I have not followed U2’s music much. I have followed some of Bono’s activism and I respect him. Mike Cosper wrote a story in Christianity Today about Bono entitled, Defiant Joy Shaped by Grief, Buoyed by Faith, Bono Discusses Four Decades of Art and Activism. I would highly recommend this article. My respect for Bono increased after reading it. Two parts of the article are my favorite.
The first part is where Bono reenacts a conversation with Franklin Graham. It is a conversation where Franklin doubts and questions Bono’s faith and whether his songs are truly “Christian songs.” Bono’s faith doesn’t appear to fit Franklin’s American cultural, merchandising Christianity.
The second part is where Makoto Fujimura is discussing Bono’s Super Bowl performance in 2002. The article says:
- “Makoto Fujimura, the painter and author of Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, has described “culture war” as a polarized mindset, viewing culture as territory to dominate rather than a common space Christians share with their neighbors. Rather than a zero-sum game, he invites us to a posture of “culture care” and “generative creativity”—creating and collaborating to bring beauty and healing to a broken world.
- “It takes a certain kind of courage to stand in the middle of devastation and not become cynical,” he tells me. “Given Bono’s story, it makes sense that he would want to speak ‘Shalom’ over the suffering in the world.”
- During the halftime show, “Shalom” sounded an awful lot like “It’s a beautiful day.””
Bono’s faith and activism challenge me to be more like Bono and make me want to explore U2’s music.
Leave a Reply