| this is an interview w/ bono from U2...i'd love to hear what you think...
Christianity Today just ran an excerpt from a new book that consists of Bono talking with music journalist Michka Assayas on a variety of topics, including his faith.
Here's an interesting part of it:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion
because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of
that?
Bono: Yes, I think that's normal.
It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be
looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps
me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.
Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.
Bono: I really believe we've moved
out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.
Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.
Bono: You see, at the center of
all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to
you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical
laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that
Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet,
along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you
will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you
like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news
indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.
Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.
Bono: That's between me and God.
But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in
deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm
holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am,
and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.
Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the
world. I wish I could believe in that.
Bono: But I love the idea of the
Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there
are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality
as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a
very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of
the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what
we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap
the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled... . It's not our
own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.
Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great
hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his
rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?
Bono: No, it's not farfetched to
me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he
was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along
the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or
Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off
that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me
teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah."
I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no,
please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric.
We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that.
But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to
crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come
back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the
Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh,
my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either
Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're
talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the
people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a
bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were
putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on
the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire
course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed
and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched ...
Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:
Bono: ... [I]f only we could be a
bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. ...When I look at the Cross of
Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask
myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who
He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the
question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.
From Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, by Michka Assayas, copyright © 2005 by Michka Awwayas. |
