Posted on 07/29/2005 5:11:57 AM PDT by rhema
Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is "really" a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith.
The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn't he think "appalling things" happen when people become religious? Bono counters, "It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma."
The interviewer asks, What's that? "At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one," explains Bono. "And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that. . . . Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff."
The interviewer asks, Like what? "That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge," says Bono. "It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."
Then the interviewer marvels, "The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that."
"The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death," replies Bono. "It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven."
The interviewer marvels some more: "That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has His rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?"
Bono comes back, "Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: 'I'm the Messiah.' I'm saying: 'I am God incarnate.' . . . So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. . . . The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's farfetched."
What is most interesting in this exchange is the reaction of the interviewer, to whom Bono is, in effect, witnessing. This hip rock journalist starts by scorning what he thinks is Christianity. But it is as if he had never heard of grace, the atonement, the deity of Christ, the gospel. And he probably hadn't. But when he hears what Christianity is actually all about, he is amazed.
I remember in '81 or '82, he was interviewed in a Christian music magazine (Cornerstone) that I recieved. He was professing his faith, as well as 2 of the other 3. This was at a time when not many people had heard of U2.
(There WAS that talking donkey in the OT, so He could even use ME!)
(The first image on your homepage did not show for me...)
Well put!
So, like, if you read a passage from the Bible and it has a profound effect on your life, and you, like, repeat it to others, does that fall into you not having an original thought?
Grace comes in many forms, and the Spirit awakens in many ways - whether it is through experience, prayer or simply reading a book. When it "gels" between both the heart and the mind, it becomes *real* and not just Memorex. Doesn't matter what makes it gel, just that it does. Bono's testimony has Jello-tized, I can assure you. If you were as enlightened as you'd like to sound, you'd know this.
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"Bono's obviously read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. His defense of the divinity of Christ is almost word-for-word from the book."
More proof they're unable to have an original thought. Should Christ be flattered by Bonehead? I'm sure Christ is looking for sincerity not useful idiots. |
I'm curious...why do you think Bono is insincere in his faith?
Because he nearly quoted C.S. Lewis? I have no problem quoting someone who says what I think better than I could have expressed it myself. Perhaps that is the case here. The fact that he used Lewis' words doesn't mean that he doesn't really believe, or that he is a "useful idiot". I don't agree with Bono's politics, but I can see that his heart is in the right place, and that he puts his money where his mouth is. That's more than you can say for many, myself included. 113 posted on 07/29/2005 11:53:29 AM CDT by exnavychick
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Well, he's not my "worship idol". I simply pointed out that he's done more to try to alleviate poverty than I (and many others) have.
That hardly constitutes some kind of hero worship, imo. If nothing else, I look at it as a reminder that there is more that I can do than sit and gripe on the internet. Now, since I satisfied your curiosity, are you willing to satisfy mine? 153 posted on 07/29/2005 3:04:06 PM CDT by exnavychick
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"Well, he's not my "worship idol". I simply pointed out that he's done more to try to alleviate poverty than I (and many others) have." |
Ah, I see. No, that's not it.
It makes no never mind to me that he's a millionaire and could donate more money to worthy causes than I will make in my lifetime. He does what he can with what he's got. The question is: am I doing what I can with what I've got? Nope, not even close, and I know it, too. Which is shameful for someone like me who considers themselves to be a Christian. Things like that make me fear I'm not a very good one. :) I don't have to think he's better than me to feel that I am not doing my part. So, are you going to answer my question? What makes you believe that Bono's faith is insincere? Is it because he makes a ton of money? (It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle...) 161 posted on 07/29/2005 3:18:58 PM CDT by exnavychick
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"What makes you believe that Bono's faith is insincere? Is it because he makes a ton of money"
I never said or accused Bono of being sincere or insincere. I ony attempted to point out that many of us don't follow Bonoisms or celeb idols like his fan (idle minds) base does. Now back to your bible(fan magazines). |
Perhaps you didn't explicitly say so, but it was certainly implied with the comment about never having an original thought.
Be that as it may, since you appear to enjoy insulting me, I think it best not to post to you again, and vice versa. 166 posted on 07/29/2005 3:29:13 PM CDT by exnavychick
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Interesting. I have much more respect for him now, and I'll leave it at that.
I just bought that for my IPOD. It has always been a favorite book. Anyway, you're exactly right.
His "generic Christianity" shouldn't sadden you. The second word in that phrase is the only one that matters, and for that we should rejoice. :-)
He comes from a mixed marriage. They did belong to the Church of Ireland when he was growing up, but he credits the Catholic influence from his father for his desire to help others.
Crap, replied to the wrong one.
Grace and Karma...a spin off of Will and Grace? Or was that Grace and Dharma?...I'm confused.
He did, but he is of English descent as opposed to Irish.
Agreed but how do we as man judge salvation...
"All of our works are as filthy rags" and "there is none good no not one".
Feeding and clothing the poor is a good thing. Caring for the sick is a good thing. There are a lot of good people in the world, Good don't get ya saved only Jesus gets you saved by his work of redemption on the cross.
(BTW I am not saying this guy isn't saved I was just wondering, out-loud if you will)
When I was saved Jesus got all of me and I got all of Him all of me includes my political leanings, and beliefs in what is correct and moral. I can't divide the two, no matter how hard I try.
We judge salvation by the fruit and or actions.
Bill Clinton claims to be a Christian and well.........
See what I mean.
I have an article somewhere in this beast of a machine that says it better than me let me look for it and get back with you
RB<><
Not mine but I find it interesting.............
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Can a Christian be a liberal? Short answer: no. There is no way a Christian can buy into neo-liberal ideology and be faithful to the bigger-than-Dallas teachings of the scripture and expect to continue enjoying his hard-won religious liberties.
For the "Christian" to lean politically to the left means that he must blow off huge chunks of the Bible and replace the scripture with the make-believe notions of postmodernism's malleable "Christ." Only after torturing the scripture can the Christian then fit liberalism into his supposed relationship with God.
For the Christian who believes that unfeigned faith in Christ should correspond with Jesus' high view of scripture, it is… now… impossible to believe in God and be an adherent to postmodern liberalism. The twain no longer meet. Liberalism has been hijacked by bizarre special-interest thugs who spit on the Word of God and believe that the Bible has no place in public life, (except maybe in a museum where people can look at it from time to time).
The Christian who has a bent to the liberal left needs to understand something: while he is skipping around the maypole with his rose-colored glasses on, if it were up to the modern, secularized liberal establishment, he would be more restricted than Bill when Hillary's in town. Yes, if the Christophobic thugs had it their way, Christians would be relegated to a marginalized spiritual ghetto on the sidelines of life.
For the naïve Christian voter who thinks he can toss a ballot in the Nuevo liberal direction, please know that a vote toward the secular left could leave you bereft of sacred liberties. Thanks to the aggressive ludicrous liberal lug nuts' anti-Christian agenda, your vote for a liberal, Christian, is a vote for …
1. Christianity to be scrubbed from government and whatever turf the government owns. Thanks to the liberals, the Ten Commandments have about as much acceptance in our government and their properties as Rush Limbaugh would at Al Franken's family reunion. Yes, the Judeo-Christian principles that formed the rock-solid foundation of this great American Experiment are now aggressively fought against by the lascivious left.
If… if… the secularists continue to stay behind the wheel of this American bus, you can kiss all semblance of Christianity good-bye in this heretofore God-graced government. Saint, you might as well say farewell to our government's recognizing Christmas and adios to Good Friday if you're going to vote the liberal ticket. If the secularists have it their way, Easter will be behind your keister, and you can kiss the Cross good-night as an acceptable public symbol that represents your faith and our nation's recognition of Christ's atoning work.
2. Secularism to be continually mainlined into our public school system. Thanks to rabid vapid secularism, our public schools and universities would rather you be a Rocky Horror super freak than a Christian. If your beliefs run to the bizarre or the banal, or if you want to smoke the same philosophical crack that Caligula, Nero, Castro or Lenin freebased, they'll accommodate you.
Our schools are totally open to anyone and to anything, unless, of course, you're a Christian. And if that's the case, then you're likely to get more sympathy from a badger with minimal sleep than you will from liberal educators who are hard at work making your life hard. A vote for the secular left is a vote for Christianity to continue to be officially vilified on campus and Christians to be ostracized in campus life.
3. Public officials, employees and appointees to be pressured to hide their faith in the closet and suppress their public displays of belief in God lest they be grouped with Hitler, Osama, or Mussolini and then fired. Not only will the liberals aggressively work to prohibit the State from green lighting and recognizing Christianity as a legitimate and positive force in our land, they will also attempt to stifle Christians from influencing the path of government.
4. Public attacks on churches and Christians and attempts to restrict them in the private sector. Consider this, Christian pastor and Christian lay person looking to vote for the ludicrous left: the secular Mafioso's intent is to make your ministerial life difficult, your evangelistic work taxing and your voice minimized. And good luck, pastor and church committee, in trying to buy property and get zoning with the anti-Christian libs at the helm.
5. The continued media endorsement of the same putrid hedonistic stuff that sunk ancient Rome. Yes, with the liberals in place, expect more weird crap in movies and on television. Expect to see more paintings of Christian symbols/ saints smeared with elephant dung. Expect Christianity to be bashed and vilified and Christians made out to be buckled-shoed morons with three teeth and an IQ of 50. Expect the culture to coarsen. Expect your kids to continue to be exposed to things that only rock stars see backstage with groupies. A vote for a liberal is a vote to see Christians continue to receive special ridicule and be flogged more than a piñata during a Cinco de Mayo festival.
My clashpoint is this: Modern liberalism tosses the scripture out on several different levels. How a true believer in the Christ defined by the scripture can buy into what Jesus, the prophets and apostles said and also what these secular thugs say is beyond me.
In addition to liberalism's obvious and odious pro-holocaust-like abortion stance, its anti-biblical view of marriage, its scripture-slamming aggressive secularism, and its feckless view of our nation's defense, liberalism completely clashes with the Christian worldview. Secular liberalism's aggressive desire to eradicate Christians' rights should cause Christians to be concerned.
The Democratic Party's liberalism has degenerated over the last 40-50 years in regard to its view of Christianity and Christian rights. This party, which formerly embraced and protected our nation's great Christian heritage and teachings, no longer does so.
Thus, today the Christian is between a rock and a hard place: he can either be a Christian or a liberal, but he cannot be both.
Do you think that your actions make you any less of a sinner in God's eyes?
PING
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