An Unmistakable Gospel Trail

U2 occupies a unique position – not only in the music world, but popular culture in general. Time’s “Man of the Year”. Designer iPods. Super Bowl halftime shows. The (RED) initiative. And meetings with heads of state and the church about the AIDS crisis in Africa. The influence of the Irish band, particularly its front man Bono, seems to be everywhere.

When asked to describe U2, Bono recently reflected, “The band always feels like it’s coming, never that it’s arrived.” Not only does Bono’s description reflect the ever-freshness of their music and their ability to reinvent themselves, but also the spiritual journey of the band members themselves: Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullin. Since the band released their initial album Boy in 1980, each of the foursome have experienced the best and worst the world has to offer. To borrow from one of their most popular tunes, each has both “climbed the highest mountains” and “held hands with the devil”.

Yet, regardless of the highs and lows of their personal walks of faith, the Christian truth expressed in a large body of their work is unmistakable. Whispers of Christ’s teaching show up in some spots, and direct quotes from scripture are found in others. And, when you look at their discography as a whole, you can see a clear “Gospel trail” – signs that much of their music is written from a perspective that assumes, even requires, biblical Christianity.

I discovered that “Gospel trail” for myself growing up in the 1980s when I listened to my first U2 album, War. In fact, I was recently reminded of the spiritual influence that their songs had on me during that time period. During the process of writing the U2 Unplugged series, I serendipitously stumbled upon an old, worn-out Bible that I’ve kept stored away since my high school days. A photocopy of the lyrics to “Drowning Man” was taped inside the front cover of the Bible. Perhaps foreshadowing this series, several lyrics were circled with notes scribbled in the margin. Even back then, I was eager to unplug the Christian truth found inside their songs.

The Faith Watcher

U2 is described in the media as hip, savvy, timeless, globally conscientious, and spiritual. But it is that “spiritual” element that has always been so hard for me to fully understand over the years.

Are they or aren’t they? That’s the question that I tossed around since the mid-1980s concerning the faith of U2. When I first heard their War release back in high school, I rapidly jumped on their wagon. I was excited about this new band from Ireland singing bold expressions of faith in the mainstream rock music world. Yet, the band’s historic reluctance to fully discuss their faith, their shunning of the “Christian band” label, lack of association with any church body, and sometimes outlandish behavior left me both cockeyed and bewildered as the years passed.

I remember first growing skeptical with the release of Joshua Tree in 1987. Instead of straightforward expressions of faith that I was used to hearing in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) world, I was shocked to hear what seemed to be a murkier message in the album. Bono’s confession that “he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for” caused me to superficially conclude that U2 was no longer satisfied with Christianity and was looking elsewhere for answers.

Then, as the 1990s rolled in, the band seemed to be moving even further and further away from where they began. Gone were explicit statements of faith in their lyrics, replaced by songs that seemed to be obscured with irony. Some of the on-stage antics of Bono in their Zoo TV tour seemed a far cry from what I considered acceptable “Christian behavior”. In fact, MacPhisto, Bono’s on-stage persona who was supposed to be the devil himself, made it seem to me like Bono had gone over to the “dark side.” From my perspective, the “band of consciousness” moniker was being replaced by a reputation of being sensational and outlandish. At some point in the 1990s, I suppose I wrote them off for good, concluding that U2 abandoned whatever Christian roots they had in favor of rock stardom.

Yet, throughout this time, David, a close friend of mine, always saw things differently than I did. A long-time believer and diehard U2 fan, he urged people like me to look beyond the obvious showmanship and see what was really happening. David pointed to the deep spiritual questions that were raised by the Zoo TV and PopMart tours, even if the presentation didn’t seem “Christian”, at least to evangelicals. He held up Bono’s MacPhisto as an updated version of something C.S. Lewis himself did in The Screwtape Letters. He argued that I was too easily distracted with the superficial stuff, such as obsessing over the title of the song “The Playboy Mansion” while completely ignoring the profound biblical message contained in its lyrics.

I’ve come to embrace David’s perspective, especially since the releases of All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The band seems to not only be returning to its musical roots in these albums, but Bono, at least, appears to be more open about his faith than ever before. In addition, I am not sure whether spiritual maturity or artistic direction is driving the changes, but U2 seems less concerned with irony and shock these days and more bent on delivering clearer messages in their music. Plus, because of his passion over the AIDS crisis in Africa, Bono is reaching out to evangelicals more than ever before, and building bridges in the process.

The difference in perspective that I’ve had goes beyond just what U2 has done, however. I’ve changed as well. As I mature in my spiritual walk, I am discovering that I need to dive deeper and not be so quick to react to appearances. I need to look at the heart and motivations of person rather than being distracted by his or her outward behavior. What’s more, I need to awaken to the truth that God can use a believer who is much different than I am, in ways that I may not always understand.

Therefore, looking back, I realize that my dismissive attitude towards U2 in the 1990s was, in part, because of my personal lack of grace. If I am quick to hold up that “I’m not perfect, just forgiven” expression for myself, why am I so stingy in letting others used it? Instead, I’ve discovered that I can disagree with Bono on some issues, but still see him as a sinner saved by grace in Jesus Christ. I can lament that the fact that the band members have not more vocal in their personal witness, yet have my Christian walk be transformed by their music anyway.

Finally, because U2 is constantly in the spotlight, I can be tempted to hold them up to a standard like I do such people as Billy Graham or such CCM fixtures as Casting Crowns or Steven Curtis Chapman. Whether those expectations are fair or unfair is secondary to the realization that every believer – Bono, you, or I — is on a spiritual journey. We all do stupid things. We all do things earlier in life that we cringe at later. In short, we are all sinners that fall short of the glory of God. By God’s grace, however, we are all slowly maturing in our walk with Christ. Therefore, my desire is to show the same grace towards U2 and my neighbor and Jesus Christ shows me.