U2 and God

[pax]

I think she's mostly against the factions of the Christian church that are still more patriarchal. Interestingly enough, she has said on more than one occasion that she has no problem with Jesus, and her dad is a Methodist minister.

She also had this crazy grandmother who was all about stuff like "masturbate and you'll go to hell."

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If you cannot live together in here, you cannot live together out there, let me tell ya. --Bono

You've got to cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice... --Bono

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I am still not sure where my faith is...I believe in God, but like everyone else I have big questions. Anyways, I feel listening to U2 in itself is a religious experience.

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"I sometimes get the odd twinge that I wouldn't mind playing lead guitar, just like a couple of notes, but that's about as near as I would want to get to the front." -Larry

[Anthony]

Originally posted by LarryMullen's_POPAngel:
I am still not sure where my faith is...I believe in God, but like everyone else I have big questions. Anyways, I feel listening to U2 in itself is a religious experience.

EXACTLY! YES!

Ant.

[drumkeeran]

There is a world of difference between spirituality and religion, one is of God and one is of Man.

But God created both and loves us all.

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If your glass house should crack....POE

[~LadyLemon~]

Thanks for everyone's input--very interesting to read. I'm not a religious person but I am a spiritual person. U2's music really inspires me--I often say that their shows have been my religious experiences in life.
But anyway...that's all I have to say about that.

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Sitting on a cornflake
Waiting for the van to come

[Trash Can]

Fascinating thread!
This is the kind of juicy stuff I love in "Free Your Mind".

I had NO idea about Tori Amos! At first, when I read the info above... I got angry, "Well, screw her then!"
But, thats wrong. I mean, I listen to a lot of stuff that some Fundimentalist would consider "evil & demonic", but that I enjoy for what I "take" from it, and I give no creedence to its anti-whatever message or stance.
I think, at least for myself, my faith has got to be stronger than what a song may say to me, ...ya know???

Anywayyyyy, the usual pro-God/anti-religion stance has popped up here again by the usual suspects.. and I agonize while I force myself to just let it go. Ive stated my views plenty of times before, why re-hash it.

I love U2's obvious spirituality, and yes, Bono's Christianity.... and I like Creed too...and Collective Soul... and Kirk Franklin.


Peace

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My love for you
It's in the things I do and say
If I wanna live I gotta
Die to myself someday.
Surrender.

[sv]

We are all U2 fans. The concept of God has nothing to do with U2.

We are all agnostic (i.e. we don't know if there's a God). Some of us are just willing to admit it.

Others have been effectively trained and socialized to "have faith" that there is a God, despite the near-total lack of evidence in support of this.

Just because we can't explain creation doesn't mean there has to be a God. That logic is totally flawed.

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by sv:
We are all U2 fans. The concept of God has nothing to do with U2.
We are all agnostic (i.e. we don't know if there's a God). Some of us are just willing to admit it.
Others have been effectively trained and socialized to "have faith" that there is a God, despite the near-total lack of evidence in support of this.
Just because we can't explain creation doesn't mean there has to be a God. That logic is totally flawed.

Hey, God has LOTS to do with many of our decisions to be U2 fans! It's what turned me on to U2 back in `84. I loved the Christian lyrics.
Also, we are NOT all agnostics. I don't know what you think an agnostic is, but an agnostic is someone who hasn't decided whether he believes that God exists or not. That certainly doesn't fit me. I have definitely decided that I believe God exists.

[sv]

No offense is intended by any of this.

I understand U2's idea of God is important to some. But U2's idea of God (and yours or mine) has nothing to do with whatever God really is (if it exists). So perhaps what you're responding to is the fact that you happen to have similar beliefs with U2, and you like to see them referred to in their songs.

And getting past the "agnostic" semantics, my point stands: none of us know if there's a God, whether or not we are able to admit it.

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by sv:
True. I should have said, "God has nothing to do with U2" rather than referring to "the concept".

groooooan, let's forget this. I wasn't even referring to the way you wrote it. All I was saying was that God has everything to do with U2. Bono loves God. He has the joy of God. He sings songs about God. If Bono had no belief in God, there might not ever have been a U2, so God has everything to with U2.

[sv]

Yeah, we should have killed this discussion a while ago. My bad.

[DebbieSG]

There's a nice collection of Bono's own thoughts on this topic at
www.mindspring.com/~twhite21/band/U2dquotes.html

including this one:

I'm frightened, but I'm not cynical or pessimistic about the future and a lot of that must come down to my beliefs. It is my belief in God that enables me to get up in the morning and face the world. I believe that there is a logic and a reason for everything. If I didn't believe that and thought that everything was simply down to chance, then I'd really be afraid. I wouldn't cross the road for fear of being run over.
February 1983

His reading of Psalm 116 on this tour says a lot about his faith.

[This message has been edited by DebbieSG (edited 12-12-2001).]

[80sU2isBest]

Originally posted by sv:
I understand U2's idea of God is important to some. But U2's idea of God (and yours or mine) has nothing to do with whatever God really is (if it exists). So perhaps what you're responding to is the fact that you happen to have similar beliefs with U2, and you like to see them referred to in their songs.
.

Exactly. But what you originally said was that the "concept of God" has nothing to do with U2. And that's just not true. Ask Bono is the "concept of God" has anything to do with U2, and he'd probably tell you it has EVERYTHING to do with U2. It's really what Bono is about.

[sv]

True. I should have said, "God has nothing to do with U2" rather than referring to "the concept".

[sulawesigirl4]

aaaackkkk! Too much semantics for me!

*runs away rubbing her head*

oww.

[Lilly]

I know I believe in God, in Jesus and what not. But I find that I have HUGE issues with Christians. Or, I should clarify, with fundamental Christians. It seems like they have lost everything that Christ said and force their religion on everybody else (which is the exact opposite of ANYTHING Christ said). By fundamental Christians I mean those that stand outside of AIDS clinics holding signs that say "AIDS is God's way of killing gays." I am 17 years old and I don't know. I have no idea what I believe. I am reading the Bible in an effort to better understand Christianity. That's the precise reason why I LOVE U2. They don't know either. That's SO comforting to me, to know that people who are FAR more educated about religion than I still don't know. It comes as a comfort to me when the words "I don't know" come out of any of their mouths in referece to religion it makes it clearer to me that nobody knows. There is no right, there is no wrong. Just beliefs. U2 has been, in addition to about 1000 other things, to me a release. I had been questioning LONG before I listened to U2, but when I did get stuck on them they encouraged questioning too. It was so- well, it was refreshing. I loved and still love it. I don't know, but someday I will.

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Taste is the enemy of art.

[Trash Can]

Who IS this "sv" person, and where does his/her bitterness and FEAR of a God concept come from???? And how big a U2 fan can this person be if he/she says that God has nothing to do with U2???
Has this person EVER read ANY of Bono's lyrics???
ohh boy...
"I BELIEVE in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds and you
Loosed the chains
Carried the cross
And all my shame
And all my shame
YOU KNOW I BELIEVE IT."

Well guess who Mr. Paul Hewson is singing about there!????? It aint about Madeline Murray O'Hare, Charles Darwin, or the "Meathead" from "All In the Family"!
And the songs "Gloria" and "Grace" are NOT about two hot chics!
Its fine if people enjoy U2 only for the "cool soundin' rock, duuuude!" or because "they are soooo dreamy!". Fine... but dont go and deny what Paul has worn on his sleeve, and believed in his heart and WRITTEN about for the last 20 years!
Perhaps I should be more understanding and patient with people like "sv", since I "WAS him" a few years back. Or perhaps its BECAUSE of that that I have little patience.At least for me, the Anti-God rhetoric that spewed out of my
mouth back then all came from extreme bitterness, anger, fear, and a helluva lot of pathetic self pity.

...whewwww... Well, now I'm probably gonna get an earful... So bring it on, then!!!!

So here's some more of Mr. Hewson's thoughts:

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My love for you
It's in the things I do and say
If I wanna live I gotta
Die to myself someday.
Surrender.

[CannibalisticArtist]

i'm an athiest, somebody save me.

[DebbieSG]

Originally posted by CannibalisticArtist:
i'm an athiest, somebody save me.

That would be Jesus, of course! Sorry, couldn't resist. That is who Bono is referring to in those lyrics. They are all based on scriptures from the New Testament, which to Christians is the Word of God. They sure inspired me, giving me a first lesson in Christianity so to speak.

The interesting thing is that despite Bono's heavy reliance on his faith in his songwriting, and the Christian beliefs of Larry and The Edge, Adam is still an atheist!
If he reconciles it, I guess the fans do too. If you aren't searching for God, you likely won't come away with the full meaning of those lyrics.

What's more obvious is that Bono acts on his faith by showing love and hope to people. That's when you know God is really there.

[Trash Can]

Originally posted by CannibalisticArtist:
i'm an athiest, somebody save me.

Hey, whatever rocks your boat, Cannibal. (and boy! does that kinda sarcasm bring back memories!)
That wasnt the point of my first reply. I wonder, do you, as an athiest, also think that Bono's lyrics have nothing to do with a belief in a God?


[This message has been edited by Trash Can (edited 12-14-2001).]