The Lead

It's been nearly six years since U2's frontman was interviewed for Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, but Bono's description of Jesus still has the capacity to addle.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.
Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?

Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched

Comments (6)

Bono, I don't listen to popular music so I never heard U2,(sorry!) but I've been watching the high moral ground you've taken on Darfur/Sudan, among many other issues ... and you are my new hero!
May God bless you, dear man.

Posted by skinnc | March 6, 2011 9:31 PM

"Either Jesus is the Son of God; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that open to us. He did not intend to." -- C.S. Lewis

So, Bono isn't the first to make this point, but he does do it well. It ought to be slightly nuanced by noting that no Gospel account is a direct transcription of Jesus' exact words--it is always written through a community's needs and assumptions, but the point is nevertheless well made: if you believe the claims that Jesus is purported to have made, and for which he was crucified, relegating him the status of "great teacher" doesn't make a lot of sense.

Posted by Tom Sramek, Jr. | March 7, 2011 1:12 AM

And then there's the other one, where he's a liar.

I admit, this type of apologetic has never been persuasive to me. I'm simply not convinced that Jesus of Nazareth ever said the "I am the Messiah" "Before Abraham was, I AM" claims attributed to him [Unless his brand of madness includes wild mood swings, where Jesus says out-of-character rantings? ;-/)

FWIW, I have a "high Christology." I DO believe Jesus was God Incarnate . . . but not because he necessarily believed it (much less said so!). Just my 2c, but it seems that any kenosis worth its salt, would have to have the 2nd Person of the Trinity lay down not just the omnipotence of the Father, but the omniscience, too.

"I AM" Jesus, is rather TOO MUCH like the God (in much) of the Hebrew Bible...which is to say, obnoxious. Which is to say, purely human. "OCICBW"

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux | March 7, 2011 2:47 AM

Good gracious, Tom. Do I detect some of that dreadful Derrida philosophy sneaking into your analysis? Memory served 1st century folks very well and it is just as reasonable to accept Jesus quotes as quite accurate.

Posted by Paul Woodrum | March 7, 2011 10:20 AM

I am a bit unclear, of course, that being "the messiah" was meaning that he was the "son of God" in the sense that later Christian thought made him. I am sure we all understand that "son of God" and "God the Son" are really pretty far apart.

I would probably put the idea of Jesus as "son of God" a bit differently. I do not think that we help Christianity by ignoring the last 2 centuries of NT scholarship. The "either / or" choice he presents is a false one.

Posted by Jeffrey L. Shy, M.D. | March 7, 2011 1:58 PM

Paul: I didn't say that the Gospel accounts were not accurate, I just pointed out that they cannot be read in the same way as a CNN news story--the written accounts were compiled decades after the fact, in a cultural context different from our own, and so must be studied rather than simply taken at face value.

I do think Jesus was the Son of God. I'm not sure whether it means the same thing to me as it did to him, his disciples, or the early church.

Posted by Tom Sramek, Jr. | March 7, 2011 7:44 PM

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