IVP - Strangely Dim - The Books of 2Pac

The Books of 2Pac

Have I mentioned that I love Very Short List? I learn of so many cool things on the Internet via VSL, the most recent of which is the "I See Dead People's Books" section of librarything.com. Here I get to see what books, for example, Tupac Shakur found compelling enough to buy and bring home and read.

I'm into Tupac lately, based on conversations I've been having with a relatively new friend. Tupac confronts the mainstream image of hip hop as thuggish; though his lyrics are unvarnished and harshly reflective of street life, he is, as his library shows and his biographers attest, deeply thoughtful and culturally important. Two of our authors go so far as to declare him a type of prophet--"not exactly Elijah or Isaiah. But . . . an appropriate word for a given situation. The connections run deeper than you think. It all depends on what you hear."

I'm comfortable with "prophet" being a category not restricted to people in the Bible or even people in the church--although, as with any salutary term, it can be doled out too loosely. But in general I think the world could use more prophetic-minded people, people willing to offer an appropriate word for a given situation. I quote no less a prophet than Moses, no less a prophet than Joel:

"Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"

"And afterward,
       I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
       Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
       your old men will dream dreams,
       your young men will see visions.

 Even on my servants, both men and women,
       I will pour out my Spirit in those days."