayed there is the very picture of today’s popular musician.

Think: He is cutting himself (tattoos). He cannot be controlled (like the celebrity who gets away with behavior that would send most people to jail). He is crying out day and night (the way a singer or rapper does onstage and in the studio; plus, he seems to like the nightlife). Finally, his dwelling place is in the tombs… the cemetary, the graveyard… obviously, this man has a fondness for things related to death (much of today’s music is fixed on death, Satan, skulls n’crossbones, and spirits).

We are all obsessed with Jesus on some level. He is perfect and that either repulses you, or makes you fall completely in love with Him. There are no other categories. Fence-sitters belong in the Christ-rejecter camp.