Reverend says God wants Snoop dogg for hip-hop vocals

A fire-and-brimstone preacher wants to spread "the good word" to Generation Next by getting a top rapper like Snoop Dogg to record a hiphop version of the entire Holy Bible!

And the Rev. Michael Mose Mayler says he doesn't "give a good gosh darn" if the multi-CD set is laced with profanity and lurid sexual allusions "as long as it gets young people to open their eyes.

"We're losing our youth to the Devil left and right -- something's got to be done," says the Baptist clergyman from Dallas.

"I know rap music is an abomination, but that's no reason we can't use it as a recruiting tool."

Rev. Mayler says he got the idea for a hip-hop Bible after hearing his 4-year-old granddaughter reciting the "sing-songy" bedtime prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep . . ."

"While she was singing I noticed her brother, who's 22, was snapping his fingers, bobbing his head and tapping his feet," explains the preacher.

"The Lord spoke to me in that moment. He said, 'Rev. Mayler, I want you to record a hip-hop version of the Holy Bible, and I hope you can get a big star like Snoop Dogg to do it. Or the white one, Eminem -- he'd be good, too.'

"So it wasn't really my idea. As you can see, it was divinely inspired."

The idea of turning the Bible into a rap concept album isn't without its critics.

In fact, several dozen members of Mayler's own congregation have left his flock and formed their own church based on their strong belief that the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is about as hip as the Bible should be allowed to get.

No word yet on whether Snoop Dogg or any other hip-hop megastar will sign on to the idea and risk their street cred with fans.

Mayler says that, in a pinch, he'll "take a newbie and promote both him and the album with all the resources I can muster, including heartfelt prayer and gigs in churches all over the country."

"The Bible has all the elements a rap record needs to become a hit -- violence, murder, turf battles and a fair amount of sex," says a recording-industry insider who admits he's intrigued.

"The Bible also indicates that women are second-class citizens who were put on Earth to serve men, which is central to hip-hop thinking."