Saturday Afternoon, listening to some music a mix of U2 and well the 80’s and of course a mix in of current music. I began to think about how U2 has sifted through various images of religion, what does that mean to you and me? Our team posted the question this week. “U2 Music inspires you to do what? Give us some ideas. What does U2 music mean to you?” Inspired by U2 or is it inspired by Bono? At this point the lines are blurred, Bono is the ultimate front man, and yea we heard that Laim was voted the best front man in the latest issue of RS.
Maybe its religion that inspires you, maybe the thought that you are part of something greater and that you have someone watching out over you could that be inspiring? It’s not any big secret. Bono, the Edge, and Larry Mullen Jr. had their own Bible study group in the pre-U2 days. Their second album, October, is loaded with Christian images, and during its recording, critics hailed U2 as a Christian band, something that U2 has always denied. Bono got to hang out with Pope John Paul II before his passing in 2005. They’re just a rock & roll band, right?
Interesting if you label them a Christian rock band you have people from the right screaming how you can even think of them in such a fashion however a few churches are turning to U2. USA Today reports that the U2 Eucharist is a “traditional Episcopal liturgy” that refers to some of U2’s best-selling songs such as “Beautiful Day” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)” as hymns. We shared stories about this concept before it involves combining U2 songs with related religious montages. Reverend Paige Blair, a parish priest in York Harbor, Maine, incorporated some of U2’s lyrics during a sermon in July 2005. Since then, she’s gone on to assist 150 churches with their own U2 Eucharists, and the idea are spreading like wildfire across 15 states and seven countries. They’re not worshipping Bono, but choosing to use him and the band’s work as an example of spreading the word.
I thought about the question myself this week and as the editor of U2TOURFANS I wondered if I should share my personal thoughts. The team all agreed that I should at least share something with you the reader.
So here goes. “Well the God I believe in isn’t short o’ cash, MISTER!!” Think about that line for second, Churches all around the world ask you for a donation. Ask you to put faith in…. Fill in the blank.
I put my faith in God, Inspired ? Sure I am inspired daily by lots of images, music, and words. I can say that U2 has created a place for me to express and share my views with like minded people.
The bottom line; you don’t have to like my views, agree or believe however you should respect one another. It’s really that simple.
U2’s music is a vessel to which we all could use to take a ride on. Bono has been blessed by the
Bono/ U2 360 Tour 2009 hand of God, he once said “I just go where the life is, you know? Where I feel the Holy Spirit,” Bono told Christianity Today. “If it’s in the back of a Roman Catholic cathedral, in the quietness and the incense, which suggest the mystery of God, of God’s presence, or in the bright lights of the revival tent, I just go where I find life.
I don’t see denomination. I generally think religion gets in the way of God.
“I am just trying to figure it out. Everybody wants to make an impact with their life, whether it’s small scale with friends or family—that’s really big, is the truth—or whether it’s on a grand scale, in changing their communities and beyond.
I just want to realize my potential.” He recalled one pastor’s recent advice: Stop asking God to bless what you’re doing. Find out what God’s doing. It’s already blessed. “That’s what I want,” Bono said. “I want to align my life with that.”
What do you want to align your life to? Post your comments.
