Posted on 04/03/2006 9:29:05 AM PDT by fgoodwin
Hmmmm.LOL. Don't know about the Grateful Dead.
Bono is typically liberal in that, instead of reaching into his own very deep pockets, he's extremely generous with other peoples' money.
The real sad thing is being preoccupied with 1985 in an effort to be hip.
Used to be Phil Collins was going to save the world ..Now its Bobo( Bono)--To me they are both blockheads
But at least he will be in line to the gates! LOL
Bono seems to be at least trying to do right and doesn't suck up to the left. He has said nice things about Dubya and IIRC Jesse Helms.
And the funny thing is I never really liked their music.
U2 seems a little old to attract a younger crowd to the church...?
I'd call them blatently honest. They talk about their struggles for faith in ways that the Christian music doesn't dare. Look at their two most recent albums - All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The Christian imagery - and raw intensity - blows past most of the saccharine crap played on Christian radio stations. A lot of their songs are blatently explicit examinations of faith in God in the light of a horribly screwed up world (e.g. "Peace on Earth" or "When I look at the World"). About the only place you find that kind of refreshing honesty - where people are willing to admit to God that they're baffled at how bad things are in the world - is in the Psalms (e.g. Ps. 73). There aren't very many artists on Christian radio who sing above the level of "Jesus-is-my-boyfriend" crap.
Now, I don't know about the spiritual beliefs of U2. It sure seems like Bono gets it - he understands the concept that God operates through grace, and not karma (see, e.g., Grace). At the end of the day, however, where Bono stands is between him and God. I know, myself, I've found his music to be quite uplifting and worth listening to while I run.
Not when you consider that my generation has to reach back to the 1980's to find really good rock bands. The 1990's was crap like Britney Spears (shudders).
Not that I know of.
I remember talking with a guy in his mid-thirties at my old church a few weeks ago. We were discussing what his kids had on their iPods, and I was discussing what was on mine as he solicited my suggestions for good music. (We were complaining that too much Christian music is supeficial and unlistenable.) He was astounded to find that I was listening to "what [he] grew up on."
I just recently learned Bono was a professing Christian and read a good interview with him. To me, it appears his faith is a private matter, yet one he certainly doesn't hide as it permeates his life. What I've heard/read from him always is very humble regarding issues of faith and Christianity. Reminds me of the bumpersticker about Christians being saved, not perfect.
The more I learn about him the more I like him....guess I should finally really listen to his music!
I stopped buying U2 records years ago but I was operating under old assumptions. If indeed they are as honest as you claim to be I'll have to give them another listen. I, too can't stand the pap on most Christian music stations. I think most Christians are afraid of being brutally honest with themselves and others in the church about matters of real faith. I don't know why. Somehow I don't think God is easily offended by what our puny minds think up.
Sometimes they are one and the same.
I think it's because brutal honesty about our struggles gets in the way of the facade of respectability we try to put forward. Christians are expected to look like they have it all together, and have all the answers. A True Christian (TM) never has his faith shaken by events. He never struggles with sin and temptation. He always wants wake up an hour early to have his Morning Quiet Times (TM). In other words, the image of the True Christian (TM) is about as realistic as that of G.I. Joe.
Another thing, I think, is that a person who asks the tough questions is a threat to many Christians, who really aren't sure of the answers themselves. This is too bad since, if the Church is unwilling or unable to provide answers, the local University offers some.
Read his words yourself and decide. http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php
Then read Christ's own words in Matthew 25:31-40.
Sure seems like Bono takes Mt. 25:31-40 quite seriously.
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