I have been rather ill with the flue these past days, but looking over the headlines this morning, I see that U2 made out well at the Grammy Awards. Indeed they should - certainly within my generation they are an awesome rock band.
I have always been intrigued with the frontman, Bono. Born to a Catholic father and Protestant mother in Dublin, he seems to have his own take on Christianity. Now, some of you might be offended by the quote I want to give you, but as someone who grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood in the Bronx, I can appreciate Bono when he said, "The idea that there's a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it. Actually, maybe even far-fetched to start with. But the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in shit and straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally."
Bono gets it. In an interview this past summer, he commented about Christ:
"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", he says, "Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook."
"Christ says, No," Bono continues. "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."
Here's to U2 and their wins.
3 comments:
Very interesting. There's a famous C.S. Lewis quote that says much the same. Here's the last four sentences: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
That is very interesting. I have a completely different view of Bono now...
I don't think I've ever heard a celebrity say something that intelligent and meaningful and non-self-serving.
I'm amazed.
It's not important to have a decision on a personal level about having or not having a relationship with Jesus Christ. The important thing is to adopt a stance on how we're going to approach that need for solace, confirmation, and salvation (if there be such a thing). To do that would be to send the ball into the Lord's court, so to speak. I am a believer in God, but I try not to waste my time trying to "know" about Him and His ways. I just try to learn how to exist in the world, and how to feel Him close by.
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