Christians Angered by Kanye West Mockery

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Christians Angered by Kanye West Mockery
Jason Barnes and Jim Meyers
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006

Christian activists are outraged by a Rolling Stone magazine cover that depicts rapper Kanye West as a Christ figure with a crown of thorns atop his head.

The image on the magazine's upcoming issue – due out on newsstands Friday - shows the controversial Grammy nominee with "blood" streaming down his face, mimicking the passion of Christ during his torture and crucifixion.

Offended Christian groups have called the cover image "sacrilegious" and an insult to Christians. One Christian leader even suggests the depiction is racist.

"I think Kanye West is a distraction from the real story," Charnaine Yoest, vice president of the Family Research Council, told NewsMax.

"The real story is Rolling Stone mocking millions of Christians in this country and worldwide who believe in Jesus Christ.

"Let's just imagine they did this with Mohammed or one of the world's other major religions. There would be a huge outcry. But not with Christianity. They think they can attack Christianity with impunity.

"This is an issue of corporate responsibility."

Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, told NewsMax: "It is sacrilegious to have an image of Christ on the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine that has nothing to do with Jesus, religion or faith. It is inappropriate to say the least.

"Of course, that doesn't surprise me too much for Rolling Stone. To them, using Kanye West as Jesus in this way would probably be no different than using him as any other icon.

"Christians are the last group you can make fun of, ridicule or make light of their God without fear of retribution from the media or from the popular culture."

Early Wednesday Catholic League president Bill Donohue issued a statement headlined "Is Rolling Stone Racist?" that read:

"At first glance, it appears that both Kanye West and Rolling Stone are equally culpable of misappropriating Catholic iconography. But on closer inspection, it looks like Rolling Stone deserves the lion's share of the blame.

"West is a young rapper who is hard to peg. On the one hand, he eschews gangsta rap … On the other hand he is capable of saying plainly foolish things, e.g., the government is responsible for the spread of AIDS among blacks and gays."

West also created a stir when he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people" during a telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Said Donohue: "If it is true that West is a morally confused black young man, it is also true that Rolling Stone is staffed by morally challenged white veterans: they are to West what white boxing agents in the 20th Century were to black boxers – rip-off artists.

"It is not for nothing that West poses as a Christ-like figure on a magazine geared to whites. To top it off, the white readership is bound to get a kick out of knowing that ‘The Passion of Kanye West' is the rapper's self-confessed passion for pornography."

In the Rolling Stone story, West recounts seeing his father's Playboy magazine when he was five years old.

"Right then," West says, laughing, "it was like, 'Houston, we have a problem."

Donohue wonders about the thought process behind the decision to place West in the Christ-like pose.

"Is Rolling Stone as racist as it is anti-Catholic?," asks Donohue. "Hard to say, but one thing's for sure: It will only be offended by the former charge."

Donohue also told NewsMax that radio host Howard Stern made "an interesting point. Back in the 90s, he had a picture – the same picture – that was presented to Rolling Stone and they refused it.

Interesting that Howard the white man did not make the cover of Rolling Stone, but Kanye West did.

"That to me pretty much settles the issue," Donohue said, suggesting a racial angle to the magazine's decision to use West.

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