What do Karl Barth and Bono have in common? You guessed it! Jesus! What else? Well, you say, they are both messianic types! Yes! Two saviors! One saved Rock and Roll and the other Church Dogmatics!
Also they were both born on the 10th of May. Bono [1960] Paul Hewson a.k.a. Bono) the brilliant musician, singer/songwriter, Jesus follower and humanitarian! Happy 46th birthday to one of Christianity’s favorite secular entertainers! I wish him continued success, good health and much grace.
In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Riverhead Books) Bono says, “My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ.”
Exactly 120 years ago today, Karl Barth was born in Basel, Switzerland [1886]. Karl Barth is considered by some the greatest Protestant theologian of the 20th century and possibly the greatest since the Reformation. More than anyone else, Barth inspired and led the renaissance of theology that took place from about 1920 to 1950.
It is said that a reporter once asked Dr. Barth if he could summarize what he had said in his lengthy Church Dogmatics. Dr. Barth thought for a moment and then said: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."
4 comments:
http://library.ptsem.edu/collections/barth/articles/Derrida_Difference.aspx
Hey P.R. ... check out this link. You've probably already seen this article, but ... I think you have a book idea here ...
Bono, Barth and Derrida: A Rock Star, A Reformer and a Rogue Deconstructionalist ...
Hi Arlyn…
Good to hear from you! Hope the storm damage is behind you and all is well.
Interesting proposal but according to the article from your link, I see that McCormack does not buy the argument that Barth’s analogy of faith and Derrida’s economy of différance “supplement” one another. In fact, he flat out rejects the possibility of correlating Barth’s theology with postmodern philosophy. Precisely, McCormack charges Ward with “illegitimate appropriation of Barth... for ‘postmodern’ concerns.”
I used to play pick up basketball with McCormack at Princeton Seminary. He knows basketball! He also knows Barth! However, I am not sure if he knows his Bono. Perhaps we can leave Derrida out of the book and go to the publisher with Barth and Bono.
enjoy, ron
I left this post elsewhere:
"What do Bono and Barth have in common?"
Lots of possibilities, but here's a couple of less-obvious ones:
-- "A splendid father complex" (Barth's recounting of his psychoanalyst's observations, quoted by Eberhard Busch in his Barth biography).
-- A fascination with the thought that Jesus would have washed Judas' feet, too (Barth in an exegetical excursus in the Church Dogmatics; Bono with towel in hand during ZooTV performances of "Until the End of the World").
Interesting stuff Steve!
You must have some out of the ordinary experiences while simultaneously reading Barth’s Dogmatics and listing to Bono on your IPod.
enjoy, ron
Post a Comment