U2: An Alternative Vision

One of the most powerful tools in the prophets' tool-kit was the alternative vision of reality. In the face of the wreckage of sin all around them, some of the prophets were inspired to lay before their audience a poetic landscape where present wrongs were set right and people participated in truly human mutuality. Such visionary landscapes are "utopian" in the best, constructive sense. Far from wild fantasies, they connect up with the real world and suggest concrete ways we all could live better and experience more joy.

In this video (click here) U2 and Geen Day have done something genuinely prophetic. They present an alternative vision in connection with the Iraq War and the Katrina devestation in New Orleans. The video is utopian, the news clips it shows did not happen. However, the clips are close enough to reality that you just might be tricked into believing that they are real. They might even bring a few tears to your eyes, as they prompt you to imagine a very different reality than the one we actually experienced in the wake of Katrina.

Hat Tip to the "Our Journey" blog, where you can find further discussion (click here).

U2 and Martin Luther King

"Pride (In the Name of Love)" is the second song on U2's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire, and was released as the album's first single. Written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is one of the band's most recognized songs. In this YouTube video, the song is accompanied by an artist sketching MLK in black ink.



The Lyrics are as follows:

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go.
One man come he to justify
One man to overthrow.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed up on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky.
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.

GRACE

The amazing song "Grace" by U2 is now explicated in a fantastic way by Benjamin Myers on his "Faith and Theology" blog (click here).

Here are some brief excerpts from Ben's commentary:

...Many preachers, perhaps even many theologians, do not understand the grace of God half as well as this song does.

...The song’s personification of grace is superb; but the music is just as important, especially that simple, carefree guitar riff on which the whole song rests. Even before Bono starts to sing, this riff itself already conveys everything the song wants to say about grace. The riff is as smooth as a woman’s hips, as soft and easy as her footsteps on the street.



Here are the lyrics:

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace, it's the name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace makes beauty out of ugly things