Yes, we’ve discussed Bono previously. Yes, I think U2 is a great but somewhat overrated band. And yes, we’re going to talk about Bono again. A few weeks ago, dinner conversation revolved around the idea of “Christian bands” as opposed to those who claim to be “Christians in a band,” and whether or not that is even a valid distinction to make; what is the separation of sacred and secular in music, etc. A friend made the statement that no one is a better model for how to publicly merge Christianity performance better than Bono, singer for U2.

Bono certainly openly claims to be a Christian. Not only that, he’s one of the few (if not the only) performer I’ve ever read openly discuss his faith in the pages of Rolling Stone. Not only does he not portray his faith as a simply private matter, he has at times very explicitly stated that Christ is the only way to salvation, presenting a clear Christ-centered Gospel message in the pages of secular media for millions to read. These are things no other person at his level is saying or doing.

Bono is probably the only performer at that level of fame continually and openly weaving his faith into his lyrics. Who else at this level of fame is singing “Take this shirt, Polyester white trash made in nowhere, Take this shirt and make it clean, clean. Take this soul, Stranded in some skin and bones, Take this soul and make it sing. Yahweh. Yahweh. Always pain before a child is born. Yahweh. Yahweh, Still I’m waiting for the dawn.” Bono closes this song, simply entitled Yahweh with the lines “Take this city, A city should be shining on a hill. Take this city if it be Your will. What no man can own, no man can take. Take this heart, take this heart, take this heart and make it break.” These are things no other rock star is saying or would want to say.

Not only that, Bono calls himself and all of us to live a “feet with faith” if you will. In other words, he makes us face the fact that it is not enough to claim faith with our mouths if our feet are not moving in the direction of service. Though I’m not convinced that debt relief is the wisest strategy, he has certainly taken it upon himself to be the voice of the poor and neglected. He is calling high-level leaders across the world to account for their neglect of the African AIDS crisis, to admit to high-level debt-relief for the world’s poorest nations and calling for equal justice for all. Again, these are things that simply no one else at his level are doing or saying.

Does Bono have problems, and even problems with his professed faith? Absolutely. He openly curses like a sailor, admits to occasionally drinking too much and publicly struggles with issues of pride. At which point we (or at least I) want to say that his faith is not real, because if it were, he wouldn’t have those issues. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).

It’s easy for us to hold public figures up to standards which we ourselves don’t meet, and in fact, we often do so. Does Bono struggle? Yes, but he does so openly and also openly pleads the blood of Christ; not as an excuse for His sin, but as the only way out of it. Can I excuse his sin because he uses the right words? No, but can I also say that it means he is not a believer. When all is said and done, Bono does seem to be a good model as to how a Christian may openly be a Christian and maintain a position in the public eye. He has intentionally turned his fame as a rock star into international political clout and he has used it for the disenfranchised. I can certainly think of men who have lived out their professed faith much worse than this. Jimmy Carter, anyone?

If anything, it seems that we ought to sympathize with Bono. As he openly struggles with how to most effectively live out his faith in the situation he has found himself, the least that we can do is thank him for his honesty and walk alongside him.

Read the full Rolling Stone interview.
Read my previous post on Bono.
Read Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas.
Visit U2’s official website.
Visit the U2 lyrics archive.
Download I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For performed by Vanderbilt University’s Victory A Capella Co-ed Chamber Choir.