Faith For Life / Phantom Tollbooth article

The Northern Ireland magazine Faith For Life features a cover story on Get Up Off Your Knees in its May/June issue; this is the first I'm hearing about it, and I don't know what it says. If anyone would like to mail or email me a copy of the piece, I'd be forever in your debt and would give you a Gmail invite if you want one.


Get Up Off Your Knees contributor Steve Stockman has an article in the same issue, but it is also reprinted on The Phantom Tollbooth. The title is "Walking On - Bono since 9/11." It's a very typical piece of Stockman's writing, in which he leads the reader through a number of thoroughly-researched and specific observations of developments in U2-world, and along the way unabashedly states his convictions and voices his admiration. It is interesting to see listed in one place so many of the recent examples of the rapprochement between what Stockman calls "mainstream Christianity" and Mr. "God has some really weird kids, and I find it hard to be in their company most of the time."

I remind you that you can listen to Steve's BBC Radio Ulster radio show "Rhythm and Soul" -- in thrilling 30kbps audio ;-) -- here.

Incidentally, I quoted "God has some really weird kids" in a sermon a few weeks ago, unattributed and off the cuff, and it got one of the biggest laughs of the year.

And another "incidentally": The Faith for Life editor's name, Adam Harbinson, may be familiar to some U2 fans in connection with a book of his called They've Hijacked God for which Bono wrote an endorsement that occasioned much discussion maybe 2 years ago. (Readers noted that the brief excerpt chosen for quotes in publicity materials, taken out of context, might appear to endorse a somewhat narcissistic way of engaging with religious communities and/or to dismiss people who seriously committed to them. Short version: some people really liked that; others didn't. What else is new?) Anyway, if the site is not out of date, it seems like that book is finally going to come out - ironically, after those 2 years of rapprochement with the church Steve Stockman wrote about - so we may get to find out what the text actually says.