Bono: A Presentation

*Created and Presented in Fall 2016 in COMM101: Pop Culture, Mass Media, and Religion at Milligan College in Johnson City, TN by Cynthia Armstrong*

This is BONO. 

Paul Hewson was born in May 1960 in Dublin, Ireland to a Catholic Father and Protestant Mother. 

This is quite significant because at that time Ireland was a highly divided country. It is, by all means, a political divide, however it also runs parallel to a religious divide. The majority of Catholics are Nationalists, meaning they want Ireland to be a whole country again; while the majority of Protestants are Loyalists, who wish to remain with the United Kingdom. 

His parents marriage, and the various schools that he attended showed a young Paul that compromise and balance is achievable.

There are some before and after shots on the slide (above) to show these five people who have been together for over 40 years, that is quite commendable. 

So these four young men (above) in the early 1980's are balancing faith and music... what do they want to do with that? 

U2 has had a long career in the music industry, from their first international release in 1980 to their ongoing world tour of 2017. The lyrics have always held a certain level of social awareness and christian principles. All of the lyrics are, without question, personal to the band.

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(short clips of the following music videos were shown in the presentation to emphasize certain lyrics)

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1981 - the song Gloria from the Album October features Latin phrases with Catholic influences and biblical references to Psalm 30, Cols 2, and James 5. 

1983 -  song Sunday Bloody Sunday from the Album War references the 1972 Easter Massacre in Ireland when British soldiers shot at 26 unarmed civilians during a peaceful protest. 14 people died. Bono and the other band members would have been 12 / pre-teens when this happened. The song is often mistaken to be a song written in rebellion to British rule, however, it was not intended as such, and Bono is often heard opening the song by stating "This song is NOT a rebel song..."

Some songs were simply just fun little songs, but they remain deeply personal. When Bono was busy in the studio and forgot his wife's birthday, he wrote The Sweetest Thing as an apology to her. It was released in 1998 and as a present to her, all of the profits from this song go straight to her favorite charity... The Chernobyl Children's Project. 

1984 the song Pride (In the Name of Love) is written about Martin Luther King, Jr. but features lyrics that are clearly in reference to Jesus Christ and the kiss from Judas, his betrayer.

So by 1984, U2 has proven to the world that they have lasting power AND that they have a social conscience. So they were invited to be a part of the BAND AID project. 

1984 - Do They Know It's Christmastime - Band Aid, Feed The World project

1985 was a significant year for the Hewsons. Following Live Aid they traveled to Ethiopia and other countries where they assisted and witnessed the lives of the children there first hand.  They were moved and decided to take action.  Over the last 30 years they have created charities that have helped the world. 

In a Nutshell: 

ONE Advocacy Organization that lobbies for Anti-Poverty Policies 

(RED) - Major companies can fund grants to countries who wish to offer aid to their citizens

EDUN - a fashion company that utilizes sources from Africa and other poverty stricken countries to help boost their economies

Search for "Bono" on TED Talks for fascinating information on the above charities and the amazing impact they have had over the last 30 years. 

*Debt relief must be matched with wise investments.*

They are obviously great humanitarians.  So let's get back to the music career... by 1987 U2 had released The Joshua Tree which is one of the best albums in their history and in the history of rock and roll. 

The lyrics continue to have nods to christian belief... 

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is one of their most famous songs and it is one that they consider to be a gospel song, according to The Edge (as stated in the following video).  In the Rockumentary Rattle & Hum, they had the chance to present it as such. 

So Which way is Paul Hewson running? 

If the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... then the proof is in the pudding... and all those other cliches.  Let's see what his children are up to.

Jordan Hewson, his eldest child, is the Activist. 

Releases Speakable , a tech company that finds articles and news of charities and allows the websites to include this button at the bottom of the page which will take the reader directly to the charities website.  

Eve Hewson, the second child, and second daughter, is the Performer/Actress. 

Interviewers often note that she is quite down-to-earth considering that her father is a "Rock-God"... She answers: 

His two sons, the youngest of his four children pictured here, are not in the news (yet) but are often found on tour with Dad or at a charitable event with Mom... that is when they aren't in school. 

So what has Bono been up to for these last few years? 

Back in 2002 he submitted a testimonial to The Message website giving thanks to Eugene Peterson for his translation of the Bible. This led to a friendship between the two. In 2016, David Taylor sat down with Bono and Eugene to discuss their love of the Psalms. 

{presentation included small clips from the following video:  at 10:17,  at 13:07, and 17:04}

https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY

Glamour Magazine recently announced their 2016 Women of the Year, and for the first time in history, they included a man... Bono. 

My closing slide is a song that U2 often closes their shows with on tour. It was written 40 years ago, by these folks who have been together all that time, and it is inspired by Psalm 40. 

The song is called "40" (A Song for Thanksgiving). 

-End Presentation-

For more details, see my post of my research paper.  Thanks!

Early Church Reformers of the Sixteenth Century Essay

credit: got this pic from this site

In medieval times, the central common church was the Catholic Church, meaning ‘universal’, however the critics of the era began to question the beliefs and practices of Catholicism. “The church had promised Christians that the path to salvation lay in the hierarchy of the church and its sacramental system, which offered grace to the faithful through the seven sacrements.” (p.329) One critic, Thomas à Kempis believed that a person could work toward salvation if they focused on their own spiritual growth. These ideas of humanism spread throughout Europe and sparked new thoughts into the Christian humanist, Desiderius Erasmus.

            As the illegitimate son of a priest (who was supposedly celibate), Erasmus grew up in Holland studying at the Brethren of the Common Life where the new devotion “called for people to approach God directly in their hearts.” (p.330) In continuing his education, Erasmus traveled to traditional universities in Paris, though he quickly discovered that he detested this method of studies. Changing routes, he traveled to England and learned from Henry VIII’s London teachers. He, and his friend Thomas More, began to study a new course of humanism. Erasmus combined the study of humanism with his religious interests and looked to the original biblical texts. Erasmus stated that “Our first care must be to learn the three languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, for it is plain that the mystery of all scripture is revealed in them.” (p.330)

            Until that time, Jerome’s Vulgate translation of the bible was widely accepted; however, Erasmus rejected this translation and corrected the mistakes. In addition to translating the bible from Greek and Hebrew, he also wrote satires, using his “wit to promote a greater spirituality in religion.” (p.330) Erasmus believed that Christians should read the bible for themselves, instead of accepting another’s interpretation of it.  

            A man with a very different childhood from Erasmus, Martin Luther, was raised in Germany by a family of growing prosperity. However, Luther’s life took a dramatic turn when he was struck with fear as a jolt of lightning came close by. He prayed to St. Anne, saying if she would help him, he will devote his life to becoming a monk. After the storm passed, and he was alive and well, Luther kept his word and joined a monastery. He was also truthful in saying that he would be devoted to this life, for he immersed himself into this new calling. Still, he felt a sense of sinfulness and held a fear of being damned to hell. No matter how much he studied, he still felt as though he was not worthy of salvation, until he read Romans 1:17, the “just shall live by his faith.”

            Luther’s new central point of belief was “Justification by Faith”, meaning that a Christ’s sacrifice was a complete transaction for all peoples of all times, so no one needed to work for their salvation, they already had it. Luther took his new zeal and new belief and challenged the church doctrine concerning indulgences. “Tradition says that Luther tacked his list of arguments –the Ninety-five Theses- to the door of the church in Wittenburg.” (p.331) His well-thought-out arguments were appealing to many scholars who were also critics of the church. “With Luther’s strong words ‘It is foolish to think that papal indulgences… can absolve a man,’ the battle lines were drawn.” (p.332)

            Luther decided that he did not need to remain a monk (or friar, according to the lecture) and he left to marry Katharina von Bora, a former nun, where he continued to write about religious topics such as marriage, created hymns, as well as translated the bible in to German, helping to shape the form of the developing German language.

            In another part of Europe, John Calvin was preparing for a law career while simultaneously studying humanist writings- among them, the works of Martin Luther. During this time the royal authorities were attempting to suppress reform and so Calvin left France and settled in the city of Geneva. There “he published his first edition of his masterwork, The Institutes of the Christian Religion.” (p.335)

            The hardworking middle class was drawn to Calvin’s vision of seeing the majesty, power, and justice of God, as well as Luther’s vision of justification by faith. “Perhaps Calvin’s greatest contribution to Reformation thought was to redirect theological speculation from individual salvation to a larger question of humans’ place in the universe.” (p. 335) It was no longer a question of Why me, but instead a question of Why us?

When Calvin turned to the question of salvation, he again emphasized the power of God through Predestination. Predestination is “belief that God preordained who would be saved or damned, even before a person was born.” (p.336)  Calvin believed that if we only saw God as a just God, we would all be damned, because we are all inherently sinners. Many others, who also believed that we can do nothing to earn salvation, found comfort in the idea of predestination, though Calvin did not stress this as much as his future followers did.

Calvin used his impressive organizational skills and dispersed many preachers to the farthest corners of Europe to help congregations with directions on how to establish underground groups that could adopt Calvinism in hostile territories like France. Therefore, “a second generation Protestant, Calvin moved the Reformation forward in important ways.” (p.337)

            My own personal beliefs reflect those of Erasmus and Luther, in that, I believe you must read the bible and educated yourself about it in order to gain a better understanding and a closer relationship to God. I also relate to Martin Luther in his sense of sinfulness and fear that no matter how much he studied or did good works, he was not worthy of salvation. I too, struggle with the idea that God could ever truly love me and forgive me. I still feel as though I am meant to suffer and that I do not deserve mercy. I can tell others with whole-heartedness that He is a loving and forgiving God, but I never seem to let that sink in to my own heart. (I am working on it).

            I also agree with Luther that God’s sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was for all people, for all time. Jesus did not know me in a person to person manner while He walked the earth, yet I truly believe that when He died on the cross, He did so for all of God’s creatures in both the past and the future. Erasmus was diligent in his studies of other languages and original biblical texts. For this, he deserves a big gold star by his name. I do not believe that a person can truly understand any subject, without learning it from the beginning stages to the newest developments. My father was a mechanic, but he could not have rebuilt an engine on the first day that he became a mechanic. Erasmus went back to the original texts, in their original languages, to understand the culture and the true meaning of every word written. I admire him for this, and I am thankful that he did this.

            As far Calvin, I can agree with some of his notions, but I am not sure that I agree with predestination. It is difficult to picture that Jesus died on the cross for some of God’s creatures and not all of them. It is also difficult for me to believe that God would create man in his image, and provide us with so many gifts of love and mercy, if he did not love all of us.

            Still, I am thankful to John Calvin, and all of the reformists, for changing the direction of the church. I feel that if they had not, we might all still be living as Catholics under the rule of the royalty and papal judgment. Thank God that he gave us free will to think for ourselves!

  

Citation:

Sherman, Dennis and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World. McGraw-Hill Publications. 2014. New York, NY. Print.

 Farmer, Dr. Craig. Key Issues in the Reformation. 21 June 2016. Web (video lecture).