I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
NOW AND THEN I will send email with NOT REQUIRED in the Subject Line. That means it will not be used for class exams or necessary to understand coursework. It's simply for your own benefit, use, or pleasure, to add richness to the course. Most of these will be songs or some videos you may find of interest.
In Monday's class I mentioned Irish Rock singer Bono's approval of a recent translation of the the Bible called The Message. This translation is on Bible Gateway.
(For those who have trouble navigating that site please let me know and I will help. There are some drop-down menus that you have to use, but most students will be able to use the site without problems.)
Attached is the back cover of The Message with Bono's "blurb" highlighted by me.
Bono is the lead singer of the Irish supergroup, U2 (a pun on "you too" and a spy plane). Bono is a Christian and a humanitarian. He has met many world leaders on humanitarian missions to feed the hungry or cure the sick.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (to hear the song, go here) is a Christian song, though not overtly so. The lyrics are:
I have climbed highest mountains I have run through the fields Only to be with you
Only to be with you I have run I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for I have kissed honey lips Felt the healing in her fingertips It burned like a fire (I was) burning inside her I have spoke with the tongue of angels I have held the hand of a devil It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for I believe in the Kingdom Come Then all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one But yes I'm still running You broke the bonds And you loosed the chains Carried the cross Of my shame Oh my shame You know I believe it But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. . . .
The song is interesting because it shows the quest for something real in an unreal world. Even so, the singer does not rest even in Jesus, because he concludes with a repeat of the refrain, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for!" That is to say, a real religious faith is progressive. The race is not over until it ends at death. (Notice a referenc to a common image of the Apostle Paul, to "run the race" in faith).
A stroke of genius is to follow the line "You know I believe it" (faith as a fact) with the refrain, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" (faith as a process). This is similar to the writings of the Apostle Paul, who sees grace as freedom from sin but also as a commandment not to sin! That is, grace (from God) can only be proved in one's own actions.
The first verses of the song suggest the singer has pursued romantic love, but found that it does not satisfy. Another verse suggests meeting a prostitute at night, whose hot love leaves him "cold as a stone."
"The tongue of angels" refers to Paul's great speech on "love" in 1 Corinthians 13 ("for though I speak with the tongue of angels and have not love, I am nothing." ("Love" here is charity, not sexual love.) References to Jesus' crucifixion and Passion (suffering) are obvious in "bleed," "bonds," "chains," etc. "Kingdom Come" is another Christian reference, which can be traced from the book of Isaiah to the book of Revelation.
The song suggests that finding God is not a final act, but a continuous progress that never ends. That's because one's idea of God is limited by each stage of one's life. So, for example, the Christian begins with a childish fear of God and fearful obedience and progresses to a more mature sharing of God's godhood (to live in Christ Jesus, as the Apostle Paul phrased it): a complete surrender of one's will to a superior reality.
The song reminds me of the Christian writer, C. S. Lewis's phrase, "the dialectic of desire" (see The Pilgrim's Regress). That is, all desire is good provided it leads to higher desires. In fact, to have no worldly desires at all will interfere with finding God because desiring nothing one cannot desire something better. Only by progressing through stages of desire can one, as if by logic, find God; for all desires will fail, or not satisfy, except God. This is an idea that can be traced in the writings of St. Paul, the later writings of St. Augustine, etc. down to C. S. Lewis and Bono.
The song was the second #1 from U2's top-selling album, The Joshua Tree. It's a gem of musicianship, from The Edge's percussive guitar work to the hypnotic drumming of Larry Mullen, and Bono's plaintive vocal. Listen to The Edge's Hawaiian effect, suggesting a sigh, near the end of the song (4:19-20).
In Monday's class I mentioned Irish Rock singer Bono's approval of a recent translation of the the Bible called The Message. This translation is on Bible Gateway.
(For those who have trouble navigating that site please let me know and I will help. There are some drop-down menus that you have to use, but most students will be able to use the site without problems.)
Attached is the back cover of The Message with Bono's "blurb" highlighted by me.
Bono is the lead singer of the Irish supergroup, U2 (a pun on "you too" and a spy plane). Bono is a Christian and a humanitarian. He has met many world leaders on humanitarian missions to feed the hungry or cure the sick.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (to hear the song, go here) is a Christian song, though not overtly so. The lyrics are:
I have climbed highest mountains I have run through the fields Only to be with you
Only to be with you I have run I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for I have kissed honey lips Felt the healing in her fingertips It burned like a fire (I was) burning inside her I have spoke with the tongue of angels I have held the hand of a devil It was warm in the night I was cold as a stone But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for I believe in the Kingdom Come Then all the colors will bleed into one Bleed into one But yes I'm still running You broke the bonds And you loosed the chains Carried the cross Of my shame Oh my shame You know I believe it But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. . . .
The song is interesting because it shows the quest for something real in an unreal world. Even so, the singer does not rest even in Jesus, because he concludes with a repeat of the refrain, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for!" That is to say, a real religious faith is progressive. The race is not over until it ends at death. (Notice a referenc to a common image of the Apostle Paul, to "run the race" in faith).
A stroke of genius is to follow the line "You know I believe it" (faith as a fact) with the refrain, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" (faith as a process). This is similar to the writings of the Apostle Paul, who sees grace as freedom from sin but also as a commandment not to sin! That is, grace (from God) can only be proved in one's own actions.
The first verses of the song suggest the singer has pursued romantic love, but found that it does not satisfy. Another verse suggests meeting a prostitute at night, whose hot love leaves him "cold as a stone."
"The tongue of angels" refers to Paul's great speech on "love" in 1 Corinthians 13 ("for though I speak with the tongue of angels and have not love, I am nothing." ("Love" here is charity, not sexual love.) References to Jesus' crucifixion and Passion (suffering) are obvious in "bleed," "bonds," "chains," etc. "Kingdom Come" is another Christian reference, which can be traced from the book of Isaiah to the book of Revelation.
The song suggests that finding God is not a final act, but a continuous progress that never ends. That's because one's idea of God is limited by each stage of one's life. So, for example, the Christian begins with a childish fear of God and fearful obedience and progresses to a more mature sharing of God's godhood (to live in Christ Jesus, as the Apostle Paul phrased it): a complete surrender of one's will to a superior reality.
The song reminds me of the Christian writer, C. S. Lewis's phrase, "the dialectic of desire" (see The Pilgrim's Regress). That is, all desire is good provided it leads to higher desires. In fact, to have no worldly desires at all will interfere with finding God because desiring nothing one cannot desire something better. Only by progressing through stages of desire can one, as if by logic, find God; for all desires will fail, or not satisfy, except God. This is an idea that can be traced in the writings of St. Paul, the later writings of St. Augustine, etc. down to C. S. Lewis and Bono.
The song was the second #1 from U2's top-selling album, The Joshua Tree. It's a gem of musicianship, from The Edge's percussive guitar work to the hypnotic drumming of Larry Mullen, and Bono's plaintive vocal. Listen to The Edge's Hawaiian effect, suggesting a sigh, near the end of the song (4:19-20).
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