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The social phenomenon that is Kayne West seems to thrive on controversy. West is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. He is married to Kim Kardashian, is a strident supporter of Donald Trump and worth about $240 million. Needless to say he is never far from a headline.

In 2009 he famously interrupted the MTV VMA ceremony just as Taylor Swift was receiving an award by launching a one-man stage invasion claiming that Beyonc茅 had been robbed. My sympathies were firmly with Swift in that most publicly awkward of moments. More recently his statement that 400 years of slavery was a choice has caused significant outrage. While he may have been hoping to empower Black Americans, it has been seen to dismiss the injustices they still experience.

West鈥檚 latest studio album was released this week and is causing shockwaves not only because of its explicitly Christian content, but because of the way this tallies with his lifestyle and political views. Titled 鈥淛esus is King鈥�, it is essentially a collection of worship songs quoting directly from the Bible and including prayers for healing and forgiveness. The album is receiving challenging reviews from the music industry.

West predicted that this album would be controversial. The song 鈥淗ands On鈥� includes lyrics that suggests that Christians could be the most negative.

They'll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me

West expected criticism to come not just from the industry, or from atheists, but from Christians themselves. The reaction so far has indeed been mixed. Some Christians are celebrating a major global superstar as one of their own. Others are more cautious - wondering how West can represent Christ the humble servant with his strange form of rock star Christianity and lavish lifestyle, controversial behaviours and views that don鈥檛 seem contiguous with faith.

This made me think. What are the defining characteristics of a Christian? Is self-identification enough? Jesus once said: 鈥淣ot everyone who calls me Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven鈥� In the world of marketing and fan-base building Jesus鈥� words seem counter-intuitive. But the Bible is clear that while Jesus鈥檚 invitation to be welcomed into the family of God is issued to everyone, whatever they鈥檝e done, nobody is accepted because of their brilliance, their influence or their words alone. Christians believe it is by God鈥檚 grace and Jesus鈥� death on the cross that anyone is accepted by God. This is one of the reasons why Jesus was unequivocal that his followers were not to judge others. God alone sees beyond the rhetoric, marketing, spin and facades.

I for one am enjoying the skill and musicianship of Kanye鈥檚 new album. But his faith is something only God can judge. Like mine, it may sometimes be misplaced, mispracticed and misunderstood. There is room for all of us to change, and we all benefit more from a helping hand than a pointing finger.

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