Mock the Devil: U2, Christian?

Terry Mattingly

Terry Mattingly asks the question whether the band U2 is Christian and examines why American Evangelical Christianity has a difficult time understanding that music not targeted to the "Christian" market can speak of the Christian faith.

As the names of those lost on Sept. 11 scrolled up a towering screen, the singer kept reciting a verse from Psalm 51, in which King David pleaded for God's mercy.

"Oh Lord, open my lips," he said, "that my mouth shall show forth thy praise." Then the music rose in a crescendo, soaring into U2's vision of a new heaven and earth, of a city "where there's no sorrow and no shame, where the streets have no name."

This didn't happen in a safe Christian sanctuary. This happened at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI, in front of 131 million or so viewers around the world. But anyone who felt blindsided by this display of prayer hasn't listened carefully to this band's music, said the Rev. Steve Stockman, author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 and Presbyterian chaplain of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

For the complete article go to the National Review Online website.

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