In this article, Bono recounts a conversation he once had with Franklin Graham. It’s kind of funny and reminds me of a couple things: (1) some sectors of evangelicalism don’t quite understand the evangel (the gospel) or how to share it; (2) thank God for the renegade poets who do.
Graham: “You … you really love the Lord?”
Bono: “Yep.”
“Okay, you do. Are you saved?”
“Yep, and saving.”
He doesn’t laugh. No laugh.
“Have you given your life? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?”
“Oh, I know Jesus Christ, and I try not to *use him* just as my personal Savior. But, you know, yes.”
“Why aren’t your songs, um, Christian songs?”
“They are!”
“Oh, well, some of them are.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, why don’t they … Why don’t we *know* they’re Christian songs?”
I said, “They’re all coming from a place, Franklin. Look around you. Look at the creation, look at the trees, look at the sky, look at these kinds of verdant hills. They don’t have a sign up that says, ‘Praise the Lord’ or ‘I belong to Jesus.’ They just give glory to Jesus.”
Read the entire interview with Bono here.