A Singer and a Critic

Bono, the singer for the and U2, had a surprisingly strong opinion that he decided to voice on the current status of contemporary christian music. Bono has become more outspoken of the christian faith as of late and talked about the connection that modern christian music has to the hymns written in the book of Psalms. He analysis the old songs as being full of the complete range of human emotions from anger and sadness to irritation and bliss. He later explains in the interview that he notices a distinct lack of these qualities in the music that is coming out now. He says specifically that, “The psalmist is brutally honest about the explosive joy that he’s feeling and the deep sorrow or confusion” and that “I often think, ‘Gosh, well, why isn’t church music more like that?’”. He believes that if this genre took on more pressing matters like failing marriages or if they are upset with the government because that truthfulness would “blow things apart”.

If modern contemporary gospel music made the change that Bono suggests, it would have them join what seems to be a trend in all other music that has bloomed from recent eras of taking on complex social issues and using their music as a means of protest. If this genre of music did join this trend in the manor that Bono describes it would join many others that have sought to use a christian message for their ideas on reforms. With the predominantly christian Republican party this would be a strong way to change the political atmosphere in a way that they like by unifying this party more with a politically charged socio-cultural entity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bono-wants-christian-music-to-get-more-honest_us_5720f787e4b0f309baef690d?ir=Religion&section=us_religion&utm_hp_ref=religion

Paul Short

And They Brought Beer

In the town of Umbria Italy, a group of Benedictine monks are bringing back the ancient art of brewing beer that was started back in the middle ages. This confuses most people with most of them believing that they could not drink this during fasting periods but it is a sustenance giving beverage during these times and has been consumed more this length of time.This group of mostly american born monks are brewing a beer called Nursia and are beginning to sell it in the US in order to keep their monastery afloat. They say that more than just keeping them afloat the brewing acts as a link between them and the community that they live in stating that, “In a world where most people are afraid of the church, religion, afraid of a priest, afraid of a  monk but they are more than happy to talk about beer”. It’s all made by them between their eight daily prayers.

The idea of using the idea of brewing beer to connect with groups of people that may be hesitant to trust the church or anything related to it but they would definitely trust the idea of getting a beer from them especially in a culture like ours. The idea of going and grabbing a beer whether it be to reconnect with an old friend, make new friends or smooth over issues that may have come up between a group is deeply understood in the states by most people to be a sign of good faith and neutral ground. The idea that these monks are using this idea in order to connect the bridge of peace as it were between the people that may be hesitant to join the church with a section of its body. In the number of ways that could have been used, for some people this would be the best way for them because of this idea of what beer could do.

Paul Short

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/birra-nursia-brewed-american-monks-italy-hits-u-s-shelves-n520071

The Pope Adds His Two Cents

In this current run for a spot in the next election the republican front runner is currently Donald Trump who currently has the idea of building a wall on our southern border to help control immigration in more effectively as one of his major running points. In the course of the race Pope Francis made a visit to the United States and took the time to comment on this idea that Trump came up with.  He stated, “A person who thinks only of building walls, wherever they might be, and not building bridges, is not a Christian” (Levy). I believe the Pope believed this was an issue because if the people of Mexico were trying to get in there would be a reason and turning them away would be denying them help in a moment of need which he believes is a cardinal aspect of Catholicism. This is a very interesting point made by the Pope and resembles the ideals of Dorothy Day with her idea of giving being a crucial aspect of the faith with her helping to start soup kitchens to give to the poor and the belief that it is our job to help our brothers in need just like Jesus had done during his ministry. I believe that both of these activists would agree on this point of the importance of doing good deeds in order to help out the less fortunate and our other brothers and sisters on this planet.

Although the point of good works being a crucial part of the faith is indeed a valid idea it is also not the only way to be in good standing when it comes to one’s faith.  Just like there are multiple sects of Christianity believing in slightly different methodologies of how to practice the word of God, there is also even more diversity inside each sect of how to use the word and what it means to be a “good Christian”. Since there are a numerous amount of followers in the Christian faith alone, that means there are just as many people with different experiences interpreting what they hear and read in a very unique way that they see as correct and all are accurate ways to practice their faith and all in turn are valid ways to be a “good Christian”. I believe Donald Trump would agree with this statement with his immediate rebuttal of this statement, stating that he is “proud to be a Christian” and that it is “disgraceful” for him to “question a person’s faith”. Having this one idea does not detract from his faith on its own. He is also not alone with the idea of the wall with most of the GOP candidates believing that this would actually be a good idea which shows that again there are multiple ways of action that still qualify as being under the faith. Although these candidates believe in this course of action that the Pope has deemed “not Christian” it does not change any of their faiths or where they stand in them.

Paul Short

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-02-18/pope-francis-person-who-builds-walls-is-not-christian