GEOFF ROBSON wonders why Christians need to speculate on the real relationship between U2 and God.

“What can I give back to God for the blessings he poured out on me? I lift high the cup of salvation as a toast to our Father, to follow through on the promises I made to him.”
– Bono

I can still recall, many years ago, my Bible study leader proudly telling his keen young crew of teenagers that the best-known rock group in the world – the one that sold out more concerts around the world and whose records were more listened to than anyone else’s – were Bible-believing Christians.

That band was, and is, U2.

Then again, I also remember a non-Christian friend telling me that there was no way U2 could be Christians, since the word ‘Satan’ appeared on a billboard in the video clip of their song ‘Desire’. (Not the best argument ever, since the word Satan also appears in the Bible. But we were young…)

Are they or aren’t they true believers? It seems many Christians, and some non-Christians too, take a weird pleasure from speculating on this question.

Three of the four members of U2 – Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen, Jr – have openly called themselves Christians in the past. Indeed when they started out more than 20 years ago they attended church and Bible studies at Shalom, an evangelical fellowship in their home city of Dublin.

After two decades at the top of the music business, all kinds of arguments are marshalled on both sides of the discussion, either by fans or by naysayers. And there is plenty of evidence accumulated.

For example, on the DVD of the band’s 2001 ‘Elevation’ concert in Boston, the crescendo of the final song sees Bono repeatedly shouting ‘Thank you!’ And when the crowd replies with a roar of approval, he undercuts them by saying, ‘that’s to Jesus.’ He then cries out, “and unto the Almighty: thank you!” before the band breaks into a full-fledged Hallelujah chorus as its finale. Elsewhere Bono recites the lines quoted at the beginning of this article – seemingly a paraphrase of Psalm 116:12-14.

Then again, it’s well-known the band holds a liberal attitude on sexuality; they enjoy a drink and a smoke; and their over-the-top PopMart tour cost US$1.3 million a week to keep on the road. More significantly, they seem reluctant to openly talk about their faith, and avoid attempts to be placed into a particular stream of Christianity.

Now the question has been enshrined in print by Irishman Steve Stockman, a Presbyterian minister and author of Walk On: The spiritual journey of U2.

It’s not hard to work out that Stockman is a huge U2 fan. And while he has never met the band, he delivers a carefully thought-out argument that the life and work of U2 – and especially its front man – are profoundly Christian. It’s a fascinating read for any fan, and in the end Stockman makes a persuasive case that three quarters of the band’s members are indeed genuine Christian believers.

Granted, it would be wonderful if they regularly attended a Christian fellowship and changed some aspects of their lifestyle. Stockman is a little too generous on some of these issues, instead rather simplistically blaming only the ‘narrow-minded’ Christians who rule them out of the Kingdom because of such things. These may not be the most important issues, but they should not be ignored.

But overall, not only U2’s music but the tenor of their lives seems to back up Stockman’s thesis. It’s hard to look at Bono’s life and not see a man driven by a distinctly biblical worldview. On the one hand he writes lyrics that, among other things, yearn for Jesus’ help and champion ‘grace’ as being greater than the idea of karma. Their music is not of the explicit ‘Jesus loves you’ variety, but there is a heart-felt longing for God’s kingdom and purposes, and a hope of something greater than this world.

But more than this, Bono has worked tirelessly to bring much-needed relief to Africa, both through the ‘Drop the Debt’ campaign and by bringing the AIDS pandemic to the world’s attention. And, as Stockman points out, he has always done so within the context of what God would have him do – using his celebrity status as ‘currency’.

In the end, the status of any U2 member before God is something known only to them and God himself. It’s hard enough to correctly analyse what is in anyone else’s heart, especially those with lives packaged to us through media sound bites or what they choose to reveal in their music.

More important is what we can learn from the question itself. Why do we care so much about whether Bono is a Christian or not? What does it reveal about our celebrity-obsessed culture when we enjoy arguing over whether or not they are ‘part of the team’?

Do we really think famous people are somehow more important, as though we can’t wait to get their autograph in heaven? Is it that Christians are (rightly) hoping for a biblical perspective to be present in mainstream culture. Or is it that we want Christianity to be made acceptable or maybe even ‘cool’?

These are important questions, and Stockman’s book has many helpful reflections. Stockman also addresses the perennial dispute over what we should expect of Christian artists. He believes that the theologians are there to teach us our doctrine; the job of the artist is to ‘paint outside the lines’ and ask the hard questions about life.

Perhaps most pointedly, Bono’s life can serve as a challenge, and perhaps even a rebuke, to Christians from all walks of life. He’s hardly living a life of poverty, to be sure, but the man has given much of his time and money to care for the most powerless, needy people in the world.

Without him, far fewer people would know that 75 per cent of the world’s 42 million AIDS victims live in sub-Saharan Africa, or that 6500 people die there every day because – at around $2 a day – they can’t afford the medicine needed to fight the disease. Without him it’s unlikely the US government would have just committed $15 billion to fight the disease in Africa.

Through Bono’s example, Christians should be challenged to consider what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Caring for the poor, the sick and the helpless is not an optional extra. We may not have the resources or the celebrity ‘currency’ of a rock star, but we can all play our part.