While I still harbor a deep respect for Christendom, I can not be dissuaded from the holy rite of Pastafarianism. Long live the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

There are several aspects to the whole issue of a media personality having a religious view, -or ascribing to a moral code that really hasn't changed in thousands of years.

Jesus,(whether people believe that he was God, or the Messiah or not,) -even to his closest followers (the Apostles,) was constantly explaining that His agenda and plans were different than most who were both against and for him.
Those in favor of him thought he was going to liberate the whole nation of Israel back to it's former glory days of King David, -and get them out from under the thumb of Roman Rule.
--His detractors (on the govt. side,) were concerned because he had such a big following.
--His detractors (on the religious side,) -though of his own nation, were freaked out because, though he had the credentials, family lines, and was doing stuff that was showing him to be 'the One,' (and not in some enigmatic Neo and the Oracle sense,) -and that caused problems there -because They (the Religious Leaders,) had their own ideal as to what their God and Deliverer was supposed to look, act, and sound like. (He came from the wrong side of the tracks in all sorts of ways.)
His own Mom thought He'd lost His mind when He declared Himself the Messiah, grabbed His younger brothers and tried to get Him back home and out of the village square...
Regardless of ones take on Him being Christ, it's kind of amazing that the same guy who rode into town and was followed, heralded and praised by thousands, -was then condemned and executed by the same group within a week's time. (This after only a three year involvement with the Public.)

So yeah, folks can be a bit fickle in who they like, and why, --and visionaries often have their own personality and agenda that others don't get, sometimes, ever.

Some of the churches I've been a part of, over time, have had minor and major celebrities in their ranks (sports, music, and acting, usually,)
-and the church leaders that were smart about it, usually told them, '...look, you are here to be like anyone else, we want folks to treat you like a normal person, that is not going to be easy, but the main point is for you to be here and sort out your stuff with God, -and have the freedom to think, grow, get stuff wrong, get stuff right, --just like a regular schlub, and it's our job to make sure that you have that opportunity.'

Over time there have been many people who have taken up religious re-awakenings (BJ Thomas, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, etc. etc.) -which put those folks in the awkward position of having views that could be seen as conflicting with their lifestyle, with some of their earlier work, and were far from jelled.

For some it's hardly noticed, (The Beastie Boys, now all buddhist, were initially all following varying forms of Judaism, at least two members of KISS also are quite devout Jews and have recorded Orthodox music as recently as the (I think mid-nineties,) --even a few Christians have sort of flown in under the radar and not been put in the mold of having to be outspoken about their faith, and are simply allowed to be who they are and convey their feelings on their own terms, (EmmyLou Harris being one that comes to immed. mind.)

I think one of the key things that I've found that have kept many of the musicians and performers that I've known grounded and settled would be to be a part of a good structure and fellowship, (IE church.)
It's also important for some (like how folks marry,) be around folks who are likeminded, (so that they can talk about the peculiar aspects of being a creative person who has their faith at the core of their lives -with others who have the same burden and bent,)
-AND-
-To have others around that were just regular normal people who do regular normal things, have regular normal families and jobs,
---Both are extremely important, and being able to discuss the life being led with others, can be the difference between becomming isolated and a bit of a cartoon of onesself, -and remaining healthy.
(Those who read their Bibles, or study other historical figures will always find that the main characters always had a regular group to decompress with, who knew the person also as a regular human being.)

Of note about Bono:
-His religious foundations (as well as Edge,) came during their younger years in a very destructured Charasmatic Bible Study.
(This is not the most stable of situations, and often not terribly orthodox,)
-From there it would seem that he's been hugely self-taught, and has studied not just Christianity, but other religions, the intermixing thereof, as well as history, politics, and sociology. He has an extraordinary library on many subjects, and reads like a fiend.
-From a personal perspective, his parents were Catholic on one side, and Protestant on the other, (in a tiny country where they blew each other up for having these differences not so long ago.)
---So this would be a person who, at their core has had to wrestle with some really heavy themes and make sense of stuff that most people have not.
-So, not to deify the guy, but he is quite unusual and his comments and actions show this.

I think, to be fair about it, it needs to be emphasised that the course (and the points of the writings that I've seen by the proff.) is not meant to promote Bono or Moby or anyone as being archetypes or as 'new Messiahs.'
-Detractors of (sometimes any,) faith will quickly start belching that.

These are current artists, who have done things that have affected and meant a lot of things to a lot of people, and have been successful at what they do.
They are far from perfect.
I'm not aware of any of them, (in their right mind,) claiming to be perfect, either.

They have strong views and are not afraid to speak them, ---and these strong views are often taken in and out of context.
-Mix that with the fact that they are humans, and humans say and do enormously stupid things just about every other day, -and it can be a lot of attention paid to all the wrong points by (as was with Christ,) both those for and against the one who's the focus of attention.

I have a feeling that the faults and strengths that can be found with the members of U2, (or simply the members of the streets we live on)are proportionate to how wealthy, how well known, how under the spotlight, and how great the opportunities are for any of us.
-Do we own entire islands?
(probably not,)
-Do we own things or spend money on things that are ridiculusly expensive that we don't need?
(probably do.)
-Do we convince very powerful people who have tons of bucks and pull to forgive countries debts and assist them in medical aid?
(I doubt such will be happening this morning from any of our sleepy monitors,)
-But are we encouraging to those around us, rather than fanning flames of revenge (say, against the people across the street who fought for four hours straight last night and warranted many police interventions?)
(we're trying, actually, we're trying quite hard.)
I for one, covet your prayers on this...

There are two additional things on this that I think are important to note:
-Though Bono (and some others,) can be outspoken and sometimes bombastic, I think it's pretty cool that someone isn't afraid to admit what they believe in, try to live up to it, and go through the public scrutiny that happens as a result.

Not nearly on their scale, but I can attest that even the most minor celebrity, (who nobody will ever hear about outside of sheep-dip illinois,)
-has a hard time often just using the restroom or eating in a public place, (because folks just want to talk to them, or get an autograph, or make a point,)
-when they're simply trying to conduct a normal life.
(It's quite funny and bizarre when you have to act as a human shield just to get a sibling to the mens room in a small Pennyslvania oil town, and things can quickly go downhill from there when you've got young women wanting you to sign body parts with a sharpie...)
THAT gets to folks, and everybody has something to say about THAT too.
People who are known by other people, are not allowed to have normal lives, really.

Final, for now, point:
-There has been this bad habit among the church to have heros and have people who are supposed to exemplify 'the Faith.' Since time began.
It really never works.

-Think about this, (if you ascribe to this,) There was one perfect man, who, even though God, was declared as such, and then killed within a week (for such.)
-People do that with their heros all the time, and the church can be particullarly faithful and brutal examples of this.
(Why do you think we can't even vote for someone based upon their thoughts and actions without making them out to be Bible Heros of Villians anymore?)

-We need to always hold others within context, and not loose sight of what they are at the end of the day.
People are people, and their beliefs and private lives can take the same unfortunate turns, (or worse,) as anyone else.

-Bob Dylan: 'gets saved,' ---then he goes deeper into his Hebrew roots, (nothing wrong with that,) --but EVERYBODY has something to say about it,
(The Christians don't like it because he didn't express his faith the way a particular denom speaks of such things -past a couple of albums.
-The Jews wig out because they feel that worshipping Christ as the Messiah is turning one's back on tradition, history, and their core beliefs.)
--Meantime the guy is just trying to get through the day and continue and grow as an artist.

-Amy Grant: (not Dylan by any stretch,) was raised as 'the darling girl,' of Christian Music... Then she grows up,(under enormous pressure to be perfect in every detail,) gets married, the marriage fails, she remarries a country music singer, -and goes from being 'perfect,' to 'hated,' ----because she 'failed as an example of how every girl who loves Jesus should be.'
-She's just a singer, folks, an oxygen, water, and food consuming Bi-Ped with her own issues same as anyone else, (this fact be she an angel of a devil still is doubted for an entire generation of the church, even when she was huge and in all good graces, There were constantly remarks being made about her presentation in concert as being 'too worldly,' --because she wore form fitting clothing on stage, (trust me, her pants were NOT so tight that you could read the dates on her quarters, either.)
-It was nearly as bad for Sam/Leslie Phillips.

Tori Amos: Prodigy, heavily raised in the ministry, performing since being a kid, goes through some very difficult things, and finds out how the church, (particularlly her denom, and the leadership thereof,) either cannot or will not provide adequate care, answers, or healing for those problems... -She's still singing and writing about it. (Her stuff, though disturbing, often has a lot of truth to it.)

These are all people who are seen as heroes, and villians, simply for existing.
-Their example, also is why so many bands that have people who are Christians in them, don't talk of their faith much, it's like running for supreme court justice, -without the police protection.

Those not familiar with this problem on a religious scale? Find me an artist who 'makes it big,' and is not accused of 'selling out. and playing politics.'
(Anyone who thinks that they don't have to play their cards right, in any business, is naieve. -This does not mean manipulation and hype, it means just using your head.)

(Again, back to the Church,)
One of the most telling times (in religious terms,) would be when God was talking directly to His people in the desert, (as in, Directly, no middleman.)

It freaked everybody out.
So they tell Moses, 'Moses, tell God not to talk to us anymore, He's big, He's God, we'd rather talk with you, so YOU talk to God, and you talk to us, it's easier on the nerves.'
-okay, no problem, we try that.

Then: Similar problem with leadership:
God offers to be right there, lead and be with them, -and they opt instead to have a king 'picked from somebody down here.'

What happens?
-God talks to Leaders,
Leaders try to interpret,
Leaders don't get it quite right,
Leaders have their own issues and problems to deal with,
(Leaders have the problems of everybody else to deal with too, now,) -----and when it goes south, the people get all pissed and weird (not just at the leader,) but at God too.
-oldest trick in the book. We've never learned.

Give us a perfect Hero, one who has everybody's best interest at heart, -we nail him to a few boards and leave him to die.
-Give us imperfect people, who are trying just to live life out with integrety and some sense of moral code,
-we treat THEM like God, (which means: worship them one minute, break out the hammers, hardware and wood the next...)

I think this is just one of those things that people are going to just do.

It's like we're all Phillies fans.
We love our team, we hate our team, and because we never think of going out and playing the game ourselves, (or doing something else with our time,) -we live vicariously through others.

Why do we need heros?
Why do we need to make regular people to be 'better than us?'
Whats wrong with us, that we can't see our own gifts, our own responsibilities, and learn to work with that?

It's nice to see how others do stuff, (famous or not,)
-It's better to take what we've learned from them, appreciate that they've been so open about stuff, --and then deal with our own lives and issues.

So long as we want 'meaning,' and some sort of 'interraction with others or a deity, (anyone outside ourselves, actually,)
--yet don't want 'to deal directly' with them, (which means responsibility, dialogue, as well as to be reminded how like them, we are, how like us, they are,)
-we'll go round and round in this circle every time.

let us never forget the original bono.
he may have shaken hands with the devil politic but he will always be the true sonny to me.
Da man may take my pay but i gotchu, babe.

Not funny at all. Bono "IS" the second comming of christ......Can I be the second comming of Judas?

also, a class about u2 and religion is pretty funny.

Jarah

-in a town where the rifts between people of varying beliefs (particularlly Christians and so many other ways of life,) tend to be capitalized upon, and the behaviors and attitudes so arrogant and cliche' -this guys writing and research in terms of beliefs, various musicians, and then daily life, (be it sociology, government,etc.) are all discussed in a really honest and intelligent manner. -there is stuff on there from Moby, Bono, (probably others,) that gets into discussion regarding alternate understandings of belief, not just 'all Bono all the time.'

-Totally cool.

FresPac has a lot going on (from private up to International levels,) in terms of 'peacemaking,' and communicating with people and cultures and faiths, and finding communion with them, -rather than marauding and prostletyzing, -it makes sense that a course or Proff. like this is over there.

Thanks for putting this link up, it gives folks a chance to read and discuss situations rather than get scalded and alienated by them.
-you just made my week.

-Eric