U2 and Newbigin

One of the fun aspects of running this blog is that people send me interesting articles and books in the "theology and U2" realm. I've had the chance recently to look over the draft missiology thesis of a reader from the UK, who is analyzing U2's career in terms of Lesslie Newbigin's concept of "public truth."

One thing the material made me wonder about is the sort of paradoxical way secular fans often say they value the fact that U2 don't demand allegiance to Christianity (and thus, that part of them could be read as "private" if you want) but also say they value U2 because they bring their commitment into the public realm with things like ONE, Amnesty, etc. Thus, you will hear people say both "I'd go to church if church were more like U2 (ethically "public")" or "....if church were more like U2 (doctrinally "private")" What a weird paradox!