Hundreds of Christians have taken to social media to express their dismay over 'The Book of Yeezus: A Bible for the Modern Day,' which replaces every mention of God with controversial rapper Kanye West's name.
According to a website promoting the book, "The Book of Yeezus" is a "creative vision, bound in a gold leaf-etched, illustrated, black leather book that details the story of Genesis - for the new age."
The description adds, "In its foreword, we explore our culture's state of religiosity and its capacity for wonder. How does spirituality, an evolutionary reflex, manifest in a digitized world? Why does Kanye West take such outsized significance in the lives of many?
"The Book of Yeezus is an interventionist art, coffee-table novelty, that will appeal to Kanye fans everywhere and those made curious by this enormous cultural phenomenon."
The modification of the Holy Bible has offended many Christians, many of whom took to social media to express their disapproval.
"Modern day blasphemy: Book of Genesis replaces mention of God with 'Kanye' in 'Book of Yeezus,' wrote one Twitter user.
'Kanye went too far...but are we that surprised?" wrote another
"Proverbs 30:5-6: "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar." Take heed, Book of Yeezus creators," warned a Facebook user.
"I actually thought that this was a hoax ... until I found a website that is selling the book," media critic simply known as "Mario" said on his "The Vigilant Christian" YouTube channel. "This is the delusion that we live in and the depravity of our culture in the world ... In the Bible it says that we as mankind are absolutely lost. We've begun to worship the creation instead of the Creator."
It is unclear whether West himself had any involvement in creating the novelty Bible, which is currently unavailable "due to high demand." The rapper, who professes to be a Christian, regularly includes religious references in his music.
"I'm Christian, and I'm hip-hop. So you mix those two things together, and you want to express yourself a certain type of way, and be bold. I wanna be like Christ. That's not to say I have a god complex. But it's like, if people pick a favorite Halloween character it's like, that's what I would pick! Don't people pick people that they look up to?" he said of his last album, Yeezus, which included a track titled "I am God".
According to reports, the hardback book was published by U.S.-based brothers who want to offer millennials "a fresh take on what the Bible could look like in our modern world".
"Each generation champions a superstar, so consistently relevant that they come to accompany that generation through it's evolution, being a part of and ultimately shaping its identity," they wrote via ETSY, where users can buy and sell unique goods online.
