Looking for God: an Ongoing Tale - Superstar is a prophet in leather
“I got something this week that I think you are going to love.” Reaching into her backpack, Tamara brings out a document of seven or eight pages.
“What's this?” Mitch asks. He's barely had time to seat himself for this, their umpteenth lunch meeting.
“It's a transcript of Bono's talk to George Bush and church leaders at a prayer breakfast in Washington.”
“No kidding? I'd like to read it.”
“Not so fast. You can download your own copy. Mine has my comments all over it.”
“Let me guess. You think Bono is too Christian, too religious.”
“You might be surprised, O former chaplain Mitch. But he doesn't come across as being very religious in this talk. Though, from all you've told me about Christianity, he does seem pretty Christian here.”
“Ok, what do you mean he isn't very religious?” Mitch presses Tamara for more information. “Enlighten me.”
“Well, for one thing, he talks about being raised in a home where his father was Protestant and his mother was Catholic, and where the ‘line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line.' I can relate to that. A lot of people in my family background are Jewish and some of them are really ticked off at Christians. And I've noticed that religious people can develop a strong dislike for people of other religions. I don't want anything to do with all that, and I think that's where Bono is, too.”
“I'm with you there.”
“To be honest, I know that, even though I might give you a hard time now and then.”
Mitch smiles. Sort of.
“Anyway, Bono starts going on about how he used to be cynical about Christian politics until something happened.”
“And that was. . .?”
“Well, as he puts it, some British Christian leaders started describing the year 2000 as the ‘year of Jubilee,' an idea taken from the Christian Bible. The idea of a Jubilee year is that debts are cancelled. These leaders called for the cancellation of the chronic debt of the world's poorest countries. Pope John Paul II joined these leaders in calling for global debt relief.
“And then,” Tamara continues, “Bono describes how the churches got busy with addressing the AIDS crisis.”
“Did he mention Stephen Lewis?”
“Ah, no, but that's not important right now. What he did say is that the church changed the minds of many people around the world and got people acting to give help to millions of others.”
Mitch interjects. “And now Bono is asking George Bush to lead the United States in committing an extra one per cent of the U.S. federal budget to help the poor of Africa. He claims that this is what God wants.”
“Hey, wait a minute, you've read this, and you were just pretending not to?”
“Sorry, I didn't want to prejudice your comments.”
“So you don't think I have mind of my own?” Now it's Tamara's turn to smile.
“Well, anyway, I have to admit that it's kind of neat to see that U2 and Bono are not only clued into Jesus, but still pretty hip, even if they are about as old as I am.”
“And how old would that be?”
“Ah...thirty-five...no eight. Nine? Ish.”
“Well, whatever. But I don't want to see you in a leather jacket next week, trying to look cool.”
Continued next week
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
“What's this?” Mitch asks. He's barely had time to seat himself for this, their umpteenth lunch meeting.
“It's a transcript of Bono's talk to George Bush and church leaders at a prayer breakfast in Washington.”
“No kidding? I'd like to read it.”
“Not so fast. You can download your own copy. Mine has my comments all over it.”
“Let me guess. You think Bono is too Christian, too religious.”
“You might be surprised, O former chaplain Mitch. But he doesn't come across as being very religious in this talk. Though, from all you've told me about Christianity, he does seem pretty Christian here.”
“Ok, what do you mean he isn't very religious?” Mitch presses Tamara for more information. “Enlighten me.”
“Well, for one thing, he talks about being raised in a home where his father was Protestant and his mother was Catholic, and where the ‘line between the two was, quite literally, a battle line.' I can relate to that. A lot of people in my family background are Jewish and some of them are really ticked off at Christians. And I've noticed that religious people can develop a strong dislike for people of other religions. I don't want anything to do with all that, and I think that's where Bono is, too.”
“I'm with you there.”
“To be honest, I know that, even though I might give you a hard time now and then.”
Mitch smiles. Sort of.
“Anyway, Bono starts going on about how he used to be cynical about Christian politics until something happened.”
“And that was. . .?”
“Well, as he puts it, some British Christian leaders started describing the year 2000 as the ‘year of Jubilee,' an idea taken from the Christian Bible. The idea of a Jubilee year is that debts are cancelled. These leaders called for the cancellation of the chronic debt of the world's poorest countries. Pope John Paul II joined these leaders in calling for global debt relief.
“And then,” Tamara continues, “Bono describes how the churches got busy with addressing the AIDS crisis.”
“Did he mention Stephen Lewis?”
“Ah, no, but that's not important right now. What he did say is that the church changed the minds of many people around the world and got people acting to give help to millions of others.”
Mitch interjects. “And now Bono is asking George Bush to lead the United States in committing an extra one per cent of the U.S. federal budget to help the poor of Africa. He claims that this is what God wants.”
“Hey, wait a minute, you've read this, and you were just pretending not to?”
“Sorry, I didn't want to prejudice your comments.”
“So you don't think I have mind of my own?” Now it's Tamara's turn to smile.
“Well, anyway, I have to admit that it's kind of neat to see that U2 and Bono are not only clued into Jesus, but still pretty hip, even if they are about as old as I am.”
“And how old would that be?”
“Ah...thirty-five...no eight. Nine? Ish.”
“Well, whatever. But I don't want to see you in a leather jacket next week, trying to look cool.”
Continued next week
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
