Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Destroy the Image

"What we've got to do in the music business is destroy the image that has got through... which has [given] God Almighty and Jesus Christ...an image of a weakling. A slightly effeminate image. A sort of Sunday image. A religious image. This is not the case....This is something we're trying in U2 to do something about."

Bono, in a recently released 1981 presentation to a weekend retreat for Christian musicians with fellow band members the Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.

As quoted in Christianity Today: Quotation Marks

7 comments:

Dave said...

nice!

Jonathan Dodson said...

THANKS!

corey thomas said...

i don't quite understand the ramblings of Bono...

Josh O. said...

Corey, Rule #1 of Fight Club...no Bono bashing!!! Gosh.

Let's see. The "ramblings of Bono" seems to indicate that you have an ongoing problem with the man. My buddy Jonathan is an unofficial Bono/U2 scholar, so you should drop him a note some time.

I thought this was a great quote. They understood "why men hate going to church" way before Dave Murrow started writing the book. Not only that, they understood that what was lacking in the lives of the followers of Christ in their time and place was a radical, biblically accurate view of God. Which is what the church in America needs today more than anything.

jason said...

I understand that there has been an emasculation of Jesus in the church but I get uncomfortable with how most conservative reformed types talk about it. They seem to want to make Jesus a man's man and I fear leave women as inferior in the church.(Not saying Bono is doing this but the way most talk now days does stray this way). I think it would be more biblically accurate to just let Jesus be Jesus. He had a totally radically kingdom values way of living that doesn't fit the machismo (sp?) way that lots of Christian men talk about Jesus. I wish we could find a better way of expressing the gender differences and roles in the church that didn't too often get tripped up by our fallenness.

"Am I buggin ya, I don't mean to bug ya."

Josh O. said...

I swear that I'm not going to bring up the whole 'why men hate going to church' for a while. Right on, Jason. Totally agree that the real issue is to let "Jesus be Jesus!" I have not read Murrow's book, probably never will.

One thing's for sure, the real Jesus doesn't fit into our preconcieved molds, whether overly feminized or masculinized.

I actually gravitate more towards Bono's problem with the "Sunday image of Jesus", the "religous image." This treatment of Jesus is deadly--it is anti-Christ. May we and our churches stand in awe, worship at the feet of, and bear witness of King Jesus.

corey thomas said...

i don't know whether or not bono is a christian and to be frank i don't really care. i do listen to u2 now and again and i catch the spiritual content of their songs but in public they just seem to gimmicky to me. Bob Dylan made a HUGE statement for like 3 or 4 albums in a row when he became a christian in the 70's-80's and he left nothing unclear. He had a holy spirit infused spark of inspiration and worship and fortunately let the world hear and then he quieted down and we haven't heard anything blatant since. Does that mean he is no longer a born again? of course not. does my perception of bono make him a heathen? heaven's no! i just can't stand to listen to his ramblings which are more often than not political in nature and not spiritual. that's all... if jonathan wants to set me straight i am not opposed.