I have a confession to make. I am not a U2 fan. I do not own any of the band’s albums. The only U2 songs I know are the ones that have received radio play. I know that this makes me appear completely out-to-lunch in regard to music. I would have a hard time appearing “cool” to some – maybe most – people.

Truth be told, I don’t like a lot of popular bands. I admittedly have very narrow tastes in music. I like progressive rock, progressive metal, some moody ambience music, Johnny Cash, and just about everything by the Beatles (who I consider to be the ultimate inspiration for all the styles of music I like – the Beatles’ later stuff certainly contained the seeds of progressive rock).

Now, confession having been made, I wholeheartedly admit to having a strange fascination for the members of U2 – especially Bono. He seems like such an interesting person. I recently read Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas in order to learn more about Bono. I now know why I find him so fascinating. He is a complex, intelligent, compassionate, transparent, realistic, and spiritual individual. At least, this is how he comes across in the interviews recorded in the book.

Bono is a very optimistic person who is aware of his own limitations. Early in the book, he confesses that he is not the strongest musician in U2. He admits that he constantly has to rely on the talents and strengths of his fellow band members. Instead of trying to hide this with rock posturing, he acknowledges the positive side of his limitations. “Your weakness, the blessing of your weakness is it forces you into friendships” (10).

Juggling Politics, Music, and Religion

Three central passions dominate the book – politics (especially aid for Africa), music, and religion. Bono effortlessly weaves these three themes together in every discussion. While reading his thoughts, one sees how his religion impacts his politics, his politics his music, and vice versa.

At the same time, it is clear that Bono has a hard time reconciling all three themes on a personal level. He is aware that accusations of hypocrisy could be leveled from all sides. For example, he is a wealthy rock star with numerous houses around the world and yet he decries poverty and waste. He is politically left, but has no qualms working with people who hold completely different political views. He claims to be religious, and yet, is the first one to proclaim that his life is not exemplary. “It’s plain to see I’m not a good advertisement for God. Artists are selfish people” (25).

Bono is able to reconcile his inconsistencies because of his love for people and love for God. He holds no illusions that he is anything but a work in progress. His faith (as we shall see below) is strong enough to sustain him in his weakness, true enough to inform and influence the whole of his life, and big enough to embrace all people – even those who hold radically different views.

For example, in regard to meeting with Senator Jesse Helms, he says, “I found him to be a beautiful man with convictions that I wouldn’t all agree with, but had to accept that he believed in them passionately. This is happening to me a lot. I am discovering how much respect I have for people who stay true to their convictions, no matter how unpopular” (180). He offers the same kind of gracious comments in regard to President George W. Bush.

Although Bono strongly opposes violence, he has come to personally understand why it happens. “I think the time that I knew that I was capable of all the things that I disliked the most in other people was, oddly enough, one of the most joyful moments: when our first child was born. And I just felt this love for this beautiful little girl who was so fragile and so vulnerable. Some point around that week, I started to understand why wars were fought. I started to understand why people were capable of cruelty in order to protect themselves and their own. And I was very humbled to realize that” (133).

This realistic perspective is demonstrated in his comments concerning his life-long war against poverty. “I know that we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty, the kind of poverty where a child can die for lack of simple immunization or having food in its belly. Because we can, we must. Yes, there will always be poverty, yes, there will always be people dying of disease, but no, not that stupid poverty” (215).

The Gospel According to Bono

I was interested to understand how Bono’s religion influenced his life. It is a topic that comes up quite naturally in every discussion. Although he doesn’t claim to be the perfect model of the Christian faith, he does do his best to allow his faith to inform every aspect of his life.

“I can lose myself in the Scriptures” (29). Bono’s love for the Bible is apparent. When he speaks of religion, it is obvious that the sacred scriptures have shaped his thoughts.

At times, he feels like he may be overwhelming his interviewer with religion, but he continues nonetheless. One of my favorite lines: “You know, it’s a great line from the Holy Book – sorry to get all religious on your ass this morning: ‘No greater love has a man than he lays his life down for his brother’” (186).

Bono tells of the time when the truth of the Christmas story and the “logic” of the incarnation become real to him: “It dawned on me for the first time, really. It had dawned on me before, but it really sank in: the Christmas story. The idea that God, if there is a force of Love and Logic in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in s**t and straw… a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry… Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it's not that it hadn't struck me before, but tears came down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this. Because that's exactly what we were talking about earlier: love needs to find form, intimacy needs to be whispered. To me, it makes sense. It's actually logical. It's pure logic. Essence has to manifest itself. It's inevitable. Love has to become an action or something concrete. It would have to happen. There must be an incarnation. Love must be made flesh” (125).

The revelation of God’s love in Christ is at the center of Bono’s view of Scripture. It is the gift of Christ – and the love of God that this reveals – that provides the hermeneutical key for him. “My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that's my religion. Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now, that's not so easy.” (200)

Even though Bono’s interpretational center is the love of God in Christ, this does not detract from the whole story of the Scriptures. Bono embraces the totality of God’s revelation while at the same time viewing it in light of Christ. In other words – to use a theological term – he is “christocentric” (Christ-centered) in his theology. “There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross” (200).

Bono’s view of divine Grace is underscored by contrasting it with Karma. At one point in the conversation he tells Michka that “I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace” (203). Michka asks for clarification. Bono replies, “You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the Universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘As you reap, so will you sow’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.” When Michka asks him to clarify what he means by “a lot of stupid stuff” Bono responds, “That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep s**t. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity” (203-204).

Ultimately, Bono understands that his immersion in God’s grace should lead to personal, moral, and spiritual renewal. “[I]f we only could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. All I do is get up on the Cross of the Ego: the bad hangover, the bad review. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s**t and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it” (206).

Bono decries religious zealotry. “Zealots often have no love for the world. They’re just getting through it to the next one” (203). According to Bono, true religion should manifest itself in love for others. This truth lies behind his political activism. “In the end, ideas are not worth as much as people. Whenever you meet a philosophy where that is not true, and where ideas are worth more than people, you have to be on your guard” (178).

Though he is often uncomfortable about being associated with religious people in general, he remains gracious toward them. “The true life of a believer is one of a longer, more hazardous or uphill pilgrimage, and where you uncover slowly the sort of illumination for your next step. Religious people, generally, they freak me out. Honestly, I start twitching when I'm around them. But sometimes, maybe weirdos are the only people who really know they need God” (207).

Shut Up And Let Me Love You

Who is Bono? How does he think of himself? Early in the book he describes himself as a salesman. “I am very much a traveling salesman. And that, if you really want to know, is how I see myself. I sell songs for door to door, from town to town. I sell melodies and words. And for me, in my political work, I sell ideas… So I see myself in a long line of family sales people” (17).

The best self-description he offers summarizes well the complexity of Bono: “I’m a scribbling, cigar-smoking, wine-drinking, Bible-reading band man. A show-off [laughs]… who loves to paint pictures of what I can’t see. A husband, father, friend of the poor and sometimes the rich. An activist traveling salesman of ideas. Chess player, part-time rock star, opera singer, in the loudest folk group in the world” (43).

At the end of the book, Bono interweaves his politics, religion, and music one last time: “‘Be silent, and know that I am God.’ That’s a favorite line from the Scriptures. ‘Shut Up and Let Me Love You” would be the pop song.” (322)

Throughout the book, Bono comes across as a real musician, a savvy political activist, and a heartfelt Christian. His ability to seamlessly weave together these three disparate threads is fascinating, endearing, and challenging.

I wish I had the freedom to speak the way that Bono does – gritty, earthy, transparent, self-deprecating,[1] self-accepting, realistic, and endlessly optimistic. Bono is the real deal: a messy saint in a messy world using a popular medium to make his voice heard. But, alas, I live in a world where people are so upset with Bono’s occasional profanities, drinking binges, and rock-star sexuality that they miss the diamond in the rough.

Amazingly, Bono is able to navigate the complex terrain of the real world, all the while keeping faith, hope, and love intact. Perhaps this is something only a rock-star could get away with. Or, perhaps, Bono is one of those rare individuals with passion enough to maintain his convictions in a profession where one’s convictions are often compromised for the sake of others’ approval and applause.

Keep it up, Bono. I am confident that your fans’ applause is merely a faint echo of the applause of heaven that constantly surrounds you. Though the former may eventually fade, the latter goes on forever – and it will never stop calling for encores.

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Hey Rich...excellent exegesis on a complex man. Thank God for Micha Assayas and his publishing company too for letting us see a man beyond the make-up and histrionics. His description of karma vs. grace is shattering! And excellent!

I think it is commendable that Bono sees the importance of love for humanity and it is clear that he understands the need for God's grace on everyone including himself. I also think that he should take more responsibility to turn his weaknesses into strengths.

Rich - At your recommendation, I picked this book up last weekend and found it quite enjoyable. The disjointed format of the book is well suited to Bono's eclectic personality. Perhaps because of that the book isn't always as insightful as I'd like in the sense that one seems to get more of a glimpse into a reporter's notebook of interview questions and answers than the reporter's interpretation of what these answers tell us about Bono. I wrote down one of Bono's statements, while being asked about the responsibilities of fortune and fame that I found particulary profound: "It's an end to laziness, it's an end to being a passenger on a train somebody else is driving. You are responsible, no one else ... You're to develop other muscles in your bodyguarding of your gift." Not only has Bono taken responsibility for his gift, but his life is a calculated one of openess and sincerity, with him seeking to consciously use his fame and fortune for the purposes of helping the disadvantaged. He is a wise man in his understanding of the need to be commercially viable and yet use the results of that viability to build organizations and movements that seek to do good at the most elemental of levels.