One More Book in the Name of Love
@U2,
August 16, 2009
By: Scott Calhoun
We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2. Greg Garrett. Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. $16.95.
Greg Garrett has written a wide-eyed, gentle-voiced field-guide to the basics of Christianity and the messages in many of U2's songs, ably mapping the major points of intersection between the two. Writing as one who now sees how full of the spirit U2's music is, Garrett gives explanations, contemplations, recitations and proclamations. What Garrett does not give are any revelations, which was frustrating to me, as I think it will be to many fans.
As a young reporter in 1982, Garrett interviewed U2 and then struggled for a long time to reconcile the songs he loved with the "religious freaks" who made them. "As someone who had been badly burned by a Christian tradition in my youth, in the 1980s and 1990s I wanted my elevation and exhilaration free of religion," Garrett writes in the introduction, extending an open hand to those who can relate. His awakening came slowly. Not until after the 9/11 tragedy, Garrett said in a recent radio interview, did he find U2's music consoling and lifting him in a mysterious way. He noticed U2 was helping thousands more heal through their music and live performances, especially on their Elevation tour, and he had an epiphany: U2 makes Music That Matters.
Now, Garrett hopes to persuade those who still haven't found a desire for the Christianity behind U2's work, frequently playing the Everyfan card to appeal to both the Saturday night and Sunday morning crowds: "...like many other purely secular fans of the band, for some years I managed to ignore the spiritual content, the religious implications, and the theological questions bound up in the life and work of U2. ... The beauty and truth U2 try to create in their music can lead us to some wonderful conclusions about creation, about praise for creation, and about a Creator...."
Garrett wants to talk theology with us but assures us it won't hurt. Euangelion just means "good news," which is usually translated as "gospel" and does not mean "that which saves us," but "a teaching, a proclamation, or an understanding that might change us, if we hear it and act on it." KoinÅnia is Greek for "a close fellowship," and ecclesia means a "community of faith," both of which U2 are, Garrett notes. More terms and definitions are sprinkled throughout the book, and you'll feel adequately prepared by the end to mix it up with fellow lay theologians.
Garret's call: "What good news can U2 bring us that might help us to understand Christian belief and practice in a way that might transform our lives?"
Garrett's response: "Whatever it is U2 is doing ... it is good news for many of those that encounter it."
U2 are best understood by looking at how spirit, music and action (taken by the band and by fans) combine to form their unique appeal, Garrett suggests. He develops each of his three chapters -- on belief, communion and social justice -- by weaving his observations with lyrics, anecdotes from the band members' personal histories, observations made by critics and journalists, passages of Scripture and quotes from Bono's speeches. All this to also argue for three points about Christianity: God is worth believing because of the beauty and truth in His creation; a grace-filled community is one in which we get to (are privileged to) carry each other; and faith without working to bring relief to the oppressed is a dead faith. Neither Jesus nor Bono would be pleased if you did not "get on your boots"!
Each chapter begins with a list of 10 U2 songs to listen to before or while you are reading; a bit of an audacious suggestion, I thought, as if the words on the page could compete with the songs in your ears. A conclusion gives "Ten Spiritual Lessons from U2," parsing song lyrics for their benedictions, extending them into plain-spoken fortunes pulled from super-sized cookies. I'll share three of them.
The goal is elevation tells us: "We are seeking transcendence for ourselves, our spirits, our world. We know it when we find it, and for many people, it can be found most reliably in the world of the spirit."
Sometimes you can't make it on your own tells us: "It's no shame to rely on others. We are made for companionship -- especially in tough times. A community -- or a dear friend -- can make all the difference when we face tragedy, difficulty or exhaustion."
We need love and peace tells us: "War and cruelty destroy lives and demean the human spirit. We need to seek other solutions than an eye for an eye, and we need to learn to return love for hate, or nothing will ever change."
Garrett is an English teacher at Baylor University and a writer in residence at Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, in Austin. He also wrote Holy Superheroes! Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels and Film and The Gospel According to Hollywood. With his second "Gospel" book, U2 now has shelf space in Westminster John Knox's 14-volume series, beside the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen (and The Simpsons, Oprah, Disney, Harry Potter and Star Wars, among others).
As WJK told me, "readers certainly don't need to know a lot about Christianity to enjoy Garrett's book, and probably don't need a thorough knowledge of U2, either." I agree. In fact, I think the less you know about the religion and the rock band, the more you will find this book full of fresh takes. However, if you are a U2 fan who pays attention (and don't devoted fans of any band pay attention to what they sing and do?), I think you will find Garrett's observations ring true with the conclusions you already formed about what U2 values and sings about, regardless of how appealing Christianity is to you.
Garrett's observations, while not stale, might seem a bit shelf-worn if you've read similar books, some of which came more than five years before his. Steve Stockman's Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 and Beth Maynard and Raewynne Whiteley's Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog (both of which Garrett cites), are, when taken together, a great study of the spiritual history of the band members and some practical implications of the Christian themes in their music. Then there is Robert Vagacs's Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective, Henry VanderSpek's pamphlet, Faith, Hope & U2, and Christian Scharen's One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God.
If you have read just a few of these other books, I think you will find Garrett is writing for your friend for whom Christianity is both familiar and off-putting, and who knows about U2 like she knows about The Simpsons, Harry Potter, or Star Wars. Give her this book. After she has read it, the two of you should be ready for some lively discussions.
In the end, it was Garrett's introduction that best held my attention because it is where we get his U2 story. He delivers it as part-confession and part-testimony, with endearing touches of personal reflection that make it an apologia for why, though once he cared little for the genesis of the band's convictions, he now writes to spread the gospel of U2.
© @U2/Calhoun, 2009.
More U2 News
|
 |
|
