Walk On
April 6, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2
By Steve Stockman
–from the book’s Forward:
“For more than twenty years, U2 has done their part to puncture the power of nihilism and hopelessness by pointing listeners to a transcendent reality of heaven, hell, angles, demons, deliverance, redemption, grace, and peace. Their lyrics unfold a world beyond the things that can be merely seen and rationally grasped. The music is not a simplistic mish-mash of yummy lyrics about skipping with Jesus through fields of daisies. Instead, their songs wrestle with pain and frustration without catering to hopelessness.”
“[In U2's work] there is a hefty and poetic theological substance that I think would startle Saint Paul and would bring a smile to the psalmist.”
“When Jesus told His disciples they were the light of the world, where did He want them to shine? As more beams of light that make the light shine blindingly bright upon itself, or as strobes of illumination flashing radical alternative lifestyles across the darkness? Do you blame the darkness for being dark, or the light for not shining?”
In a letter to his father, Bono once wrote:
[God] gives us our strength and a joy that does not depend on drink or drugs. This strength will, I believe, be the quality that will take us to the top of the music business. I hope our lives will be a testament to the people who follow us, and to the music business where never before have so many lost and sorrowful people gathered in one place pretending they’re having a good time. It is our ambition to make more than good music.
As for me, I loved this book. If you’re a fan of the band, or even in you’re not–if you’re just a fan of authentic Christianity without all its cliches and kitsch. Then you (2), will love this book.
And if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for. Then make it simpler.
“All I have found is a Red Guitar, three chords, and the Truth.”
-Bono
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read the rest from this author. Marc is a local writer, musician, and physician. He is a regular contributor to ConneXions and has written reviews for Spectrum: Adventist Forum. He loves words and music, windsurfing, and going on adventures with Janine and the kids.(Read more from this author) 
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Wow–sounds like a great book. I love U2’s music. I agree that their music points to a transcendent truth–without being simplistic! I’ve always wondered why I can instantly tell a “Christian” music station when flipping through the dials. I think it’s because there is no dissonance; it’s all “skipping with Jesus through fields of daisies.”
I think this is also why I like the Harry Potter books so much–they point to a transcendent reality, a truth beyond our tangible world.
[...] excerpt from Steve Stockman’s book, Walk On: the Spiritual Journey of U2, caught my attention. Stockman writes: “Under the influence of modernity, the Church became [...]
[...] Since 9/11, a glimmer of this understanding has returned. And with the accelerating global economic crisis, the glimmer burns brighter. “As we glance across the horizon of the loudest and brightest culture in the history of humankind, is there any chance we might find in the midst of all the shallowness, something deeper, something more precious, something more lasting?” (Steve Stockman) [...]