"Evangelicals believe that they are saved by grace through faith (Eph.2: 8-9) but then add a man-made waiver that you have to work as hard as you can to meet the middle-class behavioral patterns to hang on to it. It seems to be contrary to the Gospel, where among the many teachings of Jesus regarding servanthood, the last become first. It is an upside down Kingdom contradicting what seems the natural order of the first being first and the best winning. The Church therefore should be radically opposed to such a sucess syndrome. It seems this effected Bono. Another strange quirk about the Church is it has specific qualities that indicate whether you are an "acrobat."(explaination below) Usually, they have to do with swearing, smoking, and drinking. For some reason, there are biblical teachings that do not-but perhaps should-hold so much importance. Among them: materialistic greed, bigoted prejudice, the oppression of women, or the neglect of social justice. Somehow you can ignore many of the rallying calls of Christ and the prophets, and because you are teetotal and less flowery with your language and attend church twice a week, you are declared spiritually strong."
From the song Acrobate by U2
Don't believe what you hear,
don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
you can feel the enemy.
When I first met you girl,
you had fire in your soul.
What happened t'your face of melting snow
Now it looks like this!
And you can swallow or you can spit
You can throw it up, or choke on it
And you can dream, so dream out loud
You know that your time is coming round
So don't let the bastards grind you down.
No, nothing makes sense, nothing seems to fit.
I know you'd hit out if you only knew who to hit.
And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah, I'd break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in.
'Cause I need it now.
To take the cup
To fill it up, to drink it slow.
I can't let you go.
And I must be an acrobat
To talk like this and act like that.
And you can dream, so dream out loud
And you can find your own way out.
And you can build, and I can will
And you can call, I can't wait until
You can stash and you can seize
In dreams begin responsibilities
And I can love, and I can love
And I know that the tide is turning 'round
So don't let the bastards grind you down
Bono has often said he is a bad example for Christianity. Is this just because of the fact that we all too often fall for it being about a system of ethics? This is not about Christianity. It is about following Christ. Bono and the rest of the boys seems to me to be a great example of that.
Steve continues:
"When it comes to the dilemma of Catholic and Protestant guilt complexes, Bono is both and, at the same time neither. He has consistently talked of how he despises religion but is a great believer in Christ. For Bono, The Edge, and Larry, the God that they met and have pilgrimaged with down this amazing road is a God who is bigger than the Church or religious boundries. They discovered Him outside of the straightjacket of traditional religion, and they have continued to see a God Who has gotten bigger and bigger in every way."
3 comments:
Kent,
I am really liking this stuff regarding the book you are reading. This is the kind of stuff that encourages me to never again want to use the term "Christianity". So much of what has been done and continues to be done under this title is of the nature of Ishmael.
So are you pulling for the Rams tomorrow - or our brother Kurt?
Later,
Rob
Rob, I am going to continue with some stuff from this book over the next few days. I have mentioned to Wayne that I would love for him to read it. Alot of us have been looking for examples of people living in community outside the traditional institutional church and impacting the world they live in. I know there has to be many more to point to but honestly, I don't know of a better example then this rock band and the people that have made up the community of faith they have grown up with over the past 30 years. They have been doing this for that long. I don't know of any 4 people of faith and then their closest friends around them, that are still walking with each other in a time period half that long. This book describes the best example of followers of Christ living with the tention that exists in the world and in themselves fighting to never be distracted from the call they feel God invited them into. Bono or all of the band have been at the center of some of the biggest events of change the world has seen over the time period of them being together. It is an amazingly encouraging story.
Kent
I'd love to see Kurt play well and win. "The Greatest Show On Turf" was so much fun.
I too would love to see an excellent performance out of Kurt.
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