Random discovery

From the 2002 annual eReview of the Brisbane College of Theology, here's a paper on "Investigating Ways of Communicating the Gospel in Contemporary Culture" (PDF), which draws on U2 as its principal example. Some discussion of oral versus literate culture, and comments on three songs (one from the 80s, one from the 90s, one from the 00s.) Excerpt: The music of U2 in some ways gives over the responsibility of meaning making to the audience. While the band knows that at some level the music is certainly meaningful for them, they trust that their listeners will appropriate the meaning of the music in a way which is helpful to them. In the Christian tradition, parables function in much the same way. Werner Kelber is enlightening here: 'Parables, we repeat, are unfinished stories, and whether they are being heard or read, they are contingent on the work of co-creators.' A parable might seem vague or somewhat unexplained, but that is because it invites us to make the story our own.