Last night Steve Stockman spoke at Regent College on... you guessed it - U2. The title of his talk was U2: Did They Come Here to Play Jesus. It was a great night.
Steve, as you may know, is the author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2. Last night's event was also a book signing, but Steve told us, in not so subtle terms, that the new revised version of Walk On will be out in 4 or 5 weeks, and perhaps we should save our money.
He also gave his top 3 U2 books (not including his own, which should be right up there in my opinion.):
Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Michka Assayas)
This is one fantastic. I've blogged about it here and here.
U2 : At the End of the World (Bill Flanagan)
Haven't read it... yet.
I Was Bono's Doppelganger (Neil McCormick)
Also not yet. I've linked to the UK edition, as the North American version goes by the unfortunate title of "Killing Bono". Huh?
Steve talked about being tired of trying to convince some Christians ("who would rather die than think... and most do") that the band is indeed "Christian". He walked us through the U2 catalogue and highlighted the spiritual content from the albums and tours. He quickly gave us four focuses that he identifies as being important to Bono and the boys:
Relationships
Upside Down-ness
Personal Evangelism
Social Justice
Steve pointed out the obvious: The incredibly gospel-oriented lyrics of so many songs, that spent so long at the top of the charts. Anyone who would take the time to think would not question the spiritual orientation of the band.
I'm looking forward to the new book!
UPDATE: Steve indicated they were potentially working on doing something at Regent's Summer School. I'll keep you posted on that one.
Recent Comments