to all my 'supposed' kin
man, life is really a trip...
i mean trip as in weird as well as in journey. i just got thro watchin' the new u2 vertigo dvd & was reveling in the experience when i sit to read e-mail & get hit w/how bono gave the impression of anti-christ to several @ a show in madison square garden.
what?
there is part of the show where he comes out wearing a headband w/the word coexist on it. the word is spelled w/the crescent moon of islam for the c, the star of david for the x & the cross of jesus for the t. this part of the show happens during the playing of sunday bloody sunday as bono points to the headband & apparently, at least to some, makes an appeal for universalism & sells out the faith. i went back to the dvd & listened several times to that particular part & after further review, found no problem w/it.
i tried to email relevant, who posted this story on their weekly release of 850 words, & the writer of the article, but have had no luck. there is a glaring discrepancy between what the dvd has & what the writer of this article says that bono proclaims. to some the point may be moot, but i hate to see miss-information help to form judgment on anyone, much less a guy that i think has done much for faith.
the writer of the article states the following...
Bono pointed at the symbols on his headband-first to the cross, then to the star, then to the crescent moon-and he began to repeat:
Jesus, Jew, Mohammed-all true. Jesus, Jew, Mohammed-all true.
He repeated the words like a mantra, and some people even began to repeat it with him. I suddenly wanted to crawl out of my skin. Was Bono, my supposed brother in Christ, preaching some kind of universalism? In just a few seconds, I went from agreeing with him about Christlike coexistence to being creeped out by the ungodly, untrue thing he was saying. What's going on here? What if he believes that all ways are the same, and he just thinks of Christianity as his particular way? Aren't universalism and true Christianity mutually exclusive?
I've heard the urban legends of amazing things Bono has said about his faith, I've read the books, and I've peered deep into everything he's said hoping to find something that makes his beliefs clear. For years, I've adored him and clung to the notion that he is believer, too. After all, he identifies himself with Christianity, doesn't he?
When he stated that lie so boldly, it devastated me. It was, without question, the most disturbing experience of my life; I felt like I'd been covered in bile. As I looked around, I saw all the people standing and chanting with him-it was disgusting and beautiful all at once. Unity can be so enticing. It made me think of the one world religion and how that will probably look benign and beautiful from the outside, too. I even started to wonder if universalism just might be poised to be that religion. All these things were running through my head.
After the show, I ran into a friend who had been sitting in the back row. What did you think of that headband thing? I asked. Well, I couldn't hear what he was saying because it was bouncing off the wall behind me, and I couldn't read the headband, because I wasn't near a JumboTron. But honestly, I felt like I was witnessing an antichrist. I stood frozen as she spoke. I'd had the same feeling.
Let me be clear: I'm not saying that Bono is the Antichrist. Perhaps he's just guilty of being overzealous about his politics. But I hope that if he is a believer, the Holy Spirit will convict him that equating Christianity with other religions is false prophecy. 2 Timothy 3 tells us to avoid people who have a form of godliness but deny the true power of God. And I believe that the most deceptive thing of all is to identify yourself with the truth and preach a lie.
For a long time after the show, I couldn't talk about it. And I still don't know what to think because I don't know Bono's heart. All I know is what he said from that stage and how it shook my footing. God used that to show me something ugly in myself that needed to be fixed. It felt like He was saying, If you're looking to Bono, you're looking to the wrong place.
The reality is that Bono held too high a place in my heart. And I don't think I'm alone there. I've wrongly held him up as the heroic ideal-the cool representative for Christianity; he may have been my Christian idol, but he was my idol nonetheless. And that's not OK. Yes, it should bother me to think that Bono might not be a believer; but it should not bother me any more than if a random guy on the street does not believe.
I pray for Bono more lately, and I pray for the hearts of the millions of people who he impacts on a daily basis. He is, without question, the most influential person in the world, and he has an unparalleled opportunity to speak the truth to the lost world. This year alone, he was nominated to be the president of the World Bank, and he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And by the time the Vertigo Tour ends in April, it will have grossed twice as much as any political campaign anywhere, ever. If Bono has a saving faith in the one true God, I can only hope that he would speak the Truth without ambiguity. I pray that the name of Jesus would grace his lips, without being equated with Judaism or Islam or any other religion. And I'm praying that God will help me to put things in the right place in my heart.
the dvd states:
jesus, jew, mohammed--it's true...
all sons of abraham...
where have you gone father abraham...
you've set son against son...
i can't help but wonder if the writer heard correctly. if she did, she may still be culpable for taking bono's words out of context, because all would still be true...
sons of abraham...
at least she owns up to her own idolotry, which is more than most can say. i just don't know if i can agree w/her on the charges of ambiguity in light of what i see as the work & words of the man in question. i guess that the fruit of 1 may never be enough for some.
glad that that isn't what matters...
here's the chick that wrote the article if anyone's interested...
Tara Leigh Cobble is an independent folk/rock artist who has spent the past five years playing at churches and colleges around the country. She lives in Nashville, but spends most of her time behind the wheel of her Toyota Camry.
i mean trip as in weird as well as in journey. i just got thro watchin' the new u2 vertigo dvd & was reveling in the experience when i sit to read e-mail & get hit w/how bono gave the impression of anti-christ to several @ a show in madison square garden.
what?
there is part of the show where he comes out wearing a headband w/the word coexist on it. the word is spelled w/the crescent moon of islam for the c, the star of david for the x & the cross of jesus for the t. this part of the show happens during the playing of sunday bloody sunday as bono points to the headband & apparently, at least to some, makes an appeal for universalism & sells out the faith. i went back to the dvd & listened several times to that particular part & after further review, found no problem w/it.
i tried to email relevant, who posted this story on their weekly release of 850 words, & the writer of the article, but have had no luck. there is a glaring discrepancy between what the dvd has & what the writer of this article says that bono proclaims. to some the point may be moot, but i hate to see miss-information help to form judgment on anyone, much less a guy that i think has done much for faith.
the writer of the article states the following...
Bono pointed at the symbols on his headband-first to the cross, then to the star, then to the crescent moon-and he began to repeat:
Jesus, Jew, Mohammed-all true. Jesus, Jew, Mohammed-all true.
He repeated the words like a mantra, and some people even began to repeat it with him. I suddenly wanted to crawl out of my skin. Was Bono, my supposed brother in Christ, preaching some kind of universalism? In just a few seconds, I went from agreeing with him about Christlike coexistence to being creeped out by the ungodly, untrue thing he was saying. What's going on here? What if he believes that all ways are the same, and he just thinks of Christianity as his particular way? Aren't universalism and true Christianity mutually exclusive?
I've heard the urban legends of amazing things Bono has said about his faith, I've read the books, and I've peered deep into everything he's said hoping to find something that makes his beliefs clear. For years, I've adored him and clung to the notion that he is believer, too. After all, he identifies himself with Christianity, doesn't he?
When he stated that lie so boldly, it devastated me. It was, without question, the most disturbing experience of my life; I felt like I'd been covered in bile. As I looked around, I saw all the people standing and chanting with him-it was disgusting and beautiful all at once. Unity can be so enticing. It made me think of the one world religion and how that will probably look benign and beautiful from the outside, too. I even started to wonder if universalism just might be poised to be that religion. All these things were running through my head.
After the show, I ran into a friend who had been sitting in the back row. What did you think of that headband thing? I asked. Well, I couldn't hear what he was saying because it was bouncing off the wall behind me, and I couldn't read the headband, because I wasn't near a JumboTron. But honestly, I felt like I was witnessing an antichrist. I stood frozen as she spoke. I'd had the same feeling.
Let me be clear: I'm not saying that Bono is the Antichrist. Perhaps he's just guilty of being overzealous about his politics. But I hope that if he is a believer, the Holy Spirit will convict him that equating Christianity with other religions is false prophecy. 2 Timothy 3 tells us to avoid people who have a form of godliness but deny the true power of God. And I believe that the most deceptive thing of all is to identify yourself with the truth and preach a lie.
For a long time after the show, I couldn't talk about it. And I still don't know what to think because I don't know Bono's heart. All I know is what he said from that stage and how it shook my footing. God used that to show me something ugly in myself that needed to be fixed. It felt like He was saying, If you're looking to Bono, you're looking to the wrong place.
The reality is that Bono held too high a place in my heart. And I don't think I'm alone there. I've wrongly held him up as the heroic ideal-the cool representative for Christianity; he may have been my Christian idol, but he was my idol nonetheless. And that's not OK. Yes, it should bother me to think that Bono might not be a believer; but it should not bother me any more than if a random guy on the street does not believe.
I pray for Bono more lately, and I pray for the hearts of the millions of people who he impacts on a daily basis. He is, without question, the most influential person in the world, and he has an unparalleled opportunity to speak the truth to the lost world. This year alone, he was nominated to be the president of the World Bank, and he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And by the time the Vertigo Tour ends in April, it will have grossed twice as much as any political campaign anywhere, ever. If Bono has a saving faith in the one true God, I can only hope that he would speak the Truth without ambiguity. I pray that the name of Jesus would grace his lips, without being equated with Judaism or Islam or any other religion. And I'm praying that God will help me to put things in the right place in my heart.
the dvd states:
jesus, jew, mohammed--it's true...
all sons of abraham...
where have you gone father abraham...
you've set son against son...
i can't help but wonder if the writer heard correctly. if she did, she may still be culpable for taking bono's words out of context, because all would still be true...
sons of abraham...
at least she owns up to her own idolotry, which is more than most can say. i just don't know if i can agree w/her on the charges of ambiguity in light of what i see as the work & words of the man in question. i guess that the fruit of 1 may never be enough for some.
glad that that isn't what matters...
here's the chick that wrote the article if anyone's interested...
Tara Leigh Cobble is an independent folk/rock artist who has spent the past five years playing at churches and colleges around the country. She lives in Nashville, but spends most of her time behind the wheel of her Toyota Camry.
posted by lee at 7:39 PM
1 Comments:
Lee, I was at the LA show on Nov. 1 and I saw what you saw on the DCD (which I bought, but my DVD player is not working).
I usually get 850 Words emailed to me and it has not shown up in my email in box.
I am with you 100% on this. I am not ashamed to admit that I think Bono is a wonderful influence and example of someone who DOES what Jesus told us to do. Christians who diss him tick me off.
Post a Comment
<< Home