Kanye West, Evangelist of the 21st Century
Seattle Presbytery
By Erin Rodenbiker, intern at Rainier Beach and candidate under care of UPC.
Currently circling the country is one of the world’s most loved/hated figures: Jesus. No, wait: Yeezus. But I saw it with my own eyes: the new Yeezus tour features Kanye West’s very own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Move over Bono, Christians have a new spokesperson.
Kanye’s depiction of Jesus may seem, at first, like farce or mockery—a caricature with the aims of postmodern indulgence or a racialized political statement. But, while iconoclasm and activism may be present, they do not dominate. Instead, the performance is a theological rap opera where religion and entertainment are weaved together in the imagination of the believer—and yet, completely conflicted—Kanye West, who inhabits the role of performance artist and, dare I say, evangelist. Yeezus is a Christian of the 21st Century.