U2 bedevils the modern church

It happened at the moment in U2's Zoo TV show where Bono did his "Elvis-devil dance," decked out in a glittering gold Las Vegas lounge suit and tacky red horns.

As usual, the charismatic singer pulled some girl out of the crowd to cavort with Mister MacPhisto, this devilish alter ego. On this night in Wales, his dance partner had her own agenda, Bono told the Irish Times.

"Are you still a believer?", she asked. "If so, what are you doing dressed up as the devil?"

Bono gave her a serious answer, as the music roared on. "Have you read 'The Screwtape Letters,' a book by C.S. Lewis that a lot of intense Christians are plugged into? They are letters from the devil. That's where I got the whole philosophy of mock-the-devil-and-he-will-flee-from-you," replied Bono, referring to U2's ironic, video-drenched tours in the 1990s.

Yes, the girl said, she had read "The Screwtape Letters." She understood that Lewis had turned sin inside out in order to make a case for faith.

"Then you know what I am doing," said Bono.

It's highly unlikely Mister MacPhisto will make an appearance when U2 rocks the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show. During their recent "Elevation" tour, U2 performed on a stage shaped like a heart and Bono opened the shows by kneeling in prayer. He began the anthem "Where the Streets Have No Name" by quoting from Psalm 116 and shows ended with shouts of "Praise! Unto the Almighty!"

But whatever happens Sunday in New Orleans, U2's presence almost guarantees that people will dissect it in church coffee hours as well as at watercoolers. Plenty of believers remain convinced Bono's devil suit was more than symbolic.

"I think they have been clear – for nearly 25 years now – about the role that Christian faith plays in their music. They're not hiding anything,"said the Rev. Steve Stockman, the Presbyterian chaplain at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the author of "Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2" and hosts BBC's "Rhythm and Soul" radio program.

"At the same time, they have always left big spiritual questions hanging out there – unanswered. That is an interesting way to talk about art and that's an interesting way to live out your faith, especially when you're trying to do it in front of millions of people."

Stockman has never met the band. Still, there is no shortage of source material since Bono, in particular, has never been able to keep his mouth shut when it comes to sin, grace, temptation, damnation, salvation, revelation or the general state of the universe. Two others – drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., and guitarist Dave "The Edge" Evans – have long identified themselves as Christians. Bassist Adam Clayton remains a spiritual free agent.

The key, said Stockman, is that U2 emerged in Dublin, Ireland, in a culturally Catholic land in which it was impossible to be sucked into an evangelical subculture of "Christian news," "Christian radio" and "Christian music." The tiny number of Protestants prevented the creation of a "Christian" marketplace.

Thus, U2 plunged into real rock 'n' roll because that was the only game in town. U2 didn't collide with the world of "Contemporary Christian Music" until its first American tours. Then all hell broke loose.

While the secular press rarely ridicules the band's faith, noted Stockman, the "Christian press and Christians in general have been the doubters" who were keen to "denounce the band's Christian members as lost." Many have heaped "condemnation on their lifestyles, which include smoking cigars, drinking Jack Daniels and using language that is not common currency at Southern Baptist conventions."

It's crucial that most U2 controversies center on lifestyle issues. But Stockman is convinced that deeper divisions center on what Bono and company are saying – in word and deed – about the church's retreat from art, media and popular culture.

The contemporary church "has put a spiritual hierarchy on jobs," said Stockman. "Ministers and missionaries are on top, then perhaps doctors and nurses come next and so on to the bottom, where artists appear. Artists of whatever kind have to compromise everything to entertain. Art is fluffy froth that is no good in the Kingdom of God. What nonsense."

The Rock For Life pledge

WASHINGTON – The music was angry and ragged, sounding something like a chainsaw gashing a concrete block – only with a beat that bounced the teens up and down.

But this was not the usual mosh scene. This was a Rock For Life concert.

"It seems too easy unwanted baby, it could just be thrown away," chanted Mike Middleton of a Wisconsin band called Hangnail. "A life so helpless counted as useless, another victim of mankind. ... Did you even have a name or could you've been like me the same? I was wondering, do they think of you or try to keep you from their minds."

Not far from the stage was a table lined with stacks of black sweatshirts and T-shirts that are guaranteed to stand out among the Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie & Fitch clones in school hallways. The slogans are printed in large white letters and are easy to read, even from a distance.

Some people like that. Some people don't.

"ABORTION IS HOMICIDE," says one sweatshirt. "ABORTION IS MEAN," says another. On the back is a pledge that proclaims: "You will not silence my message. You will not mock my God. You will stop killing my generation." The Rock For Life logo is a cartoon image of an unborn child playing an electric guitar.

The American Life League reported selling 15,000 of the shirts at rallies last summer and at least another 500 during concerts supporting the annual March For Life on Tuesday, the 29th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.

These shirts will be coming soon to a public school near you, if Rock For Life has its way.

"People will probably think that we're weird or something, but we're used to that," said 16-year-old Katie Hammond of Frederick (MD) High School, not far outside the Washington beltway. "Sometimes we end up in arguments at lunch about stuff like this. People keep saying, 'It's wrong to believe what you believe' and blah, blah, blah. Maybe it'll be OK."

Then again, there's always a chance someone will freak out and call a counselor. Rock For Life has received a dozen or more complaints about students being sent home for wearing the "ABORTION IS HOMICIDE" shirt. Few have dared to fight these bans. These are tense times on the free-speech front.

"I know some of the schools have a zero-tolerance policy on language about death, so people are saying that the word 'homicide' violates that," said the Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition. "But that just doesn't wash, since you have all kinds of kids walking the halls in T-shirts for rock groups like Slayer, Megadeth and who knows what all. There was even an anti-gun campaign a few years ago with the slogan, 'Stop the killing.' I didn't hear anything about schools banning those shirts.

"So from my point of view, this isn't about the word 'homicide.' What this is about is the word 'abortion.' "

Then there is that dangerous word "God."

In Malone, N.Y., a school attorney claimed the sweatshirt pledge proved that "the student's objective is to proselytize." But such a ban would appear to clash with 1999 Clinton White House guidelines that were backed by a broad coalition ranging from the National Association of Evangelicals to the American Civil Liberties Union. That letter said: "Schools may not single out religious attire in general, or attire of a particular religion, for prohibition or regulation."

Apparently, many Americas are tense and hypersensitive right now about anything that has to do with strong faith or claims of religious truth, said Erik Whittington of Rock For Life. Thus, some want to nip conflict in the bud, even if that means undercutting free speech.

"We had our largest cluster of complaints about the sweatshirts right after Sept. 11 – just a few days or a week after that," he said, moments before one of the Capitol Hill concerts. "There has to be a connection. ... I think the logic goes like this: pro-life equals right wing, Christian, fanatic, the enemy. Some people think we're the American Taliban."

Gaps in the Middle East mosaic

The monk had amazing news, so he wrote directly to the Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem.

The year was 1884 and the ruins of a Byzantine church had surfaced near the north gate of the ancient village of Madaba, south of Amman. The floor included sections of a sixth century map – a spectacular mosaic offering historians vital insights into the culture, wildlife, commerce, art and geography of biblical Palestine.

There was a bird's eye view of Jerusalem, giving pilgrims details about walls, gates, streets, markets and holy sites. The mosaic even included Constantine's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which Persians later destroyed in 614 A.D.

A surviving fragment in Greek said: "... of the Christ loving people of Madaba."

The map is still there. The Church of St. George is still there, worshipping in its "new" sanctuary built over the ruins in 1896.

"We have always been here. I pray that we will always be here. But it is hard. It seems that our Christian brothers and sisters around the world do not know that the church is still here, after all this time," said Father Innocent, as the doors closed and the day's tiny band of tourists departed. It was the night before Pope John Paul II visited nearby Mount Nebo during his pilgrimage in 2000.

"We are small" in number, said the priest, with quiet determination. "But most churches (in America) send missionaries. The missionaries, they tell our people to join a new church. We ask, 'Why? The church the apostles started is still here. We are Christians. Help us.' "

It is an old, old story. The Middle East is an ancient mosaic. Some of the images are quietly disappearing, fading with the declining numbers of Christians who live in the lands where their faith was born. Arab Christians have lost ground – literally – with the rise of Israel. Yet, as Christians with Western ties, they live in constant tension with the vast Muslim majority.

This can be glimpsed in occasional headlines. Israeli tanks have rumbled into Bethlehem, where a sniper killed an altar boy last fall near the steps of the Church of the Nativity. In Nazareth, conflict continues as an Islamist faction tries to build a mosque adjoining the Basilica of the Annunciation, the Middle East's largest church.

In his book "The Body and the Blood," journalist Charles Sennott estimates that 13 percent of Palestine was Christian in 1946, as opposed to 2 percent today. Ancient churches are shrinking or stuck in limbo throughout the Arab world. Meanwhile, all peace efforts focus on clashes between Jews and Muslims. "If the Christians disappear," states Sennott, "the Middle East will become that much more vulnerable to this embittered dichotomy."

In Jordan, one highly symbolic Muslim leader has repeatedly voiced similar themes, warning that Arab leaders must learn from their own history, or suffer the consequences.

"Far more important than the numbers of the Christians in the modern Arab world is their social, economic and cultural visibility," writes Prince El Hassan bin Talal, the uncle of King Abdullah, in his book "Christianity in the Arab World."

"The fact remains that the Christian Arabs are in no way aliens to Muslim Arab society; a society whose history and culture they have shared for over 14 centuries to date, without interruption, and to whose material and moral civilization they have continually contributed, and eminently so, on their own initiative or by trustful request."

Yes, Arab Christians ties to the West have influenced everything from the shape of Arab nationalism to educational efforts in an age of high-tech economics, said Hassan. Muslims who automatically blame Christians for negative trends in the modern era are simply forgetting one simple fact – the Arab churches are older than the mosques.

"The lessons of history are too often lost and that is tragic," the prince told me, in an interview in 2000. The ancient Christian churches are "part of what built this region and our culture and the Arab world. We cannot forget them. ... It is tragic that there are more Arab Christians from Jerusalem in Sidney, Australia, than there are in Jerusalem. We must insist that helping Arab Christians stay here is simply a matter of human dignity."

Heeding Tolkien's words

Frodo Baggins stands alone at the Great River Anduin, holding the one ring of power in his open hand as he prepares to go to the hellish land of Mordor.

Why was this task given to him? Then, in his memory, he hears the wizard Gandalf repeating words of wisdom to guide him at that moment. Frodo closes his hand over the ring and continues his quest.

This dramatic scene is not in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." Nevertheless, it appears at the end of episode one in director Peter Jackson's attempt to bring this epic to the screen.

"This scene is not in the book – but it could have been. That's important. It is consistent with Tolkien's vision," said British scholar Joseph Pearce, author of "Tolkien: Man and Myth."

"We do not see this in the book, but in the movie we do. This is what happens when artists make books into movies. They have to visualize things. What is crucial is that the words Frodo hears are words Tolkien actually wrote and they express one of the book's great themes."

This is especially important to readers who worried that Tolkien's Catholic faith – which is woven into this 600,000-word tome – might vanish. Even worse, said Pearce, the moviemakers could have twisted Tolkien's words. For example, Frodo's reverie on the riverbank is worth closer scrutiny. Where did this come from?

Very early in "The Lord of the Rings," Frodo says he wishes the master ring had not been found in his lifetime.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

But what ultimate power is deciding what happens and when? By using these words – twice – near the end of the first film, the screenwriters highlighted this issue, said Pearce. They also linked this quotation with another that says it is not the evildoers who are in charge.

It was the dark lord Sauron, after all, who created the great rings to rule Middle Earth and the "One Ring to rule them all." In addition to asking why this ring was recovered in his time, Frodo asks why this ring found its way to Bilbo Baggins, his kindly uncle.

In both the book, and the movie, Gandalf replies: "Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-MAKER. In can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was MEANT to find the ring, and NOT by its maker. In which case you were also MEANT to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought."

Tolkien wanted to write a sweeping myth that included Christian themes, yet he rejected all attempts to interpret his work as a parable or allegory. The symbolism is subtle, not preachy.

Clearly, the screenwriters tried to be faithful to the book while also going about their appointed duty of crafting waves of spectacular images to pull action-lovers into theaters over and over again. It is the myriad scenes of fury, terror and deadly skill that dominate the film. Yet there are beautiful moments that carry spiritual weight.

The warrior Boromir dies a brutal death sacrificing his life for others. As he dies, he seeks forgiveness from the future king. Aragorn bows his head, noted Pearce, "and makes what almost looks like a pre-Christian sign of the cross." The elf princess Arwen prays for the healing of Frodo. Gandalf fights to save his followers and then falls into an abyss – arms extended as if on a cross.

"The big worry was that this would be some kind of Hollywood parody of 'The Lord of the Rings,' " said Pearce. "I have no idea if any of the artists involved in this project are Christians. I have no idea what their point of view is, in terms of faith.

"But it must have made sense, just from an artistic point of view, to leave much of the spiritual element intact. After all, that is what gives the book its depth and power. That is what makes it much more than a work of mere fantasy."

Second thoughts on Christmas 2001

The images flash by on television screens during every Christmas season.

The pope moves slowly around the altar in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve or sits on his balcony throne, solemnly waving to flocks of New Year's pilgrims. He reads sermons which news reports crunch into sound bites about hope and world peace, or joy and world peace.

This year it was children and world peace.

"My thoughts go to all the children of the world," said the frail Pope John Paul II, struggling to emphasize key phrases in his Midnight Mass text. "So many, too many, are the children condemned from birth to suffer through no fault of their own the effects of cruel conflicts."

Once these media rites are over, our civil religion proceeds to the National Football League playoffs. Christmas is quickly old news.

But this was not an ordinary year. Thus, it was a good year to note what two radically different kinds of believers have to say about Christmas.

Anyone who reads the pope's texts discovers that he believes something miraculous actually happened 2,000 years ago, something connected with peace on earth and good will among men. Pope John Paul II, in other words, believes that Christmas is built on more than a mere story that produces warm feelings in human hearts.

If Christmas is built on truth, he said, then there is reason for hope and joy – no matter what. This message is not an easy sell after 2001 and the pope said so on Christmas Eve.

"The Messiah is born," said John Paul. "Emmanuel, God-with-us! ... But does this certainty of faith not seem to clash with the way things are today? If we listen to the relentless news headlines, these words of light and hope may seem like words from a dream. ... Our hearts this Christmas are anxious and distressed because of the continuation in various parts of the world of war, social tensions, and the painful hardships in which so many people find themselves. We are all seeking an answer that will reassure us."

The pope's defense a Christmas miracle may not have sounded radical, but it was – especially after the horror of Sept. 11. To understand why, it helps to contrast his Christmas message with that of an American shepherd who makes his share of headlines.

According to the Rt. Rev. John Shelby Spong, the problem with religious believers who embrace miracles is that this quickly leads them to claim "they have received their truth by divine revelation. It is a strange claim that leads almost inevitably to the authoritarian assertion that there is a single 'true church' or a particular religious system that alone offers salvation."

In today's world, this kind doctrinal certainty is truly dangerous, said Spong, a relentlessly candid voice in the Episcopal Church's progressive establishment.

After Sept. 11, it is time "recognize that religious truth, like all truth, emerges out of human experience," he said. "Once that is understood, then religious people will recognize that their exclusive claim to possess divine revelation is nothing but a part of our human security system. Those claims create the mentality that fuels religious imperialism."

The bishop openly attacks "irrational doctrines" such as papal infallibility and scriptural inerrancy. Just before Christmas, Spong again denied that God is a "supernatural being." Thus, "I cannot interpret Jesus as the earthly incarnation of this supernatural deity."

"Perhaps the only way for the Christmas promise of peace on earth to be achieved," he said, "is for every religious system to face its human origins and recognize that worshipers in every religious system are nothing but human seekers walking into the mystery."

For Spong and many others, there is a "Christ experience," but not a literal Christmas. The pope embraces tradition and revelation. He still believes that God can give answers.

"The birth of the Only-begotten Son of the Father has been revealed as 'an offer of salvation' in every corner of the earth, at every time in history," he said. "The Child who is named 'Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace' is born for every man and woman. He brings with him the answer, which can calm our fears and reinvigorate our hope."