Christian Scharen - One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God

ONE STEP
CLOSER

ONE STEP
CLOSER

WHY U2 MATTERS TO THOSE SEEKING GOD

CHRISTIAN SCHAREN

2006 by Christian Scharen

Published by Brazos Press
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.brazospress.com

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Scharen, Christian Batalden.

One step closer : why U2 matters to those seeking God / Christian Scharen.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-58743-169-6 (pbk.)

1. U2 (Musical group) 2. Rock musicReligious aspectsChristianity.

3. Rock musiciansIrelandBiography. I. Title.

ML421.U2S33 2006
782.421660922dc22

2005028470

Unless otherwise marked, all scripture is taken from THE MESSAGE by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NRSV is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

To Isaiah and Grace, beloved children,
And to Rose Delesani,
their sponsor-sister in Milambe, Malawi
(For more on sponsorship,
see www.savethechildren.org)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
One Step Closer...

Theres cathedrals and the alleyways in our music. I think the alleyway is usually on the way to the cathedral, where you can hear your own footsteps and youre slightly nervous and looking over your shoulder and wondering if theres somebody following you. And then you get there and you realize there was somebody following you: its God.

Bono

A Wide Tradition

I hope that youve found this book because you, too, find yourself drawn into the ways Bono and U2 talk of spiritual matters. Ive been a fan since I first heard them in 1985. Ive always felt a spiritual kinship with them, as though they seem to know my soul and put words to thoughts Ive had. Theyve been spiritual companions for me. This is true during times when Ive felt at home in a traditional church, but even more so during times when Ive felt frustrated with the church. When my life is in spiritual upheaval, U2 has been and is a trustworthy companion. For a long while I appreciated this, as one appreciates a cool uncle or a favorite aunt. Only recently when a group of college students asked me to lead a retreat for them did I begin to think about revisiting U2 in an effort to think through their spiritual voice in a more organized way.

I dont mean to be scolding in this effort to think through U2s spiritual voice as so many Christians have done when theyve questioned if U2s members and music are sufficiently Christian. That question is humorous if you reflect on the ways U2 has turned the question back on the church, asking whether the church is sufficiently Christian! Rather, what I mean to do here is to think about how U2 fits within a longer tradition of Christian voices that point us to the cross, to Jesus, and to the power of Gods ways in the world. By seeing them in a fuller light, Im trying to make some sense of how they fit into a certain tradition of speaking and living faith. It is worth doing because many preachers preach to the choir, so to speak, while U2 preaches to millions who dont even know the basic songs of faith and have grown up without any connection to the church.

When I think of preachers who reach millions, I usually think of Billy Graham, Rick Warren, or others like them who speak to thousands with Christs message. U2s preaching is strikingly different from the stereotypical television preacher (the kind Bono criticized in songs and finally lampooned in his Mirror Ball Man persona during the 1990s). I want to say to all the fans of U2 who dont go to church, who dont know that the Christian tradition is a wide and generous place with room for many voices: listen! The voice of U2 is not unique; it is deeply rooted in authentic Christianity. I want to invite you into that generous and wide tradition and introduce you to some of those saints and friends of God who have also spoken as U2 does about faith in the midst of doubt, hope in the face of despair, love in the face of violence, and peace and justice in the face of suffering.

This book is not about the meaning of U2 songs nor is it a chronicling of their spiritual journey from Boy to How toDismantle an Atomic Bomb. It is not an investigation of the private life of Bono or any one member of the band. Neither is it intended first of all for those within the church as an effort either to defend U2s faith or to explain the usefulness of their lyrics for preaching to spiritually hungry but religiously disaffected young people.

Theology in a Minor Key

This book is an attempt to reveal to those unfamiliar with Christianity that the Christian tradition has, metaphorically speaking, many keys. Some of Christianitys most prominent voices play major keys, claiming for instance that God has laid a special blessing on the United States or that God will lay a special blessing on you if you write out your check to this or to that church or ministry. Others claim that if you come to church, you will find everything to your liking, from the cookies and coffee to the pop music and practical, uplifting messages. Rather than speak in these major keys, this book introduces you to a minor keywhat I call the theology of the crossthat fits U2s voice. I will expand on this later in the book, but let me give a quick introduction to that perspective here.

The theology of the cross fits U2 because it avoids the all too common proclamation of faith, hope, and love that ignores the present realities of doubt, despair, suffering, and injustice. It is a tradition that looks at the world and speaks the truth about what it sees: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the words of the church reformer Martin Luther, the theology of the cross calls a thing what it really is. The honesty of this theological voice is freeing because it faces up to our experiences of the truth of life. One need not ignore or be surprised by the many difficulties and sorrows in life. Rather, such faith allows us to take lifes challenges straight on knowing that in our struggles we are not alone. Jesus, the crucified and risen one, has already faced the worst of life.

This book, therefore, will help you make sense of U2s style of talking about God, Jesus, the Spirit, and the Christian life in a holistic way, rooted deeply in the history of faith we who follow Jesus share. As I will talk about more in the last chapter, it is a way of speaking (or singing!) the truth, but even more than that, it is a way of living the truth. Now Ill briefly tell a little about my spiritual journey and how I found U2 along the way.

Closer to... What?

I thought Id already found Jesus. Im thinking of a time during my first years at university. My childhood friend, Nick, had gone to a Christian college in Seattle, Washington, while I attended a Christian college in Tacoma, just a few miles south along the Puget Sound. During high school in Montana, Nick had been the good boy. He was on the varsity basketball team, and he was an academic merit scholar and a nice guy whose family went to a church where they praised the Lord. I was an average football player, a below-average student, I was on the edge of trouble, and to top it off, Id dropped out of church after ninth grade when our familys church had an ugly split over a pastor. A group in the congregation didnt like this pastor and so withheld their pledges of financial support to force him out. He left, we left, and I left. If that was Christian community, I could do without it.