Paul, U2, &...

A couple of interesting U2 related posts here from New Testament professor Tim Gombis. One recent post on hermeneutics takes on the task of comparing the benefits and perils of collapsing historical distance (between us and scripture, or us and the past in general), claiming that U2 see it as their mission to collapse historical distance. There's an unusual reading of the title track of No Line on the Horizon given as evidence (suggesting that the narrator of the song is deliberately situating himself with regard to music history). It seems to me personally that much of the evidence for U2's "collapsing of historical distance" would have to come from their live work, and can be most fruitfully analyzed through the liturgical category of anamnesis, or perhaps the literary one of intertextuality. Read the post and see what you think. (Hat tip DB.)

Another post looks at Romans and "Breathe" together, focusing on the inter-connections between Spirit, cross-shaped existence (cruciformity), and community life. I find this a great dialogue and a very fruitful, thorough reading of the song. Check it out too.