We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2 - eBook

Greg Garrett is the author of We Get to Carry Each Other: The Gospel according to U2; The Gospel according to Hollywood; Holy Superheroes! Revised and Expanded Edition: Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film; and Stories from the Edge: A Theology of Grief. He is a novelist, a professor of English at Baylor University, the writer-inresidence at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, and a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church.

“There are a lot of reasons to listen to music, but one of the best is that a good song is like a portal into a whole realm of human experience. When I finished Greg’s book, I imagined groups of people using it to organize listening parties. Greg references a great U2 song at the beginning of each chapter, along with some worthwhile things to ponder, and participants can pull up lyrics online and go through portal after portal to think and talk about things that really matter. I think U2 would be glad to know that sort of thing was happening through their songs.” — from the foreword by Brian D. McLaren

U2 may be the most popular rock band in the world, but unlike the Beatles' John Lennon, they never claimed to be bigger than Jesus. The band does, however, engage several Christian themes in its music. Garrett, an English professor at Baylor University, plumbs the U2 catalogue to reveal the group's theological worldview. This is not a far stretch—three of the four band members were involved with a charismatic Christian community in Ireland as the group was starting out. U2 is not the only rock band to address spiritual themes in its music, but as the author adeptly illustrates, it has certainly been one of the most consistent and outspoken. Garrett rightly posits in a chapter about social justice that U2's message encourages listeners to put their faith into action for the sake of the poor and marginalized. The author is clearly a music fan, and his excitement about U2 is contagious. Rock music fans who have ever wondered if their faith and musical taste could ever be paired will be intrigued by U2's story and Garrett's theological analysis of the band's music. (July) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.